By Joseph Kay – Special Contributor: And so it begins…
Cornwall’s Nav Centre has gone viral (in the news at least) as it stages its own mini “Come From Away”… amid “forced labour” for unrepresented employees.
Starting early this morning crews began a cleanup of the arrival point for persons being placed into quarantine. The plowing and shovelling of snow, away from the south entrance to the Nav Centre, has begun in preparation for the expected Wednesday 19 FEB ’20 arrival of quarantined “guests”.
It is reported that the “Blue” and “Orange” hotel sections of the Nav Centre have been set aside for what may be 250+ persons transferred under quarantine from the Canadian Forces Base at Trenton Ontario. Although these accommodation areas of the Nav Centre have been used previously for emergency housing, they are observed to fall far short of a facility capable of effecting a quarantine.
Some training at the Nav Centre will be suspended, while other operations such as the Canadian Forces training unit will continue… And while some unionized and Nav Canada employees will be permitted to stay away, such is not the case for many other workers.
It is reported that contracted housekeeping, cleaning and food workers are being directed to stay on the job, leaving some frightened to the point of tears at being forced to work in a quarantine environment.
From the Quarantine Act…
7. The Minister may by order designate any place in Canada as a quarantine facility and amend, cancel or reinstate the designation.
Duty to provide
8. (1) Any person in charge of a place shall, at the request of the Minister, provide that place to the Minister if, in the opinion of the Minister, the temporary use of the place as a quarantine facility is necessary to protect public health.
Deeming
(2) The place is deemed to be designated as a quarantine facility.
Compensation
(3) The Minister may compensate any person for the Minister’s use of the place.
Consultation
(4) The Minister shall consult with the provincial public health authority of the province in which the place is situated before taking possession of it.
No worries?!?
FOURTEEN — count ’em 14 — Americans among those evacuated from a quarantined cruise ship off Japan Sunday, have TESTED POSITIVE for the novel coronavirus.
Cornwall needs to rally around the scores of workers forced to remain on the job — at the Nav Canada owned Nav Centre — in an “unacceptable risk” environment.
Where is the voice of labour or common sense in all of this?
I’m sure the people arriving at NavCan will be from the Diamond Princess. The ones currently at CFB Trenton can be released on the 19th, and the 25th, depending on their arrival date as there was two arrival dates of Feb 7 and 11 . It would make no sense to move people in quarantine in Trenton to NavCan for the few days (2 & 8) remaining in their quarantine.
The first casualty of the Nav Centre quarantine may be “truth”.
During the Sunday walkabouts with tenants and civic representatives et al, it was stated as fact (with no verification and contrary to current study), that COVID-19 cannot be spread through the air (aerosol transmission).
Even the World Health Organization makes no such claim, but it seems our health unit knows better.