June 24, 2022
- Adoption of Agenda
The agenda was adopted. - COVID-19
Nancy Porteous, Director General and Jesse Arnup-Blondin, Director, Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) COVID-19 Response Division, Specialized Health Services Directorate, Health Canada indicated that PSOHP is responsible for providing guidance in response to COVID-related questions to support departmental / corporate Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) teams. J. Arnup-Blondin advised that the PSOHP advice to federal departments and agencies was updated in early January 2022 and posted online in February in response to an identified need for updated guidance with the omicron variant specific to how to address a situation where an employee has a presumed or confirmed case of COVID-19 given the higher levels of contagion in the newer variants. She stated that, in situations where an employee has tested positive via a PCR test or rapid test, or if they have a presumed case with symptoms consistent with COVID and are unable to access testing, the employee should not return to the workplace for ten (10) days either after the test or development of symptoms. This time frame is based upon evidence showing that those with the omicron variant can still be contagious for this period. For situations of close contact with someone who has tested positive or is presumed positive without appropriate preventative measures (e.g., masking, distancing), PSOHP guidance indicates employees should not return to the workplace for 14 days. This is due the fact that it may take a person up to 14 days to develop an illness. Should the person subsequently test positive, they would then convert to the guidance for those who test positive or exhibit symptoms consistent with COVID.
In addition, PSOHP recognized that some organizations have had to mitigate critical services delivery interruptions which led to specific reduced duration guidance. The most important requirement for using the reduced guidelines is that the person must be asymptomatic in order to return to the workplace. Provided that this requirement is met, the Employer may elect to follow the local public health guidelines and restrictions, however, J. Arnup-Blondin noted that the Employer is accepting a slightly higher level of risk of potential contagion in order to mitigate the risks associated with an interruption to critical services.
J. Arnup-Blondin noted that PSOHP continues to monitor the science associated with COVID and this may in turn affect the guidance, which will be updated as needed.
A. Peart indicated that there are many questions and confusion as some locations seem to be following different rules when it comes to people living in the same residence as someone who is positive; if there is no masking or other close contact, employees are expected to continue to attend the office unless they are in health care. J. Arnup-Blondin noted that the guidance is national in focus providing a single document for the entire country. She did confirm that, in a situation where an employee is living with someone who has tested positive, that employee should not return to the workplace for 14 days unless it is to mitigate critical services interruptions, in which case they may return earlier, should the department accept the slightly higher level of risk associated with adhering to local public health guidelines for shorter time frames.
C. Truax confirmed that the custodians at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) address the same concerns regarding the lack of cohesiveness in guidance across jurisdictions.
C. Vézina requested that the guidance links Return to the Workplace and General PSOHP COVID-19 Guidance be shared with the Committee to enable dissemination and access.
A. Peart requested that the links to the guidance be sent to the policy committee co-chairs.
E. Thibeault inquired about where to have the discussions related to disagreements about what time frames should apply in a particular situation. M. Gosselin reminded the Committee that there are bi-weekly meetings hosted by the NJC with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and all bargaining agent presidents. These meetings serve as a forum to discuss COVID concerns about the application of various policies, including leave code 699, the asymmetry across the country and departments, and other issues that affect the entire public service. For site- or Employer-specific concerns, M. Gosselin recommended that this be addressed with the OHS Policy Committee or with OHS resources by the management team, as required under the Canada Labour Code. M. Gosselin indicated that PSOHP would be the best point of contact for support or interpretation.
- Presentation: Committee on Mental Health Support Mechanisms (CMHSM)
Jennifer Feeney-Svab, Director, Wellness and Mental Health, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO), Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Brenda Shillington, Negotiator, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) provided an update on the work being completed by the Committee on Mental Health Support Mechanisms (CMHSM). B. Shillington noted that the committee was established in the fall of 2020 when the TBS and PSAC signed collective agreements that included a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to consult and reach agreements on support mechanisms for employees in the Program and Administrative Services (PA) and Technical Services (TC) groups, with the CMHSM’s purpose being to guide the study. B. Shillington noted that the CMHSM has met nine (9) times since 2021 and is currently in the data collection phase.
Under the MOU, B. Shillington noted that the CMHSM is required to identify positions within the bargaining unit that inherently include exposure to explicit and disturbing materials and/or potentially threatening situations. She indicated that other requirements are to identify and document best practices, to identify the specific needs for support mechanisms, and to recommend how to implement the identified promising best practices. She remarked that this is a massive undertaking and therefore, sub-working groups were created to tackle the identification tasks and then provide the information to the CMHSM to formulate the recommendations.
J. Feeney-Svab noted that these groups are at work within organizations to identify types of duties or work that meet the set criteria, rather than the position numbers due to the potential for reorganization and realignments within departments. While the bargaining units subject to the MOU are the PA and TC groups, she indicated that some departments are expanding the scope and examining duties that may not be assigned to only these groups of employees.
Furthermore, J. Feeney-Svab remarked that there is a lack of empirical data to indicate success rates of various measures and practices that are currently in place, and therefore the CMHSM considers the best practices requirement to encompass promising practices. She noted that the lack of information regarding the effectiveness of these measures is not unique to the federal public service, referencing a presentation by Dr. Nicholas Carleton, Professor of Psychology and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) who confirmed the difficulty in finding evidence and information around mental health programs.
J. Feeney-Svab advised that the last step of the CMHSM’s tasks is to produce a report, based on the identified positions, the criteria being used to assess the duties, the promising practices and, potential gaps in order to generate recommendations. She remarked that the timelines for this study were tight and noted that the CMHSM currently anticipates meeting their June 2022 deadline barring unforeseen impediments.
The Committee was pleased to hear of the work being done and questioned how they may assist in the implementation phase. J. Feeney-Svab noted the offer of assistance but remarked that it is premature at this point in time given that it is dependent on the recommendations that will be made. She noted that the recommendations may end up as part of a bargaining proposal in a future round of bargaining or be presented to departmental Labour-Management committees. The Committee appreciated that the CMHSM is focussed on providing support mechanisms after the exposure to the potentially disturbing material but clarified that the Committee is also concerned about the prevention aspect of OHS. Therefore, A. Peart suggested that the Committee could also examine departmental Hazard Prevention Plans (HPP) in order to encourage the early adoption of prevention measures. C. Zovatto brainstormed that this might be a topic for a future event for SWOHS. - Update from the Sub-Committees:
- Sub-Committee membership
C. Seeton noted she will be stepping down as the Employer Co-Chair on the Harassment and Violence Prevention Tools Working Group (formerly the Competent Persons Sub-Committee), where she has served for several years. The Committee thanked her for her work and dedication on the Sub-Committee. The Committee advisor provided a table indicating the Bargaining Agent and Employer side representatives on both Sub-Committees. It was suggested that a new Employer member be identified from either the Department of National Defence (DND), Correctional Services Canada (CSC) or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would be useful for the conversations at that table. The Employer side indicated they will look into appointing members to the Sub-Committees.
C. Vezina noted that he will join the OHS Training Sub-Committee, and the Employer side will reach out to the Community of Practice (CoP) for a replacement for Employer side representative(s).
- OHS Training/Learning Sub-Committee
The quarterly statistics on the use of the OHS training modules hosted on the NJC website were provided to the Committee between meetings. The Committee Advisor reported that the Sub-Committee will focus on information gathering on how departments are using it and any potential promotion at its next meeting. It was noted that the Joint Learning Program is developing OHS training and that this Sub-Committee should see what is developed by them prior to developing more training. - Harassment and Violence Prevention (HVP) Tools Working Group
The Committee Advisor noted that the web event scheduled for April 4 is proceeding as planned, with a dry run scheduled for March 30, 2020, for the panelists to meet with the Canada School of the Public Service (CSPS) to address technical concerns. The Committee advisor reported that there have been 1,012 registrations to this event to date.
C. Vézina questioned whether the Labour Relations Council had been advised. The Committee Advisor reported that they had not, and C. Vézina indicated that they would be advised of the web event.
- Sub-Committee membership
- Standing Items:
- Asbestos
Nil.
- Mental Health
Nil.
- Harassment
M. Gosselin reported on the results of the pulse check for the first year post-implementation. He advised that 72 departments responded, indicating that there have been 1,440 notices of occurrence received since January 1, 2021, with no comparison data from previous years however anecdotal reports suggest that this is a sharp increase. He noted that this has put pressure on the Designated Recipient (DR) units, which was expected at implementation. M. Gosselin further reported that of the 1,440 reported incidents, 21% were resolved at the negotiated resolution stage, 20% proceeded to an investigation, and 59% (855) are in progress. He noted that these numbers will be a benchmark, and the changes will be monitored in the coming years. He noted that there is a slight concern given that all incidents are to be resolved within one (1) year. As of early January 2022, 28 investigations had been completed.
M. Gosselin noted that they also asked departments what tools they would like and received responses indicating they would like a manager toolkit and stated that Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has created one that has been shared on the Designated Recipient Community of Practice’s (DRCOPs) GCconnex page. Other responses included a DR toolkit, which TBS is developing based off of a basic toolkit that has been shared as a compendium of available resources, as well as a DR guide, also being developed by TBS. There was interest in an investigation guide for investigators with the goal of ensuring the provision of the best report with actionable recommendations.
To assist with information sharing, knowledge transfer and community development, M. Gosselin reported that TBS established the Community of Practice for DRs to facilitate networking and the identification of good practices. As this has been newly established, TBS noted they are holding regular meetings, sharing concerns regarding trends and will keep the Committee apprised of progress.
The Committee expressed interest in helping with the various guides and toolkits, as well as noting this is an opportunity for training. In addition, A. Peart noted that mistakes made by the DR would normally go to the Labour Program for regulatory concerns, however given how new this is to the community, it might be best to provide learning opportunities as a first step. C. Zovatto noted there is nothing covering this topic from the Labour Program and therefore might be a topic to address at the next Occupational Health and Safety Advisor Committee (OHSAC) meeting. She further noted the development of some of these guides and tools may be appropriate for tasking to the HVP Tools Working Group. - Legionella
The Committee Advisor reported on behalf of C. Truax that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will be issuing its annual communiqué to its internal network aligned with the communiqué developed and approved by SWOHS during the cooling tower start up.
- Asbestos
- Round table:
C. Vézina reminded the Committee that documents shared by the NJC are not for further dissemination.
E. Thibeault advised the Committee that he will be leaving the Committee at the beginning of May. He noted it has been a pleasure working with the Committee, and the Committee members thanked him for his contributions.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2022.