Two days after issuing a Section 22 order to protect the safety of temporary foreign workers working on Elgin and Oxford county farms, Southwestern Public Health today (Friday) made minor amendments to the order. Issued under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, it requires all farms that employ these workers to comply with any direction provided by the health unit.
The initial version of the order noted local workers could not work for more than one employer. The new wording ensures that local workers, including local contract workers, are isolated in a single person cohort if they work for more than one employer to prevent the spread of infection from one location to another.
Tracey Arts, Ontario Federation of Agriculture zone director representing farmers in the two counties, says members are pleased at finding a “workable solution that maintains the health and safety of farm operations without greatly impacting business operations or impacting local labour.”
