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Federal Government Releases Essential Services & Functions Guidance

Today, Public Safety Canada released its Guidance on Essential Services and Functions in Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This list is intended to help provinces and territories, Indigenous communities and municipalities in implementing and executing response actions within their jurisdictions. These essential services and functions are advisory in nature. This guidance is not, nor should it be considered to be a federal directive or standard. Please maintain familiarity with your provincial and local orders.

AED members likely fall into more than one essential services and functions category, including:

“Workers who support the operation, inspection, and maintenance of essential public works facilities and operations, including dams, bridges, heating and cooling plants, water and sewer main breaks, fleet maintenance personnel, construction of critical or strategic infrastructure, structural engineering, geomatics, custodial health and safety requirements, environmental compliance, integrity of underground infrastructure, management of non-hazardous solid waste, traffic signal maintenance, emergency location services for buried utilities, maintenance of digital systems infrastructure supporting public works operations, and other emergent issues.”

AED is has been active both at a provincial and federal level urging governments to declare the construction industry and companies that supply the sector as essential businesses.

For more information, please visit: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/crtcl-nfrstrctr/esf-sfe-en.aspx