Page - 478 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE478 unions and employers is reported to have continued in several sec- toral associations legally empowered to provide OHS guidance applicable throughout their sectors (OHSQ, s. 101). Thousands of workers have fallen ill, leading to the closure of essential services such as abattoirs, and leaving residents of long-term care facilities without adequate care. A criminal inquiry is underway, in a case where 31 residents from the Herron private care home were found dead, some suspected to have died from lack of care.16 It is reported that workers are being prevented from leaving the workplace at the end of their shifts.17 Workers’ compensation legislation provides economic sup- port for workers who are unable to work because of illness or injury. Funded by employers’ premiums, legislation protects employers from lawsuits filed by their employees,18 but also protects them from law- suits filed by employees of others (AIAOD, s. 441; WSIA s. 28). To access benefits or to receive protection from lawsuits, the industrial sector of the workplace must have coverage under the Act. In Quebec, 93.17% of the workforce has coverage;19 in Ontario, only industries explicitly mentioned in policy have coverage, 74.48%.20 Significantly, public long-term care homes are mandatorily covered under WSIA, but coverage of private care homes is not mandatory.21 This leaves many Ontario workers at the heart of the pandemic without workers’ compensation and those employers vulnerable to lawsuits. *** 16. Morgan Lowrie, “Quebec Coroner to Investigate 31 Deaths at Seniors’ Home in Montreal”, Global  News (12 April 2020), online: <https://globalnews.ca/ news/6810089/quebec-coroner-to-investigate-31-deaths-at-seniors-home-in- montreal/>. 17. Angela MacKenzie & Adam Kovac, “Staff at Verdun Seniors’ Residence Were Locked in to Prevent Them from Leaving”, CTV News (14 April 2020), online: <https:// montreal.ctvnews.ca/staff-at-verdun-seniors-residence-were-locked-in-to- prevent-them-from-leaving-1.4894875?cache=%3FclipId%3D89750>. 18. An  Act  Respecting  Industrial  Accidents  and  Occupational  Diseases, RSQ c A-3.001, s 438; Workplace  Safety  and  Insurance  Act 1997, SO 1997, c 16, Sch A, s 26(2). 19. “Workers Compensation Legislation & Policy” (last visited 10 May 2020), online: Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards <http://awcbc.org/?page_id=79>. 20. Ibid. 21. “Employer Classification Manual: 623310 Community Care Facilities for the Elderly” (last visited 12 May 2020), online: Workplace  Safety  and  Insurance  Board <https://safetycheck.onlineservices.wsib.on.ca/safetycheck/ecm/naics/623310? lang=en>.