AJC GUIDANCE TO MEMBERS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY IN COURTS AND TRIBUNALS

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

The AJC continues to put your health, safety and well-being at the core of all that we do.  We and other provincial public service unions have put on a united front by advocating for your and the Canadian public’s health and safety interests in Courts and Tribunals across the country. 

We have created this guidance document to help members ensure their health and safety in all Court and Tribunal proceedings.

The AJC will be providing a copy of this guidance to the Chief Justices of Federal Courts, Attorney General of Canada, Director of Public Prosecutions, Treasury Board Secretariat, courts/tribunal administration services, and other federal agencies.  The AJC is also providing copies of this guidance to the Chief Justices of all Provincial Courts across the country as well as all Provincial and Territorial Attorneys General.

Masks now mandatory in all areas of ATSSC workplaces

We are pleased to see that the Administrative Tribunal Support Services of Canada (ATSSC) has confirmed that, in accordance with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recommendation that masks be worn in all indoor spaces when you are with people from outside your immediate household, masks are now mandatory in all ATSSC workplaces including while sitting at their desk in their cubicle or enclosed offices. The requirement to wear a mask in all common areas such as hallways, meeting and hearing/mediation rooms remains in effect.

Three-layer disposable masks are available in all ATSSC workplaces. If you wish to wear your own mask or face covering in ATSSC workplaces, you must ensure it is made of three layers of fabric as recommended by PHAC.

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