Under the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, The Section 21 Health and Safety Advisory Committee for Film and Television has released their guidelines returning to production.
Click here to see the updated guidlines.
Here is a summary of the amendments.
All workplace parties should be familiar with the Regulations established by the Government of Ontario under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, which may contain general or industry specific requirements or prohibitions, which may vary based on the reopening status of the applicable area, and which may not be specifically addressed in this document.
• Developing screening policies and protocols (pg. 6) addition:
Review Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces and applicable Regulations under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act to confirm any mandatory screening requirements.
• Personal protective equipment (pg. 13) addition:
Applicable mandatory masking requirements, whether established by the Government of Ontario, for example pursuant to Regulations under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, or municipal by-law, etc., must be complied with.
• Resources (pg. 16-17)
o Deletion:
▪ a poster on when and how to wear a mask
o Additions:
▪ Information on COVID-19: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems in Buildings
▪ Develop your COVID-19 workplace safety plan
▪ Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act and its Regulations.
▪ Ontario Film Commission COVID Response page
Section 21’s document should be considered a guideline on creating safe film and television sets.
This general guidance does not cover all safety issues. A risk assessment should be conducted to identify the COVID-19 related risks that apply to your workplace (along with any non-COVID-19 risks) so that practices and protocols that can be put in place that ensure all workplace parties are properly equipped to meet the requirements of Ontario’s health and safety laws.