COVID-19 Information & Resources

Message from the Canadian Propane Association

During these challenging times, the Association's top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our propane community.

We are working 24/7 on your behalf and talking to all levels of government to ensure your needs are met while keeping everyone safe.  If you face any challenges, please let us know. We are ready to assist to ensure you have the information you need to maintain all of your essential services.

Thank you for your membership and ongoing support. We wish you, your families and colleagues continued health and safety.

CPA Resources

Travel Authorization Forms

 

ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN CANADA

FEDERAL GOVERNMENTas

Access these links for government financial support programs related to COVID-19:

Mini-guide to help employees' mental health through winter - This mini-guide is designed to help employers provide workers with specific tools and resources during the winter months.

PROVINCIAL ESSENTIAL SERVICES

Gathering limitation across the provinces: 

Indoor and outdoor gathering numbers are updated on a regular basis to keep up with rapid changes. Check out Destination Canada's up-to-date information on regulations for safely meeting across Canada.

Please refer to the CPA's Best practices recommended during COVID-19 - Measures for Reopening your Retail Operations, produced to assist you in hosting a training session during COVID-19.

British Columbia

April 2021

  • Work from home whenever possible, unless your presence in the workplace is essential.
  • Workplaces with a COVID-19 exposure may be ordered to close for a minimum of 10 days.
  • Restaurants, pubs, and bars are closed for indoor dining. Outdoor patio seating and take-out or delivery are allowed.
  • No indoor social gatherings, up to 10 can gather outdoors, including in a backyard. Wedding and funeral services are limited to 10 people.
  • In effect until May 24: Only essential travel into and out of B.C. and between regions of the province. New orders will be issued April 23 restricting travel into B.C.; random audits will be conducted if traveling outside your region without a legitimate reason. BC Ferries will be contacting passengers who already have reservations to ensure they are essential travelers.

For more information, click here.

Alberta

April 2021

  • Working from home is mandatory unless the employer requires the employee's physical presence to operate effectively.
  • Retail services and shopping malls must limit customer capacity to 15% of fire code occupancy (not including staff). 
  • Restaurants, pubs, and bars are closed for indoor dining. Outdoor patio seating and take-out or delivery are allowed.
  • No indoor social gatherings, up to 10 can gather outdoors, including in a backyard. A single person can have two close contacts. Wedding services are limited to 10 people, funerals 20.
  • Currently, Alberta has no inter-provincial domestic travel restrictions.

For more information, click here.

Saskatchewan

April 2021

Regina and surrounding communities:

  • Strongly recommended that all individuals in the Regina area work from home.
  • All restaurants and licensed establishments must close for in-person dining. Take-out and delivery are permitted.
  • Travel is not recommended in or out of the Regina area unless absolutely necessary.

Province-wide:

  • No indoor social gatherings, up to 10 can gather outdoors, including in a backyard.
  • Retail services (essential and non-essential) must reduce their capacity to 50%.

For more information, click here.

Manitoba

April 2021

  • Retail stores may open with capacity limits of up to 50%.
  • Restaurants, pubs, and bars are limited to 50% capacity.
  • Two households can visit indoors; up to 10 can gather outdoors.
  • Public gatherings: Maximum of 5 indoors, 25 outdoors. Wedding and funeral services are limited to 10 people.
  • Travel north of the 53rd parallel is not permitted, nor into remote communities not connected by an all-year-round road into the provincial highway system. Travel is not encouraged between regions under different public health restrictions except for essential purposes.
  • Manitoba has recently struck a deal with North Dakota governments to have Manitoban truckers vaccinated when they cross the border into North Dakota. Under the ‘Essential Worker Cross-Border Vaccination Initiative’, North Dakota will administer COVID-19 vaccinations, free of charge, to Manitoba-based truck drivers transporting goods to and from the United States. Most other provinces are offering vaccines based on age, Indigenous descent, or profession in essential healthcare work. 

For more information, click here.

Ontario

April 2021

As per the new government orders on April 16, 2021, the following measures are applicable:

  •  Stay-at-home order until at least May 20.
  •  Travel is restricted into Ontario from the provinces of Manitoba and Québec except for purposes such as work, health care services, transportation and delivery of goods and services, or exercising Aboriginal or treaty rights.
  • Enhanced inspection campaign to ensure workplaces are following all safety protocols including construction sites, manufacturers, and warehouses.
  • It is not permitted to gather indoors or outdoors with anyone you do not live with, except one other person from outside of the household that lives alone or a caregiver for any member of the household. Public ceremonies (weddings, funerals, and religious services) are limited to 10 people indoors or outdoors.
  • All non-essential workplaces in the construction sector are closed.
  • Reduced capacity limits to 25% in all retail settings where in-store shopping is permitted (essential shopping only such as grocery stores and pharmacies). All other non-essential retailers can offer curbside pick-up and delivery only.

For more information, click here.

Government educating and ticketing businesses non-compliant with COVID-19 rules

On January 20, 2021, the Ontario government expanded its current workplace inspection campaign. Provincial offences officers are now visiting an expanded range of workplaces across Ontario to educate and ticket businesses that are not complying with COVID-19 health and safety requirements.

They will be visiting a variety of workplaces that are allowed to be open during the provincial shutdown including essential service-sector establishments (such as gas stations); and farming operations.

These efforts build on the province's recently announced "Stay Safe All Day" campaign, which focuses workplace inspections in areas of high transmission such as break rooms. The campaign provides resource materials to employers and workers to promote safe behaviour before, during and after work.

Corporations can be now be fined $1,000 for failing to comply with the orders under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act and the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. All individuals, including employees and patrons, can also be fined $750 for failing to comply with orders under the acts.

If a violation is more serious, a person can be charged with failing to comply with an order under the acts. If convicted, the court can impose fines as high as $100,000 for individuals, and directors and officers of a corporation can be fined up to $500,000. Both could also receive terms of imprisonment of up to one year. The maximum fine for a corporation on conviction of an offence is up to $10,000,000.

Québec

These measures apply until April 25, 2021, inclusively. The Alert levels map indicates the alert levels in different regions and the measures specific to each one.
  • Between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., Québecers are prohibited from leaving their homes or lots, except for a few exceptions.
  • Police officers can intervene when individuals are outside their homes during curfew hours.
  • Travel is not recommended between Ontario and Québec, including between Gatineau and Ottawa. Exceptions are in place for people going to work, seeking medical care, transporting goods, and exercising Indigenous treaty rights.
  • To enable individuals who are traveling during the curfew because of their work to readily demonstrate that their travel is legitimate, employers are asked to download, complete, and sign the CPA Attestation document or “Attestation de l’employeur – Déplacement durant le couvre-feu” established by the gouvernement du Québec.
  • Only essential commercial enterprises are open. Consult the list of essential commercial enterprises. Curbside delivery and pickup are possible.
  • The rules concerning private indoor and outdoor gatherings depend on the alert level in force.

For more information, click here.

 

New Brunswick

April 2021

The information below is strictly for the Yellow COVID-19 Alert Level. If you live in Lac Baker, Edmundston, Sainte-Anna-de-Madawaska, Saint-Francois-de-Madawaska, and Siegas, you must follow these guidelines (Lockdown Alert). For Grand-Sault, Grand Falls, Four Falls, Drummond, and New Denmark, you must follow these guidelines (Orange Alert). 

  • Household bubbles are expanded to include 15 contacts (Steady 15) from outside a household. 
  • Formal and informal social gatherings are permitted with restrictions.
  • All types of businesses and activities are allowed to operate under a COVID-19 operational plan. 
  • Travel between yellow zones is permitted. 
  • Necessary travel only is recommended to a zone in a different alert level. However, people can continue to travel within the province for work, school, essential errands and medical appointments. If traveling to a different alert level, follow the rules for that alert for two weeks upon returning to your zone.

For more information, click here.

Nova Scotia

April 2021

  • Households can have up to 10 visitors at their homes (indoors and outdoors).
  • Gathering limit for close social groups (indoors and outdoors) up to 10 people without social distancing.
  • Private events on private property hosted by a recognized business or organization need to follow the Private Property Event Guidelines (PDF).
  • Recognized businesses and organizations hosting events and activities can have multiple groups of up to 100 people in each group with strict conditions.
  • Everyone who travels from outside Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador into Nova Scotia must self-isolate for 14 days when they arrive in Nova Scotia, or for the duration of their stay if it’s less than 14 days. If they have already self-isolated in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador, they may enter Nova Scotia without self-isolating again. You don’t need to self-isolate if you’re exempt from self-isolation.
  • Effective April 22, Nova Scotia is closing its border to non-residents, except for essential travel.

For more information visit the Government of Nova Scotia website.

Prince Edward Island

As of 13 March 2021, the following post circuit breaker measures are in place until May 2021:

  • Each household can gather with up to ten individuals indoors or outdoors.
  • The ten individuals should be consistent.
  • Personal gatherings should be kept small with distancing maintained during gatherings as much as possible.
  • Organized gathering limit of 50 for activities including concerts, worship services, and movie theatres.
  • Organized gatherings cannot occur in personal dwellings.
  • Retail stores, markets, and craft fairs may operate provided physical distancing and other public health measures are maintained.

Some travel to PEI is paused for non-PEI residents from outside of the Atlantic provinces for the following categories until at least May 17, 2021:

  • Seasonal Residents - including family connections of seasonal residents.
  • Family Connections - family of PEI residents will still be able to enter for compassionate situations or to offer necessary family support.
  • Permanent Relocation to PEI - unless moving for work or school purposes.

This includes individuals who have already received prior approval to travel, your approval is now deferred until at least May 17.

For people looking to come after May 17, applications can be accepted and processed but approvals will not be granted until at least May 17.

For non-PEI resident workers entering PEI from outside of the Atlantic provinces, workers (PEI resident and non-resident) entering PEI to work who have traveled outside of the Atlantic Provinces in the past 14 days, PEI resident rotational workers, and truck drivers who have traveled outside of the Atlantic Provinces in the past 14 days, click here.

For more information, click here.

Newfoundland

April 2021

  • Retail stores, including those in shopping malls, can open at reduced capacity.
  • Formal gatherings run by a recognized business or organization are limited to no more than 100 people.
  • Public visitations are permitted, with one household bubble visiting at a time. Wakes are prohibited.
  • Informal gatherings are limited to only those in your Steady 20.
  • Travel restriction: You are only permitted entry into the province if your purpose of travel meets extenuating circumstances outlined by the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

For more information, click here.

TRAINERS

 

April 2021

Indoor and outdoor gathering numbers are updated on a regular basis to keep up with rapid changes. Check out Destination Canada for information on safely meeting across Canada.

Please refer to the CPA's Guide to hosting a training session during COVID-19 and Best practices recommended during COVID-19 - Measures for Reopening your Retail Operations, produced to assist you in hosting a training session during COVID-19.

Extension of training certificates

PTI and some provincial governments have extended training recertifications post expiry date. 

Authorization letter

The CPA has created a letter which could be carried by a propane worker whose PTI training certification is expired, to provide additional assurances that said employee can continue to perform his or her functions despite having an expired PTI certificate. The letter should be carried by an employee who is unable to attend a training session to recertify due to the current situation. As a reminder, the training certificate, even if expired, must be carried by the employee to support this additional letter.

PTI Letter for expired PTI certificate

 

TRAINERS - Update: Can you finally host training sessions? 

Indoor and outdoor gathering numbers are updated on a regular basis to keep up with rapid changes. Check out Destination Canada's up-to-date information on regulations for safely meeting across Canada.

Please refer to the CPA's CPA Guide to hosting a training session during COVID-19 and Best practices recommended during COVID-19 - Measures for Reopening your Retail Operations, produced to assist you in hosting a training session during COVID-19.

Extension of training certificates

As of February 5, 2021, PTI and some provincial governments will extend training recertifications post expiry date. 

Authorization letter

The CPA has created a letter which could be carried by a propane worker whose PTI training certification is expired, to provide additional assurances that said employee can continue to perform his or her functions despite having an expired PTI certificate. The letter should be carried by an employee who is unable to attend a training session to recertify due to the current situation. As a reminder, the training certificate, even expired, must be carried by the employee to support this additional letter.