COVID-19: Contracts & Force Majeure

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COVID-19 Support Resources

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COVID-19 Info: Project Suspension Impact Checklist

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March 24, 2020

Whether or not you’re already considering a project suspension, the situation is rapidly evolving. Circumstances may or may not change in the coming days and weeks, so make sure your job site is secure and your work plan is readily adaptable.

With that in mind, the ‘Project Suspension Impact Checklist’ has been designed to provide Industry with an accessible resource that helps tackle the range of issues that current and developing circumstances may present.

Click here to access the COVID-19 Project Suspension Impact Checklist.

COVID-19 Info: Message to Members from CANS CEO & President

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March 18, 2020

Good afternoon CANS members,

To provide information to you and share your concerns with government, CANS will do our very best to provide up-to-date information on the current COVID-19 virus as frequently as necessary through our digital channels.

To that end, we are sharing a survey conducted by the CFIB, which you can access by clicking here.

CANS Participation in Working Group – 

CANS is also participating in a joint working group with other industry associations, labour leaders and government officials. This group is meeting via conference call every second day for the foreseeable future to share information, gather intelligence and inform policy wherever possible. As your voice to government, I want to hear your ideas, concerns, etc. As such, I encourage you to call, email or text me with issues, questions or possible solutions that you would like taken forward to our government partners.

CANS Staff Working Remotely Throughout Closure – 

While our physical office will remain closed at least until Monday, our team is remotely connected and able to provide most services through our digital platforms. We are doing our very best to stay on top of this rapidly evolving situation and communicate effectively with you. Our newsletter, website and social media have several articles, etc. that you may find useful as we navigate this pandemic.

Some of the important issues we are communicating to the government on your behalf:
  • Immediate access to EI as a result of temporary layoffs
  • Exploration of tax relief and access to low-cost cash
  • Moving bonding to a digital platform to make responses to tenders quicker
  • Temporary removal of infection control training requirements in tender responses. (while this sounds counter-intuitive, our partner CSA has suspended all offerings of the course for the foreseeable future). As soon as this course is available again, we will ask that the requirement be reinstated.
  • Tenders should be issued earlier and/or extended to allow greater response times with potentially diminished staffing.

Finally, here is a link to a very useful Harvard Business Review article, Lead Your Business Through the Coronavirus Crisis.

Again, please feel free to communicate additional items that are important to you as a member, particularly those related to COVID-19.

Duncan P. Williams
President & CEO
Construction Association of Nova Scotia

COVID-19 Info: NS Government Announces Additional Measures to Mitigate Spread of COVID-19

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March 18, 2020

March 18, 2020 — 6:00 PM 

Premier Stephen McNeil, chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang, and Health and Wellness Minister Randy Delorey provided an update earlier today, March 18. A recording of the news conference is available on the NS Gov Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/nsgov.

Details of additional measures announced to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 and increase capacity within the health system to respond are outlined below:

Effective immediately:
  • doctors and pharmacists have new options for virtual care, using telephone and secure videoconferencing
  • pharmacists can renew prescriptions for most medications and government will cover the assessment fee
  • employers cannot require a doctor’s note if an employee must be off work
  • College of Physicians and Surgeons waiving the fee for retired doctors to renew their licences so they can come back to work
  • retired and other nurses are being brought into the system to assist with 811 staffing
  • all service providers funded through the Department of Community Services’ Disability Support Program – including social enterprises, day programs, and supported employment programs for adults with diverse abilities – will close to participants and the public
Effective midnight, Thursday, March 19:
  • personal service and fitness establishments such as hair salons, barbershops, spas, nail salons, body art establishments and gyms must shut down

The full news release is available at: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200318004 and in French at: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200318005.

NSHA and IWK have further restricted visitors and instituted other measures like online mental health supports and more assessment centres. More information is available at the links below:

A number of new resources have been developed for businesses and individuals, including:

These materials are also available in French: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/fr/

As announced earlier today, Nova Scotia has 12 cases of COVID-19, including nine presumptive and three confirmed cases. The news release is available at: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200318001 and in French at https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200318002.

We encourage you to share this information with your staff, board members and stakeholders. We also ask for your support on social media by sharing accurate information from the Department of Health and Wellness and Nova Scotia Government social media channels.

Follow them @nsheath and @nsgov on Twitter and https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaHealthAndWellness/and https://www.facebook.com/nsgov/ on Facebook.

Thank you for your interest and support.