Vaccination Disclosure & Team Safety - Contractor Q&A (Canada) - EPCOR
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Contractor Q&A (Canada)
Vaccination Disclosure & Team Safety
COVID-19 RESPONSE October 18, 2021
The following covers questions and answers regarding EPCOR’s vaccination disclosure
process described in MS20-PRO4.1 COVID19 Vaccination Disclosure and
Safety Protocols for Contractors as well as subsequent procedures contractors and
subcontractors must follow over the coming weeks/months.
1. Why is EPCOR requesting disclosure of vaccination status?
The pandemic has taken a sharp turn across the country, with cases rising and
hospitalizations and ICU visits significantly increasing, in some cases to record
numbers. As a result, there is a burdening toll on our health care system.
This is why provincial governments have put stronger measures in place, such as
vaccination passport programs, and why many organizations across all sectors are
now requiring employees to, at a minimum, disclose vaccination status.
Employers are obligated to identify workplace hazards that impact their teams, such as
COVID-19 transmission, and to take steps in eliminating those hazards. Requesting
employees and contractors to confirm their vaccination status or submit to regular
COVID-19 testing is part of fulfilling our obligation to keep the workplace safe.
As an essential services provider, it is in the best interest of our teams and the
communities we serve to understand the levels of protection across our workforce and
sites, as this will help inform our plans and procedures to keep you and others safe.
EPCOR recognizes that vaccination status is personal information and will only collect
and use what is necessary to assist in our risk assessment and making decisions to
protect workplace and public health and safety.
2. How will the information be disclosed? Will I need to show proof
of vaccination?
The Contractor companies are able to implement their own processes on disclosure of
vaccination status. EPCOR does not require Contractors to pre-emptively submit evidence of
vaccination status of the contractors or other conformance with this procedure.
Business Units and Contractor Owners Representatives will determine suitable ways to ensure
and verify Contractors are conformant with this procedure. Examples may include, but are not
limited to:
upon access to site
planned or unannounced audits, remote or on-site
pre-mobilization and progress meetings
1 during site inspections
visual or verbal confirmation with individuals
3. What happens if a Contractor chooses not to disclose?
This process is essential to understanding the levels of protection across our
workforce and sites, and is mandatory for all contractors to complete.
Failure to disclose or providing false or misleading information, may result in
removal up to and including permanent removal from EPCOR work sites.
4. Will EPCOR employees and EPCOR contractors be held to the same
standard?
Yes. EPCOR employees and contractors have received notice of our new
procedures and health measures, and EPCOR contractors are expected to have
protocols in place that are either equal to, or exceed, what EPCOR has in place.
5. If I have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past, I have antibodies – isn’t
that the same as being vaccinated?
A past positive result is not considered proven protection from other variants of
COVID. With this in mind, advice from public health agencies is that all individuals
who can be vaccinated should pursue it to maximize their protection.
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6. Why has November 15 been selected as the start date for testing?
This timeframe provides ample notice in case workers are considering vaccination
before our testing requirements are introduced.
7. Who will be informed of the vaccination status of a Contractor?
The contractor company will know the status of vaccination, EPCOR will verify
conformance with the procedure, at different instances (see question 2), and thus
Contractors must be able to provide evidence of their vaccination status upon request.
EPCOR will not retain vaccination status records.
8. Will I be required to carry proof of vaccination for any reason?
Starting October 15th, contractors must be able to provide proof of their fully-
vaccinated status when attending an EPCOR location or worksite. Contractors unable
to present such proof are deemed under-vaccinated (i.e., partially vaccinated or
unvaccinated).
2 If you are vaccinated, you can easily access and print your proof of vaccination card or
QR Code.
o In Alberta, visit: albertavaccinerecord.ca
o In Ontario, visit: covid19.ontariohealth.ca
o In British Columbia, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/response
o In Saskatchewan, visit: esaskhealth.ca
9. What does it mean to be fully vaccinated?
According to Health Canada, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after
their second dose in a two-dose series (same or mixed vaccine doses) of the Pfizer-
BioNTech, Moderna COVID- 19, or AstraZeneca vaccine, or two weeks after the
single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
10. If I am unable to get vaccinated due to a unique circumstance, such as
religious beliefs, or medical health condition, am I able to get an
accommodation?
EPCOR acknowledges and respects that individual employers may have to review and
approve various accommodation requests but is not able to advise contractors on how
to evaluate individual cases.
If someone has a validated reason that prevents them from getting vaccinated that is
protected under Human Rights Legislation or a medical exemption, the Contractors
must still adhere to the incremental safety controls in place (i.e., additional masking
starting October 15th and negative tests as of November 15th).
11. Is there a requirement for fully-vaccinated individuals to continue wearing
masks?
Fully vaccinated contractors and visitors will continue following the regular safety and
health controls currently in place, including:
o Face covering and physical distancing, when working indoors
o Face covering or physical distancing, when working outdoors
Under-vaccinated contractors and visitors will:
o maintain face covering at all times, indoors and outdoors, at EPCOR locations
and worksites where EPCOR employees are present or could reasonably be
expected to attend at any time; and
o follow any other incremental controls specific to the EPCOR site or Business
Unit
12. Does this standard apply to visitors at EPCOR sites?
Yes. Visitors to EPCOR sites will need to show proof of full vaccination. If they are
not fully vaccinated or do not disclose their status, visitors will be subject to additional
health measures while on-site, including wearing a face covering or mask at all
3times, and adhering to any site- or BU-specific safety protocols.
These are the measures in place prior to November 15th. Any further measures as
of that time for visitors are under review.
13. What requirements must incidental service providers, such as delivery
drivers, follow?
Incidental service providers must adhere to the same requirements as visitors.
14. Where can I find more information on the safety and efficacy of
vaccinations, or to book a vaccination?
The Government of Canada’s website provides information on the health benefits
and efficacy of vaccination, as do many provincial websites and health authorities.
For information how/where to book immunization, employees can visit their
respective provincial government websites that include guidance on locations and
booking appointments.
15. Does this Standard apply to all EPCOR business including EPCOR USA
operations?
Only applicable to Canadian EPCOR sites/operations.
16. What is considered a “Qualified Third Party” when it comes to conducting
COVID-19 tests?
It means those private organizations and individuals approved by Health Canada
and/or Provincial Health Authorities to conduct either Rapid Antigen Tests or PCRs;
tests conducted by public health agencies are not acceptable solutions (this is to avoid
unnecessary burden on, or misuse of, the public health resources). Examples of
organizations/individuals include some pharmacies, medical services providers, etc.
Lists are provided by the different provincial governments, such as Government of
Alberta - Testing.
Contractors are free to use any company that can address their needs, EPCOR does
not endorse or recommend any organization or company.
417. Would this apply to sites where our personnel will be working in isolation?
For example, a biologist changing out wildlife camera batteries.
If an EPCOR employee is not reasonably expected to attend that location at any time,
then the face covering requirement does not apply.
18. Will ECHO (EPCOR COVID-19 Health Outlook) be used to collect
vaccination status? Will there be a QR Code sent out for the ECHO App or will
there be questions added?
ECHO (EPCOR COVID-19 Health Outlook) will not be used for collecting vaccination
status.
ECHO remains in place as health screening tool only; questions will be amended from
time to time to reflect the most updated Public Health and contact tracing
requirements.
19. Do Contractors still need to fill out ECHO prior to accessing an EPCOR
site?
Contractors are required to follow EPCOR’s protocol ECHO (EPCOR COVID-19 Health
Outlook) or have their own health screening protocols which meet or exceed EPCOR
requirements, since October 2020. A health screening must be conducted prior to
accessing any EPCOR worksite.
20. If a Contractor company is able to get approval from public health
authorities (e.g., Alberta Health Services) to conduct their own COVID19
testing program, including required training and personnel, will EPCOR
accept the testing results?
EPCOR will accept tests conducted by third-parties approved by federal and/or provincial
public health agencies; if a Contractor company is able to obtain such approvals to conduct
their own testing processes, this will be acceptable by EPCOR.
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