Information

June 19, 2003

Government of Canada actions related to SARS

The Government of Canada has been actively supporting the work of the provincial and municipal governments in their fight against SARS since the outbreak began.

To control infection, we have:

• provided detailed clinical guidelines for infection control and recommendations on actions for public health settings;
• lent health care professionals and equipment to Toronto's public health authorities;
• through our National Microbiology Laboratory, been in the forefront of research into the cause of SARS, and the search for an effective test and the future development of a vaccine;
• been cooperating closely with the WHO, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other organizations to share information to control the spread of SARS;
• been working in close partnership with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including a staff exchange;
• located 1.5 million surgical masks to allow the Province of Ontario to increase its supply of this important infection control device;
• sent two mobile x-ray machines and processors to Toronto;
• directed blood operators to temporarily defer blood donations from people who have had possible exposure to SARS;
• accepted the provinces' request to coordinate a strategy to find temporary replacements for front line health care workers;
• organized an international conference on April 30 and May 1 with experts from around the world to further develop the SARS national public health strategy;
  named the members of a National Advisory Group on SARS and Public Health, to be led by Dr. David Naylor, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto, to provide ongoing advice and draw lessons learned;
• led an investigation into SARS spread to health care workers, with the assistance of experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose interim report was released on May 15;
• committed $500,000 for SARS research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research;
• on May 20, attended the WHO ministerial meeting on SARS in Geneva;
• on June 4, contributed more than $250,000 to assist China in its fight against SARS;
• at the request of the WHO, sent a team of officials to Hong Kong to help investigate the possible environmental transmission of SARS. The Canadian team made a presentation on behalf of the WHO at a press conference in Hong Kong about the investigation.

At our airports and on the borders, we have:

• stationed quarantine officers and health care professionals to screen passengers at Pearson and other airports;
• arranged for the distribution on all direct flights coming from Asia of Health Alert Notices and Traveller Contact Information Forms. Distribution of Health Alert Notices on all international flights into Vancouver and Toronto is now being phased-in;
• been distributing, with the help of airlines, health questionnaires to all international passengers departing from Pearson airport;
• produced a video on SARS designed to alert travelers to the first symptoms of SARS and to provide them with information on what they should do if they become unwell during the flight or upon arrival and what to expect when they arrive in Canada. The videos are being delivered to airlines flying out of Asia into Toronto and Vancouver;
• set up a pilot project of twelve machines at Pearson and Vancouver airports to evaluate temperature monitoring equipment to determine its effectiveness in the early identification of SARS;
• are arranging to distribute yellow Health alert notices to people entering Canada at selected land border crossings; and
• placed advertisements in national daily newspapers to hire people to help with the implementation of enhanced screening measures at airports.

On other fronts, we have taken the following action.

For individuals:

• waived the two-week waiting period for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits so that those in imposed quarantine can receive their benefits without delay. As of the week ending May 30, we have in process 362 SARS sickness benefits claims: 295 in Ontario, 48 in BC, 11 in Alberta, 3 each in Quebec and PEI, and 2 in New Brunswick;
• set up a special toll-free relief line for SARS (1-800 263-8364, option 3);
• introduced special coverage for health care workers, including part-time and self-employed, not eligible for EI and unable to work because of SARS. Full-time workers can receive $400/week; part-time workers, $200/week. As of May 30, 110 applications had been received;
• through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), provided flexible arrangements - such as special payment schedules or temporary deferral of payments - to help people facing difficulties meeting mortgage payments because of SARS;
• through the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), offered special measures under the "fairness" provisions of the Income Tax Act, such as extended due dates, flexible payment schedules and waived penalties or interest - to help individuals and businesses experiencing difficulties in fulfilling their tax obligations because of SARS;

For businesses:

• launched a major advertising campaign in daily, weeky, and ethnic newspapers to provide information to employers and employees on the work-sharing program to avoid lay-offs, and on other programs and services;
• eased rules for the Work-Sharing Program to accommodate businesses affected by SARS, such as requirements for recovery plans, duration of the agreement, ability to recall recently laid-off workers, scheduling of hours, and ability to consider foreign workers in certain cases. Since April, 21 SARS-specific agreements have been received, involving 338 participants. Another 73 applications, with 740 participants, relate to tourism/film projects affected by SARS;
• through the Business Development Bank, extended special measures to existing clients across Canada affected by SARS allowing them to postpone capital payments on loans for four months, free of charge, and to obtain a working capital loan of up to $50,000; and
• participated in the Greater Toronto Area-Chinese SARS Economic Summit on April 28, where the three levels of government met with representatives of the Asian business community to discuss possibilities for addressing the impact of SARS on the local economy.

For tourism and the economy:

• issued, through the Treasury Board Secretariat, a notice to staff and news release that the Government of Canada considers it to be business as usual for travel to and from Toronto;
• held an unprecedented meeting of the Cabinet in downtown Toronto on April 29;
• been working, through our missions abroad, to assist Canadians in SARS-affected areas, to monitor and report on the situation in these areas, and to ensure that foreign governments, businesspeople, travellers and media have accurate information about the SARS situation so that they understand it is safe to visit Toronto and Canada and Canadian visitors do not automatically pose a SARS risk;
• had one of our public health experts participate, by teleconference, at a US Senate hearing on SARS, along with public health experts from Ontario and the CDC;
• committed $1.45 million to support the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council, which is dealing with challenges facing the tourism sector;
• arranged to host a special SARS briefing session in New York on Monday May 5 at the Canada Media Marketplace. As well, more than 230 members of the U.S. media were presented with the most current information on Canada's tourism industry, attractions, events, cities and regions;
• arranged for federal, provincial and territorial tourism ministers to meet in Toronto, May 9 and 10, to develop plans to aggressively promote Canada as a destination of choice for business and leisure travelers;
• visited Washington, D.C., on May 20, to meet with U.S. business travel industry representatives directly responsible for conventions valued at more than $150 million, as well as association executives and meeting planners. At the meeting, the American Psychological Association affirmed plans to hold their convention in Toronto this August, drawing an expected 12,000 delegates to Canada;
• committed federal participation in a number of events in the Toronto area, such as the Book Expo, the American and Canadian Library Associations meeting, the Canadian National Exhibition, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, as well as $54,000 in support to the Dragon Boat Festival, taking place on June 21 and 22, which suffered a decline in registrations, especially from the U.S., as a result of SARS;
• committed $20 million to promoting Canada as a business and leisure travel destination, and advancing the recovery of our tourism industry. As part of this initiative, we launched a tourism promotion advertising campaign on May 26 (to continue until the end of June), in seven U.S. cities (Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston);
• on May 24, met with provincial and territorial ministers responsible for tourism, to strike a new ministerial taskforce to develop and implement a national tourism strategy and work to raise the profile of Canada's $51.7 billion tourism industry at home and abroad;
• on May 28, hosted publishers and executives from top U.S. periodicals to deliver the message that Toronto and Canada are open for business;
• arranged a visit to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto by respected journalists from Greece, Spain and Portugal, to take place from June 7 to 14. During the visit, they will interview leading federal and Ontario physicians who are dealing with the SARS outbreak;
• will launch a tourism promotion advertising campaign the week of June 9 in the United Kingdom and France;
• announced a federal/provincial/territorial Healthy Living Symposium to be held in Toronto on June 16 and 17;
• on June 5, announced a $17.5 million to stimulate tourism and hospitality industries, through: $10 million to the Toronto03 Alliance, a not-for-profit organization, for tourism promotion in the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario Tourism Corridor; $7.5 million to the Canadian Tourism Commission for a domestic campaign to encourage Canadians to visit Canada; and
• On June 10, hosted, in Toronto, CEOs and senior executives representing US tour operators and wholesalers, travel agency consortia and travel industry associations to reinforce the message that Canada is an ideal destination for business and travel for themselves and their clients, and that Toronto and Canada continue to be safe and ready to embrace visitors and offer them the most fulfilling experiences.

For further information on Canadian action on SARS:

Government of Canada Sites

Other Organizations