Border union says Canadian airports need more nurses
Union says more nurses and quarantine officers needed in first defence efforts
Customs and immigration officers — the first line of defence against the spread of coronavirus by ill travellers — say more Health Canada nurses are required at Canada’s major airports.
They also want quarantine officers on standby at airports.
“Our officers aren’t doctors or nurses and that’s why they need guidance, they need support,” said Jean-pierre Fortin, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, which represents 11,000 workers.
“If it’s obvious — if someone is sweating or coughing or looks sick — then our officers will immediately refer that person to the nurse, but (it’s not always obvious) and we don’t have enough nurses on-site to do the job.”
Bringing in more nurses could reduce the chances of missing sick passengers, he said.
Contacted Friday, Health Canada said it would be unable to answer questions about nurses and quarantine officers at airports until next week.
COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by a coronavirus first reported in China, has spread to more than 50 countries, largely by travellers.
There have been outbreaks in Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The first suspected case in Quebec was reported Thursday — a Montreal woman who had just returned from a trip to Iran via Doha, Qatar.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the health risk associated with COVID-19 is low for Canada. However, it has urged Canadians to prepare for a possible outbreak.
“Don’t get me wrong — we’re not trying to sound alarmist,” Fortin said. “But even though we’re in a low-risk situation, we need more people on the ground.”
Fortin said under current guidelines, there are two or three Health Canada employees at each of the country’s three biggest airports — Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. One hands out pamphlets and the other one or two are nurses.
A nurse may be called over if a red flag is raised by a health screening question that has been added to electronic border kiosks.
“We’re talking about thousands of people arriving at airports,” Fortin said. “We want to see a significant increase in the number of nurses.”
No border agent has fallen ill and “we have no indication that officers are not safe right now, but if the risk increases we want to ensure appropriate measures are in place.”
The union leader said Canadian health officials are rightly concerned about keeping health-care workers safe from COVID-19.
“I just want to remind the government we are also from our perspective first responders in this situation,” Fortin said. “We want to make sure our people remain healthy and continue to provide security.”
He said Health Canada should also assign quarantine officers to be on-site at major airports. Under the current arrangement, nurses consult quarantine officers by phone, Fortin said.
Under Canada’s Quarantine Act, quarantine officers “may order the traveller to comply with treatment or any other measure for preventing the introduction and spread of (a) communicable disease.” Failure to comply can carry fees and penalties.
Considering the numbers of travellers who pass through airports, “we think it’s a reasonable demand to have one quarantine officer on site at each airport,” Fortin said. Having them there would make evaluating and quarantining more efficient, he said.
Fortin said the union has recommended border services agents wear protective masks, glasses and gloves at all times, though many only wear them when passengers arrive from certain countries.
Aéroports de Montréal, which operates Trudeau Airport, says it has installed hand-sanitizer distributors in the border services and arrivals zones. It’s also disinfecting public areas more often.
Air Canada says that on its planes, “coronaviruses are easily eliminated by routine surface cleaning and sanitization. Air Canada uses cleaning products, including hospital-grade disinfectants which have a wide-spectrum microbial activity and are proven effective against human coronavirus.”
This week, a union representing 8,000 Air Canada flight attendants reminded members that “it is every employee’s individual right to refuse work if they believe (they or) their workplaces or someone else is in danger.
“Danger means any hazard, condition or activity that could reasonably be expected to be an imminent OR serious threat to the life or health of a person exposed to it,” said the bulletin, posted by the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The city of Montreal and the Société de transport de Montréal, both of which manage public areas and have employees who deal with the public, said they are not taking any special precautions.
“No extraordinary measures are being taken by the city,” said Youssef Amane, a spokesperson for Mayor Valérie Plante. “We follow the public health department’s lead.”
At the STM, spokesperson Amélie Régis said the transit agency’s emergency-measures unit is on standby and is in constant contact with public health officials.
The STM is also reminding employees “to take normal hygiene precautions” — wash hands regularly and use and then dispose of tissues when coughing or sneezing, for example.
“We haven’t heard any concerns (about COVID -19) from our members,” said Ronald Boisrond, a spokesperson for the STM drivers’ union.