By Canadian Press

Carve-outs to mandatory hotel quarantine announced for temporary foreign workers

Mar 16, 2021 | 3:02 PM

OTTAWA — Temporary foreign workers will continue to be exempt from mandatory hotel quarantines if they are asymptomatic upon arrival in Canada and have private transport to their work sites.

But those who don’t will now have to spend three days in hotels awaiting the results of COVID-19 tests. 

The new rules are among several adjustments the federal government announced today to the management of the temporary-worker program for the start of this year’s growing season. 

Temporary foreign workers had initially been exempt when mandatory hotel quarantines for incoming travellers went into effect last month.

That will now change as of March 21, when only those workers who don’t have private transportation to their places of work will have to wait in hotels. But the government says it intends to ensure neither the workers nor their employers are on the hook for the hotel bills. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2021.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press