Order in Council 810-2020 bans operators of a place accessible to the public from admitting or tolerating the presence of a person who is not wearing a mask as of July 18, 2020. This requirement does not apply to a person working or practising his or her profession in that location (subject to compliance with occupational health and safety rules).

Despite the foregoing, anyone entering or located in the common areas of a building other than a residential building (including a person who works or practises his or her profession there) must wear a mask. This includes entrance halls, reception areas and elevators.

In the case of workers, once the worker is in his or her workplace (i.e. the office space exclusively occupied by his or her employer), the employer will have to apply the CNESST and INSPQ guidelines instead. To this effect, please find below a summary of the recommendations related to wearing masks:

  • Commission des normes, de l’équité et de la santé et sécurité du travail (CNESST) : Procedure mask and eye protection in the absence of physical distancing of two metres and physical barriers (i.e., plexiglass). It is also possible to wear a visor alone as a last resort when there is a risk to a worker’s safety.
  • Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) : Quality procedure mask and eye protection when it is impossible to maintain a minimum distance of two metres with anyone for more than 15 minutes in the same shift, or, alternatively, the installation of a physical barrier. That being said, when work is not performed near the public and when all workers within two metres of one another are wearing a quality procedure mask, wearing eye protection is not mandatory (unless eye protection is normally required for another reason).

Please note that these requirements may vary depending on the nature of your business and activities. For further information, please contact a member of Gowling WLG's Employment, Labour and Equalities team.