COVID Safety at Seafood Processing Plant

Following news of food processing plant workers across the country contracting COVID-19, several Chéticamp residents expressed their concern about the possibility of an outbreak at the local plant. Not only were they worried about workers, but that it would also spread through the community. They advocated for the fisheries to close so the seafood processing plant wouldn’t need to open this year. But despite their efforts, both the crab and lobster fishing seasons have opened, and the plant is functioning with about 120 employees. Now residents are left wondering if the plant is keeping everyone safe.

Valerie LeBlanc, a local business owner who has been outspoken about the community’s concerns, said that there haven’t been any efforts to appease people’s worries. “The plant right now … is really off-limits to everybody in the community if you’re not involved with the fisheries,” LeBlanc said. “[There is] lot of malaise going on in the community because people are wondering, you know, are we safe, are we not?"

In a phone call with CHNE, plant manager Pierre LeBlanc said that workers get their temperature measured every morning, that plexiglass has been installed between stations, that the plant is cleaned throughout the day and that another lunchroom and another washroom were built for people to spread out. CHNE also reached out to several workers but couldn’t get through. 

The provincial Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Keith Colwell said he’s confident that plant owners are following provincial health measures. “My understanding talking to the industry,” he said, “they’ve strung a little bit to start but now they’re really getting to a great situation. And the last thing any of our fish plants want to have happened is if someone came down with the virus, it could spread to anyone else in the facility and at the end, have to shut the facility down.” The Department of Public Health, which was involved in this file, has also expressed confidence in the industry’s ability to comply with safety measures.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Robert Strang said the fishing sector operates like any other business, so it must follow the rules issued by the department of Labour and Advanced Education. “Certainly there have been lots of conversations with my colleagues in the Occupational Health and Safety Division,” he said, “and they’re well aware of the specific requirements for COVID-19 that have always been in place for businesses that have been able to remain open. …  If there are specific concerns about that plant, and if people are concerned about specific circumstances, they can bring those forward to the Occupational Health and Safety Division whose job is to monitor that.”

In a statement, the department of Labour and Advanced Education said it’s “planning to visit seafood processing facilities in the near future.”