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As support staff in Quebec’s elder-care facilities are falling ill to the coronavirus, the health minister signed a decree Friday that would allow the government to redeploy school board employees to the health-care sector.

The Public Health Act enables the government to declare a state of emergency in public sanitation, allowing them to circumvent contracts that prevent teachers and faculty from working in health care. In an email sent to staff at the Lester B. Pearson School Board, Health Minister Danielle McCann’s office said this would only happen “should there be a need.”

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McCann confirmed Saturday — as Les centres d’hébergement de soins de longue durée (CHSLD) staffing levels dwindle — the province may turn to the educational sector for help.

Sources inside the government say this mostly means nursing teachers and people with relevant training, but the government now has the legal authority to extend that order to any employee of “school boards and CEGEPS.”