An outbreak of COVID-19 in the small Alberta city of Brooks has sparked a community-led petition urging the temporary shutdown of the JBS meatpacking plant.
Dozens of workers at that facility are among hundreds of people in Brooks that have tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the past couple of weeks.
In just four days, the online petition had garnered over 2,200 signatures by Monday afternoon. “Our petition calls for support of the union of a temporary two-week closure just to get things in line, or at the very least get a non-partisan external inspection, because ultimately, it’s about workers’ safety, but not just workers’ safety, it’s about the community,” said Ryan Lok, the petition’s co-creator.