Ronald McDonald House rejects claims it's evicting families after implementing new vaccine mandate
The Ronald McDonald House is pushing back against claims suggesting it's evicting families after implementing new vaccination requirements.
Earlier this week, families staying at the 73-bedroom Vancouver facility, which provides them with a place to live while their children receive treatment at BC Children’s Hospital, were sent a letter outlining the new policy.
The letter stated that anyone over the age of five who is either living at or visiting the home must have received at least one dose of a vaccine by month’s end.
"The purpose of the the vaccination policy is to ensure that we can provide the safest possible environment for those children who are here with compromised immune systems," Ronald McDonald House spokesperson Shannon Kidd said in an interview with CTV News Vancouver.
However, the policy didn’t go over too well with one Kelowna man.
Unvaccinated resident Austin Furgason, whose four-year-old son is undergoing treatment for Leukemia, posted a video of himself confronting a staff member at the house on Facebook.
“This is some kind of crazy evil,” Furgason can be heard saying in the video.
Furgason went on to write a lengthy post claiming they were being evicted. His posts went viral after being picked up by several American media outlets.
“I think it’s important to set the record straight that we will not be evicting families based on their vaccination status,” said Kidd. “If there are families who choose not to comply with the new policy, we would be working with our local external team to provide alternate accommodations for them."
Another father of a child undergoing cancer treatment told CTV News the new policy caught him and his wife off guard.
"It was a little shocking, for sure,” Brian Blakely said.
His five-year-old son Andrew has since been given a doctor’s exemption, which will allow him to stay at RMH until he enters remission.
Blakely and his wife are both vaccinated, but the new mandate will force him to stay in the Okanagan with his eight-year-old daughter, who is currently unvaccinated.
He says he thinks RMH could have found a better way to notify families of the new rules, but remains grateful for all they offer.
"Everybody needs to just calm down and remember who this is all about,” Blakely said. “It's about the kids."
Kidd says RMH acknowledges their approach could have been better.
“We definitely heard the feedback about how the communication was handled, and will be taking that into account going forward,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.