Vancouver announces vaccine mandate for city staff
People employed by the City of Vancouver will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 6.
The vaccine mandate by the publicly-funded body comes as B.C. endures a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and as many other large employers, such as ski resorts, the provincial public service and BC Hydro, have done the same.
“This new policy is a further step toward limiting the impacts of the virus on our community and aligns with the recommendation from the provincial health officer for large employers to implement vaccine mandates,” reads a statement released Monday by the city.
A representative for the city said the policy will affect about 8,000 workers, but won't be applied to library staff or police.
The mandate does not affect elected city councillors and park board commissioners, but it does affect park board staff and firefighters.
Employees of the Vancouver Public Library and the Vancouver Police Department are “separate entities” whose boards must first approve the policy separately from the city, according to the city.
The city says employees who do not comply with the new mandate will not be permitted in the workplace. It did not specify whether they would be fired, or placed on administrative leave either with or without pay.
Elected officials are not affected by the policy because there are ”different legal considerations in respect of such officials,” said a representative for the city in a statement.
“If City Councillors, or Park Board Commissioners, wished to impose such a policy upon themselves, the City believes that it is better for them to approve and adopt their own policy,” said the representative.
“Throughout the pandemic, the City has focused on the health and safety of its staff, local residents and businesses,” said city manager Paul Mochrie in a statement.
“We continue to follow direction from public health in our workplaces, and this mandatory vaccination policy will help provide a further level of protection against this virus for City staff and the public we serve.”
The city also says that employees who require an exemption from the policy on the basis of a protected legal ground, such as for medical or other grounds protected under the BC Human Rights Code.
“Public health has consistently reported that a higher percentage of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated. Vaccines provide a high level of protection against COVID-19 and related variants,” the statement continues.
In a separately released statement, Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he supports the mandate and lauds the leadership of the city’s managing staff.
“Having all City staff fully vaccinated by Dec. 6 is another step towards building on our success as a community and making sure we put the health of our workers and the public first,” Stewart said.
“My thanks to city manager Paul Mochrie, our city’s leadership team, union leadership, and every single employee at the City of Vancouver for demonstrating leadership in the fight against COVID-19.”
Correction
Oct. 18: A previous version of this story said that 12,000 city employees would be affected by the vaccine mandate - a figure provided by the City of Vancouver. Later the city corrected that number for 8,000. The story has been updated to reflect the change.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.