Vancouver councillors support vaccine mandate for city staff even as new rules don't apply to elected officials
Multiple Vancouver councillors are showing support for the city’s new vaccine rules for staff, even as elected officials don't fall under the mandate.
The city announced Monday that all of its employees would need to be fully inoculated by Dec. 6.
However, the mandate does not affect elected city councillors and park board commissioners due to ”different legal considerations in respect of such officials,” said a representative for the city in a statement.
Coun. Pete Fry says he supports the mandate, saying it’s important given that data shows the virus is being spread mainly by unvaccinated people.
Fry was unaware he and his counterparts on council were exempt from the mandate, but added that he is already fully vaccinated.
“As far as I know, all of us are vaccinated. I'm double vaccinated and got vaccinated quite a while ago,” said Fry.
He says it’s an issue he believes the entire council takes very seriously.
“I haven't actually heard anybody on council or the mayor reflecting any kind of anti-vax sentiment,” Fry said.
Later in the day, a statement from the City of Vancouver announced it had confirmed Fry's belief: while not required to be, all councillors are already fully vaccinated.
Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung is also supportive of the policy.
“(I'm) personally proudly double vaxxed and ready to take any booster whenever it may be made available by the (provincial health officer),” wrote Kirby-Yung in an email to CTV News.
She was aware elected officials were exempt.
“I am not surprised by that as legally council are not employees, members have different status as elected representatives. Management can only set HR policies that relate to staff. The governance is very clear,” she wrote.
Kirby-Yung would like to see the city take even further action.
“I’ve been fully supportive of public health measures early on throughout the pandemic including a mask mandate in civic facilities which the majority of council voted down.”
The city says employees who do not comply with the new vaccine mandate will not be permitted in the workplace.
It has yet to specify whether they would be fired, or placed on administrative leave either with or without pay.
“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 a representative for the city in a statement.
It’s a move Fry is open to.
“That's certainly something that I think this council would probably support,” he said.
The city will accommodate employees who require an exemption from the policy for medical reasons or other grounds protected under the BC Human Rights Code.
“We have a lot of frontline staff. We have a lot of staff that are working with vulnerable populations. So we do recognize this as an important imperative. But we also recognize that there are personal liberties and freedoms and medical issues that are going to play into this,” said Fry.
The full details of the policy are still being finalized.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.