'This about maintaining a safe workplace,' Barrie mayor supports disciplinary action for unvaccinated staff
One day after the City of Barrie announced its staff must be vaccinated by Sept. 20, its mayor says it is following the example set by many large Canadian employers doing their part in the fight against COVID-19.
"Fundamentally, this is about public health, this about maintaining a safe workplace and continuing to prevent COVID-19 cases in any city facilities as best as we can," says Jeff Lehman.
The mayor says they waited to announce the new policy for city employees to give people an opportunity to get vaccinated during the summer as the province rolled out doses.
City employees identified as high-risk because of their position must be fully vaccinated or face disciplinary action.
In an email to CTV News, the City of Barrie stated, "We will have full compliance from our staff with this policy as we do with all our corporate policies. Right now, the focus is on education and getting the workforce vaccinated. However, employees who chose not to comply with this may be subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal."
The mayor says employees who are unwilling or unable to get vaccinated will undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
"For a medical reason or other reasons an individual is not vaccinated, at their expense, they will be able to do rapid testing, and that will be required two days a week," Lehman explains.
Rapid COVID-19 tests can cost around $40 at pharmacies in Barrie.
Employers are legally obligated to ensure a safe workplace, so Lehman says there's no concern about possible legal action. "Those legal opinions are supporting the employers doing exactly what we're doing."
The mayor adds that he, and his neighbouring municipal leaders, are concerned about the Delta variant and transmission, which is fueling the push to get residents vaccinated.
"This is why the vaccinations are so important. You just have to look at the numbers daily, whether it's locally, provincial, or nationally. The people who are becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 are almost all unvaccinated," he concludes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.