Council approves vaccine policy for city workers
Windsor City Council has unanimously approved a mandatory workplace COVID-19 Vaccine policy for its workers and it will go into effect later this year.
“Employers do have a responsibility and you see our federal government taking steps, you see our provincial governments across the country taking steps like this,” says Windsor mayor, Drew Dilkens.
Other municipalities across the province, including Toronto, Hamilton, York, Sudbury, and the County of Essex are enacting similar policies.
“In our country, Canada has formally given approval today to the vaccines Moderna and Pfizer,” says Dilkens.
Administration developed a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to provide safe and healthy workplaces in Windsor as part of the ongoing effort to protect the community from COVID-19.
It will require city employees provide documentation proving that they are fully vaccinated or that they have applied for and received a valid accommodation under human rights legislation by Nov. 15 or they will be placed on unpaid leave.
This may create a need across departments to find temporary employees to maintain service levels.
“I think we have to take every step possible to make sure that we mitigate in any way, business impacts, education impacts,” says Councillor Jo-Anne Gignac.
Contractors and volunteers will also need to be fully vaccinated to access city facilities
The city says information regarding employees' vaccination status will be kept confidential.
“We have an idea of how many are already vaccinated percentage wise it’s upwards of 80 per cent, a little more than 80 per cent, so we think we’re in a good position,” Dilkens tells CTV News.
“Nobody wants to do this, but this is something I believe we have to do and this is literally where we’re at right now 18 months into this crisis,” added ward 1 councillor Fred Francis.
Unions representing both inside and outside workers feel the policy leaves out an important issue.
“When this was first rolled out to us... it did have testing in it. We were all on board with that. We had a great conversation with HR,” says Rob Kolody, president CUPE Local 82.
“I think that would kill a lot of that issue of that divide and segregation starting,” says Kris Matton, president, Windsor Professional Fire Fighters Association.
Administration will also be implementing activities and training related to vaccine promotion and education for employees, to help inform those who might be vaccine hesitant, in advance of the deadlines.
Dilkens says the policy will now be forwarded to all affiliated agencies.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
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 that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.