Mandating Back-to-Work Vaccinations

"There is definitely going to be tension."

"COVID is throwing so [many] curveballs for us in terms of what the workplace is going to look like in the future, and this is just one of those curveballs."

"What vaccine mandates will do is allow people who are hesitant to use that as a reason to get vaccinated ... and they can blame whoever they want. For the minority that doesn't want to, I don't think anything is going to move them."

David Zweig, organizational behaviour professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

"If they don't upload it [vaccination status to an internal portal], they're not welcome in the office, and if they don't show up in the office it's a condition of work, so they don't have a job."

"We're not doing this in-between thing, where people can get tested every day., The only way you're not vaccinated is because  you can't for religious reasons or health reasons."

"[It's also] common sense and the only way out of this mess."

Perry Dellelce, managing partner, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP

"Employees with a medical reason for being unvaccinated, or for reasons protected by human rights legislation must be offered a formal accommodation under the law."

"In addition, if there are workers who are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated, the government must temporarily reassign those employees to other duties where possible or allow for alternate work arrangements such as remote work."

Public Service Alliance of Canada

The Canadian government is requiring federal government staff to be vaccinated. Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail

Over 82 percent of Canadians eligible for vaccinations have received one dose of vaccine at least, and 75 percent have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Among those people who have decided not to become inoculated against the virus a vocal number haven't been quiet about the official push for vaccinations closing in on them. Essentially they perceive, and with good reason, that they are being held responsible for fueling the new wave of the Delta variant, since the unvaccinated represent the greatest number by far of new cases.

A situation that has persuaded these groups to gather together to mount protests against strictures imposed upon them by health authorities and arms of government at every level. Citing their human rights to control what happens to their bodies, and their rights to determine whether or not they choose to be vaccinated they have become increasingly loud and disruptive, particularly when protests are mounted in front of hospitals, legislatures or even private homes of politicians.

Canada's federal government has come down unequivocally on the side of all federal employees along with the federally regulated transportation sector, government agencies and other groups being mandated for vaccination by September's end, preparatory to a return to business as usual, working out of offices. Government leads the way; with that announcement, private industry has followed suit with a growing number of employers including big banks, major insurers and municipalities mandating vaccinations.

 

Canada's biggest banks will require employees who return to the office to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. (CBC)

 

Among Canadian small and medium-sized businesses, 62 percent have stated their intention to make vaccinations mandatory for their employees. Requirement specifications for fully vaccinated employee applications are also making their presence in employment criteria. On the other side of the ledger, 47 percent of Canadians agree with their employers mandating vaccination, according to an August Lifeworks Inc. survey, which revealed that 33 percent were opposed and 22 percent uncertain over the issue.

"When people get COVID, we have seen the devastating impact that has [on seniors]; they're much more vulnerable to getting sick and dying. We can't take the chance."

"Right now, staffing is so tenuous in the system, people are so burnt out and their resiliency's been diminished. I can se them moving [on to other types of employment] for that reason."

"In the HR landscape, we know what reasonable accommodation up to the point of undue hardship looks like, but when it comes to vaccines, I'm not a doctor and I'm also not a lawyer. Having the government be more explicit on what a reasonable accommodation looks like would certainly be an easier way to navigate this as a business."

Lisa Levin chief executive, AdvantAge Ontario

Ontario teachers' unions initiated overtures to the provincial government to mandate vaccinations in schools, extending accommodation to those with medical or religious exemptions. The province introduced a vaccine mandate specifically for "high-risk settings" which include hospitals, retirement and long-term care homes and schools. Under the mandate employees who are unvaccinated must submit to regular testing and educational vaccine programming. "Parents really want to know that their kids are going back to a safe place and so do all the staff", Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation explained.

 

In Montreal, thousands of people gathered on Aug. 28 protesting public health measures, including the vaccination passport system and mandatory vaccines for health-care workers. (Jean-Claude Taliana/CBC)

"Eventually, every company is going to have to deal with it, depending on when they're going back to work."

"Obviously, it's a good thing for society if as many people are vaccinated as possible, but you have to work with your employees, especially ones you've had for a significant amount of time."

"Otherwise you could lose valuable people and -- people could get upset -- not necessarily about the vaccine, though that's what sparks it, but about something being forced on them that they don't like, and that causes additional conflict in the workplace that can be problematic."

Andrew Monkhouse, employment lawyer, managing partner, Monkhouse Law Professional Corp.

Employers, stated Andrew Monkhouse, are obliged to provide safe workplaces, noting that unvaccinated employees have the potential to place clients or other third parties at risk of contracting     COVID, without adequate protection the vaccines offer. A situation that would result in exposing their employers to liability claims in the event of transmission. Yet employers must also accommodate employees who fall into a category of those who cannot be vaccinated on human rights grounds for religious or medical reasons.