Though no longer mandated by the province, a number of local institutions decided to keep their workplace vaccination policies in place for the time being. Photo credit: Facebook/Hamilton Police Service
With Ontario ending vaccination requirements for access to restaurants and other venues, the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) announced that it will be welcoming back unvaccinated staff members this week.
During the pandemic, HPS mandated the vaccine for its staff, and those who decided not to get vaccinated were subjected to testing requirements. Those who denied both vaccination and testing were placed on unpaid leave. Those staff members who were placed on leave are now back to work for HPS. Mandatory testing will also no longer be required for any HPS members.
“Beginning on March 1, the rapid testing no longer applies and those members [that were laid off] may return,” HPS said in a statement.
It should be noted, however, that all prospective HPS staffers must submit proof of vaccination in order to be newly hired by the service.
The HPS policy to welcome back the unvaccinated is in stark contrast to the requirements for City of Hamilton staff. City staff must provide proof of two shots by May 31, 2022 or lose their jobs. Hamilton City Council voted for the policy in January. They have not yet had another discussion on whether the policy should remain in place.
But Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger made his position on the matter clear. “I believe the city should follow through with their vaccine verification policy,” he said. “I think the likelihood is pretty high that we will.”
Hamilton-area hospitals are keeping their mandatory vaccination policies moving forward.
One of those hospitals is Joseph Brant in Burlington. Joseph Brant Hospital CEO Eric Vandewall confirmed in a statement on February 22 that they “remain fully committed” to upholding their mandatory vaccination policy for staff. The hospital implemented its policy on Nov. 1, 2021 and fired at least 13 of their 1,821 workers (0.7 per cent).
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), which includes McMaster Children’s Hospital, Juravinski Hospital and Hamilton General Hospital, put its policy in place on Jan. 26, 2022 and terminated 178 of its 13,369 employees (1.3 per cent).
Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s Healthcare has yet to implement its policy, holding off until Apr. 7, 2022. The original implementation date was supposed to be Feb. 21, 2022. It has 88 staff at risk of being fired out of 5,799 workers (1.5 per cent).
Regarding some of Hamilton’s educational institutions, both McMaster University and Mohawk College have mandated vaccination in order to access campus until at least the end of the Winter 2022 semester which ends on April 29.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on February 17 in a press conference that he hopes workplaces remove their COVID vaccine policies by March 1 – in line with the province’s elimination of the vaccine passport system. However, each individual workplace is still allowed to make their own decision regarding the matter.
The only vaccination policy that is directly mandated by the province itself is in regard to long-term care home staff, which remains in place.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
