CANADA (LifeSiteNews) – A large Canadian public service union has said it is “unacceptable” that Canada’s federal government would use “discipline” to mandate its new requirement that all civil servants receive COVID-19 vaccines by October.
“This week, national political party leaders have made concerning statements about disciplining or terminating federal public service workers who choose not to be vaccinated as part of the government’s vaccine mandate proposal,” said the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in a press release Tuesday.
“PSAC supports vaccination requirements for federal workers to ensure the safety of our members in their workplaces, and to protect our communities, but using discipline and termination to enforce them is unacceptable,” it continued.
The PSAC noted that it has been in consultation with the federal government on their “vaccination proposal” and their “position is clear.”
“Employees with a valid medical reason for being unvaccinated, or for reasons protected by human rights legislation, must be offered a formal accommodation under the law,” declared the group.
The PSAC statement came after the Canadian federal government under Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last Friday that starting in October, it will be mandating COVID-19 jabs as a requirement for all civil servants.
The government also said COVID-19 jabs are required in order to travel domestically by air, train, or boat.
Trudeau then said this week that all federal workers and civil servants must get the COVID-19 jab or face “consequences.”
The COVID-19 jab mandate was made only days before Trudeau called a federal election. Canadians will head to the polls on September 20.
PSAC President Chris Aylward said that he will “not stand” for the termination of workers in his union who refuse the COVID-19 jabs.
Aylward said it is “very concerning to us when national party leaders are making statements around discipline around terminations when it comes to these vaccinations.”
“That is totally unacceptable to us,” said Aylward according to a CTV News report.
As for the PSAC, the union said if there are workers who are “unable or unwilling to be vaccinated” then the government must “temporarily reassign those employees to other duties where possible, or allow for alternate work arrangements such as remote work.”
“Where required, other measures should be explored, including regular screening and rapid testing. PSAC will continue to play an active role in consultations as the federal government develops its vaccination requirements plan. We will do our utmost to ensure the safety our members while protecting their rights in the workplace – including their right to privacy,” said the PSAC.
The PSAC represents over 215,000 workers across Canada who work for “federal government departments and agencies, Crown Corporations, universities, casinos, community services agencies, Aboriginal communities, airports, and the security sector among others,” according to the union.
Constitutional groups have blasted Trudeau’s COVID-19 jab mandate for travel and work, likening them to what a “totalitarian society looks like.”
“This is what a totalitarian society looks like, restriction of information (Bill C-36 for example), restrictions on the right to travel and cross regional boundaries, and segregation and persecution of dissenters,” interim President and lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Lisa Bildy told LifeSiteNews.
Last Wednesday, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said that a vaccine passport will be “a key step forward in ensuring Canadians will have the documents they need once it is safe to travel again.”
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has also come out against vaccine passports and COVID-19 jab mandates, saying it “crosses a bright line.”
“Canadians should not have to demonstrate their vaccination status to travel to see their family members. The policy is unjustified in light of Canada’s rates of vaccination, one of the highest in the world. It creates the absurdity that Canadians will be subject to more stringent requirements to travel from Calgary to Vancouver than from Toronto to Paris,” says the CCF.
LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.