TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) – City of Toronto employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by October 30, Toronto Mayor John Tory said Thursday at a press conference laying out a vaccination policy. Citing the Delta variant as a main reason behind the policy, Tory said his government is approaching the situation with “an unrelenting, laser-like focus.”
Currently, the majority of employees of the City of Toronto have been vaccinated, according to Tory. Employees will now be required to disclose their vaccination status by September 13. If an employee refuses the shot, they will be required to attend mandatory education on the supposed benefits of the inoculation.
After the education session, employees who have refused will then be required to submit proof of their first shot by September 30. All employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 30, according to the mayor. The city is also not ruling out frequent and mandatory testing of unvaccinated employees until they can provide proof of vaccination.
Mayor Tory said: “Our end goal is to encourage and persuade people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already so our city workplaces, which include many public places, are as safe as possible for them and the people we serve.” Tory mentioned nothing of the numerous health risks associated with the experimental shot.
Tory gave no indication of what would happen to an employee who refused the jab even after the education session and the deadline. He said, “we will deal with this as you would deal with many other instances of policies the city has which are necessary to have a safe, healthy, and productive workplace.” He did not explain what that would entail.
The Toronto Transit Commission also indicated that it would mandate vaccination for employees. “This is one more thing we can do for ourselves and each other to limit the spread of COVID-19,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Leary said in a statement.
However, both the city and the TTC said that employees with medical reasons would be exempt from participating in the experimental vaccination. David Mitchell, president of CUPE Local 79 representing Toronto’s indoor workers, said: “Some of our members have legitimate human rights grounds for remaining unvaccinated, and I am pleased the City has said it intends to accommodate those employees.”
Mayor Tory did not mention “human rights” as a reason for someone to remain unvaccinated. The Ontario Human Rights Commission states the following regarding a person’s right to refuse a vaccination for reasons of creed: “No one should experience harassment or other discriminatory treatment based on a Code ground because they are unable to receive a vaccine.” It also says that the Code grounds of disability and/or creed may be engaged when employers, housing, or other service providers impose medical testing or treatment requirements, including proof of vaccination.
Carlos Santos, the President of ATU Local 113, representing nearly 12,000 public transit workers in Toronto and York Region, said in a statement, “Local 113 will aggressively oppose any action of the TTC which violates the rights of any member.”
Toronto Police were not included in the policy mandate, and whether or not they will be required to ensure their employees will be jabbed is up to them. Toronto Police Service said it was still creating its own vaccine policy. Joe Couto, a spokesperson for the Ontario Association for Chiefs of Police, said police services can develop their own policies.
Couto stated that there are “police personnel that are reluctant or even opposed to vaccinations, and then a lot of that is personal choice.”
LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.