“If you do the right thing and get vaccinated, you have the right to be free from COVID-19 and the safety of your children (…) and get back to doing whatever you want,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed, revealing details of the government’s plan on Wednesday.
By October 29, employees of the Federal Administration, including the Federal Police, must report whether or not they have been vaccinated. Those who do not provide this information or report being vaccinated with only one dose may be suspended from work on November 15, and their wages will be suspended.
There are a few exceptions to the rule related to medical contraindications and religious reasons, and Canadian human rights law regulates such cases. Federal workers will have to apply to confirm the exemption by the end of October, and as Trudeau said, it will be difficult to obtain.
According to the media, the vaccination obligation applies to about 267 thousand. Persons: employees of the administration, police officers, as well as, for example, researchers or employees of cleaning companies. The Canadian military should apply similar rules.
The requirement is based on confidence in the employees who will sign the relevant declaration available on the government website and will not be required to provide a certificate of vaccination. Advertisement can be validated.
The government has also asked state-owned companies to implement similar rules. This applies, inter alia, to the Post Office, the Bank of Canada (Central Bank), the Mint, as well as the Federal Parliament and CBC/Radio Canada.
By October 30, employers in federally regulated sectors such as air, rail and marine carriers must regulate vaccine compliance enforcement. The same goes for airport workers. Also starting October 30, passengers of airlines taking off from Canadian airports, as well as rail passengers, must be fully vaccinated.
As Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland noted on Wednesday, the federal government is Canada’s largest employer. “We want to make sure that the Canadian government sets an example and puts in place immunization policies that keep others safe,” Freeland said.
The media quoted federal officials who openly said that providing false information could lead to dismissal and the dismissed would not be able to apply for unemployment benefits.
Vaccinations have been in Canada since December 2020, and according to the Covid19tracker.ca website, the vaccination rate was nearly 82.2 percent by Thursday. Canadians over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated and more than 88.2 percent are vaccinated. Receive at least one dose. According to CBC calculations, there are still more than 4 million unvaccinated people over the age of 12.
The vaccination policy has been criticized by the federal unions. In support of the obligation, in principle, they argue that it was made hastily and without consultation. However, the government announced that vaccinations will be mandatory in federal institutions at the beginning of August, and set an earlier date at that time – the end of September.
