Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced today that the federal government will soon require that all public servants be vaccinated — a mandate that he said will also be implemented by Crown corporations and other federally regulated businesses in the coming weeks.
While Canada’s vaccination rate is among the highest in the world — 81 per cent of all eligible Canadians have had at least one dose — Alghabra said the country “must do better.”
“We need to reach as many Canadians as we possibly can,” he said.
After a blitz in April and May, the number of new first doses being administered daily has been stuck at well under 100,000 since mid-June.
There are still more than 5.7 million people over the age of 12 who have chosen to forgo a shot altogether, or to wait for a later date. The number of unvaccinated Canadians is roughly equivalent to everyone living in the Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan areas combined.
Starting as soon as next month, the vaccine will be made mandatory for federal employees and those working in some federally regulated industries (airlines and railways, among others) in an effort to boost stalled vaccination rates.
The government says it also “expects” that other employers infederally regulated sectors — like banking, broadcasting and telecommunication — will require vaccination for their employees. “The government will work with these employers to ensure this result,” the government said in a statement announcing the new mandate.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra: “Vaccine requirements … will hasten Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
There are more than 300,000 federal public servants and tens of thousands more people are working in industries that fall under the federal labour code.
Alghabra said the government will work expeditiously with public service unions and employers to get the mandate in place “by the end of October” at the latest.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada — which represents more than 215,000 workers, primarily in federally regulated sectors — welcomed the announcement and said it will help to keep workers and the public safe.
“PSAC supports measures to increase vaccination rates, including vaccination requirements for federal public service workers to protect our members, their colleagues and our communities,” said PSAC President Chris Aylward in a statement.
He added that any information collected as part of the forthcoming vaccine mandate must respect workers’ “legal right to privacy.”
This is not a recommendation. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that all public servants and some employees in federally regulated sectors must comply with the vaccine mandate or risk losing their jobs.
“This is a mandatory requirement to go to work in a federal workplace or work in the government of Canada,” he said.
“Obviously, there will be certain individuals for medical reasons that will not be able to be vaccinated and the appropriate officials will work with them to ensure that the appropriate measures are in place.”
WATCH: Unvaccinated adults driving COVID-19 case increase in Canada
Unvaccinated adults driving COVID-19 case increase in Canada
4 days ago
There is growing concern about a fourth wave of COVID-19 as cases start to climb again across much of Canada, with the increase being overwhelmingly driven by unvaccinated people in western provinces. 1:54
Beyond the mandatory vaccination requirement for federal employees, Alghabra said, a similar mandate will be extended to “certain travellers.”
Starting soon, all commercial air travellers and passengers on interprovincial trains and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations (such as cruise ships) will have to be vaccinated, Alghabra said. He said accommodations will be made for “those few who are unable to be vaccinated,” such as testing and screening.
“Vaccine requirements in the transportation sector will help protect the safety of employees, their families, passengers, their communities and all Canadians. And more broadly, it will hasten Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Asked when these measures for travellers would take effect, Alghabra said the government is developing “a measured and practical approach to requiring vaccines in these sectors as quickly as possible.”
With a fourth wave of new infections poised to hit Canada in the coming weeks, experts say boosting vaccine coverage will protect the country’s health care system from again being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.
To date, the vast majority of new infections have been among the unvaccinated, even though they make up an increasingly smaller segment of the population.
There have been a number of “breakthrough” cases among the fully vaccinated but early data suggest those with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are much less likely to require hospitalization or die from the virus.
Proponents of mandatory shots maintain it’s the best way to develop herd immunity, protect the collective health of Canadians and rid the country of a very serious disease. Almost universal vaccine coverage has eradicated other diseases, such as polio and tetanus.
Critics, meanwhile, say that requiring vaccines is a heavy-handed approach that could lead to discrimination against the unvaccinated.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said vaccines are “the most important tool in the fight against COVID-19” and the party encourages “every Canadian who is able to get one.”
But when asked about the federal mandate, the spokesperson said that “Conservatives support Canadians’ right to determine their own health choices.”
Before the new requirements were announced Friday, Conservative MP David Yurdiga, who represents Fort McMurray, Alta. in the Commons, said a government plan to make vaccination mandatory for federal bureaucrats was “another example of the Liberals using severe government overreach for political gain.”
Yurdiga said forcing these workers to get a vaccine is a “tyrannical” idea that should give all Canadians pause.
David Yurdiga, Conservative MP for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. (David Thurton/ CBC)
“Canadians deserve the right to liberty, whether they choose to be vaccinated or not. Mandating the vaccine as a requirement to work would be the beginning of a slippery slope,” Yurdiga said.
The MP said such a policy would punish Canadians for “what they choose to do with their bodies.”
In a media statement, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party has argued “from the beginning that mandatory vaccination may be needed to keep everyone safe. And workers and unions should be involved in any plans for mandatory vaccination.”
“Instead of calling an election in the middle of a pandemic, Justin Trudeau should focus on working with provinces to help everyone get a vaccine,” Singh added.
While there’s certain to be resistance from some circles, at least one federal public service union said Friday it’s open to the mandate.
Debi Daviau is president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, which represents 60,000 bureaucrats across the country. She said in a media statement that the union “welcomes all efforts to increase vaccination coverage in Canada.”
“That includes a vaccine policy in the federal government that makes vaccines more accessible to our members and accommodates legitimate reasons for which an employee may not be vaccinated.”
Mark Porter, executive vice-president of people and culture at WestJet, said the airline would be “working diligently to implement the government’s policy on mandatory vaccines for airline employees.”
“Vaccinations are the most effective way to ensure the safety of our guests and employees, while curbing the spread of COVID-19,” he said, promising to work with employees who may have questions about the new requirement.
Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said requiring vaccines for some workers is “absolutely the right thing to do.
“These measures should be implemented as soon as possible” so that Canada can avoid further pandemic-related economic disruption, he said.
“We must do better if we hope to avert a significant fourth wave. Canadians and Canadian businesses cannot endure any more lockdowns.”
VANCOUVER – Predictions of a close election were holding true in British Columbia on Saturday, with early returns showing the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives locked in a tight battle.
Both NDP Leader David Eby and Conservative Leader John Rustad retained their seats, while Green Leader Sonia Furstenau lost to the NDP’s Grace Lore after switching ridings to Victoria-Beacon Hill.
However, the Greens retained their place in the legislature after Rob Botterell won in Saanich North and the Islands, previously occupied by party colleague Adam Olsen, who did not seek re-election.
It was a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.
Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.
Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by Eby and Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election
Among the winners were the NDP’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in Delta North and Attorney General Niki Sharma in Vancouver-Hastings, as well as the Conservatives Bruce Banman in Abbotsford South and Brent Chapman in Surrey South.
Chapman had been heavily criticized during the campaign for an old social media post that called Palestinian children “inbred” and “time bombs.”
Results came in quickly, as promised by Elections BC, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.
The election authority expected the count would be “substantially complete” by 9 p.m., one hour after the close of polls.
Six new seats have been added since the last provincial election, and to win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.
There had already been a big turnout before election day on Saturday, with more than a million advance votes cast, representing more than 28 per cent of valid voters and smashing the previous record for early polling.
The wild weather on election day was appropriate for such a tumultuous campaign.
Once considered a fringe player in provincial politics, the B.C. Conservatives stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition.
Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.
Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”
Eby, who voted earlier in the week, posted a message on social media Saturday telling voters to “grab an umbrella and stay safe.”
Two voting sites in Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior and one in Maple Ridge in the Lower Mainland were closed due to power cuts, Elections BC said, while several sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily shut but reopened by mid-afternoon.
Some former BC United MLAs running as Independents were defeated, with Karin Kirkpatrick, Dan Davies, Coralee Oakes and Tom Shypitka all losing to Conservatives.
Kirkpatrick had said in a statement before the results came in that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was told that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.
— With files from Brenna Owen
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
Rustad was kicked out of the Opposition BC United Party for his support on social media of an outspoken climate change critic in 2022, and last year was acclaimed as the B.C. Conservative leader.
Buoyed by the BC United party suspending its campaign, and the popularity of Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives, Rustad led his party into contention in the provincial election.
VANCOUVER – Predictions of a close election were holding true in British Columbia on Saturday, with early returns showing the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives neck and neck.
Conservative Leader John Rustad was elected in Nechako Lakes, and 20 minutes after polls closed, his party was elected or leading in 46 ridings, with the NDP elected or leading in 45.
Among the early winners were the NDP’s Ravi Kahlon in Delta North and Niki Sharma in Vancouver-Hastings, as well as the Conservatives’ Bruce Banman in Abbotsford South.
It was a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.
Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.
Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by David Eby and Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has acknowledged her party won’t win, but she’s hoping to retain a presence in the legislature, where the party currently has two members.
Elections BC has said results are expected quickly, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.
The election authority expected most votes to be counted by about 8:30 p.m., and that the count would be “substantially complete” within another half-hour.
Six new seats have been added since the last provincial election, and to win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.
There had already been a big turnout before election day on Saturday, with more than a million advance votes cast, representing more than 28 per cent of valid voters and smashing the previous record for early polling.
The wild weather on election day was appropriate for such a tumultuous campaign.
Once considered a fringe player in provincial politics, the B.C. Conservatives stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition.
Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.
Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”
Eby, who voted earlier in the week, posted a message on social media Saturday telling voters to “grab an umbrella and stay safe.”
Two voting sites in Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior and one in Maple Ridge in the Lower Mainland were closed due to power cuts, Elections BC said, while several sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily shut but reopened by mid-afternoon.
Karin Kirkpatrick, who is running for re-election as an Independent in West Vancouver-Capilano, said in a statement that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was told that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.
West Vancouver was one of the hardest hit areas for flooding, and Kirkpatrick later said on social media that her campaign had been told that voters who couldn’t get to a location to cast their ballot because of the extreme weather could vote through Elections BC by phone.
— With files from Brenna Owen
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
