At least 1,000 City of Toronto employees are unvaccinated ahead of mandatory mandate taking effect
More than 1,000 City of Toronto employees are unvaccinated and thousands of others are yet to complete a disclosure form ahead of a new vaccination policy taking effect later this month.
The City of Toronto says that 88 per cent of those who filled out a vaccine disclosure form as of Friday – nearly 24,000 employees - were fully vaccinated with another five per cent partially vaccinated.
But it says that about eight per cent were either unvaccinated (1,006 employees) or refused to disclose their status (783 employees).
The City of Toronto has said that all of its employees must receive at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 30 and be fully vaccinated by Oct. 30.
“I am encouraged that such a high number of city employees have already made the right decision for themselves, our community and our workplaces by getting vaccinated. This policy is the right thing to do to protect the health and safety of all City of Toronto employees,” Mayor John Tory said in a press release accompanying the data. “We know that vaccines are the most effective way to protect against the fourth wave and Delta variant so we can end this pandemic and reopen our city."
City of Toronto employees had until Friday to complete a mandatory disclosure form on their vaccine status after the deadline was pushed back by a week amind concerns that some frontline workers without access to computers needed more time.
The city says that about 87 per cent of employees met the revised deadline.
However roughly 3,500 employees still haven’t submitted the disclosure form, leaving some questions around just how many workers are likely to run afoul of the new policy.
The city has said that all employees who are not complaint will have to complete a mandatory training session on vaccines “starting this week.”
At this point it remains unclear what will happen to employees who choose to remain unvaccinated past Sept. 30 but Tory has said that ‘no option will be off the table’ when it comes to enforcing the policy.
“The City of Toronto has a duty as an employer to do everything that it can to ensure that our work environment is safe for all of our employees,” he said at a news conference announcing the policy last month.
The city previously announced plans earlier this month to have some of its roughly 10,000 employees that have been working at home since the beginning of the pandemic begin to return to their workplaces as part of a “safe and gradual” return.
The TTC is also mandating vaccination for its employees but has given employees until the end of today to disclose their status.
About 84.5 per cent of eligible Toronto residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 79 per cent are fully vaccinated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.