Toronto to reopen office buildings in Jan. 2022, hopes to send 'signal' to other employers
The City of Toronto will be reopening all of its office buildings at maximum capacity in January and asking its employees to return to the office at least part-time, despite the emergency of a new COVID-19 variant of concern in the province.
Mayor John Tory announced on Tuesday that city-owned office buildings will reopen to all employees on Jan. 4, 2022, while still complying to public health restrictions.
“Every City of Toronto office building will be open to the maximum occupancy possible under the rules and that will increase automatically as the pandemic recedes and as physical distancing requirements in workplaces are modified by the provincial government,” he said at a COVID-19 briefing from city hall.
Tory added that any city employees who are currently working from home will be allowed to come back into the office on a hybrid working model.
The city anticipates that most staff members will work three days a week in the office and the remainder of the week at home.
Around 75 per cent of Toronto employees who don’t have a work from home option have been coming to work throughout the pandemic, and 25 per cent have been able to work from home.
Tory said he hopes that the move will motivate other employers to reopen their workplaces.
“I believe this is an important signal to other workplaces in both the private and public sectors that we can safely return and reinvigorate the economy and the downtown core process and do so safely,” Tory said.
All city workers who come into the office must be fully vaccinated, as outlined in the city’s vaccination policy.
Earlier this month, the city said that 98 per cent of city employees received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 94 per cent had received two doses and are considered fully vaccinated.
Those who did not submit their vaccination status were subject to a six-week unpaid suspension and will be terminated if they choose not to get fully vaccinated starting on Dec. 13.
In addition to office buildings, City Hall, Metro Hall and civic centres will be reopening to the public on Jan. 4, 2022.
“This will mean the public will be able to access the main floor rotunda, washrooms, library and counter services on the first floor, and attend scheduled meetings with me, with counselors and with our team members,” Tory said.
The digital counter services that rolled out throughout the pandemic will remain available, Tory said.
Tory also said that council meetings will return to in-person sessions in January, with an option for members to participate virtually if they choose to.
“If and when physical distancing measures are further lifted in the new year we will welcome the public back to in-person council and committee meetings,” Tory said.
Tory’s announcement comes after the World Health Organization recently designated a new COVID-19 variant of concern, Omicron, that was discovered in southern Africa.
In response to the variant of concern, Canada along with other countries implemented travel restrictions last week on flights from seven countries in southern Africa.
Health officials have raised concerns about the variant due to its higher number of genetic mutations and possible rapid spread.
As of Monday, Ontario confirmed a total of four cases of the Omicron variant found in Ottawa.
Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said the city will monitor the situation between now and January and make changes to the reopening plan for office buildings if necessary.
“We are in constant communication, we are regularly monitoring the situation… should the circumstances change, I know that we will be discussing that and taking appropriate course of action in concert with the data we have on the ground and the best available science,” she said at the briefing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.