BC Liberal leader calls on province to end vaccine mandates

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BC should follow Ottawa’s lead and end vaccine requirements for provincial employees and health care workers, says BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon.

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The federal government announced Tuesday it will suspend COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federally regulated workers and domestic and outbound international travelers. The new rules come into effect on June 20.

“The province needs to act, too,” Falcon told reporters on Friday. “British Columbia is out of step with the rest of the country in this regard. We’ve got a situation now that just warrants the immediate lifting of the vaccine mandate.”

The approximately 190,000 health care workers in hospitals, long-term care homes and community health centers in BC must be vaccinated for COVID-19 under a provincial public health order. The BC Public Service Agency also requires its 30,000 employees to be fully vaccinated.

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Falcon said the vaccine requirement is exacerbating the already dire shortage of health care workers which has resulted in the temporary closure of emergency rooms in some smaller BC communities in the North and Interior.

“We’ve got 2,500 health care workers sidelined at a time when the health care system is, to use the premier’s own words, crumbling and teetering,” he said.

As of March, nearly 2,500 health-care workers in hospitals had been fired for not being immunized against COVID-19. Almost half of them worked in the Interior and Northern health authorities.

Health Minister Adrian Dix was steadfast that he has no intention of lifting the vaccine order for health-care workers or the requirement for public-sector employees.

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The coronavirus poses the biggest risk to those living in long-term care and vulnerable individuals in hospital, which is why vaccines remain important, Dix told Postmedia News on Friday.

“So for them, for our workers, for our workplaces, Dr. (Bonnie) Henry put in place these orders and those orders continue to stand and I expect they will stand for some time,” Dix said.

Falcon said the vaccine mandates for public sector employees no longer make sense, particularly since it could mean some contract and volunteer firefighters won’t be able to help fight fires during the upcoming wildfire season.

“We’ve got conservation officers who spend virtually all their time outdoors who have lost jobs, including a 20-year veteran in the civil service who has lost their job as a result of these mandates,” he said.

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Dix said he is “surprised and disappointed” by Falcon’s position.

“This notion that the pandemic is over is not correct,” Dix said. “The central role of vaccination has not changed.”

BC Ferries, which is federally regulated by Transport Canada, said it will suspend its mandatory vaccination policy as of June 20.

“We are in the process of contacting the 150 employees who are currently on leave without pay to check on their intention to return to work,” said BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall. Like other industries, the ferry service has been struggling with staff shortages that have caused sailings to be cancelled.

Ontario dropped the requirement for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and testing in schools, long-term care homes and hospitals on March 18. Nova Scotia still requires proof of vaccination in high-risk settings such as hospitals and long-term care homes.

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New Brunswick in April ended its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for government employees in health care and vulnerable sectors.

British Columbians no longer have to show proof of vaccination to enter a non-essential businesses such as gyms, restaurants, concerts of sporting events. The province ended the COVID-19 state of emergency on June 30, 2021.

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