Lakeshore Approves COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

Article content

The Lakeshore city council approved a COVID-19 vaccine policy at Tuesday’s meeting that will apply to all city employees who work for the municipality beginning shortly after the turn of the year.

Article content

Beginning January 4, 2022, employees must provide proof of being fully vaccinated or submit an accepted exemption and accept rapid antigen testing twice weekly.

Those employees who are not vaccinated or exempt will also need to be tested twice a week.

“I’m glad this policy has been amended and no one is going to lose their job,” Coun said. John Kerr’s revisions to the original policy to allow for more flexibility with testing.

The city will cover the estimated $ 40 cost of the test for those with exemptions.

However, the city will not cover the cost of those tests for unvaccinated employees who do not have an exemption.

Failure to comply with the new policy or if employees refuse to disclose their immunization status will result in progressive discipline and possible termination of employment.

Article content

In an oversight, the council did not include itself under the new policy, but passed a motion for the administration to quickly return with statute by doing so.

Another statute that requires vaccination for contractors doing business with the municipality will also be introduced in the near future to align with the January 4 deadline.

“If we require this of our employees, we really have to lead by example and demand it of ourselves,” said Wilder, who was the only one who voted against passing the statute governing employee vaccinations.

However, the rest of the council was more concerned about more delays in implementing a vaccination policy than the optics of having momentarily different rules for the council.

Under the new policy, no municipal employee will be allowed into their workplace or a city facility without having proof of vaccination, an exemption, or proof of a valid negative test.

Article content

Currently, no one requires proof of vaccination to enter City Hall, although it is for public recreational facilities.

The policy will cause the municipality to collect health information about test results, exemptions, immunization tests, and personnel records associated with the exemptions.

The municipality will not disclose the vaccination status of any employee under the policy.

If the employee is subject to a more stringent departmental or Ontario vaccination mandate, that policy will take precedence.

In addition to the policy, all employees will need to continue to comply with COVID-19 preventive measures, such as wearing a mask, physical distancing, and the use of barriers where possible.

[email protected]

twitter.com/winstarwaddell