People employed by the City of Vancouver will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 6.
The vaccine mandate by the publicly-funded body comes as B.C. endures a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and as many other large employers, such as ski resorts, the provincial public service and BC Hydro, have done the same.
“This new policy is a further step toward limiting the impacts of the virus on our community and aligns with the recommendation from the provincial health officer for large employers to implement vaccine mandates,” reads a statement released Monday by the city.
A representative for the city said the policy will affect about 8,000 workers, but won’t be applied to library staff or police.
The mandate does not affect elected city councillors and park board commissioners, but it does affect park board staff and firefighters.
Employees of the Vancouver Public Library and the Vancouver Police Department are “separate entities” whose boards must first approve the policy separately from the city, according to the city.
The city says employees who do not comply with the new mandate will not be permitted in the workplace. It did not specify whether they would be fired, or placed on administrative leave either with or without pay.
Elected officials are not affected by the policy because there are ”different legal considerations in respect of such officials,” said a representative for the city in a statement.
“If City Councillors, or Park Board Commissioners, wished to impose such a policy upon themselves, the City believes that it is better for them to approve and adopt their own policy,” said the representative.
“Throughout the pandemic, the City has focused on the health and safety of its staff, local residents and businesses,” said city manager Paul Mochrie in a statement.
“We continue to follow direction from public health in our workplaces, and this mandatory vaccination policy will help provide a further level of protection against this virus for City staff and the public we serve.”