Two-thirds of federal civil service will be exempt from mandatory vaccinations
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Summary
Two-thirds of federal workers will be exempt from mandatory vaccination. Exempted employees include call centre workers, federal judges, meat inspectors, park wardens, postal workers, food inspectors, tax auditors, tax collectors, senators, air crew, and members of the public.
Transcript
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Hi, I'm Dave Naylor, news editor of the Western Standard. Do you remember all the talk about the
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mandatory vaccination plan of 300,000 federal workers? Well, it turns out two-thirds of them
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will be exempt, Blacklock's reporter says. The vaccination program will work on the honor system
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and doesn't even require vaccination papers to be presented. Exempted employees include call center
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operators, federal judges, meat inspectors, park wardens, postal workers, tax auditors, condiments
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and senate staff, soldiers, sailors, air crew, and members of the public from entering federal
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buildings. Quote, the Canadian public service is vast, says Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
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We are Canada's biggest employer. Back on September 28th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised a
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blanket policy on compulsory vaccination. He said, quote, we are going to ensure the federal public
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service is vaccinated, he said. There is a clear requirement for vaccination for anyone who works
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for the federal government. The federal public service number is about 300,540 and the treasury
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board in a policy said there will be numerous exemptions covering some 212,000 of those employees.
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Quote, the policy applies to all public servants in core public administration, an official told
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reporters at a treasury board press briefing on Wednesday. The distinction exempts employees of
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Crown corporations such as postal workers and staff at federal agencies such as meat inspectors
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with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. RCMP and border agents and prison guards are included in the plan
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and must be vaccinated. Parks Canada wardens and the Canadian Armed Forces are excluded.
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Workers at federal departments that deal directly with the public and cannot be short-staffed are
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also exempt, such as employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, staff who manage call centers for
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benefit claims at the Department of Unemployment and tax processors and auditors at the Canada Revenue
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agency. The treasury board says employees in, quote, core public administration, unquote,
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who are included in the order can comply by filling in an electronic statement claiming
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they are vaccinated without proof or claim an exemption under the Canadian Human Rights Act
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on religious or medical grounds. A reporter asked, why not ask for proof to a treasury board official
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who did not want to be named? He replied provinces and territories are responsible.
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If we have to show a proof of vaccinations to enter a restaurant, why is the government of Canada not
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expecting them to have the same policy? The reporter asked. The reply, they asked if they had received,
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they are asked if they have received a vaccination, replied an official. The largest federal union,
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the 160,000 member Public Service Alliance of Canada said the policy was announced, quote,
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without meaningful consultation and, quote, the treasury board gave unions less than a single business day
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to provide feedback. Quote, how much of it applied matters, the alliance said, how it is applied
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matters, the alliance said in a statement, excuse me. We know increasing vaccination rates is the best and
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most reliable way to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our workplaces and our communities and encourage our
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members to be vaccinated. However, if the goal is to keep the workplace healthy and safe, this policy
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still falls short. For the Western Standard, I'm Dave Naylor.