City to Require Vaccines for Municipal Employees

January 17, 2022

In our continued commitment to protect the health and safety of our workforce and the public, the City announced earlier this month we would be instituting a mandatory vaccination policy for employees. This operational safety measure will take effect February 22.

City employees, contractors, volunteers, and on-call firefighters have the choice to take rapid tests if they do not wish to declare their vaccination status. Termination is not being considered for workers who are not vaccinated.

Implemented by the City’s chief administrative officer, this decision was made with input from the medical health officer, senior staff, CUPE Local 401 and with guidance from WorkSafe BC and is one of the many ways we are working to reduce the workplace risks associated with contracting COVID 19 and to minimize negative impacts on workers.

Business continuity is a critical consideration for governments and this initiative, along with the many other protocols adopted since March 2020, will contribute to the uninterrupted provision of essential municipal services. The decision to implement mandatory vaccinations is consistent with federal, provincial, and other local governments within British Columbia that have also announced vaccine mandates.

For more information on municipal services during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit https://letstalkparksville.ca/covid-19