The city has finalized details on its vaccine policy.
Workers not vaccinated will have to do rapid testing every three days, starting on Dec. 15.
Those workers would only be put on unpaid leave if they refuse testing, which differs from provincial and federal workplaces that have mandated vaccines.
“We felt it met the guideline of the intent of the policy, in order to keep staff safe and also make sure the public is safe. And also allowing those who felt strongly about vaccination to still follow their beliefs,” Kamloops city manager David Trawin says. Trawin had suggested to NL News last week that this was the policy decision that would likely be decided on.
Trawin says the policy excludes city employees who work out of the RCMP detachment, saying they’ll to have to be vaccinated by Nov. 15 or go on unpaid leave.
“Anyone entering the facility, whether it be a landlord, whether it be contract people working with the RCMP to do that, then they would need to follow the federal government mandate. We’ve received that notice from the E-Division of the RCMP.”
Trawin couldn’t say how many city staff remain unvaccinated but says the city is working to gather that information. Last month, mayor Ken Christian estimated only five per cent of staff were not vaccinated.
He says staff will have to report their vaccine status to a designated member of the city’s human resources department and says that information will stay confidential.
“That one HR person then coordinates testing on that, to make sure those people show up for their testing at the right time. And if they don’t show up for their testing, or they don’t want to get tested, then they’ll be placed on leave without pay.
The policy doesn’t apply to city council, where only councillor Denis Walsh is unvaccinated. Trawin says council has discussed potentially creating its own policy.
Meanwhile, Trawin says the B.C. government would cover the cost of the antigen test but the city would have to pay a “minor charge” to administer those tests. It’s unclear what the exact cost will be to taxpayers to administer those tests.
