Question Period Note: Vaccines – Mandate and HR Guidance

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced the details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service as well as next steps for the federally regulated air, rail and marine transportation sectors.

•Vaccination is one of the most effective tools we have at our disposal to protect public health in the face of COVID-19, and to prevent future outbreaks.
•A new policy requiring vaccination was announced by the Government of Canada on October 6, 2021 and applies to more than a quarter of a million federal public servants in the Core Public Administration (CPA) including members and reservists of the RCMP.
•Vaccination is now a condition of employment for the CPA.
•All employees, regardless of where they work, are covered by the policy to protect their health and safety, and more than 96% of employees have attested to being fully vaccinated and approximately 98% have had at least one dose.
• Employees still refusing to attest or be vaccinated will have been put on administrative leave without pay (LWOP) as early as November 15, 2021.

It is difficult to overstate the global impacts of COVID-19, the infectious and potentially fatal disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.[1] The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an unprecedented impact on the health of Canadians. Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada advise that COVID-19 vaccines are a critical tool that reduce the risks of COVID-19. To protect the health and safety of public service employees, the Government of Canada implemented a “Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration (CPA) including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police” (the Policy).

The Policy came into effect October 6, 2021 and was accompanied by the framework on mandatory COVID-19 testing for implementation of the Policy, as well as the framework for implementation of the Policy. A Manager’s Toolkit for the Implementation of the Policy was also created and has been updated twice with more subjects and questions and answers.

Bargaining agents and heads of human resources, as well as the labour relations and occupational health and safety communities, have been engaged throughout the development and implementation of the Policy, facilitating implementation across the CPA.

Employees have an obligation to provide a true attestation, which becomes a record with legal standing. Making a false statement would constitute a breach of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. All attestation information provided by employees is subject to verification and audit. Managers have the right to request proof of vaccination at any time to confirm an employee’s attestation, and it must be in a format that is recognized federally, provincially, or territorially (to be defined by the employer).

Requests for accommodation are assessed on a case-by-case basis, i.e. considering facts and circumstances that may be unique to the individual or the workplace, and always in accordance with the associated Government of Canada policy instruments.

Employers are obligated to ensure that they do not discriminate against individuals based on several prohibited grounds. This is not new: at the federal level, the Canadian Human Rights Act has been in place since 1977, and the public service has long had processes in place for considering requests for accommodation.

Managers are not making these decisions on their own. They are supported by experienced human resources professionals who receive policy guidance from the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, and are supported by legal and privacy advisors. Internal procedures for handling these requests must fully align to the Privacy Act and associated Government of Canada policy instruments. All data on employees’ requests for accommodation and their vaccination status are collected in accordance with the Privacy Act, the Policy on Privacy Protection and its related instruments.

[1] Taylor v Newfoundland and Labrador, 2020 NLSC 125 at para 1.

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