The City of Barrie says its employees have largely complied with its COVID-19 vaccination policies.
“The goal of the policy has always been, safety of the employees and the public — it was never a punitive measure,” said Micheal Prowse, the city’s chief administrative officer (CAO). “There were a small number of staff who were not compliant with the policy that were placed on an unpaid leave, but no one was terminated.”
Michael Murphy, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2380, which represents city workers, also said they complied with the policies.
“No City of Barrie members, nor any other members of CUPE Local 2380, which represents nine sub-locals across seven municipalities in central Ontario, were laid off or disciplined as a result of their employers’ COVID-19 vaccination policies,” he said.
City workers provide a range of public services including water and wastewater treatment, parks and recreation, financial and administrative services and city planning.
While the city does not currently have a COVID-19 vaccination policy, it has in the past. The city introduced and began implementing a COVID-19 vaccination policy for its employees in early September 2021.
Meanwhile, at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), officials implemented the Barrie hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination policy in September 2021, a policy which was rolled out in a multi-stage process, beginning with mandatory testing twice per week for unvaccinated staff.
Its vaccination policy meant that all RVH employees — including those who had been working remotely during the pandemic, credentialed staff, students and contractors — were required to be double-vaccinated by Oct. 31, 2021, unless they had been granted a medical exemption or accommodation under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Anyone who chose to remain unvaccinated after Oct. 31 was subject to "progressive actions," including unpaid leave and termination for cause, ending of learner placement, and restriction, suspension or termination of privileges for credentialed staff. Volunteers were also required to be fully vaccinated before returning to their roles.
Following that deadline, RVH terminated 39 employees for not complying with the organization’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing policies — and three three professional staff were reported to no longer be connected to the Barrie hospital. Of the 39 terminated, RVH officials had noted 16 were either registered nurses or registered practical nurses and mostly casual, temporary or part-time employees. The remainder were largely support positions.
The local hospital boasted that more than 99 per cent of its staff and physicians chose to be immunized.
As of January 2023, RVH’s policy remains in place, hospital officials confirmed to BarrieToday.
“In 2021, along with the majority of other hospitals throughout the region, RVH implemented mandatory COVID-19 immunization for all members of Team RVH. We did this for their safety and that of the patients entrusted to our care,” RVH president and CEO Gail Hunt said in an emailed statement to BarrieToday.
Hunt added the hospital continues to carefully watch the local and provincial COVID-19 numbers, current guidance and continually review policies to be in alignment with partner hospitals when appropriate.
“At this time, the requirement that all members of Team RVH are immunized for COVID-19 remains in place," she said. "Current guidance recommends anyone working with patients in a high-risk setting continue with vaccination requirements.
"RVH is the site of a regional cancer, cardiac and renal programs and cares for extremely ill and vulnerable patients who are often immunocompromised. We must do everything possible to keep them and each other safe," Hunt added. "We know that immunization is one of the most important ways to protect our patients and the people who care for them.”
RVH has also adjusted its visitor policy, which no longer requires visitors or vendors to show proof of vaccination.
As for City of Barrie staff, all employees were required to provide proof of their vaccination status by Sept. 20, 2021. The policy applied to all employees of and volunteers with the city, along with contractors — but contractors only where the city had any duties as an employer as defined by Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
City staff who had not been vaccinated, or who didn’t disclose their vaccination status by Sept. 20, were required to attend mandatory education sessions on the benefits of vaccination. Unvaccinated city employees were required to undergo regular antigen screening tests, at least twice a week for full-time employees, or the equivalent, and supply results.
Due to the nature of certain city jobs, some staff were deemed to be at a higher risk — those working with citizens who may not be vaccinated or masked — or their positions with the city are 'critical to the health and safety of the citizens of Barrie.' These employees were required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 29, 2021, or would have been subject to discipline in accordance with the city’s vaccination policy.
All other employees who refused to get vaccinated, or refused to disclose their vaccination status by Oct. 1, 2021, were required to get tested at their cost, estimated at $40, for COVID-19 on a regular basis.
The city exempted staff with valid reasons related to protected grounds from vaccination requirements according to the Ontario Human Rights Code. If the exemption was accepted, these employees were required to get tested for COVID-19 on a regular basis.
The city’s policy also said COVID-19 and its variants present a significant health risk, particularly in unvaccinated people. This policy recognized that vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective measure to reduce the risk of severe illness and transmission to others, including members of the public.
Data released by the city Oct. 4, 2021 stated just more than 90 per cent of its 1,039 full-time union and non-union employees were either fully or partially vaccinated. As of Oct. 29, 2021, 97 per cent of full-time CUPE members and the city’s non-union group of employees had received one or two doses of a vaccine.
Members of Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES) were 99 per cent vaccinated with one or two doses.
The city said about two per cent of its full-time employees were doing antigen testing, and that employees who didn’t adhere to the policy were on unpaid administrative leave.
At the time, there were two city employees on unpaid administrative leave — one a CUPE member, the other with BFES.
