Toronto’s top doctor is recommending vaccination requirements for all workplaces in the city in order to protect employees and the public from further spread of COVID-19.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa made the announcement Aug. 20 and offered guidelines for how such policies should be structured. Toronto Public Health strongly recommends all employers in the city institute a workplace vaccination policy and that organizations require proof of vaccination for gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
These guidelines come just one day after Toronto announced a requirement for all city staff to be vaccinated.
Some of Canada’s biggest institutions have also revealed their own vaccine policies for both staff and patrons.
The Star has categorized a list of some of the businesses and workplaces that have announced their vaccine policies.
Here’s a breakdown of each company’s mandate and what it might mean for you as an employee and/or a patron:
FINANCE / BUSINESS
1. Name: Royal Bank of Canada
Staff policy: Employees both in Canada and the U.S. are required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31 in order to work on company premises.
2. Name: Sun Life Financial
Staff policy: Vaccines are mandatory for employees planning to return to work in-person.
3. Name: Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank
Staff policy: Staff will need to register their vaccine status with the bank by Sept. 30. Full vaccination is required for workers entering offices on or after Nov. 1
4. Name: Canada Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
Staff policy: Employees are required to be vaccinated in two months’ time, or by the end of October, a specific date has not been released as of yet.
5. Name: The Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Staff policy: To enter the bank’s premises, workers are required to be vaccinated by Oct. 31, otherwise they will be tested twice a week for COVID-19.
6. Name: Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
Staff policy: The bank has yet to announce a date, but said it is “moving in the direction of making vaccinations mandatory for all Canadian-based employees, and contractors, later in the fall,” according to an internal memo sent to staff.
7. Name: Rogers Communications
Staff policy: All Rogers employees must be fully vaccinated, with an approved COVID-19 vaccine, to enter a Rogers workplace starting Oct. 18, the company told staff in an internal memo.
This also includes employees who work in Rogers stores as well as in the field. The mandate encompasses all Rogers-owned entities, including media outlets. For people who are unable to get vaccinated or who choose not to, they will be required to complete a COVID-19 rapid test and wear a mask while inside.
The company wants people to register their vaccination status through a questionnaire that will be circulated mid-September.
EDUCATION
1. Name: University of Toronto (All campuses)
Policy: All members intending to return to in-person school or work, must be vaccinated. Students and employees are also required to share their vaccination status through UCheck. Those who are not fully vaccinated or do not submit a status will need to participate in the University’s rapid screening program and observe other public health measures.
2. Name: Ryerson University
Policy: As of Sept. 7, all students, staff, faculty, contract workers and visitors coming to campus must provide their vaccination status. Those who are not fully vaccinated or do not provide their status must complete COVID-19 testing upon their arrival to campus.
All students living in residence or student-athletes playing on a varsity team are required to be fully vaccinated, they must also disclose their vaccine status.
3. Name: OCAD University
Policy: Students, faculty and staff will be required to self-declare their vaccination status before participating in any activities on-campus.
All community members who are on-campus will have to state whether they are fully-vaccinated. If they are not, they will be required to do weekly rapid testing for COVID-19.
4. Name: York University
Policy: All members and visitors to the campus must be vaccinated, exemptions will be made for medical or human rights reasons.
5. Name: George Brown College
Student policy: Although the school hasn’t rolled out a staff vaccine mandate, all students living in residence or playing on a varsity sports team must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 7. Students will complete an attestation and sign a form confirming they have received both doses.
6. Name: Seneca College
Policy: All staff, students, faculty and visitors who live or work on-campus must be vaccinated with at least one dose. Individuals will provide proof of their vaccination status through the Seneca Safe app.
Those with only a first-dose will be able to participate in on-campus activities or live in student residence after 14 days from receiving the first dose.
Individuals who are not fully vaccinated will have to adhere to further public health guidelines that those with two doses will be exempt from.
7. Name: Humber College (all campuses)
Policy: Students, staff, employees and visitors coming to campus must provide proof of full vaccination, as of Oct. 18. Otherwise, they will need to show an exemption from the shot as administered by the College based on human rights or conscientious grounds.
Those who are not partially or fully vaccinated will need to an application for exemption by Sept. 7.
Read here for a full list of vaccine policies at Ontario post-secondary schools.
ENTERTAINMENT
1. Name: Blue Jays
Patron policy: Starting Sept. 13, the Toronto Blue Jays will require a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination for fans 12 and older attending the team’s final home games of the season and any potential playoff games played at the Rogers Centre.
2. Name: Live Nation Canada
Patron policy: Ticket holders are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before entry to concert venues and shows.
3. Name: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE)
Staff and patron policy: Starting mid-September, all MLSE sports venues will require staff and patrons to have proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before entering facilities. This includes Scotiabank Arena, BMO field and MLSE-owned restaurants.
4. Name: Toronto Zoo
Staff policy: All staff and volunteers will need to show proof of vaccination by Sept. 13. Staff who have not been vaccinated or do not disclose their status will be required to attend mandatory educational sessions on the benefits of vaccines.
Unvaccinated staff will need to provide proof of their first dose, no later than Sept. 30.
All staff and volunteers must receive their second dose and be fully vaccinated by Oct. 30.
5. Name: Mirvish
Staff and patron policy: All patrons and staff are required to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the Mirvish theatres (with the exception of Blindness, a socially distanced sound installation where physical distancing is required). Details regarding proof of vaccination will be communicated prior to the beginning of the season.
6. Name: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
Staff and patron policy: As of Sept. 9, all festival staff, audience members and visitors will be required to show proof they have been fully vaccinated or proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of entering any TIFF venue.
HEALTH CARE
1. Name: Sick Kids, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Staff policy: In a coordinated announcement, three Ontario children’s hospitals have said all staff, learners, volunteers and contractors are expected to be fully vaccinated, effective Sept. 7. The only exception to not be vaccinated will be for those with a documented medical or human rights reason.
2. Name: University Health Network
Staff policy: Employees who remain unvaccinated by late October will face termination. The hospital network, which includes Toronto Western, Toronto General and Princess Margaret, said anyone unvaccinated by Oct. 8 will be placed on unpaid leave for two weeks, at which point if they continue to choose not to be vaccinated, their employment with the hospital will be terminated.
TRANSPORTATION
1. Name: Porter Airlines
Staff policy: When flights resume in September, all Porter staff must be vaccinated or present a negative COVID-19 test.
2. Name: TTC
Staff policy: Vaccinations will be mandatory for all 16,000 of the organization’s workers unless they can show proof of a medical exemption. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents about 12,000 TTC workers, is vowing to fight the transit agency’s new policy.
COMMUNITY AND HOUSING
1. Name: Toronto Community Housing
Staff policy: It is mandatory for all employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 30, 2021.
2. Name: Toronto Police Service
Staff policy: All officers, including civilian employees are required to be fully-vaccinated. It will be mandatory for all members to disclose and provide proof of their vaccination status, as of Sept. 13.
The Toronto Police Association (TPA), however, said it does not support the mandatory vaccination announcement made by the Toronto Police Service.
RETAIL
1. Name: Shopify
Staff policy: Proof of full vaccination is required for any in-person employee meetups, Tobi Lutke the company’s CEO tweeted on Aug. 12.
Article From: The Star
Author: Breanna Xavier-Carter
