City of Victoria puts 25 staff on unpaid leave due to vaccination status
More than two dozen City of Victoria staff members were put on unpaid leave after failing to meet the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all municipal workers.
The city announced its vaccination requirement on Nov. 2, saying all staff would need to have received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 5.
The city confirmed Wednesday that 25 municipal staff didn't meet the vaccination requirement and were sent home without pay on Jan. 6.
The number of staff on unpaid leave represents approximately two per cent of the city's workforce, which numbered 1,242 employees in 2020, according to the city's most recent annual report.
"Vaccines are the strongest prevention measure we have against COVID-19," said city manager Jocelyn Jenkyns when the vaccine mandate was announced.
"This vaccine requirement will continue to protect employees in all of our workplaces, as well as members of the public who we interact with," she said.
The vaccine requirement does not apply to elected city officials, however all members of Victoria council have confirmed they are fully vaccinated, according to city spokesperson Bill Eisenhauer.
The municipalities of Nanaimo, Saanich and Esquimalt also imposed vaccine requirements for all staff, as did the Capital Regional District.
The City of Nanaimo said all staff and contract employees who failed to provide proof of vaccination by Jan. 13 would have to submit to rapid testing for COVID-19.
Rapid test kits for municipal staff are being provided by the province, according to the city.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.