Hundreds of B.C. public workers on unpaid leave after failing to meet vaccine requirement
While the vast majority of B.C. public servants have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hundreds of workers are now on unpaid leave for failing to provide proof of vaccination.
On Tuesday, the province announced 432 employees, or roughly 1.13 per cent of all public service workers in B.C., were on unpaid leave after they declined to get vaccinated or refused to disclose their vaccine status to the province.
In contrast, about 97 per cent of employees have been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the province.
Another 1.15 per cent, or 439 workers, are partially vaccinated and have 35 days to receive their second dose, while 0.72 per cent of public servants, some 274 people, have requested an accommodation on medical or other protected grounds.
Accommodations are now being reviewed on a case-by-case basis, according to the province.
"As one of the largest employers in the province, the BC Public Service requires that all direct government employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment," said the province Tuesday.
"The policy applies to all employees working for the BC Public Service regardless of whether the employee works onsite or remotely."
The province says workers who are not vaccinated, or who are partially vaccinated and fail to get their second dose within 35 days, will be placed on unpaid leave for three months. After that, the province says that employees may be terminated.
"The proof of vaccination policy remains in effect until public-health concerns regarding COVID-19 are reduced to a level, prescribed by government, to enable workplaces to operate without restrictions or a vaccination requirement," said the province.
In late October, B.C. officials announced that more than 4,000 health-care workers were on unpaid leave for being unvaccinated.
Across the province, about 97 per cent of health-care workers were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of late October, though specific proportions vary by health region.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
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.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
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.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
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.
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.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.