The number of City of Toronto employees who are providing proof of vaccination and disclosing their status has increased again since last week. Comparing data from end of day November 4 to end of day November 10, an additional 111 employees have submitted their vaccination status and 379 additional employees are now fully vaccinated. Overall, 99 per cent of the active workforce has declared their status and 95 per cent are fully vaccinated.
As of end of day Wednesday, November 10, the vaccination declaration information for active City staff is:
Since November 1, City of Toronto managers and supervisors have been holding meetings with staff who have not received any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or have not disclosed their vaccination status. Meetings for those who disclosed they received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by October 31 will now start the week of November 28, to allow all staff four weeks from the time of their first dose to receive their second dose. Following the meeting with the manager or supervisor, staff determined not compliant with the policy have been placed on suspension for a maximum of six weeks. After the period of unpaid suspension, starting on Monday, December 13, staff members who do not provide proof of receiving both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, will have their employment terminated for cause, as they will have chosen not to comply with the vaccination policy.
As of November 10, 379 staff (an increase of 131 compared to November 4) have been placed on unpaid suspension for non-compliance with the policy, and 101 staff (an increase of 50 compared to November 4) have been placed on leave of absence pending review of an accommodation request.
Earlier this week, the City announced it is pausing a limited number of recreation classes due to staffing impacts resulting from implementation of the City’s COVID-19 vaccination policy. To date, the City has temporarily paused 94 recreation programs (out of 6,400) at 23 program locations, affecting 576 clients (out of 44,400). At this time, 92 per cent of recreation workers are compliant with the Vaccination Policy. As the City continues the implementation of its vaccine policy, it does not anticipate impacts to critical and priority services. Emergency response by Toronto Police, Toronto Fire Services or Toronto Paramedic Services will not be impacted as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination policy.
As the largest employer in Toronto, the City has taken a leadership role in making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for its workforce and is meeting its obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to take every precaution reasonable to protect employees from workplace hazards, including COVID-19.
The City will continue to comply with its human rights obligations. Staff who are not able to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine under a protected ground set out in the Ontario Human Rights Code, will be entitled to accommodation.
The City’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy is available at: COVID-19: Mandatory Vaccination Policy
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“The City has again seen an increase in the number of employees – 379 in less than one week – who have made the decision to receive a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine. We continue to uphold our responsibility to provide a safe workplace for all of our employees and a fully vaccinated workforce is essential to achieving that.”
– Chris Murray, City Manager
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