Hamilton backs off mandatory COVID shots for city staff

Hamilton is on its way to dropping requirements for most city staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

After debate that was sometimes heated, the general issues committee of Hamilton city council voted Wednesday to remove mandatory COVID shots and testing for the majority of its workers.

This is a tough one for me," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who voted against dropping the mandate. I see this as a reward for not having done what everyone else actually did to help protect our community, our fellow employees and our city."

Councillors on the other side of the discussion argued the time had come to drop the policy in line with provincial direction.

COVID has changed," said Coun. Esther Pauls. Things have changed, let's move on."

Under the policy, 64 non-compliant employees have been on an unpaid leave of absence and 441 unvaccinated workers were undergoing regular rapid-antigen testing since Nov. 4. They would have lost their jobs by May 31.

The committee agreed to bring the workers back May 2 and discontinue testing at that time as recommended by executive director of human resources Lora Fontana and medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson.

But it was a close 6-4 vote. Those in favour were Pauls, Coun. Terry Whitehead, Coun. Arlene VanderBeek, Coun. Jason Farr, Coun. Maria Pearson and Coun. Brad Clark.

Those against scrapping the policy included Eisenberger, Coun. Maureen Wilson, Coun. John-Paul Danko and Coun. Brenda Johnson.

The timing of these recommendations is absolutely right for this moment," said Coun. Tom Jackson, who was not present for the vote.

However, dropping mandatory vaccination for most city staff is not a done deal yet. It still has to be ratified at city council.

In addition, there are groups of employees who will continue to have rules around COVID shots. Vaccines will be required for workers at the city's two long-term care homes - Macassa Lodge and Wentworth Lodge. Those homes will also continue to have a regular testing program in place regardless of vaccination status.

Unvaccinated staff at the Red Hill Childcare Centre and in the Hamilton Paramedic Services will also continue with regular testing.

Richardson said exempting those interacting with vulnerable clients" was key to her approval of removing mandates for the rest of the employees.

The policy reflects the different circumstances than for the general workforce," she said.

But Wilson argued it doesn't go far enough for paramedics - especially considering Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and St. Joseph's Healthcare both kept mandatory vaccination in place. HHS fired 178 workers on Jan. 26, while St. Joseph's moved toward the final step of termination against 59 workers on April 7.

I can't reconcile the logic," said Wilson. When (patients) are in hospital they are attended to by folks who must be ... vaccinated. But in those who serve them initially via a paramedic service, they are not required to be vaccinated."

Chief Michael Sanderson of the paramedic service said HHS and St. Joseph's have agreed to allow unvaccinated paramedics to go in and out of their hospitals.

Another group of city staff that will still require vaccination going forward is new hires.

I'm still struggling to understand why we would be suspending our vaccination policy for all of our employees except for the new hires who are required to get vaccinated," said Clark. It seems to be incongruent. Why would we create a delineation of policies based on the date you were hired."

Fontana said it comes down to what the city can do legally.

The requirement to have all of our employees fully vaccinated isn't one that would be supported from a legal perspective but we can mandate it for new hires," she said. Where we can, we're going to require employees ... to be fully vaccinated in order to ensure the optimal health and safety of our employees."

The city is not the first to drop rules around vaccination. Policies have already been paused at the Hamilton Police Service, Mohawk College and McMaster University.

Farr said the city's policy had already done its part to encourage 94 per cent of city staff to get vaccinated. But Whitehead called it a bit rich" to suggest that employees got their COVID shots for any other reason than common sense.

Whitehead frequently clashed with other councillors at the meeting to the point that he was muted more than once for interruptions and accusations against staff.

Councillor Whitehead please stop interrupting," Coun. Nrinder Nann said while chairing the meeting. It is absolutely rude. Stop it."

She called Whitehead out numerous times and wasn't alone in voicing frustration.

Throughout this meeting, councillor Whitehead has been repeatedly belligerent, insulting, disrespectful, disruptive and now is directly impinging the reputation of our staff," said Danko. This can't continue. Nobody can stand this."

Whitehead accused others of provoking him.

I am speaking from the heart that I want to work with this council the best I can," he said But you need to understand your own actions and how you're going to get reactions."

Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com