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VANCOUVER – With many British Colombians still working remotely, employers are likely to rely on the COVID-19 vaccine to get people back safely to the office.
“I expect it to be the most important thing based on the conversations I have had to date with many employers,” said employment attorney Amy Frankel, of Forte Law. “What employers would like employees to do is quite different, however, from what they may require employees to do.”
Frankel says that, given current principles and the state of Canadian law, “it is safe for employers to probably not impose vaccinations as a condition of their employment at this point.”
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry seemed to agree with that assessment Wednesday.
“We don’t have mandatory immunization programs in this country and province, and we don’t expect COVID immunization to be mandatory,” he said at a news conference.
This is a true occurrence in high-risk workplaces such as hospitals and long-term care facilities, Henry said.
“We will strongly encourage all those in those settings to be immunized, and if people are thinking of entering those settings and don’t believe in immunization, then they should look for other things to do,” he said.
While employers probably can’t force workers to get vaccinated, airlines can prevent passengers who refuse to be vaccinated from flying.
“I’m fully capable of doing this as a private company, and it’s not unheard of,” said Allison Wallace, director of media and communications for Flight Center Canada.
Some countries already require travelers to have certain vaccines as a condition of entry. And Qantas CEO says his airline will eventually make sure all passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Wallace expects other major carriers to adapt.
“I think it’s very, very possible and people should probably consider it in the future,” he said. “It will take some time before they make it mandatory, but surely someone who is unwilling to get a shot or even entertain the thought, their travel options may be limited in the future.”
Airline employees would be a gray area, one of the many vaccine-related work cases Frankel envisions could end up being fought in court.
“It will be very interesting to see how it all unfolds in the courts and tribunals of public opinion,” he said.
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