With a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy in place as of Nov. 29, just below 90 per cent of the City of Airdrie’s employees are fully immunized against the virus, said Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Paul Schulz.
On Nov. 30, Schulz confirmed the City of Airdrie implemented an administrative policy to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations among staff in mid-to-late October, with the policy kicking in earlier this week.
He first mentioned the new policy during his address at Airdrie Economic Development’s annual Business Breakfast and Economic Update on Nov. 21.
“First and foremost, throughout this whole pandemic, it’s been our goal or objective to keep both our customers and our staff safe,” he said. “We’ve very much been aligned throughout the pandemic with AHS guidelines. That’s number one – doing our part to ensure the safety of all.
“These are difficult times, difficult decisions, and ones we don’t take lightly. I believe strongly that we’re doing our part to keep both our citizens and employees safe.”
The administrative policy applies to all 694 of the City’s active employees. Those include everyone from Airdrie Fire Department personnel, to municipal enforcement officers, Airdrie Transit workers and administrative staff, such as employees in the water, sewer, roads and parks departments.
The mandate also applies to employees at City-operated recreation facilities, including Genesis Place Recreation Centre, Bert Church LIVE Theatre, and the Ron Ebbesen Arena. In September, the City announced it would be participating in the Alberta government’s Restriction Exemption Program (REP) at these facilities, which requires patrons to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a medical exemption, or proof of a negative COVID-19 test result in order to enter them.
“You can imagine, running an organization, part of my role is to keep the employee base safe,” Schulz said. “I think one of the other reasons was, when the City opted into the REP, it requires all customers at our facilities to be double-vaccinated or demonstrate a negative test. I very much believe as a leader that our employees should be doing the same thing. They’re the very people interacting with those customers.”
Employees who choose not to get vaccinated have the option of producing a negative COVID-19 rapid test result (good for 72 hours) if they need to enter a City facility or interact with the public, said Schulz.
Unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption through Human Resources, they are required to pay for the testing out of their own pockets, according to Schulz. If they refuse to get tested, they will not be allowed to enter the facility and, depending on their role, may be put on an unpaid leave.
“Because we’re in a working-from-home environment and not everyone is working from the office, if they interact with the public or come into the office, they’re required to…provide proof of a negative COVID rapid test,” he said. “Nobody is exempt – it’s just either proof of vaccination or proof of a rapid test when you’re doing a City function.”
The policy is an administrative one, Schulz said, meaning it does not apply to City council members and did not have to go through council before it was passed.
However, Mayor Peter Brown said council has agreed in principle to adhere to the same rules as City staff. He added he couldn’t speak to the vaccination status of all council members.
“I work here full-time, and I’ve agreed in principle to follow the same policies as administration,” he said. “Obviously, we interact here and the health and safety of our people, our residents, and members of the public is paramount.
“We’re going to be developing the same policy. We have not done that yet, but in principle, we’ve all agreed to follow the same policies.”
The City of Airdrie’s new rule comes on the heels of other Alberta municipalities that mandated COVID-19 vaccination among employees earlier this fall, including the City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, City of Lethbridge, and City of Red Deer.
Airdrie’s local public school division, Rocky View Schools, also passed a policy earlier this fall that requires staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to enter the division's schools or facilities. The rule will be in effect as of early January 2022.
While the City’s new policy could result in some backlash from residents, Schulz said he sticks by the decision.
“Throughout the pandemic, there has been push-back from the public when it comes to masking, or I know when the REP came on, some people were not thrilled with the requirements to enter a facility,” he said. “Obviously, there are 10 per cent [of employees] here who believe that they don’t want to get vaccinated.
“That’s their right and it’s a divisive issue, not only in our community but society. There may be some [backlash], yes, but we’ll deal with that as it comes forward.”
