City of Toronto ‘pausing’ some recreation programs due to loss of unvaccinated staff

Thestar.com
Nov. 10, 2021
David Rider

The City of Toronto is being forced to “pause” some recreation classes due to the loss of staff not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The city said in a news release late Tuesday that it is contacting people whose autumn fitness classes, swim lessons and sports, dance, art and general interest programs might be halted with five weeks left to go.

Some 91 per cent of part-time parks, forestry and recreation staff are fully vaccinated and city supervisors are meeting this week with others who have not yet provided proof they are fully protected.

“Following these meetings, if staff have not provided proof of being fully vaccinated, they will be suspended for up to six weeks or until proof of vaccination is provided,” as is happening with full-time city workers, the city said.

Credits will be provided for anyone whose class is cancelled. The city’s after-school care recreation programs are not affected by the staff shortfall.

“Mitigation efforts to avoid program cancellations are underway and include the reallocation of staff to registered instructional programs, the use of overtime and the placement of newly-hired staff where possible,” the news release says.

“It is important to note that the cancellation of a class does not indicate that the class’s instructor has not been vaccinated, as staff are being reallocated to different locations and programs in an effort to minimize these service impacts.”

Under the strict vaccine mandate announced in August, roughly 32,000 active-duty city employees had until Oct. 30 to show proof of two doses of vaccine or be suspended without pay. They will be fired with cause if they still aren’t vaccinated by Dec. 13.

As of last Friday, the city had suspended 248 employees and put another 51 workers on leave pending review of their application for a human rights exemption.

The city said Tuesday it’s ramping up hiring efforts to ensure staff are in place for winter recreation programs, and that the vaccine mandate won’t affect police, fire or paramedic services.

In a statement, city manager Chris Murray said that, as Toronto’s largest employer, the city is setting an example to help keep its workers and the public safe and help bring an end to the pandemic.

“Our staff are working to address any impacts to programming and working in real time to implement mitigation efforts with the goal of continuing to offer as many of our fall programs as possible,” he said.

“I strongly encourage everyone to receive a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect our community and each other.”