Toronto fires 461 city employees for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19; hundreds more under review

The firings come one day after Mayor John Tory said the city faces the possibility of a mass staff absence due to the raging Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Thestar.com
Jan. 6, 2022
David Rider

The city of Toronto has fired 461 employees for not getting at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and the fate of another 285 city workers hangs in the balance.

The news comes as the city plans for the possibility of mass public sector worker absences due to an explosion in Omicron variant infections, with the possibility of service reductions due to a shortage of healthy, non-isolating staff.

While the total of those fired or facing possible dismissal is only about one per cent of the city’s 32,000-strong workforce, many of them work in essential areas, including paramedic and fire services as well as Toronto Public Health.

The city said Wednesday that the 461 workers had not, by Sunday’s deadline, shown proof of being vaccinated under a strict mandatory requirement announced in August in a bid to help boost Toronto vaccination rates.

Those workers “had either not received any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or had not reported their vaccination status and have had their employment with the city of Toronto terminated,” the city said in a news release.

The terminated employees include: 127 in parks, forestry and recreation; 49 in seniors’ supports and long-term care; 30 in public health; 28 in shelter support and housing; 20 in fire services; and 15 in paramedic services.

The hardest-hit service by percentage is 311 Toronto, where nine workers, or four per cent the total, were sacked for refusing to prove double vaccination.

Another 248 city staff who had reported getting one vaccine dose are being called to meetings and asked for proof of second dose, or at least an appointment to get one, or they will be terminated.

A further 37 employees remain on temporary leave while the city reviews their requests for an exemption to the order on human rights grounds.

Toronto city manager Chris Murray said he is “extremely proud” of the public service for its strong response to the sweeping vaccination order that was among the first in Ontario, where many other large employers followed suit.

“With the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases across the city, driven by the Omicron variant, it is good to know the city’s employees are doing all they can to protect each other and the people of Toronto,” Murray said in a statement.

While the percentage of affected workers is tiny, Toronto is heading into an Omicron wave where it may need every worker available.

On Wednesday, Mayor John Tory said the city will soon make public contingency plans in case the highly contagious variant forces as much as 60 per cent of the city workforce off the job.

The city says workers fired or facing possible termination are not relevant to that planning because they have been on unpaid leave since November and were “not factored into current staffing levels.”

Toronto Public Library has already announced plans to temporarily close almost half of its branches starting Monday to cope with staff absences. The library system has terminated 54 workers out of more than 2,100 for running afoul of its vaccination mandate.

The city says that no matter how many workers call in sick, it will preserve essential services, including emergency response, garbage pickup, water treatment and homeless shelters. Other services may be curtailed or cancelled.

Scarlett Martyn, an advanced care paramedic who refused to get vaccinated, said the city ended her 23-year employment Tuesday. She had offered to undergo daily COVID-19 testing at her own expense.

“What will be harmful is the staff shortage they will be facing,” she said.

The city’s immunization requirement, and others that followed, have helped boost Toronto’s vaccination rate to 87 per cent of residents aged 12 and over having received at least two doses.

Updated Toronto COVID-19 figures show that, as of last Saturday, local hospitalizations have been rising since late December. The daily average was 14.9, compared to the pandemic peak of 95 last April early in the vaccination effort.