6 Aurora, 3 Newmarket municipal workers fired for failing to get COVID-19 vaccinations

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 12, 2022

Three Newmarket and six Aurora municipal employees have lost their jobs for failing to get COVID-19 vaccinations, the towns said.

Three Newmarket workers and six Aurora staff -- two full-time and four part-time/casual workers -- have been fired.

Since confidentiality concerns prevent the towns from saying in which departments the staff worked, it’s not possible to say if there is overlap in the numbers because the municipalities share Central York Fire Services.

Both towns mandated staff be double vaccinated by Nov. 1.

Many businesses and organizations gave staff time following deadlines to comply and address concerns regarding vaccinations.

When asked in early January, Newmarket said three workers and Aurora said six employees have been terminated.

“All municipalities are working through the implementation of policy positions with respect to required vaccinations,” Newmarket chief administrative officer Ian McDougall said.

Ninety-nine per cent of staff have complied with the vaccination mandate, he added.

An Aurora spokesperson said six employees were terminated for not following the town policy in mid-November, and since then all employees have complied.