WESTLOCK – Although one Alberta municipality is mandating its employees be fully vaccinated or face termination, Westlock-area municipalities won’t be following suit unless the province decrees it.
Come Sept. 23, the Town of Banff will require all 300 of its employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a move acting town manager Darren Enns has said is needed to ensure the safety of their employees and the community — there are exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The first-of-its kind municipal vaccine mandate comes as that community continues to battle high COVID-19 numbers — Banff, which counted 111 active coronavirus cases as of Aug. 26, also had the highest active case rate in the province at 825.2 per 100,000 and about 20 per cent of the town’s staff are unvaccinated.
The CAOs of the Town of Westlock, Westlock County and Village of Clyde collectively stated there are no imminent plans to institute a similar mandate locally, although in the case of the village all three of its admin staff are fully vaccinated. According to the province’s geospatial map, the Westlock region has 23 COVID-19 cases and an active case rate of 169.7 per 100,000 as of Aug. 30. While vaccine mandates have been discussed for Edmonton and Calgary, the City of Toronto, which employs 37,000 people, said in a statement that all its employees will be required to have two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 30.
“Our tri-CAO committee discussed this subject this morning. Each of our municipalities will continue to follow direction from the province with respect to COVID-19 protocols and mandates. Since there is no provincial mandate on mandatory vaccinations at this time, we will continue to maintain status quo,” said Westlock County CAO Kay Spiess in an Aug. 25 e-mail.
Westlock County has 53 union and non-union staffers split over a variety of departments, including seasonal employees — the vast majority, 47, are full-time. The Town of Westlock counts 90 union and non-unionized full, part-time and seasonal staff, ranging from office workers, to labourers and lifeguards. At the village there are three office staffers, including CAO Ron Cust, a public works foreman and two summer staffers.
Both Spiess and Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley said they didn’t know how many of their staff have been vaccinated — Wiley said it’s her understanding from legal sessions she’s attended that asking about someone’s vaccinated status “is a pretty touchy subject as people’s health care records are personal.” As of Aug. 26, 52.9 per cent off all people (10,142) in Westlock County are fully vaccinated — 57.4 per cent of people ages 40-59 have received two shots, while only 42.6 per cent of residents ages 20 to 39 are full vaccinated.
“We’ve taken the position of not asking,” said Wiley. “I really don’t have a sense (as to how many staff are vaccinated). I know there are some who are and some who aren’t. Even personally if you were to ask me if I had a sense (of how many were vaccinated) I wouldn’t even be able to really to give you a number.”
The issue is somewhat moot at the village with all three in the office vaccinated, but Cust said it’s a question he will ask prospective employees as their public works foreman is slated to retire soon. Although many Westlock-based businesses have offered bonuses or incentives to encourage staff to get vaccinated, the Westlock News is unaware of any with vaccine mandates. That said, many national corporations, including banks with Westlock outlets like the TD, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank and the Royal Bank of Canada are implementing some form of mandatory vaccination policy, while the federal government will require its 1.5 million employees and workers, which includes the RCMP and military, to be vaccinated.
“That will be a question I ask of the people I interview,” said Cust on hiring a new public works foreman. “But I think it’s an interesting question. I’m heading to B.C. with my vaccination papers and the restaurants there are restricting people who aren’t vaccinated. I think that could be the way we’re headed.
“I think sooner or later it will hit the point that as employers you will probably request some information, similar to requesting a driver’s abstract.”
Office-wise, the town and county don’t have mask mandates in place for staff when they leave their desks — physical distancing is still appreciated at both offices and the town is in the habit of cleaning meeting rooms after usage and staff are using hand sanitizer when appropriate. All three municipal offices are open to the public and there are no mask requirements for patrons.
“We’re still doing some additional things that we weren’t doing before (COVID-19) but for the most part it’s pretty status quo, back to normal,” said Wiley.
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