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 For hospitals and nursing homes, a shortage of workers would strain
the already overburdened workforce dealing with nearly two years of
the pandemic. The uncertainty sparked by vaccine mandates
underscores the challenges on the road to recovery.
Devon Greyson, assistant professor of public health at the
University of British Columbia, said officials are steering into
uncharted waters with mass vaccine mandates, and it's not clear how
workers will respond.
"A shortage of workers can mean people's health and well being. It's
scary," Greyson said.
However, Greyson added, "we're in an ethical situation where it's
also scary not to ensure that all health workers are vaccinated. So
it's a bit of a Catch-22."
To tackle staff scarcity, at least one province is offering signing
bonuses to nurses. Provinces including Quebec and British Columbia
have made it mandatory for healthcare workers and nursing staff to
be vaccinated to continue working in their respective fields.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also unveiled one of the strictest
vaccine mandates in the world last week, saying unvaccinated federal
employees will be sent on unpaid leave and making COVID-19 shots
mandatory for air, train and ship passengers.
Layoffs have are started to hit, with one hospital in southern
Ontario last week dumping 57 employees, representing 2.5% of staff,
after its vaccine mandate came into effect. A long-term care home in
Toronto put 36% of its staff on unpaid leave after they refused to
get vaccinated, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.
British Columbia will place staff at its long-term care and assisted
living sector on unpaid administrative leave if they fail to get at
least one shot by Monday.
Some 97% of long-term care staff in Vancouver and the surrounding
areas have at least one dose as of Oct. 6, the province said. But
northern B.C. has only 89% of staff with at least one dose, although
the data was still being updated.
The province recently changed the deadline, giving more time for
people to receive their second vaccine dose. "It is because we know
we have a very limited healthcare resource," Dr. Bonnie Henry, the
province's medical officer, said.
'POLITICAL' DECISION
Quebec is offering C$15,000 bonuses to help attract and retain about
4,300 full-time nurses. Some 25,000 healthcare workers who are yet
not fully vaccinated ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline risk suspension
without pay, said Christian Dubé, the province's health minister.
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 Some 97% of all staff in
University Health Network, which operates
medical facilities in and around Toronto,
Ontario, has been vaccinated ahead of Oct. 22,
with efforts underway to find backup for the
remaining.
Daniel Lublin, a Toronto-based employment
lawyer, called the mandates "very political" and
based on the majority view that vaccines are
good. "The fallout is that it's another segment
of the Canadian workforce that is going to be
faced with job loss if they choose not to
vaccinate." The Public Service
Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents 215,000 federal workers,
said while the union supports the government's vaccination stance,
its members who do not get inoculated should not be punished.
"Especially when remote work options are available that do not
jeopardize the health and safety of co-workers and allow our members
to continue to serve Canadians," said Chris Aylward, PSAC president.
Treasury Board, which oversees the public administration, is engaged
with PSAC and other labor representatives about the implementation
of the mandate, a government source said.
Louis Hugo Francescutti, an emergency room physician in Edmonton,
said he worked with several people who were continuing to refuse
vaccination, even though it would cost them their jobs when the
mandate takes effect on Oct. 31.
Alberta has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Canada, and its
hospitals have been overwhelmed by the fourth wave.
"We're so under the water right now that losing a couple of people
who don't want to get vaccinated - it's going to be sad (but) the
impact will be minimal," Francescutti said.
(This story was refiled to fix typographical error in headline.)
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver,; Additional reporting by
Allison Lampert in Montreal, Steve Scherer and Julie Gordon in
Ottawa; Editing by Denny Thomas and Chizu Nomiyama)
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