An appeal by a group of BC firefighters to halt a mandatory vaccination program has been rejected by a labour board adjudicator, says Blacklock’s Reporter..The firefighters’ union local in Richmond BC described the vaccination order as intrusive and heavy-handed..“I make no findings as to the merits of the union’s grievances,” wrote Randall Noonan, adjudicator in the case..He dismissed the firefighters’ request to overturn the City of Richmond’s Covid-19 Vaccination Policy pending the outcome of a full hearing March 21..Richmond last October 25 ordered employees to disclose their vaccination status and show proof they’d taken COVID-19 shots under threat of suspension without pay. Members of the International Association of Professional Firefighters Local 1286 opposed the measure..Of 253 firefighters in Richmond nine declined vaccination..Local 1286 in a submission said rigid enforcement would see some firefighters “choose between getting a vaccine they do not want or giving up on their careers as firefighters.”.Unvaccinated employees in affidavits said they were the sole wage earners in their families, feared they’d lose Employment Insurance and health benefits and would have to sell their homes if they were suspended without pay for months at a time..“I understand some union members who choose not to comply with the policy may suffer significant consequences to their personal lives,” wrote Noonan..“However I do not have enough evidence before me to show that there is an equivalent or acceptable alternative to the policy that would meet the goals of preventing the spread of the virus while eliminating those personal consequences.”.Noonan said the policy was undeniably a breach of privacy but appeared justified by circumstances..“Having to disclose one’s medical status or being vaccinated against one’s wishes are harms that are not fully reparable once they have occurred,” he wrote..However the pandemic was “an unusual situation in which preventive measures override what in other circumstances would be improper,” added Noonan..“If I were to grant the order sought by the union and subsequently employees or others were exposed to the virus and became seriously ill or died, there is no amount of a monetary award that could remedy that,.”.Other labour arbitrators and federal judges have similarly declined to issue injunctions against vaccination policies pending full hearings..Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien last December 9 told reporters it was unclear whether governments had the legal right to enforce vaccine mandates..“Is it reasonable for public health purposes for governments to require the disclosure of this information? The question is not as clear-cut as it might seem,” said Therrien..“We are investigating.”
An appeal by a group of BC firefighters to halt a mandatory vaccination program has been rejected by a labour board adjudicator, says Blacklock’s Reporter..The firefighters’ union local in Richmond BC described the vaccination order as intrusive and heavy-handed..“I make no findings as to the merits of the union’s grievances,” wrote Randall Noonan, adjudicator in the case..He dismissed the firefighters’ request to overturn the City of Richmond’s Covid-19 Vaccination Policy pending the outcome of a full hearing March 21..Richmond last October 25 ordered employees to disclose their vaccination status and show proof they’d taken COVID-19 shots under threat of suspension without pay. Members of the International Association of Professional Firefighters Local 1286 opposed the measure..Of 253 firefighters in Richmond nine declined vaccination..Local 1286 in a submission said rigid enforcement would see some firefighters “choose between getting a vaccine they do not want or giving up on their careers as firefighters.”.Unvaccinated employees in affidavits said they were the sole wage earners in their families, feared they’d lose Employment Insurance and health benefits and would have to sell their homes if they were suspended without pay for months at a time..“I understand some union members who choose not to comply with the policy may suffer significant consequences to their personal lives,” wrote Noonan..“However I do not have enough evidence before me to show that there is an equivalent or acceptable alternative to the policy that would meet the goals of preventing the spread of the virus while eliminating those personal consequences.”.Noonan said the policy was undeniably a breach of privacy but appeared justified by circumstances..“Having to disclose one’s medical status or being vaccinated against one’s wishes are harms that are not fully reparable once they have occurred,” he wrote..However the pandemic was “an unusual situation in which preventive measures override what in other circumstances would be improper,” added Noonan..“If I were to grant the order sought by the union and subsequently employees or others were exposed to the virus and became seriously ill or died, there is no amount of a monetary award that could remedy that,.”.Other labour arbitrators and federal judges have similarly declined to issue injunctions against vaccination policies pending full hearings..Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien last December 9 told reporters it was unclear whether governments had the legal right to enforce vaccine mandates..“Is it reasonable for public health purposes for governments to require the disclosure of this information? The question is not as clear-cut as it might seem,” said Therrien..“We are investigating.”
