The Alberta government is rescinding its COVID-19 vaccination policy for Alberta Public Service (APS) workers as of Tuesday, according to an e-mail to workers from Deputy Minister of Executive Council Ray Gilmour..The e-mail to public service workers from Gilmore was sent Monday morning notifying the change..“Along with the removal of the province’s mandatory work from home order, the Government of Alberta’s Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for APS employees will be rescinded for employees who are not fully vaccinated,” said Gilmore..“I hope you look forward, as I do, to reuniting with colleagues and getting back to some of the daily routines we have missed over the past two years. We have some great opportunities ahead of us and I believe, with the talent and dedication we have in our public service, we will hit our best stride yet and continue making a difference in the lives of the Albertans we serve.”.One employee who feels her human rights and Charter rights have been violated said she took early retirement and has no intention of returning..Jo-Anne O’Neil worked for the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta as a business analyst..O’Neil told the Western Standard she received a newsletter in June from the provincial government discussing the COVID-19 situation and the need for vaccination..“Basically, the newsletter was telling us the importance of vaccination and those who don’t get it are being selfish and will be responsible for possible further lockdowns and restrictions,” said O’Neil, admitting it sparked her decision to take early retirement..“The climate around work was anxiety; all they were talking about was COVID, COVID. It was all just under an agenda of fear. As a person of faith, I just don’t believe this is something you do to people.”.O’Neil said she, along with many other coworkers, had been “successfully working from home” yet was still expected to provide her proof of vaccination as of the November 30 deadline. She said she had been tossing around the idea of retiring and decided, based on the “stigmatizing and marginalizing happening” she started the process in June..“I watched people who were personally affected by this; those with young families,” said O’Neil..“Through this pandemic, the governments, both provincially and federally, have gone out of their way to ostracize and stigmatize people. And, for what this has done to people and how this has affected them, there is no acknowledgment.”.O’Neil said what she disliked the most through everything was the “division our leaders have caused and there is no accountability.”.The Government of Alberta required all public service employees to provide proof of vaccination by November 30 or submit to PCR testing every 72-hours at their own expense..The policy said employees could apply for exemptions for any grounds under the Alberta Human Rights Act including religious reasons. Anyone failing to comply with the mandatory vaccination policy would “be placed on an unpaid leave of absence until they choose to comply.”.Mid-October, APS personnel penned an open letter to the Deputy Minister of Executive Council with the Alberta Public Service Commission requesting “the vaccine mandate be rescinded immediately.”.Following that in late October, APS and Alberta Health Services workers filed a human rights complaint against the Alberta government regarding the vaccine policies..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
