Vaccine mandate for Hamilton city workers remains in place after tied vote at council

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers will remain in place for now, despite a staff report saying Hamilton should do away with the measure to bring it in line with provincial directives.

On Wednesday, city councillors voted 6-6 on whether to scrap the mandate. The deadlocked vote means the motion was defeated. Four councillors were absent from the meeting.

That means workers who don't show proof they've received two vaccine doses by May 31 will lose their jobs.

The report recommending the mandate be scrapped said 64 city employees were on unpaid leave for failing to disclose their vaccination status and 441 were regularly taking rapid antigen tests.

"In my view, all of us need to do the right thing and participate in the solution," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said ahead of the vote.

"As our medical officer of health, Dr. [Elizabeth] Richardson has said many, many, many, many times over, vaccination is the answer to this problem. So, I stand by that, and I will continue to support those that are vaccinating, and I will not support the removal of the mandatory vaccination policy as it stands today."

Eisenberger voted to keep the mandate, along with councillors Maureen Wilson, Nrinder Nann, John-Paul Danko, Judi Partridge and Russ Powers.

Councillors Esther Pauls, Maria Pearson, Tom Jackson, Sam Merulla, Jason Farr and Lloyd Ferguson voted to do away with it.

The decision to keep the policy in place comes even as the province is shifting away from mandatory vaccination for certain spaces, which makes it legally challenging for the city to defend a mandate, according to the city HR department.

Lora Fontana, head of human resources, says nearly 94 per cent of the city's workforce, or 7,149 people, are considered fully vaccinated.

"We think the current circumstances right now call for the suspension, particularly the legal implications," Fontana told council.

"But we purposely did not recommend the termination or the abolishment of the policy just to suspend it, and we will continue to monitor COVID-related circumstances."

Fontana says the legal circumstances right now are the result of the recent lifting of the mandates by the province.

On March 14, Ontario dropped the requirement for mandatory vaccination and testing policies in schools, long-term care homes and hospitals.

The move to lift mandatory vaccine policies came after the province's top doctor announced Ontario was lifting all remaining mask requirements and emergency orders meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"With those recent considerations from the province, it's difficult to continue to implement our policy, particularly as it relates to the mandating of the vaccines," Fontana said. 

"So, we don't feel confident that if we continued with the policy, particularly with respect to termination of employment as a result, that we would be supported in the courts and through the arbitration process."

Danko, councillor for Ward 8, says some of the people choosing not to be vaccinated are doing so not because of health reasons, but simply because they don't want a vaccine. 

"As we speak, I have a family member upstairs sick with COVID right now [so] my tolerance for this anti-vaxx narrative is at an all-time low," he said.

"I am perfectly okay with putting the staff that are choosing not to be vaccinated on permanent unpaid leave indefinitely."

But coun. Pauls believes keeping the mandate in place will "divide the city."

"I follow the province, we are a creature of the province and they're saying it's time to lift the mandate," Pauls said.

"So let's follow the staff's recommendation ... It's up to the individual and there's very few in the city of Hamilton that decided not to. Let's save their jobs. Let them have a roof over their head."

After the vote, Ward 6 coun. Jackson asked whether the decision could be reconsidered, including by the four councillors who weren't present when it happened.

City clerk Andrea Holland told council only those who voted against scrapping the mandate could bring forward a reconsideration vote.