(Dawson Thompson/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Mandatory Vaccinations

‘A necessary step’: P.A. making vaccinations mandatory for city employees

Sep 28, 2021 | 11:59 AM

The City of Prince Albert is bringing in mandatory vaccinations for its employees.

Mayor Greg Dionne spoke with reporters on Monday about the community’s latest step to fight back against COVID-19.

Over the next couple of days, P.A. administration will be fine-tuning the measure and making sure all employees get the information they need before it’s brought into effect.

Dionne says this is a necessary step to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Lots of our staff interact with the general public so it’s really important that we protect the general public from our staff, but we also protect our staff from the general public,” he said.

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He didn’t state whether they’re contemplating allowing non-vaccinated staff to get tested weekly instead of receiving the shots.

Whether the case, Dionne believes this is a strong message for anti-vaxxers.

“You can kick and scream all you want but I do believe that the majority of the population has the right to be protected,” Dionne said.

According to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, mandatory vaccines, proof of vaccination, or negative testing are ‘generally permissible’ under the human rights code.

If individuals who are unable to be vaccinated due to a code-protected characteristic, such as religion, disability, and age, are ‘reasonably accommodated’ these COVID-19 measures can move forward.

Meanwhile, people across the province will also need to show proof of their vaccination starting on Oct. 1 if they want to go to a restaurant, nightclub, bar, and more.

This also includes sporting events, something Dionne claims he’s more than willing to wear a mask and have both vaccines for.

“To put your mask on and soon show your vaccination, I don’t think we’re asking too much,” he said.

Any Saskatchewan resident with a MySaskHealthRecord account can now access their COVID-19 vaccination record through a response (QR) code.

The code can be downloaded and saved to a mobile device or printed.

So far, over 71 per cent of people in Saskatchewan 12 years and older have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In northern Saskatchewan, the number is much lower as many First Nations are struggling to encourage members to get the shots.

As of mid-September, only 33 per cent of eligible members of First Nations among the Prince Albert Grand Council are fully vaccinated.

Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer for the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, believes individuals in these communities who aren’t vaccinated and need to fly to places like P.A. for medical reasons should be fine.

However, he notes these members will most likely need to be vaccinated to fly for any other reason.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow