City of Windsor Senior Leadership Staff Discussing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Following the City of Toronto's decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all of their employees by the end of October, the City of Windsor's senior leadership team is having active conversations over the issue with union partners.

Mayor Drew Dilkens' chief of staff, Andrew Teliszewsky, says they haven't finalized any policy regarding a vaccination mandate for City of Windsor employees at this time, but continue to monitor the issue.

"We're continuing to take a look at the situation. Obviously we'll evaluate the policy that's just been published by the City of Toronto and review those implications with regards to these decisions going forward."

He says it will most likely need to be a decision made by city council at the end of the day.

Teliszewsky says health and safety of municipal employees has been a key concern since the start of the pandemic, and municipal workplaces have already been adjusted with things like increased social distance inside, reduced staffing levels and daily screenings.

"A lot of steps have been taken to make sure that city hall and all of our municipal facilities are safe for employees and the general public following the best advice from public health officials," he adds.

According to Teliszewsky, the decision by the City of Toronto to mandate vaccinations for staff will be one of a number of recent decisions that senior staff will look at before city council ultimately makes a decision.

"Some of the steps taken by the federal government, the broader public sector like the college, university and the hospital will be inputs in that decision making process," he says.

Last week the federal government announced it will soon require all public servants be vaccinated, a mandate that will also be implemented by Crown corporations and other federally regulated businesses in the coming weeks.

— With files from AM800's Aaron Mahoney