Is vaccination compulsory to work in Canada?
Increasingly, employers are requiring their employees to get vaccinated.
For a long time now, Canada has been vaccinating against COVID-19. The country leads the world, and more than 68% of the population has already been fully immunized. However, there are those who, for whatever reason, refuse to be vaccinated.
The Canadian government has mandated that all public employees be vaccinated, but private companies have the right to develop their own vaccination policies. KPMG, an international accounting firm, conducted a survey of 505 Canadian employers to find out how they felt about vaccinating their employees.
More than half (62%) responded that they plan to make immunization mandatory for all company employees or are at least considering such an option. In addition, an overwhelming majority of employers (84%) support the idea of introducing vaccination passports for employment in certain positions. An equal number of employers believe that the government should introduce compulsory vaccination. Some justify this by saying that it is too burdensome for the company to force employees to be vaccinated.
Norm Keith, an employment law lawyer, notes that employers need to strike a balance to ensure staff safety but avoid the legal consequences of forcing everyone to be vaccinated. KPMG also believes that employers should be flexible with those who refuse to vaccinate for health reasons or religious beliefs.
Employees, on the other hand, should be aware that if a company implements a policy requiring staff to be vaccinated, defending their refusal to vaccinate will be difficult.
