The Canadian Government is suspending its requirement that Federal Public Servants be vaccinated in order to work.
Also ended is the policy mandating vaccination for all domestic travellers.
Minister for Health, Jean-Yves Duclos said the decisions had been taken due to Canada’s high vaccination rate and a decrease in COVID-19 infections.
Some 32 million, or nearly 90 per cent, of eligible Canadians are vaccinated.
“While the suspension of vaccine mandates reflects an improved public health situation in Canada, the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve and circulate in Canada and globally,” Mr Duclos (pictured) said.
Spurred by the mandate, which was introduced on 30 October last year, 95 per cent of public employees confirmed they had received two shots of a vaccine.
President of the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier said some unvaccinated Federal workers, who were put on unpaid leave due to the mandate, would now be allowed to resume normal duties.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used National Public Service Week to promise to make the Federal Government more diverse.
Mr Trudeau thanked the country’s 300,000 Public Servants for their “dedication, professionalism, and creativity” and vowed to “foster a more inclusive Public Service that looks like Canada and works for all Canadians”.
He said the Federal Government was supporting Black and ‘racialised’ employees, Indigenous peoples, employees with disabilities, religious minorities, and others.
“The Government is working on increasing diversity among senior leaders and is developing new, innovative solutions for recruitment and talent management across the Public Service through the Centre on Diversity and Inclusion,” Mr Trudeau said.
Ottawa 16 June 2022
