The City of Greater Sudbury’s vaccine mandate is being expanded as of Nov. 15 to include additional facilities not covered by existing provincial legislation.
The expanded vaccine mandate includes various buildings where people stay for longer periods of time, including stays that extend beyond short, transactional visits.
City council was unanimous in approving city administration’s resolution to that effect during Tuesday’s meeting, minus Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann and Mayor Brian Bigger, who were both absent.
As per the provincial mandate, proof of vaccination has been required at various municipal recreation facilities since Sept. 22, alongside businesses.
The municipal mandate, which expands upon existing requirements, includes:
- Portions of the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre
- All publicly accessible meeting and community rooms, including council chambers
- Community halls
These facilities “don’t have a hard and fast requirement for visitors to be fully vaccinated, but nonetheless are being recommended here in the report before council,” city manager of corporate services Kevin Fowke said in introducing the resolution to city council.
The Lionel E. Lalonde Centre mandate extends to the side of the facility “that hosts training events and meeting and conferences for a variety of different customers,” he said, noting that the brief, transactional collision reporting centre is exempt and the fitness centre already has a vaccine mandate.
A large portion of the building also houses the Greater Sudbury Police Service, which already maintains a vaccine mandate among its staff but does not currently have a vaccination policy in place for visitors. This section of the building is not included in the expanded mandate.
Council chambers “may be subject to an exception for government services under the legislation currently,” but Fowke said city administration recommended its inclusion regardless.
As for community halls, he indicated that municipal staff will have to keep an eye on things.
“Our best legal advice would indicate that we need to go a step beyond simply contracting for that requirement and then leaving it up to the facility users to make sure that requirement is met,” he said, adding that municipal law enforcement and security staff will have to do checks to ensure compliance.
City bylaw officers have taken a primarily education-first approach to enforcing COVID-related health rules thus far in the pandemic, with fines treated as a last-ditch effort.
Proof of vaccination can come in the form of vaccine receipt or medical exemption along with a government-issued ID. There are exemptions under provincial regulations, which include children under the age of 12 and those who can display written exemptions from physicians that provide an approved documented medical reason for not being vaccinated and an effective time period for the medical exemption.
As for facilities that don’t fall under the city’s expanded vaccine mandate, Fowke recommends continued masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing, physical separation and other measures “based on evolving provincial and/or Public Health guidelines.”
In addition to its vaccine mandate among members of the public visiting municipal facilities, the City of Greater Sudbury has a vaccination policy for staff and city council members, which required they disclose their vaccination status by Sept. 30 and be fully vaccinated with an accepted vaccine by Nov. 15.
In a media release issued in September, the city noted that “reasonable accommodation will be provided to those employees with a valid Human Rights Code-based exemption for medical or religious reasons,” pending their approval with appropriate documentation.
People can register complaints, share concerns and ask questions related to the new guidelines by phoning the City of Greater Sudbury’s customer service line at 311.
