The Shuswap District of Columbia is making a change to its COVID vaccination policy. The CSRD will suspend the proof-of-vaccination requirement of COVID-19 for its paid on-call firefighters for six months or pending further Provincial Public Health Orders. An additional board amendment was also made to allow staff to quickly reinstate the policy in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak within CSRD’s fire departments or any individual firehouse. The board agreed to devolve responsibility to the Chief Executive, Human Resources Adviser and Head of the Protective Services Team, allowing them to make decisions about vaccination policy without having to call a board meeting. Politics has been eliminated for elected officials. However, if elected officials choose not to vaccinate, they should work remotely where possible. If unable to work remotely, unvaccinated elected directors should wear a mask while in CSRD facilities and CSRD businesses. Unvaccinated firefighters should also wear masks when working directly in the CSRD administration building. To help protect the health and safety of both CSRD staff and the public, the vaccination policy remains in effect for all existing CSRD employees and any newly hired employees. While the discussion around the Board table reflected a variety of views, the majority of Board members voted to temporarily suspend the policy at this time. It was also noted that the suspension of the policy reflected the position of most members of the fire department, who expressed their support for working with unvaccinated firefighters. This happened, in part, because firefighters train for a short time each week, and much of that training takes place outdoors. The CSRD lost approximately 15 percent of its firefighting force with the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination policy. It is hoped that the suspension of the policy will encourage many of these firefighters to return to their firefighting duties.
