Two Richmond RCMP officers are refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and will go on leave without pay, according to Chief Supt. Will Ng.
This is out of a total of 288 officers employed as Richmond RCMP officers.
Ng added that the rest of the local force is vaccinated.
Federal government employees have been mandated to be vaccinated to continue in their jobs with a possible deadline of Nov. 15 – the federal government announced this mandate would be in place “as early as November 15.”
According to the federal mandate, those who refuse to be vaccinated or refuse to disclose whether they are vaccinated will be put on leave without pay.
This includes those who work remotely.
Some exceptions could be made, for example, for medical reasons or for reasons that fall under the human rights act, according to a federal government explainer.
In the meantime, Richmond city council has mandated city staff have to be vaccinated by Dec. 20 or face being put on unpaid leave.
In response to a question at council’s community safety meeting, deputy fire chief Jim Wishlove said its human resources department is working to collect information about the vaccination status of the city’s fire fighters.
