The Canadian government announced Friday that all federal officials will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as the country faces a fourth wave of coronavirus, due to the Delta variant deemed to be more contagious.
"We will demand vaccination in the federal public service,"
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, announced during a press briefing.
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The date of entry into force of this measure will be specified in the coming weeks, but should apply
"quickly"
and no later than October for the transport sector. Ottawa is also working with public enterprises, such as Canada Post, to ensure that this measure applies there as well. The Canadian government is
"the largest employer in the country"
, recalled the minister, the federal public service counting approximately 300,000 employees, according to figures from Ottawa.
"All of these efforts are aimed at helping Canada achieve the immunization coverage we need to reopen our economy, to keep it open and to protect thousands of people,"
added Dominic LeBlanc. As of Friday, 71% of the 38 million Canadians had received a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, nearly 62% were fully immunized. The minister did not indicate the possible sanctions to which unvaccinated officials will be exposed, saying he expects employees to comply with the measure.
The situation of officials who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons will be examined on a case-by-case basis. The announcement comes less than a month before the reopening of Canadian borders to vaccinated foreign travelers, scheduled for September 7, a year and a half after their closure due to the pandemic. Elsewhere in the world, New York State also recently announced the mandatory vaccination of its public servants.