The Toronto Police Service (TPS) says it will require all uniformed and civilian staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 13, following a number of other Ontario public sector entities that enacted vaccine policies in recent weeks.
“The Service continues to support and follow public health advice regarding vaccination, social distancing, the wearing of masks, and the use of PPE among other precautions, and will implement the new mandatory requirement for all members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to the Service’s duty to accommodate members pursuant to the Human Rights Code,” Chief James Ramer said in a statement Tuesday.
All Toronto police employees must disclose their vaccination status and provide documentation of their shots by Sept. 13.
The statement issued by police on Tuesday makes no mention of an alternative to vaccination such as compulsory regular COVID-19 testing, as other organizations have introduced.
The Toronto Police Association (TPA), however, says it opposes the vaccination policy and that it is unclear and incomplete.
"This announcement, however preliminary, is missing critical details that are central to understanding the impacts, timelines, or potentially alternative options available to our
members. The TPA must make every effort to protect all of our members and therefore, does not support this mandatory vaccination announcement or mandatory disclosure," TPA wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
The police service joins the Ontario civil service, several Toronto hospital networks, a raft of post-secondary institutions and major sporting franchises in the city in implementing COVID-19 vaccine policies in recent weeks.
