The City of Windsor is the latest to remove a policy requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Ward 9 Councillor Kieran McKenzie introduced a motion Wednesday night to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. It was soon approved by the whole council.
"When the City instituted the vaccine mandate, it did it to protect staff and save lives during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic," said City of Windsor CAO Onorio Colucci. "We're obviously in a much better position now with the risk of serious illness to staff significantly reduced, so it’s time to move forward."
The City of Windsor joined the County of Essex in putting a vaccine mandate in place in the summer of 2021. Employees were required to show either proof of vaccination, proof that they had begun the process, or produce a valid exemption by the end of October. Over a hundred employees were fired for refusing to get a vaccine.
The City's Director of Human Resources, Dana Paladino, said Windsor had been watching how others had handled vaccine mandates.
"The City of Windsor has been monitoring the best practice in this regard across different levels of government, and are following recent actions taken by other large municipalities," said Paladino in a media release.
Windsor police and EnWin Utilities have already dropped vaccine mandates.
Wednesday's City Council meeting was the last of the 2018-2022 term. Outgoing councillors Chris Holt, Rino Bortolin, and Jeewen Gill were recognized for their contributions to the City. Gill lost reelection in Ward 7 to Angelo Marignani. Holt gave up his Ward 4 seat to run for mayor, and Bortolin chose not to run for a third term in Ward 3.
