Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

Accommodation requests regarding the new federal mandatory vaccination policy

Image of border crossing with the words "COVID-19"

As per the federal government’s new mandatory vaccination policy​ for federal public service workers, all CBSA employees must attest to being fully vaccinated by October 29, 2021, or face being placed on administrative leave without pay two week after the attestation deadline.

The policy does allow for employees who are unable to be vaccinated — based on a certified medical contraindication, a religious exemption, or another prohibited ground of discrimination as per the Canadian Human Rights Act — to request an accommodation. CIU recommends that members who intend to request such an accommodation do so before the October 29 deadline, which is fast approaching.

​Members who wish to submit an accommodation request should:

  • Inform their manager of their intention to ask for an accommodation as early as possible, before October 29.
  • Obtain the necessary documentation justifying the request from relevant authorities (for example, a qualified medical professional or religious authority figure).
  • Contact the CIU Human Rights Representative, Murray Star, at murray.star@ciu-sdi.ca for additional guidance.

As this policy applies to the entire public service and not just CBSA, it is worth noting that the federal government has made it clear that they would be very stringent in granting accommodations regarding mandatory vaccination. Should accommodation requests be denied, we will continue to defend our members to the best of our abilities. It is important to stress that such cases often take considerable time to resolve.

Should you have further questions regarding the accommodation process, please contact the CIU Human Rights Representative, Murray Star, at murray.star@ciu-sdi.ca.

Federal government rushes through mandatory vaccination policy, eschews meaningful consultation with unions

Image of border crossing with the words "COVID-19"

Today, the federal government announced its new mandatory vaccination policy for all federal public service workers. In doing so, they eschewed the meaningful consultation with the federal public sector unions they had promised, imposing this rushed policy in lieu of what should have been a nuanced framework.

Let us be clear: CIU fully supports ongoing vaccination efforts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we strongly encourage our members to get vaccinated. Along with other preventative measures, vaccination campaigns across the country have played a crucial role in managing the most severe impacts of the pandemic and saved the lives of many Canadians.

That is why, earlier this year, CIU had urged the Government of Canada to adequately prioritize the vaccination of our members. Even though we processed unvaccinated travellers from around the world, we were told that no priority would be given to our members, and that we were safe to do our jobs unvaccinated. CIU then pressured provincial governments to move us up their vaccination priority list, which had varying degrees of success across different provinces and public health units.

Along with other essential workers, CIU occupies a unique position within the federal public service, with a large part of our membership having continued to work on the frontline since day one of the pandemic. We’ve ensured that our borders remained operational throughout, all the while being told that our workplaces were safe and that the preventative measures in place — which have never included vaccination — were adequate. Over time, our employer’s attitude toward risk has become more and more permissive. We have seen a consistent erosion of our preventative measures, and a downplaying of the risk of COVID transmission in the workplace:

  • The employer resumed full-contact, hands-on use of force training at the height of the third wave.
  • Full-contact CDT as part of student training continued at the peak of the third wave in some of Canada’s most infected areas.
  • COVID-19 related work refusals have consistently been rejected, with ESDC labour ruling that there was no danger.
  • Our members are consistently told that there is no need for additional PPE when dealing with COVID positive cases.
  • Despite the pandemic still going strong in parts of the country, the employer has clawed back preventative measures such as platooning, remote work, virtual training, etc.
  • Just two weeks ago, the employer refused to stop close contact training in Alberta because ‘there had not been any transmission in training’, deeming their preventative measures effective enough in the midst of a public health crisis.
  • The request to limit the number of travellers in our baggage halls has been denied because Transport Canada ‘does not require it’.
  • Our employer attempted to eliminate physically distancing in vehicles, claiming masking is effective enough.
  • Vulnerable employees and employees living with vulnerable people who have been working from home have been pressured to return to work based on the employer’s list of preventative measures (which, again, never included vaccination).
  • The employer has repeatedly cited low work-related transmission or outbreaks of COVID-19 to justify less stringent preventative measures.

It is difficult to reconcile the employer’s dismissal of sensible preventative measures with the now seemingly urgent need for all federal public service workers to be fully vaccinated or face the threat of being placed on leave without pay. Some of these very same employees were required to travel internationally without vaccine priority or interact with unvaccinated travellers and clients. To justify this policy as a means of protecting the health and safety of employees is especially hypocritical.

It bears repeating again — high vaccination rates are an important tool in the arsenal we have at our disposal against COVID-19, and we strongly urge our members who can get vaccinated to do so if they have not already. That being said, for the Government of Canada to rush through a mandatory vaccination policy on the basis of occupational health and safety, without proper consultation with the unions, and after indicating to our members for the past 20 months that COVID was not a concern in our workplaces, is extremely disingenuous.

We understand that some may find aspects of the current situation to be contentious, and we urge all of our members to maintain a respectful and professional attitude amongst themselves, as well as towards their union representatives.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has already highlighted a full list of concerns and issues with this new policy. As made clear by PSAC in their statement, we will continue to represent unvaccinated members who have punitive action taken against them as a result of their vaccination status. Should you need assistance in this matter, please contact your Branch President.

Federal government releases vaccination policy without proper consultation — PSAC Statement & FAQ

PSAC logo SCFP

The federal government released its vaccination policy for federal public service workers October 6, mandating vaccinations for all employees in federally regulated workplaces, including more than 160,000 PSAC members.

Treasury Board has encouraged Crown corporations, agencies, and the Canadian Forces to implement similar policies, but this policy will not immediately apply to them.

Read the full vaccination policy. 

PSAC fully supports a federal vaccination policy to protect the health and safety of our members and the Canadians they serve. We know that increasing vaccination rates is the best and most reliable way to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our workplaces and our communities and encourage our members to be vaccinated.

See also the FAQ Your rights at work: Vaccinations and COVID-19.

However, if the goal is to keep the workplace healthy and safe, this policy still falls short.

The government rushed their vaccination policy without meaningful consultation with the unions representing federal public service workers. Treasury Board gave unions less than a single business day to provide feedback on their policy, and then failed to incorporate any of the changes into their final policy. Our union supports the government’s vaccination framework, but how it is applied matters, and we expect the employer’s implementation of the policy will respect:

Members’ privacy rights: Any personal information collected must be shared on a need-to-know basis only and collected and stored for a limited period and in keeping with the Privacy Act.

Bargaining rights: Bargaining agents should be included in meaningful consultation as these frameworks and policies evolve, including adequate time to provide feedback and input.

Human rights: Members’ human rights must be protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, including the duty to accommodate.

Health and safety: Workplace health and safety committees must be consulted about the implementation of the policy.

Equity and inclusion: The policy must consider the adverse impacts of the policy on historically disadvantaged groups of employees, including racialized, Black and Indigenous employees.

Consistency: The government’s vaccination policy should also apply to federal contractors and the general public who interact with federal public service workers to ensure the health and safety of our members. The vaccination policy also needs to be applied consistently across federal departments and agencies.

Fairness: Employees who are required to be vaccinated or who experience side effects should not have to use their own sick leave banks, and this should not be left up to the discretion of individual managers.

While the vast majority of PSAC’s membership is fully vaccinated, PSAC will continue to represent unvaccinated members who have punitive action taken against them as a result of their vaccination status.

We’ll continue to work to ensure the implementation of the policy protects the health and safety and human rights of our members while ensuring their rights to privacy are respected.

Keep your member info up to date to receive all the latest updates about the government’s vaccination policy, bargaining issues and more.

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: A chance for reflection and reconciliation

Indigenous people in Canada continue to face intergenerational trauma. The clean drinking water crisis on reserves is still unresolved, Indigenous peoples are being killed by police at an alarming rate, and earlier this year, it was confirmed that there are unmarked graves containing the remains of thousands of children at former residential school sites across Canada.

Not enough progress has been made towards ending anti-Indigenous racism, or relationship-building between Indigenous peoples and the rest of Canada.

The official designation of September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, unanimously supported by the House of Commons in May, is a necessary and encouraging step forward. The ongoing commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools is a vital part of reconciliation.

A brief history of September 30 

The movement for a new national holiday began in 2013 when Phyllis Webstad shared a heartbreaking story that launched the annual Orange Shirt Day on September 30.

Forty years earlier, when Webstad was just six years old, her grandmother took her to get a new outfit for her first day of school at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School, just outside Williams Lake, B.C. Webstad handpicked a bright orange, lace-front shirt. But when she arrived at school wearing it, she was stripped of her clothing and never saw the shirt again.

“The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter. How no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing,” said Webstad in a post on the Orange Shirt Day website. “All of us little children were crying, and no one cared.”

Orange Shirt Day creates meaningful discussion about the harm of residential schools and the legacy they have left behind. The date was chosen because it is the time of year children were taken from their homes and put into residential schools.

In September 2020, a new bill was tabled proposing that Orange Shirt Day become a national statutory holiday. The legislation was similar to the previous proposal, which died in the Senate when the 2019 federal election was called. In May 2021, the day after 215 children’s bodies were discovered in Kamloops, all parties agreed to fast-track the bill and it passed in the House of Commons, and then in the Senate, by unanimous consent.

An opportunity to show your support 

Now, Orange Shirt Day is also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new statutory holiday for employees in federally regulated public and private sectors.

PSAC members who receive it as a paid holiday are encouraged to use this opportunity to take real action to support Indigenous peoples.

Here are some examples of how you can honour survivors, their families, and communities: 

  • Wear an orange shirt purchased from an Indigenous company in honour of Phyllis Webstad and all former residential school survivors.
  • Donate $30 on September 30 to a local or national Indigenous charity or not-for-profit working to improve the lives of Indigenous families and communities.
  • Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action to learn more about the 80 calls to action that are, as yet, unanswered.
  • Refer to our list of resources for recommendations on reports and podcasts to help you learn and reflect.
  • Participate in an event in your area.

In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, PSAC will make monetary donations to the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society — two Indigenous organizations that are working to advance reconciliation and provide support to Indigenous families and communities.

The federal government established the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday in response to one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. It’s one of only 14 calls to action that have been fulfilled.  

There is still so much more work to do on the path to reconciliation. We encourage you to reach out to your newly elected member of Parliament and urge them to lobby the federal government to commit to a clear timeline for developing an action plan, providing funding for, and fulfilling all 94 Calls to Action.

The star quilt graphic was designed by Georgina Metzler, an Anishinaabe artist and graphic designer who lives in Calgary, Alberta. Learn more about the artist and the meaning behind the work.

Special thank you to L’nu/Mi’Kmaq high school principal Paula Reynolds-Hall for sharing ideas on how to take action on September 30. 

This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.

2021 Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ Annual Memorial Service

Photo of CIU flag

On September 24, 1998, the Government of Canada officially proclaimed the last Sunday of September of every year as Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day. This year, the last Sunday of September falls on September 26. The Canadian Flag on CIU’s property will be half-masted from sunrise to sunset on that day.

While the current health crisis will prevent large groups from participating in the Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ 44th Annual Memorial Service, a small number of representatives will gather for the ceremony.

Those who wish to follow virtually will be able do so through the following link: https://cppom.ca/LIVE