Vancouver, Oct. 11 (BUS): Canada’s health and long-term care industries brace for staff shortages and layoffs, as deadlines for vaccine mandates loom across the country as unions push federal and provincial governments to soften hard-line positions.
For hospitals and nursing homes, worker shortages will strain an already overburdened workforce that is dealing with nearly two years of the pandemic. The uncertainty raised by vaccine mandates highlights the challenges on the road to recovery.
Officials are heading into uncharted waters with mandates for mass vaccines, and it’s not clear how workers will respond, said Devon Grayson, associate professor of public health at the University of British Columbia.
“A shortage of workers can mean people’s health and well-being. It’s scary,” Grayson said.
However, Grayson added, “We’re in an ethical situation where it’s also scary not to be sure that all health workers are vaccinated. So it’s kind of a catch-22.”
To address the scarcity of staff, at least one county offers signing bonuses for nurses. Provinces including Quebec and British Columbia have made it mandatory for healthcare workers and nursing staff to receive the vaccination to continue working in their respective fields.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also unveiled one of the world’s most stringent vaccine mandates last week, saying that unvaccinated federal employees would be sent on unpaid leave, making COVID-19 shots mandatory for passengers on planes, trains and ships.
The layoffs are starting to hit, with one hospital in southern Ontario last week laying off 57 employees, representing 2.5% of staff, after a vaccine mandate went into effect. A long-term care home in Toronto has put 36% of its employees on unpaid leave after they refused to receive a vaccination.
British Columbia will put employees in the long-term care and assisted living sector on unpaid administrative leave if they fail to get at least one shot by Monday.
The county said about 97% of long-term care employees in Vancouver and surrounding areas had at least one dose as of October 6. But northern British Columbia has only 89% of employees with at least one dose, although the data is still being updated.
The county recently changed the deadline, giving more time for people to receive their second dose of the vaccine. “This is because we know we have very limited healthcare resources,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, the county medical officer.
Quebec is offering rewards of CAD15,000 to help attract and retain approximately 4,300 full-time nurses. Christian Dube, the county health secretary, said about 25,000 health care workers who haven’t yet received their full vaccinations before the October 15 deadline, could be suspended without pay.
About 97% of all employees at the University Health Network, which operates medical facilities in and around Toronto, Ontario, had been vaccinated before October 22, with efforts underway to find support for the remainder.
Daniel Lublin, a Toronto-based employment attorney, called the mandates “very political” and based on the majority opinion that vaccines are good. “The implication is that another segment of the Canadian workforce will face job loss if they choose not to vaccinate.”
The Canadian Public Service Alliance (PSAC), which represents 215,000 federal workers, said that while the union supports the government’s position on vaccination, its members who do not receive the vaccination should not be penalized.
“Especially when remote work options are available that do not jeopardize the health and safety of co-workers and allow our members to continue serving Canadians,” said Chris Aylward, President of PSAC.
A government source said the Treasury Board, which oversees public administration, is working with PSAC and other worker representatives on implementing the mandate.
Luis Hugo Francescotti, an emergency room physician in Edmonton, said he has worked with many people who have continued to refuse vaccination, even though it will cost them their jobs when the mandate takes effect October 31.
Alberta has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Canada, and its hospitals have been overwhelmed by the fourth wave.
“Now we are so underwater that missing two people who don’t want to be vaccinated – it would be sad (but) the impact would be small,” Francescotti said.
HF