Trudeau should study Ford’s vaccine plan
Making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory is popular with the already vaccinated, but it’s a policy that’s a lot easier to demand than to deliver. That’s something Ontario Premier Doug Ford seems to grasp but it has come as a rude shock to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Liberal leader could learn a thing or two from Ontario. The latest vaccination plan from the Ontario government contrasts sharply with Trudeau’s so-called “mandatory” vaccination order for people working in the federal public service and federally regulated industries.
Characteristically, Trudeau went for the sweeping and easy move. If you want something to happen, simply declare it done. It didn’t take long for Trudeau’s plan to hit a couple of reality bumps. The president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the public service’s largest union, said the union wouldn’t accept discipline or firing for members who refused to get vaccinated. Then Canada’s chief human resources officer posted a memo to deputy ministers saying that the real consequences for those who refuse to get vaccinated would be testing and screening. Trudeau said the memo was “erroneous” but the damage was done.
The Ford government is taking a more targeted and balanced approach. While the largest single group of people affected by Trudeau’s vaccination promise would be public servants working from home in Ottawa, Ontario is toughening the requirements for workers in high-risk settings, including hospitals, home care, post-secondary schools, retirement homes, women’s shelters and congregate living centres.
A plan for public schools will follow soon, but it’s unlikely to be enough for the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, which wants mandatory vaccinations and is condemning the government for not compelling its own members to act.
The latest Ontario plan builds on an approach already in place in long-term care homes. No one will be forced to get vaccinated, but organizations need to have a vaccination plan and identify who hasn’t been vaccinated. Those people will have to present a documented medical reason for not being vaccinated or attend a vaccine education course and accept a regular rapid-testing regimen.
Sweeping vaccination rules make far less sense than those that target problem areas. The Ontario thinking is that employees who work in high-risk locations should be vaccinated for the protection of the vulnerable people they are serving. That makes sense, although it needs to be paired with efforts by local public health units to reach people in neighbourhoods with low vaccination rates.
Ontario’s announcement on Tuesday was made by the capable new chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore. This reflects a lesson painfully and slowly learned by Ford. Until recently, Ford was the key spokesman on pandemic regulations. In theory, it was an act of leadership. In practice, it meant that Ford would offer some clichés then defer to Dr. David Williams, who was then chief medical officer of health. Williams would follow with long, complex answers that defied comprehension. The net effect was that people were confused and Ford was blamed.
Despite Moore’s strong performance, some journalists were surprised that the announcement wasn’t being made by Ford or another cabinet minister. Moore explained that the latest approach was a directive from his office and so it was up to him to deliver it, although he had consulted cabinet and gotten approval.
It’s good to see an apparent depoliticization of COVID public health policy. Moore is the province’s top public health official and he should be leading the fight. As a bonus for Ford, Moore’s leadership blunts the criticism of Ontario’s oft-quoted bevy of health experts, which rests on the premise that they are experts and Ford is simply a politician.
This week’s plan will disappoint those eager to compel others to get vaccinated, but Moore stressed repeatedly that the new provincial approach is the minimum he expects. Employers are free to go farther and the government will support them if they do.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act already lets employers demand that their employees get vaccinated, but it’s not a road that many have rushed down, yet. There is a practical reason why. Employers, including the provincial government, are afraid of losing workers that will be hard to replace. That’s particularly true for health-care workers.
The vaccine hesitancy problem can’t be eliminated by government decree or employer action. The retired and self-employed are beyond the reach of employer or government demands. Small businesses are unlikely to set up education courses and monitor regular testing.
Pushing vaccine numbers higher is a tricky, multi-dimensional problem that requires more than political slogans. Doug Ford has figured that out, for now at least. Justin Trudeau is still trying to catch up.