More companies end mandatory vaccination as COVID rules loosen

A growing swath of Canadian companies are no longer requiring employees to be vaccinated to come to work as corporate policies ease in step with public health guidelines.

Governments have been loosening COVID-19 restrictions, with Ottawa allowing airline and railway workers as well as passengers to climb on board without being jabbed starting Monday.

Canada's big banks and four largest accounting firms have all rolled back their corporate vaccine mandates for employees as they return to the office. The two biggest railways are doing likewise, as is Air Canada.

The country's largest airline said in an email it is recalling nearly 600 employees — less than two per cent of its staff — who were on unpaid leave for more than seven months due to a requirement that aviation workers be inoculated. Those returning to work will not be receiving compensation for their time away, said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.

Not all big employers are on board, however. Sun Life Financial Inc. said mandatory vaccination for tens of thousands of in-office workers remains in place for now.

“Our employees continue to have flexibility and choice on whether they work at an office, from home, or both. We want everyone to feel comfortable coming into our offices,” spokeswoman Nadine Jahangir said in an email.

Mark Agnew, a senior vice-president at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says the trend toward dropping vaccine mandates marks a response to shifts in provincial and federal rules as well as growing comfort with shared indoor spaces.

“The government has a genuine role to play in setting a tone that people will listen to,” he said, adding that many companies have liability and reputation top of mind.

“If the province isn't requiring it for restaurants or movie theatres, maybe we don't either.”

Nixing such an arguably intrusive rule doesn't rule out reimposing it should a seventh wave strike in the fall, said Kathleen Chevalier, an employment and labour lawyer at Stikeman Elliott.

“Taking it away doesn't necessarily, from a legal perspective, make it harder to bring it back if you have that underlying justification,” Chevalier said, citing worker health.

“From an employee relations perspective, though, that might be a different kettle of fish.”

Some companies have caveats on their scrapped vaccine mandates.

Ernst & Young Inc. employees must show evidence of full vaccination if requested by clients, a spokesperson said.

PWC said it has an “an option of masked floors for people who are not comfortable” with too many uncovered faces.