Add RCMP to priority vaccine list, union urges

OTTAWA • The union representing front-line RCMP officers is asking federal and provincial officials to consider Mounties for priority access to COVID-19 vaccination.

The National Police Federation says inoculating its members will ensure the safety of both officers and the communities they serve.

Letters have gone out to provincial premiers as well as justice and health ministers, “to express our concern about rolling out the vaccines in a consistent, safe and appropriate manner,” federation president Brian Sauve said in a statement.

In a January letter to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Sauve emphasized that the federation supports prompt vaccination of health and social-service workers.

But he added RCMP officers cannot always keep a safe distance from others, resulting in close contact with people each day.

“They conduct in-person COVID-19 quarantine compliance checks and they enforce the Public Health Orders. They do so in many settings, including communities in crisis where the rate of infection has surged,” Sauve wrote.

In northern and remote communities, RCMP officers have expanded duties beyond traditional policing roles, such as responding to health emergencies and transporting patients, he noted.