Toronto police still developing vaccination policy
Several forces across Ontario are waiting for guidance from province
After the City of Toronto told its employees they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 — with the TTC following suit hours later Thursday — the Toronto Police Service said it cannot yet commit to whether its 7,400 employees will also be required to take the shot.
As a growing number of public services move to either mandatory vaccination or vaccine policies — hospitals and schools must have an official plan for inoculations — many of Ontario’s police forces have yet to act, some saying they are stuck in limbo awaiting guidance from the province.
But there is nothing stopping police services from developing their own vaccine requirements, something Mayor John Tory said he supports for Toronto police.
“I support doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of Toronto police employees and all city employees,” Tory said in a statement to the Star Thursday, noting he called for police officers to get priority access to vaccines earlier in the pandemic.
Allison Sparkes, spokesperson for the Toronto police, said the force “is reviewing our approach to vaccination and we will announce our approach as soon as we can.”
Toronto Police Association president Jon Reid did not respond to a request for an interview Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Ontario government announced that frontline workers, including health care providers and paramedic services, must develop strict vaccination policies that include requiring employees to their shots or provide proof of a medical exemption.
Those unwilling or unable to get their shots would have to undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
But police services were not included in the province’s announcement, spurring the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) to write to the provincial government for guidance.
“A number of chiefs of police have been asking if the province is considering anything in regard to mandatory vaccinations for police personnel,” reads the OACP letter sent to the solicitor general’s office Wednesday.
Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The Star surveyed nearly a dozen police services across Ontario asking if officers will be required to be vaccinated. Multiple forces, including those in Ottawa, Halton Region and London, said they were awaiting direction from the province following the OACP’s inquiries.
The OPP, the largest police service in Ontario, confirmed there is currently no requirement that its members be vaccinated.
Joe Couto, a spokesperson for the OACP, said police services can develop their own policies — he stressed that should be done in collaboration with boards and police associations — but worried that could lead to an inconsistent “patchwork” across the province.
“We do have police personnel that are reluctant or even opposed to vaccinations, and then a lot of that is personal choice,” Couto said. “But as chiefs, we need to ensure that our employees are protected.”