47 employees at Ottawa's children's hospital suspended without pay for violating vaccine mandate
Forty-seven employees at Ottawa's Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario have been placed on unpaid leave, and could be fired in two weeks, for failing to comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
In August, CHEO announced all doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers, learners and contractors must receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to enter the facility. The policy started on Sept. 7.
As of Friday, 99.3 per cent of full-time personnel and 97.6 per cent of part-time and casual personnel are immunized at CHEO. The hospital has a total of 3,865 personnel on site.
Three employees have been granted a medical exemption.
"In total 47 personnel, which includes 29 part-time and casual, have chosen not to get vaccinated and are therefore being placed on unpaid suspension leave," said CHEO in a statement on Friday afternoon.
"We hope all of these people will choose to come back to work at CHEO by getting vaccinated in the next two weeks. If they don’t do so by October 29, their employment at CHEO will come to an end."
CHEO says 70 per cent of the children and youth it serves are not currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, and it's important to add in this extra layer of protection at the hospital.
"Evidence-based vaccines add one more layer of protection to keep everyone safe at CHEO in addition to universal masking, physical distancing, entrance screening and other safety measures," said CHEO.
Two hundred and three employees at Bruyère Continuing Care, CHEO and the Queensway Carleton Hospital have been or will be placed on unpaid leave for failing to comply with COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
On Friday, the Queensway Carleton Hospital announced 37 employees were put on unpaid leave for violating the vaccine mandate.
The hospital in Ottawa's west end announced Friday afternoon that 98 per cent of staff are fully vaccinated and complying with the new policy for staff.
Ottawa's Bruyere announced early Friday afternoon that 119 employees are now on unpaid leave for failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.