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
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.