Ottawa's Bruyere Continuing Care suspends 119 unvaccinated employees
More than 100 employees at Ottawa's Bruyère health care facilities are now on unpaid leave for failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Friday, 91 per cent of the 2,298 employees at Bruyère are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while an additional three per cent of employees are "on track" to being fully vaccinated in the coming days.
In August, Bruyère announced that all employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 15.
"A small percentage of staff have chosen not to comply with our mandatory vaccine policy," said Bruyère in a statement on its website.
"We remain hopeful that they will choose to get the vaccine."
Bruyère says 119 employees who choose not to get vaccinated are now on unpaid leave. The employees include 50 full-time and part-time staff and 69 casual employees.
"We will continue to work with these team members and hope all of them will choose to get vaccinated so they can resume working at Bruyère," said Bruyère.
"For the few who are choosing to end their employment at Bruyère, we are thankful for their contribution to the organization to date and wish them all the best."
One day after employees were notified they were being suspended without pay, 12 employees said they would now get vaccinated.
"Since the letters were issued to leaders yesterday, I'm pleased to say that number 119 has been reduced by 12 overnight," said Rebecca Officer, vice-president of Human Resources, Organizational Culture and Development at Bruyere.
"We're hopeful we'll continue to go in the right direction."
Officer told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with guest host Graham Richardson that employees will be able to return to work with "confirmation that they are getting vaccinated."
Bruyère provides hospital programs specializing in rehabilitation and complex care, family health teams, long-term care homes and in supportive and independent living for older adults.
Two-hundred and three employees at Bruyère, CHEO and the Queensway Carleton Hospital have been or will be placed on unpaid leave for failing to comply with COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.