The London Police Service (LPS) has launched a COVID-19 vaccine policy, adding it to a growing list of Ontario workplaces with their own vaccine mandates.
Effective Tuesday, all employees with the LPS have until Oct. 15 to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.
The policy also applies to auxiliary officers, volunteers, co-op students and anyone else participating in police programs.
Those who cannot be fully vaccinated “based on a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code” will have to provide supporting documentation in order to receive an accommodation.
Those who fail to submit proof of vaccination by Oct. 15, and who are not subject to an approved accommodation, face a progressive scale of enforcement measures.
Enforcement begins with mandatory educational sessions on COVID-19, but additional measures may include reassignment, removal from active duties, an unpaid leave of absence and/or disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Chief Steve Williams says the harsher measures will only be used as a last resort.
“To place anybody on leave without pay or to terminate anybody is not something we want to do at all … we have almost 900 members, every member contributes to our mission, every day they do important work in the organization and for the community, and we want that to continue,” Williams said.
The new policy drew on the advice of local health officials and was developed in consultation with the London Police Association and the London Police Services Board.
Williams adds that other health measures at the LPS, such as masking, distancing and active screenings, will remain in effect in the meantime.
“We deal with citizens every day, face-to-face obviously, and many of those individuals are vulnerable individuals in vulnerable settings … we have a responsibility to keep those people safe too,” Williams said.
While he won’t have a final tally until mid-October, when LPS members need to submit their proof of vaccination, Williams believes the “vast, vast majority” of members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Police say given the changing landscape of the pandemic, the policy will “remain indefinite in nature and will be reviewed and amended as required.”