Feds could push provinces on mandatory COVID-19 vaccine for all workers: documents

Internal documents say the federal government could consider making the COVID-19 vaccines 'a national interest item.'

Senior federal officials were told in the spring that the government could make it mandatory for all workers countrywide to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Trudeau Liberals have promised to bring in mandatory vaccination requirements for federally regulated workers, such as those employed by transportation, banks and telecommunication companies.

Those workers account for less than one-tenth of all workers in Canada, with the remainder falling under provincial labour laws.

Although the Constitution puts public health under the purview of provinces and territories, internal documents say the federal government could consider making the COVID-19 vaccines “a national interest item.”

The next step after that would be to either work with provinces and territories on a set of guidelines, or develop their own.

The documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the access-to-information law say that such a move wasn’t contemplated heading toward the summer.

It wasn’t until June that the federal Liberals began hinting at a vaccine mandate for federally regulated workers, and then outlined the pledge days before the federal election campaign.

When asked recently about the pledge, which carried an implementation date of Oct. 30, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t provide an updated timeline or details of what was coming.