B.C. teachers told to be prepared for imminent vaccine mandate: BCTF

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) is preparing its members for the likelihood a vaccine mandate is coming soon.

A letter from President Teri Mooring says the union now supports a vaccine mandate, but only if it is province-wide.

Earlier, the BCTF stance was it would “not oppose” a mandate for K–12 workers, as long as privacy rights were protected and members who needed medical exemptions were accommodated.

But given the Delta variant, much has changed since August, and Mooring says they are trying to be as prepared as possible.

“Things are shifting very quickly in B.C., and so a couple weeks ago I never would have thought we would be here right now,” Mooring said, adding, the vast majority of the members are vaccinated.

Parents have been seeking clarity on this, and there has been a fair amount of confusion and anxiety.

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It comes after Premier John Horgan’s comments that a province-wide mandate is a last resort, and will leave the decision up to the school districts.

“We need to make sure that the province’s school districts, which are duly elected and have authority and responsibility when it comes to their staff, are all having a say in how we proceed,” he said Thursday.

Many have spoken out against a district-by-district plan and suggested the province is passing responsibility off.

The union does not have the authority to bring in a province-wide mandate, Mooring says.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s very practical or reasonable to have this implemented district by district, the only effective way to do a K to 12 mandate would be provincially,” Mooring said.

Another concern is for substitute teachers, who may work in several districts.

“We already have a very critical teacher shortage and if we had individual teachers or teachers teaching on call decide to move districts to a neighbouring district that didn’t have a vaccine mandate, that would add a lot of instability in the system,” Mooring said.

Regardless of the outcome of any decision, the BCTF is urging its members to be prepared.

“We don’t know what a mandate might look like or how it would be implemented, but it seems clear that it is coming. If you have not been vaccinated, please take steps now to start that process,” the BCTF said in a letter to its members Thursday.

To #bced teachers who have not been vaccinated: Please take steps now to start the process. The BCTF will support a provincial vaccine mandate if it is implemented by the employer or PHO. It’s the right thing to do to help end the pandemic #bcpoli thread⬇️https://t.co/XthhvPueav

— BC Teachers’ Federation (@bctf) October 8, 2021

Mooring says she has heard from teachers and parents that they support a province-wide effort.

“The message to families and numerous DPACs have come out in favour of mandated vaccine program…we are going to work together with the other partners and government  to ensure that if there is a vaccine mandate, that it be provincial in scope,” she said.