Calgary police say announcement on vaccination policy expected ‘in the coming days’
Calgary’s police chief said he expects a decision on whether or not the service will implement a vaccination policy “in the coming days.”
Mark Neufeld made the comments during a meeting of the Calgary Police Commission on Tuesday.
He said the Calgary Police Service was in the process of doing some “final detail work” and then expects to coordinate an announcement with the city.
A recent internal survey of CPS employees shows 85 per cent are either vaccinated or planning to get fully vaccinated.
The survey included both civilian and sworn-in employees of the CPS.
Police said 81 per cent of employees responded to the survey.
The City of Calgary announced at the start of September that all employees must be fully vaccinated or provide a reason for exception by Oct. 18.
CPS, though funded by taxpayer dollars, operates independently and doesn't have a vaccination policy in place for its employees.
"We continue to work with the City of Calgary and our unions and associations to develop a COVID-19 vaccination policy that makes the most sense for our service,” Neufeld said.
“As a signatory on our collective agreements here at the service, the City of Calgary is an important partner. As you can imagine, as a large public sector employer, there are a number of important considerations that have been raised by employees and unions, and the city themselves, in terms of their operations and of course context-specific considerations for our service.”
Neufeld said it was important to note that the survey closed prior to the introduction of the province’s Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) and the subsequent decision by Calgary councillors to make the REP mandatory for all eligible local businesses.
"Anecdotally, although we're unable to quantify any changes since then, I think we saw in the general population an increase in vaccination uptake because of the very practical impacts on people's lives in many areas, so it could well be higher than that,” Neufeld said.
"What I can say at this point I think though with full confidence is that the majority of our members of our service are fully vaccinated. I think that's important for Calgarians, to be confident that any policy that we do put in place with respect to this will certainly ensure that they're safe when dealing with members of the Calgary Police Service."
Currently, the CPS said there are two active COVID-19 cases amongst staff and two employees who are symptomatic and awaiting test results
In total, CPS said it has had 191 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.