Beaverlodge flip-flops on mandatory vaccinations
Town of Beaverlodge council did a 24-hour turnaround last week when it came to mandating vaccines for staff.
In a closed session portion of the Sept. 13 regular council meeting, council decided to require mandatory vaccinations for all town staff and council members, only to repeal the decision one day later.
The decision was repealed in a special meeting called on the next day.
“There's a lot of emotion to this, and, you know, we're getting hit head-on with COVID again, so it's not going to go away, and it's not going to get pretty soon,” said Gary Rycroft, Beaverlodge mayor.
Initially, on the Monday night vote, the decision was four to three in favour of mandatory vaccinations for council members and town staff, with the motion being brought forth by Coun. Terry Dueck.
The special meeting Tuesday repealed the previous night's motion, in a vote of six to one.
Dueck voted solely against the repeal.
Rycroft told the News that it was an emotional vote Monday night and afterward, it didn't sit right with many councillors, causing some to lose sleep that night.
“We're very proud of the staff of the Town of Beaverlodge and then to force them to do something and basically imply that they're not smart enough to make the decision (when) most of them have already done it felt very inappropriate,” said Rycroft.
“There's a lot of really bad information out there that the anti-vaxxers are pushing,” he said.
“There's a lot of emotion.
“There's people that feel their religious rights are violated by vaccinations, so this is really a tough subject, but until we get a higher number of vaccinations done, we're going to be saddled with this plague for a long time.”
Some towns in Alberta, such as Banff, have voted to mandate vaccines to their staff or face termination.
Businesses such as Alberta Health Services (AHS) have also mandated vaccines to their employees, while others continue to follow provincial guidelines as they are put forth.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.