Casual Legal: Vaccination Policies as Alberta enters Stage Two

By Jessica Fleming
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider 

Alberta entered Stage Two of its three-stage reopening plan on March 1, 2022. Among other things, Stage Two ended capacity limits on large venues and ended limits on social gatherings. The provincial government also lifted its mandatory mask mandate, with some exceptions, namely when using public transit or visiting a facility operated by Alberta Health Services. The Government of Alberta lifted its mandatory ‘work from home’ requirement, too.

However, while the provincial government lifted its mandatory ‘work from home’ requirement and encourages all Albertans to get vaccinated if they haven’t already done so, its website does not contain any information on vaccine requirements. Nevertheless, employers should recall that they have an obligation to provide a safe workplace and to put forth policies that further this objective. Moreover, these obligations arise under occupational health and safety legislation. Accordingly, they are broad in scope and require employers to assess all hazards in the workplace, not just COVID 19, and these obligations exist independently of any government recommendation.

It should come as no surprise, however, that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) experts consider COVID-19 to be amongst the hazards that must be assessed. A hazard assessment must be ongoing and could change in light of the evolving circumstances around COVID-19. In this regard, OHS experts indicate that some factors to take into account in assessing the hazard posed by COVID 19 include number of active cases in the region and directions from the Chief Medical Officer. Therefore, as Alberta moves through its reopening, as cases recede and as restrictions continue to be lifted, the hazard posed by the virus should continue to be assessed.

Moreover, in terms of controlling the risk, OHS lists a hierarchy of control mechanisms. The most stringent ‘engineering controls’ no longer include vaccination. This suggests that OHS may be stepping back its emphasis on the necessity of vaccination. Accordingly, employers should continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and their policies.

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or send an email to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.