Canada Expands Vaccine Mandate to Banking, Telecom Sectors

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian government will expand its mandatory vaccination policy in early 2022 to include all federally-regulated workplaces, including banks and the nation’s largest telecom firms.

Canada already requires all federal public sector workers to be vaccinated, as well as workers and travelers on airlines, trains and boats. That is now being expanded fully to all federally-regulated businesses, Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement on Tuesday.

Outside of the public service, there are approximately 955,000 employees working for 18,500 employers in Canada’s federally regulated sectors, or about 6% of the workforce. The statement says that employers who do not comply with the vaccine mandate may be subject to compliance and enforcement measures, including fines.

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