CORNWALL, Ontario – Cornwall Police Services (CPS) Chief Shawna Spowart presented the service’s vaccination police to the CPS Board on Thursday, Oct. 7.
“I believe that we have a heightened responsibility to protect our members, our members families, and members of the community,” said Spowart.
The policy, which heavily mirrors the one the City of Cornwall enacted for its employees two weeks ago, will require all CPS employees to disclose to the CPS Human Resources department whether or not they have received the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15.
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Those who have not been fully vaccinated by Oct. 15 will have to submit to mandatory COVID-19 testing three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The testing will be provided for free by the Cornwall-SDG Paramedics Service at their headquarters on Campbell St. from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. until Nov. 15 at which time unvaccinated employees will have to pay for the testing themselves.
“This is not a mandatory vaccination policy, this is a mandatory testing policy,” Spowart said.
Spowart noted that students and volunteers who work with the CPS will be held to this policy as well, and that all new employees will be required to be fully vaccinated.
Those who do not comply with the vaccination policy can face disciplinary action up to termination of their employment. Additionally, those who are not vaccinated will not be permitted to work from home. There will be exemptions to this policy for those who cannot receive the vaccine for medical reasons.
