Kamloops This Week October 13, 2021

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kamloopsthisweek.com | kamloopsthisweek |

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021 | Volume 34 No. 41

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Union supports vaccine mandate KAMLOOPS-THOMPSON TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION WOULD LIKE TO SEE B.C.-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION SEAN BRADY

STAFF REPORTER

sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com

DAVE EAGLES/KTW

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS Dominic O’Rourke and Roberta Anderson have questions after the death of their baby, Conor STORY, PAGES A12-A13

The School District 73 board of education will not meet again until Oct. 25, when it will likely discuss the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for staff in SD73 schools — a matter recently put upon school districts across the province by the provincial government. On Oct. 7, Premier John Horgan said it is up to trustees to inform themselves to make such a decision and that the provincial government is not the teachers’ employer in this situation, so it is up to each school board to decide whether to impose a mandate. Until the SD73 board meets, board members and staff will be work behind the scenes to prepare for a possible decision, according to SD73 board chair Rhonda Kershaw. Kershaw voiced concern about how the province is going about implementing a mandate, noting that throughout the pandemic,

SD73 has followed public health guidance and orders from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Now, however, the province’s 60 school districts are being asked to make that decision on their own, leading to concerns regarding piecemeal implementation. Kershaw told KTW she is worried about potential staffing issues, with teachers or other staff moving from one district to another, based on whether a vaccination mandate exists. That’s something the Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association — the BC Teachers’ Federation local association — is also concerned about, that B.C. will become a patchwork of districts with different rules. “The thing is, you have to have a stance. We agree with the vaccine mandate; however, we just wish the province would implement it provincewide, instead of leaving it up to school districts to decide,” KTTA president Laurel Macpherson said. See KTTA, A6

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