Ottawa: The largest Canadian airline, Air Canada, suspended over 800 employees for lacking vaccination against Covid-19, media report on Wednesday said.
The company’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Michael Russo said most of Air Canada’s employees were fully vaccinated in accordance with federal Covid-19 rules.
“Our employees have done their part, with now over 96 per cent fully vaccinated. The employees who are not vaccinated or do not have a medical or other permitted exemption have been put on unpaid leave,” Russo has said.
In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered air, rail and shipping companies to establish vaccination policies for their workers, as of October 30. In particular, the vaccination requirement was made compulsory for airlines, as their employees enter restricted areas of airports. They include concession and hospitality workers.
Canada has recorded 1,720,355 Covid cases and 29,056 deaths so far. The daily number is currently decreasing, with around 2,283 new cases registered per day.
Canada has administered at least 58,756,154 doses of Covid vaccines, which means about 78 per cent of the country’s population has been vaccinated.
