Episode 11: COVID-19 Vaccination Policies and the Public Service – “sex, drugs, and vaccination”
The COVID-19 pandemic is approaching its second birthday. As people and governments think about how we can get back to some level of normalcy, vaccination has become a central part of this discussion. In November 2021, the Government of Canada announced a mandatory vaccination policy for public service workers.
For the first half of this episode, I am joined by Stéphane Aubry, the National Vice-President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. It is the largest union in Canada representing scientists and professionals employed at the federal level, representing a total of 57,000 members. During the second half, I debate Nathaniel (Nate) Erskine-Smith, MP for the riding of Beaches—East York since 2015. We discuss (in his words) “sex, drugs, and vaccination”. Nate has a long history of speaking about civil liberties and spent time doing volunteer legal work for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association before getting elected. We talk about whether policies that limit the rights of unvaccinated people are analogous to certain other limitations on individual freedom.
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