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EllisDon, PCL Construction to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates

EllisDon and PCL Construction have jointly announced that all their employees in Canada must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The companies say workers at any location on company business must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. As of this date, testing will no longer be offered as an alternative to full immunization.

Any employee may request an exemption to the vaccination verification requirement due to proven medical condition(s) and other applicable human rights grounds.

“Our dedication to safety will never waiver,” says Geoff Smith, president and CEO of EllisDon, in a statement. “Protecting and taking care of each other, and our families, speaks directly to the values we champion at EllisDon each and every day.”

“Being fully vaccinated is the most effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” says PCL’s president and CEO, Dave Filipchuk. “PCL has instituted strict safety protocols throughout the pandemic, and this vaccination requirement is the next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping employees, clients, business partners and our communities safe. We are especially pleased to participate in this initiative with EllisDon, a respected industry peer. It is our hope that most general contractors and subtrade partners across Canada will soon join us.”

EllisDon and PCL say they will continue to comply with physical distancing, masking, screening, rapid testing, personal protective equipment and any other measures intended to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

The companies say that vaccination requirements support similar efforts from their business partners and surrounding communities to lower transmission rates, reduce the severity of infections, avoid strain on the healthcare systems, and limit the pandemic’s negative social and economic impacts.