To the members of the West Nipissing Public Library Board,
I am writing to advise you of my resignation from the Board, effective immediately.
I have enjoyed working with all of you but cannot remain on this committee due to a motion that our board passed at our meeting last week.
The new employment policy that we adopted will now require all our current and future employees and volunteers to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 and receive all future booster shots or risk losing their job. I will not volunteer my time for an organization that excludes a qualified portion of the population from doing the same.
This policy may lead some people to unemployment and prevent a large proportion of our population from seeking employment or volunteering with us.
Although I am a vaccinated individual and see some benefits in the current COVID-19 vaccines for most of the population, I believe the decision to receive the currently available vaccines is not an easy decision for everyone. A few weeks ago, one brand of vaccine was withdrawn entirely from one segment of the population (18-24 years old) due to a very serious health concern which renders this decision even less obvious for many. Additionally, as the latest data suggests, the vaccine is not as effective as previously thought and transmission is still widely occurring among vaccinated people.
This new policy is not applying any accommodations for those who have made a different health decision than the board would like them to. In a low-risk work setting such as a library, where all employees are masked and always able to work 6 feet apart, this policy is excessive. Our board is arbitrarily imposing far-reaching employment standards above and beyond what the current laws and guidelines require in our province, as well as above and beyond what our own municipality has mandated for its staff so far. By doing so, we are unnecessarily exposing ourselves to potential employment legal issues.
Respectfully,
Danielle Venne
