The major mountain resorts in British Columbia have recently announced that they will require all of their employees to be fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 shots before the snowboard and ski season officially kicks off.
According to Big White Ski Resort, through its senior vice president Michael Ballingall, they will require all newly hired and existing employees to be fully vaccinated by October 24, 2021. This requirement shall also be imposed on volunteers who will assist with the resort’s operations. He added that proof of vaccination must be presented for an employee or a volunteer to be given the necessary clearance.
“We have a large volume of season pass holders who are voting on their confidence in us to be able to deliver a safe experience at our resort,” Ballingall pointed out. “With international travel now opening up, our responsibility to all staff, visitors, and guests means we need to put our best efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Notably, Big White Ski Resort experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 last winter that was thought to have resulted from a house party organized by some of its personnel back in November.
Whistler Blackcomb also announced that they would impose a similar COVID-19 vaccination requirement for their employees and staff. However, the ski resort did not provide any other details on the matter.
In late March, Whistler struggled to keep the number of test-positive cases down after an outbreak of the P1 COVID-19 variant took place in the municipality. However, the cases became so rampant that Whistler’s mayor, Jack Crompton, asked health officials to expedite the rollout of vaccines in his jurisdiction to combat the spread of infection.
Grouse Mountain Resorts announced that it, too, is implementing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement for its employees. All personnel should present their proof of vaccination—or an official document legitimizing their exemption to the shots—by November 27, 2021. It also emphasized that employees and staff who won’t comply with the vaccination requirements will be temporarily laid off until they get their two full shots or if the policy is rescinded.
Cypress Mountain and Mt. Seymour still haven’t provided any information concerning their approach on the matter. However, both ski resorts share that they are still working out how they will implement the government-mandated COVID-19 vaccination requirement, which will be ready in the next few weeks.
