Covid Is Not Over

Some of the divisive policies that began during these past three years still remain. Let's bring them into the light.

In 2018, I gathered a few friends from the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir to sing with me so I could share the joy I feel when I sing. I was running for mayor at the time and I posted it on my social media as a way of letting others know how important the arts were to a vibrant city.

Fast forward to 2021. After a brief survey by TMC asking choir members whether they wanted to exclude people who were not able to get vaccinated for whatever reason, TMC board added a proof of vaccination requirement for all staff and volunteers. It was extremely dismaying but unsurprising given the climate of fear and uncertainty that was dominating public and medical policy at the time. Because I was unable to comply with their policy, I was no longer allowed in the choir.

Fast forward again to October 2022. I ran a mayoral campaign where one of my platform planks, repeated in news articles and in radio interviews, was the removal of discrimination on the basis of vaccination status. Other candidates disagreed with me, and some journalists said I should be vetted out of the political process for my views. But soon after the election, in December 2022, the city finally dropped its mandatory vaccination policy, and, all people are now welcome to work at the city regardless of their medical status.

Yet here we are today, in April 2023, and policies of exclusion remain, not just at the US border, but even within our own city. It may not be the job of the municipal government to monitor the exclusionary hiring policies of independent organizations and companies in Toronto, but should we be funding them?

One area where discimination on the basis of vaccination status refuses to die is within the arts community. Productions within the film industry requires two doses (and sometimes boosters). Cultural centres like the Royal Ontario Museum and arts organizations like my beloved Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are still actively excluding staff and volunteers on the basis of medical status.

Using words like discrimination to describe these policies is hotly resisted, because these organizations don’t believe themselves to be discriminating - they proclaim their commitment to diversity and inclusion. I understand that the board and staff of these organizations do care about these things. It is likely they continue to have these mandate policies in place for reasons that are noble in their hearts. Unfortunately, no matter how good their intentions are, their actions discriminate in a way that is no longer allowed in the rest of public society.

Moreover, these arts organizations are acting inconsistently. While the Canadian Operat Company at their recent job fair required would be ushers to provide proof of vaccination, they no longer require it (thank goodness) from audience members to whom their ushers will be in close proximity. They recognize that continuing such requirements after they have been dropped everywhere else alienates potential audience members and may affect the viability of their productions. And of course, proof of vaccination has never been required for those who these non-profits ask for donations.

So what is the role of government in such a situation? First, I believe Toronto can take the lead in labelling exclusion on the basis of vaccination status as discriminatory. Though there is still disagreement on this, I have always maintained that the group that is doing the discrimination does not have the right to define what it is. And the evidence that risk at the workplace posed by those who don’t get vaccinated is so grave as to warrant exclusion from the job (an exclusion we would not allow for any other medical status) does not exist.

Secondly, I think Toronto should take a hard look at whether or not to fund organizations that practice discrimination. Arts organizations receive funding from the City of Toronto - as they should, since arts are the lifeblood of our city. But I am advocating this election that the city approaches all city-funded organizations, including the arts, to inform them their policies can not be supported by the city. There is currently a petition circulating that lists some of the most prominent arts organizations with these policies and demands public funding cease until they are rescinded. It’s an eminently reasonable position, given that we wouldn’t fund a dance troupe or film production that had formal policies to exclude the hiring of an individual based on religion, gender, ethnicity or any other human rights ground. But I hope that once the board members of city-funded organizations realize they are behind the times, they will change their policies before any such suspension of funding would be necessary.

It remains important to shine light on the many hidden corners where these outdated policies remain. I encourage you to look at the hiring policies of organizations you support, and if you find discrimination within, share your concerns and this essay with them.

I know that one day we will all be able to play, dance, act and create together no matter what our differences are. May that day come soon so that we can sing together in joy once again.