Call to vaccinate Canadian food industry workers – Labatt calls for other companies to promote vaccination

Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada (FBC-ABC) and Food and Beverage Ontario encourage Prime Minister Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford to urgently safeguard Canada’s food supply.

“Since the start of COVID-19, the majority of Ontario’s 100,000+ front-line food processing workers have continued to work on-site to ensure Ontarians, and indeed Canadians, have the food they need. Our workers have done this while risking their own health and that of their families. It is critical that federal and provincial governments together ensure these workers are immediately prioritized for vaccines,” said Chris Conway, CEO Food and Beverage Ontario.

If food plants close, Canada’s food system could be crippled. Vaccinating front-line food processing workers – those who have supported Canadians throughout COVID-19 – is critical to enhance their protection and to ensure Canadians have food on their tables. Where food processing workers are not being vaccinated, the federal government must step in.

“Canada’s food processing plants, as part of Canada’s critical infrastructure, have continued to operate throughout the pandemic. While food manufacturers have invested a billion dollars on measures and controls to protect their workers from COVID-19, given the congregate nature of food plants, that risk can never be totally eliminated. We call on the federal government to ensure Canada’s food processing workers have the vaccines needed to ensure their safety,” added Kathleen Sullivan, CEO FBC-ABC.

Labatt calls on corporate Canada to “get the word out” about COVID-19 vaccination

#TogetherAgain awareness campaign aims to combat vaccination hesitancy and help Canadians make informed decisions

Labatt Breweries of Canada is calling on corporate leaders across the country to join a public awareness effort aimed at educating Canadians about COVID-19 vaccination efficacy and safety to combat hesitancy and empower people to get vaccinated.

The campaign called #TogetherAgain is part of Labatt’s commitment to address the challenge ahead: reaching a critical mass of vaccinated Canadians. Canada’s leading brewer will also provide paid time-off for employees to book and attend vaccination appointments, offer support to local public health units, and, if feasible, establish on-site employee vaccination clinics at its facilities.

“If there were ever a time for everyone to step up, this is it,” says Kyle Norrington, President of Labatt Breweries of Canada. “We’ve faced an incredible challenge together over the past year, and now we’re at a critical point. It’s time to finish the job so we can get back together again, restore social occasions, and work towards economic recovery.”

Millions of Canadians are welcoming the opportunity to get vaccinated. The goal of Labatt’s program is to provide facts and information to help people make informed decisions, while encouraging others to get the word out and make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated.

In addition to launching www.TogetherAgainCanada.ca, a resource to for Canadians to access COVID-19 vaccination information from a variety of public health sources, Labatt’s #TogetherAgain commitment includes:
• Providing employees directly with the information they need to make an informed vaccination decision, and making it easy for them to get vaccinated by providing details on the ‘how’ and ‘when’
• Providing paid time-off so employees can book and attend their appointments
• If feasible, establishing on-site employee vaccination clinics at Labatt’s facilities
• Offering support to local public health units to help ensure that there are no barriers to vaccination and that everyone has the opportunity to get one
• Providing employees with time off to allow them to volunteer at community vaccine centres
• Working with partners and other businesses to help get the word out to educate Canadians
“We’re counting on our network of partners, suppliers, customers and all Canadian businesses to adopt a similar commitment,” says Norrington. “Our challenge to them is to do what they can to empower people to get vaccinated and use their platforms, as Labatt is doing, to leverage the multiplier effect and get the word out to as many Canadians as possible.”

Across the country, governments, public health officials and health care providers are doing their part to ensure Canadians can access vaccines. #TogetherAgain is all about enhancing those efforts by getting the word out about efficacy, safety and benefits of vaccination to overcome any hesitancy.

Throughout the pandemic, Labatt has played an active role in relief efforts by activating its Canadian Disaster Relief Program to shift production of beer to make 100,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, donate 225,000 cans of clean drinking water to the City of Toronto’s shelter programs, and providing support to Food Banks Canada and bars and restaurants by donating facemasks and reopening kits.

The #TogetherAgain campaign will run through the summer and continue for as long as needed to help increase vaccination awareness and attain high levels of vaccine protection across Canada. For more information, visit www.togetheragaincanada.ca or www.anouveauensemblecanada.ca