The following is the position statement from the Board of Directors:
Regulations and requirements regarding vaccinations are a fluid topic at this time across Canada. The purpose of this statement is to give you the necessary flexibility to deal with local situations as required.
While rendering first aid as Canadian Ski Patrol members, we take on a duty of care to assist injured persons safely and professionally. Our duty of care includes eliminating or mitigating any danger of further injury to ourselves, the person(s) injured, and others in the area. The prevalence of the COVID-19 virus and its variants continues to pose a danger to all of us, and will be for the foreseeable future. Currently, the most effective mitigation of this danger is individual vaccination.
The Board of Directors strongly recommends that all patrollers get vaccinated twice with a vaccine approved by Health Canada. Save in exceptional circumstances where no other fully vaccinated patroller is promptly available in a serious situation, requiring urgent care, Patrollers should not perform first aid services if not fully vaccinated.
Furthermore, all patrollers will strictly adhere to any additional Public Health regulations and guidelines in effect in your area. If a resort requires vaccination for its employees and volunteer patrollers, patrollers shall obtain such vaccination, and if applicable show the requested proof of vaccination per the resort requirements, or comply with their area’s policy if not fully vaccinated. First Aid Instructors will also follow all workplace safety requirements for training in their province, including vaccination as directed by the provincial workplace safety authority or provincial public health authority.
Just a reminder, membership in the Canadian Ski Patrol is a privilege. The CSP does not deny membership in the CSP for those who refuse to (or for medical reasons, cannot) be vaccinated; however, Zone Presidents may restrict or prohibit or otherwise limit such patrollers’ participation in ‘on patrol’ activities for those not vaccinated. Ultimately, accommodations for those unable, or unwilling, to be vaccinated will be determined at the local level involving both zone and patrol leadership. As always, local health guidelines, policies and regulations (hereafter the “Rules”) take precedence.
Zones and Divisions requesting proof of vaccination will determine what is satisfactory proof and handle this information according to applicable Rules. The CSP will not share individual vaccination status with any outside organization but may share aggregate data with our partners.
Rapid Antigen Detection Test (RADT)
Some workplaces may implement RADTs as a condition for entering and working at a specific physical workplace. Ski hills and resorts are workplaces. If a workplace requires you to submit to a test to patrol, it is your choice to consent or not. Depending on the venue, and/or organizer, if you do not do so, you may not be able to go on patrol for the day or part, or even all of the season. Zones, patrols, and patrollers are not to administer these tests or programs as this is outside our scope of practice.
Should you have any issue with this directive, please use the Mutual Respect Policy and Code of Conduct procedures to raise your concern.
Sincerely,
Mark Brown/Jean Rioux, Co-Executive Directors