Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Amandalina Letterio

COVID-19

‘Showing community leadership’: Kamloops council colleagues differ from Walsh’s COVID-19 vaccine views

Nov 1, 2021 | 3:57 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Councillor Denis Walsh has been vocal about his decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccine.

After getting COVID-19 in the spring, Walsh believes his natural immunity will help protect him from the virus and its variants.

It’s not mandatory for City councillors to be vaccinated to attend meetings which have been held at the Sandman Centre since early on in the pandemic.

The City says next month, they could be moving back to council chambers — a much more confined space. Now, other city councillors are expressing their concern about sharing a close space with Walsh.

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“I’ve already agreed that I’ll do Zoom meetings. That’s how I’ll do it, through electronic means. For as long as they want. If somebody’s uncomfortable in the room, I’ve agreed to that,” Walsh says.

“As you can see, we’re not going to be six feet apart, which is another reason why I think it’s important that we all be vaccinated,” explains Kamloops Councillor Dale Bass, as she showed the space between the chairs in council chambers.

Image Credit: CFJC Today

City council recently passed a procedure by-law that says a councillor can attend meetings through video calls only four times a year, but the mayor says in this case, an exception can be made.

“There’s been a lot of talk in the past about electronic participation. I think that would be a good compromise and Councillor Walsh indicated that he would be amenable to that, so that’s something we can look at,” Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says. “But it will be up to council to decide what course of action we will take.”

Bass has a compromised immune system. She believes city councillors have a duty to practice what they preach.

“You know, I actually think this comes down to showing community leadership more than anything. And that’s what I’ve been saying all along,” Bass says. “We want everybody in Kamloops to be vaccinated, so we should be too.”

And the mayor agrees.

“The public can decide who they want to accept their medical and health advice from. They can go to the World Health Organization, the Canadian Public Health association, their doctor, or they can go to Denis Walsh,” Christian told CFJC News.

Walsh says he will rely on his natural immunity to beat the virus and its variants.

“It’s a choice. People make a choice. Right now, to me, it’s more symbolic or theatre – for council to demonstrate that they’re going to have a mandate for council. Because there are already eight of the nine councillors, myself is the only one I know that is unvaccinated. So, what is that going to accomplish?” Walsh said.