¶ District of West Vancouver
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The District of West Vancouver is the government body for West Vancouver, British Columia, Canada.
¶ COVID-19
West Vancouver was the second municipality in British Columbia to record cases of COVID-19 in March 2020, following the first reported outbreak at Lynn Valley Care Home in the neighbouring District of North Vancouver.[1] On March 12, 2020, long-term care facility Hollyburn House announced they had identified two positive cases among a staff member and resident.[2]
Mayor Mary-Ann Booth began instituting closures on March 13, and on March 16 closed all facilities run by the District except for Municipal Hall, police and fire services, the District Operations Centre and Capilano View Cemetery. She described the closures as “necessary to reduce the spread of Coronavirus in our community,” and told residents they should stay home. All community engagement activities were also suspended.[3] She declared a local state of emergency on March 21, granting the municipal government additional powers to enforce orders issued by provincial health officer Bonnie Henry, including business closures and revocation of business licenses.[4]
¶ Vaccine mandates
On October 27, 2021, the district announced a mandatory policy requiring all staff members and volunteers to receive at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued employment.[5] According to district spokesperson Donna Powers, the policy was implemented “to raise vaccination rates across the community.” The West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD) received a similar directive on November 2, allowing officers until January 11, 2022, to provide proof of vaccination or be put on leave.[6]
On December 22, 2021, Chief Administrative Officer Robert Bartlett announced a series of new public health measures in response to an alleged “fifth wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his message, he wrote: “I would like to thank the many staff who have already verified their vaccine status. We know this is the best strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19. Getting vaccinated, and getting your booster when you are called to, is more important than ever as case numbers surge in BC, across the country, and around the world.”[7]
Following the January 4, 2022, deadline to show proof of vaccination, 16 district employees were put on unpaid leave with possibility of termination.[8]
On March 31, 2022, Bartlett announced that the mandatory vaccination policy was to be suspended for current employees as of April 11, 2022. It was to remain in place for new staff and volunteers.[9]
¶ Personnel
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Bartlett | Chief Administrative Officer[10] | - |
| Mary-Ann Booth | Mayor (former) | - |
| Milena Litherland | Legislative Services[11] | - |
| Alec Marut | FIPPA / Records Analyst[12] | - |
| David Neufeld | Records/Information Coordinator[13] | - |
| Kelly Wharton | Legislative Services (October-November 2011); Presiding Election Official (October-November 2014); Special Projects, Legislative Services (May-December 2017); Deputy Chief Election Officer (January 2018-January 2019, and January 2022-present); Election Coordinator (January-April 2019); FIPPA Analyst (May 2019-December 2022)[14] | Elections Canada, Elections BC, Statistics Canada, KLW Consulting Services, Digby Leigh & Co., TRADER Corporation, Duke Energy |
¶ External links
Crawford, T., & Eagland, N. (2020, March 7). COVID-19: Outbreak at senior care home in North Vancouver, six new cases in B.C. Vancouver Sun. http://archive.today/2020.03.08-181137/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-six-more-cases-in-b-c-outbreak-at-a-care-home-in-north-vancouver ↩︎
Yuzda, L., & Hall, M. (2020, March 12). Two COVID-19 cases at West Vancouver care home. CityNews Vancouver. https://web.archive.org/web/20221020071333/https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2020/03/12/west-vancouver-care-home-has-two-cases-of-covid-19/ ↩︎
Booth, M.-A. (2020, March 16). Mayor’s Update: the District’s Coronavirus response. District of West Vancouver. http://archive.today/2023.03.18-192418/http://click.mailsender05.com/m/e12118abd9d779aae7b5812b1e7c2978/m/8aebf780a3753989c9d5e6ff765204a1/ ↩︎
Bengtson, B. (2020, March 21). West Vancouver declares local state of emergency. North Shore News. http://archive.today/2022.10.20-070902/https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/west-vancouver-declares-local-state-of-emergency-3119524 ↩︎
District of West Vancouver announces mandatory vaccination for all employees and volunteers. (2021, October 27). District of West Vancouver. http://archive.today/2022.10.20-072143/https://westvancouver.ca/news/district-west-vancouver-announces-mandatory-vaccination-all-employees-and-volunteers ↩︎
Richter, B. (2021, November 2). West Vancouver police to face mandatory vaccinations. North Shore News. http://archive.today/2022.10.20-072828/https://www.nsnews.com/coronavirus-covid-19-local-news/west-vancouver-police-to-face-mandatory-vaccinations-4700103 ↩︎
Robert Bartlett. (2021). Special announcement from the CAO: December 22, 2021: New COVID-19 Restrictions. District of West Vancouver. https://archive.org/details/special-announcement-from-the-cao-december-22-2021-new-covid-19-restrictions ↩︎
Richter, B. (2022, January 6). District of West Vancouver puts 16 staff on unpaid leave for defying vaccine mandate. North Shore News. http://archive.today/2022.10.20-071901/https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/district-of-west-vancouver-puts-16-staff-on-unpaid-leave-for-defying-vaccine-mandate-4930100 ↩︎
Bartlett, R. (2022, March 31). Update from the CAO: March 31, 2022. District of West Vancouver. https://archive.org/details/foippa-request-23-037-disclosure-package-and-letter/FOIPPA REQUEST 23-037 Disclosure Package/page/40/mode/2up ↩︎
Experience - Robert Bartlett. LinkedIn. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-bartlett-8367a557/details/experience/ ↩︎
Milena Litherland Email & Phone Number - West V. ZoomInfo. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.03.18-203817/https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Milena-Litherland/-1351126665 ↩︎
Alec Marut Email & Phone Number - West Vancouver. ZoomInfo. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Alec-Marut/-2086163133 ↩︎
Privacy Policy. WestVancouverite. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230318202120/https://www.westvancouverite.ca/privacy ↩︎
Experience | Kelly Wharton. LinkedIn. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.11.05-201341/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-wharton-7b35bb20/details/experience/ ↩︎