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(DARREN RATHWELL / iNFOnews.ca)

Board members at the Thompson Nicola Regional District will now be required to be vaccinated in order to attend meetings.

The new policy passed with eight opposed out of 26 directors, but regional district bylaws allow for unvaccinated directors to attend virtually. 

Most board members and staff needed for meetings attend board meetings at the civic building on Victoria Street, while there are often several that attend by Zoom. Board meetings were previously held in the NorKam Mechanical Group Lounge at the Sandman Centre, which better allowed for social distancing between each board member and the public or staff that would attend.

On Nov. 17, the board returned to its own smaller board room at the civic building where meetings have continued since but many have appeared by Zoom anyway. 

The virtual attendance provision written in the new policy left director Mel Rothenburger to question why the policy was being implemented in the first place.

"I'm not opposed to the motion. I'm just not sure how useful it is, given the fact that it really will change nothing as to current practice," Rothenburger said.

Director Santo Tallarico is not vaccinated and appeared virtually to the Feb. 3 board meeting. Denis Walsh, a Kamloops city councillor, is an alternate board member who is not vaccinated, but also appears electronically when attending.

"I just feel that we should be showing leadership and we should do it because right now the staff has put a hold on it for now, but it can change at any time," director Carol Schaffer said, referring to the regional district policy first approved in December that would have required staff and contractors to be vaccinated by Feb. 1.

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The vaccine policy is similar to one at the City of Kamloops which requires councillors to be vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated must attend virtually. Elected trustees at Central Okanagan's School District 23 are also required to be vaccinated to attend meetings after a policy was adopted just last week.

Other municipalities and regional districts have implemented their own policies, which largely encompass staff and contractors, rather than elected officials.

Members of the public, however, cannot be barred from entering a council or board meeting due to vaccinations.

"We can't legally force the public to be vaccinated. It's their right to be able to access their elected officials and to be able to access a board or a council meeting," legislative services manager Deanna Campbell said, which she said was advice to the regional district by the Province.

The motion passed on Feb. 3 with opposition from Al Raine, Barbara Roden, Santo Talarico, Merlin Blackwell, Sally Watson, Mike O'Reilly, Steven Rice and Susan Swan.

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