Under Toronto’s cover-up order, which the city most recently updated on June 22, all staff at homeless shelters and similar facilities are clustered who come into contact with clients who are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 or those who work in areas where there is a suspected or declared outbreak of the virus should wear an N95 respirator.
These masks, which need a good seal around the nose and mouth, cannot fit properly on people with beards.
Employees who are unable to comply with this directive due to faith, religious beliefs, practices or customs have the opportunity to meet with their supervisor/manager to explore other accommodations.
Balpreet Singh Boparai of Canada’s Ottawa-based World Sikh Organization (WSO) said this “unfair and unnecessary” policy has resulted in more than 100 contract security guards being fired or reassigned, as their faith requires them not to cut or shave their hair or beard.
“Such moves are often accompanied by a demotion in both grade and salary.  In many cases, people who had been hired as supervisors or managers have been demoted to security guards,” the WSO said in a July 4 announcement.
The group wants the city to review the policy and reinstate affected workers.
“It has wreaked havoc on the lives of these security guards,” said Boparai, who serves as the WSO’s spokesman and legal counsel.
“They have an impossible situation.  … The solution is not to shave, but to realize that this rule is not necessary.”
Boparai, who last month wrote to Mayor John Tory and all City Council members asking for an “urgent resolution” to the issue, said most of the time security guards can do their jobs safely while wearing medical mask, but said there might be “some very rare situations” where that’s not possible, and that’s understandable.
“But firing over 100 guards is not the right way to do it,” he said, adding that those workers “served at the height of the COVID pandemic wearing medical masks and didn’t need to be clean-shaven.”
“The new clean shave rules have been introduced at a time when visitors to the city’s sites are no longer required to be covered.  The clean shave requirement is also not enforced for staff and workers at city facilities,” the WSO said in a statement.
Speaking to CP24 on Monday afternoon, Boparai said he doesn’t want to go the legal route, but his group has the option of taking the city to the Human Rights Court if it doesn’t fix the situation.
“These guards really feel like they’ve been used and abused, and now they’re almost thrown away like trash,” Boparai said.  “I mean they worked at the height of the pandemic when their lives were actually at risk. And now, there’s been no attempt to accommodate them.”
Birkawal Singh Anand, who has been working as a contract security guard at a Toronto recreation center since last spring, said he recently received an email from his employer, ASP Security Services, telling him to shave off his beard or face unemployment. work.  .
“If you want to work, starting next week, you’re going to have to be clean-shaven,” he told CTV Toronto.
Anand, who said shaving his facial hair would be akin to “peeling off his skin”, called the incident “disturbing and humiliating”.
“The freedom of speech and the human rights of all have been protected.  To me, if I can’t follow my religion, it’s disgusting, right,” he said.
To make matters worse, Anand said that the accommodation offered to him by his employer amounted to a demotion and a reduction in salary.
ASP Security Services said they were trying to find accommodation for the affected workers.
Two other security firms that also have contracts with the city – Garda World and Star Security – did not respond to CTV Toronto’s request for comment on the situation. 


CITY IS WORKING TO RESOLVE PROBLEM 
In a statement issued Monday night, the city said it is “confident” that contract security guards with religious exemptions can be accommodated.
“The city is working directly with janitorial companies contracted with its shelter system to ensure that these accommodations are provided and that no contract employees are unable to work as a result of the public health coverage directives,” the statement said.
The city added that it also instructed the companies to bring back any laid-off employees.
Security companies that do not follow its instructions could see their contract terminated, the city said, noting that it is considering all legal options.
“The city does not tolerate, ignore or condone discrimination and is committed to always promoting respectful behavior, tolerance and inclusion,” the statement said.
“City staff works to ensure policies are inclusive, and policies are regularly reviewed to ensure they respect the rights and freedoms of everyone who works for the city – whether they are full-time, part-time employees or contract workers.”
Mayor John Tory said in a separate statement that he has asked staff to work with contractors to resolve the issue.
“No city policy allows contractors to ignore or dismiss the religious beliefs of their employees or fail to accommodate them. Any contract employee not accommodated for their religious beliefs should be immediately accommodated by the contractor,” said the Tori. 
“I fully expect city staff to continue to investigate this complaint and make all necessary changes, up to and including legal action, to ensure that Sikh residents and people of all faiths are fully respected.”
In an earlier statement, City of Toronto spokesman Brad Ross said a possible housing of the N95 mask is a full aerial position respirator, “but City Occupational Health and Safety has advised that it is not suitable for use by security guards due to hearing limitations and visibility”.
“Just like city staff, contractors have to accommodate their employees at another job site if, for religious reasons, they can’t shave,” he said, noting that the city is “in the process of reviewing the matter and conducting investigations with the contractors”.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the policy “biased” in a tweet.
“Many of these same individuals served us at the height of the COVID pandemic. They deserve immediate reinstatement,” Singh tweeted.
In March 2020, bearded Sikh RCMP officers were banned from performing frontline policing duties as the agency required all officers to be equipped with N95 masks.  They were allowed to return to duty in October 2020 after the WSO advocated on their behalf.