An official of the World Sikh Organization (WSO) Canada confirmed the change to CP24 on Tuesday afternoon.
It comes after about 100 Sikh security guards employed by third parties were either fired, transferred or canceled shifts for not complying with a city policy that required some employees to be clean-shaven to fit properly for N95 respirators.
“We received a call from Mayor Tory and he confirmed that the guards would be able to return to work and the Council would work with the security contractors to make this possible.  He also confirmed that the N95 will only be required where there is an outbreak,” Balpreet Singh, WSO spokesperson and legal advisor, told CP24.
Balpreet Singh, of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, is calling on the city of Toronto to reinstate bearded security guards who were fired because of the “clean shave” cover-up policy.
READ MORE: Toronto must review ‘clean shave’ N95 mask policy after Sikh workers fired and demoted
“There is only one such point and there, the latex or cloth cover could be used to cover the beard.  This was indeed what we originally proposed.”
The city’s policy previously applied to workers at homeless service sites who came into contact with clients who were suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, as well as at sites where there was a suspected or reported outbreak of the virus.
Singh had written a letter to Mayor John Tory and city council members drawing their attention to the policy’s potential discriminatory effects on June 7.
However, weeks passed without action.
After several media reports Monday, the city formally ordered its contractors to comply with the Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy and make fair accommodations for their employees with religious exemptions.
Mayor John Tory also told reporters earlier on Tuesday that he would like to see the contractors involved – ASP Security Services, Garda World and Star Security – apologise.
“(These workers) deserve better than this.  … There is always an accommodation,” he said.
Among those affected by the interpretation of the policy was Birkawal Singh Anand, who last spring was hired to work as security at a local recreation center.  Shave after a mandatory N95 mask could not be fitted properly due to his beard.  Anand is a Sikh and according to his faith he should not cut or shave his hair or beard.
During a July 4 interview with CTV Toronto, he said he recently received an email from his employer, ASP Security Services, telling him to shave off his beard or he would be out of a job.
“The freedom of speech and the human rights of all have been protected.  For me, if I can’t follow my religion, it’s disgusting, right,” said Anand, who equated shaving his facial hair to “peeling off his skin”.
To make matters worse, Anand said the accommodation offered to him by his employer, ASP Security Services, amounted to a demotion and a reduction in salary.
He described the situation as “disturbing and humiliating”.
ASP told CTV Toronto they were trying to find accommodations for the affected workers.
Two other security firms also contracted by the city, Garda World and Star Security, have not commented on the matter.
Speaking to CTV Toronto late this afternoon, Anand said Tori called him and apologized for what happened.  He said the mayor also promised that “everything will be back to normal.”
“This means that he will redeploy all the Sikh guards to the same posts and at the same rate of pay,” he said.