Resolute Forest Products is reporting 75 per cent of its employees have been fully vaccinated at 19 of its facilities in North America, including two in Northern Ontario.
Workers at Resolute's sawmills in Atikokan and Ignace are among those to achieve the benchmark, according to Remi G. Lalonde, Resolute's president and CEO, who reported the figures in a Sept. 27 statement.
“Our utmost concern since the beginning of the pandemic has been the health and safety of our employees, as well as the well-being of our operating communities,” Lalonde said.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: to get home safe and sound. Our collective effort to get vaccinated is crucial to achieving that objective.”
In April, Resolute launched a new program designed to reward facilities that meet the 75 per cent vaccination threshold.
Under the initiative, operations with 249 or fewer employees will receive $5,000 for a donation to a community organization chosen by employees. Sites with 250 or more employees that meet the threshold will receive $10,000 to donate.
The initiative echoes the company's existing Board of Directors’ Safety Award Program, through which Resolute employees can earn between $5,000 and $15,000 to add to their annual community donations for every 250,000 hours worked without a recordable injury.
Resolute said the goal is to encourage employees to get vaccinated, while also supporting charitable organizations in the communities in which it operates.
The company owns or operates 40 facilities in Canada and the U.S., as well as power generation assets.
