# 2022-122 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-05-08

The grievor received remedial measures (RM) as a result of non-compliance to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccination policy. The grievor disagreed with the denial of their religious accommodation request, and maintained that their reasons for refusing vaccination were religious as well as medical. The grievor argued that the Chief of Defence Staff's (CDS) Directives do not require that a sincere belief be solely or exclusively based on religious grounds.

There was no Initial Authority decision, given that the decision being grieved concerned a decision, act or omission of the CDS.

The Committee first addressed the grievor's religious accommodation request, finding that the grievor had not established a religious nexus to the request as required by Defence Administrative Order and Directive 5516-3, Religious or Spiritual Accommodation. The Committee found that the grievor's religious accommodation request was treated and considered reasonably.

The Committee then conducted an in-depth analysis of whether the CAF vaccination policy infringed on the protected rights under section 7 the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter), namely the right to liberty and security of the person. The Committee concluded that the CAF vaccination policy infringed on these rights and that the limitation of these rights was not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. This was because the Committee viewed the policy, in some aspects, to be arbitrary and overly broad, and because its implementation was disproportionate. This led to a full analysis and conclusion that such limitations were not justified under section 1 of the Charter.

Additionally, the Committee found that the administrative actions against the grievor, namely the RM, should not have occurred as the grievor was exercising a protected Charter right. The Committee also found that these administrative actions were unreasonable due to serious breaches of procedural fairness.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority cancel the RM and remove all associated documentation from the grievor's file.