# 2022-186 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R date: 2023-10-20

The grievor contested the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccination policy. He also disputed the denial of his request for religious accommodation as well as the remedial measures he was issued for non-compliance with the CAF COVID-19 policy.

There was no Initial Authority decision as the matter being grieved concerned a decision, act, or omission by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The Committee found that the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy infringed on rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). The Committee also found that although the policy was not in itself arbitrary in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, its implementation was overly broad and disproportionate. The Committee concluded that the CAF vaccination policy was contrary to the Charter because it limited protected rights in a manner that was not proportional, failing to minimize the impairment of protected rights and strike a balance between those individual rights and the public interest.

The Committee also found that the grievor had failed to establish the religious nexus required to gain approval of his accommodation request. Regarding the remedial measures issued to the grievor, the Committee found that they were not justified. Finally, the Committee found that any negative comments or associated low scores on the grievor's annual performance assessment referring to the grievor's refusal to be vaccinated would be unreasonable.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority afford partial redress by quashing the remedial measures, expunging all relevant documentation from the grievor's personnel record, and directing that the grievor's annual performance assessment be reviewed and, if necessary, revised to ensure that it contained no negative assessments relating to his refusal to be vaccinated.