# 2022-109 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2023-05-30

The grievor received a Recorded Warning (RW) for not complying with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccination policy, pursuant to the Chief of the Defence Staff’s (CDS) Directives on CAF COVID-19 Vaccination released in October and November 2021. Soon after receiving the RW, the grievor got vaccinated against COVID-19. The grievor contends that the Directives infringed on rights established by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). As redress, the grievor sought acknowledgement from the CAF that their Charter rights had been denied, acknowledgement from the CAF that they did not receive the vaccine of their own free will, and a letter addressing the moral, legal and ethical concerns brought up in their grievance.

There was no Initial Authority decision because the grievance was related to a decision, act or omission by the CDS. 

The Committee conducted an in-depth analysis as to whether the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy breached protected rights under section 7 of the Charter, namely the right to liberty and security of the person. The Committee concluded that the policy infringed on the rights protected under section 7 of the Charter and that the limitations of these rights were not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. The Committee viewed aspects of the policy as arbitrary and overly broad, and considered its implementation disproportionate. This led to a full analysis of whether such limitations are justified under section 1 of the Charter.

The Committee found the CAF had not shown that consideration of the public interest justified the overly broad and disproportionate implementation of the vaccination policy. The Committee found the CAF had not met its obligation to ensure minimal impairment in the implementation of its vaccination policy. The Committee therefore concluded that the limitations were not justified under section 1 of the Charter.

The Committee found that the disputed provisions of the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy were contrary to the Charter and as such, unreasonable. Therefore, the Committee found that the grievor had been aggrieved by the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy. Additionally, the Committee found that there was a lack of basic procedural fairness in the issuance of the RW and that the process was fundamentally unfair. The Committee noted that the disputed policy had been amended pursuant to CDS Directive 003 on CAF COVID-19 Vaccination, released in 2022, which superseded the previous unreasonable versions from 2021.

The Committee recommended that the RW issued to the grievor be cancelled and removed from their personnel records.