# 2022-048 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-03-12

The grievor contested remedial measures (RM) issued for non-compliance with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccination policy, as well as an Administrative Review (AR), as he argued the policy was unlawful. As redress, the grievor requested that the RM and AR be removed from his file and that his Land Duty Allowance (LDA) be reinstated.

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

The Committee conducted an analysis of whether the CAF vaccination policy infringed on the grievor's 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 the rights protected under section 7 of the Charter 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 respects, 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.

The Committee found that the administrative actions against the grievor should not have occurred as the grievor was exercising a protected Charter right. The Committee also found that the decision to cease the grievor's LDA was unjust, because this decision was based on a policy that was unreasonable.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority (FA) cancel the RM and remove documents pertaining to the AR from the grievor's file. The Committee also recommended that the FA direct retroactive payment of the grievor's LDA for the applicable period.