# 2022-272 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-06-19

The grievor received remedial measures (RM) from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a result of non-compliance with the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policies. The grievor contested the administrative actions taken against him, stating that the vaccination policy is unlawful and violates his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). The grievor further alleged that he was not afforded procedural fairness and that there was an inappropriate release of his personal information.

The Initial Authority (IA), denied redress. The IA stated that the RM and administrative action were used in the place of Code of Service Discipline sanctions to address non-compliance, and the vaccination policy did not breach the grievor's rights under the Charter. The IA also disagreed that the grievor was not afforded procedural fairness, stating that he was given opportunities to make representations. Regarding the allegation that the grievor's privacy rights were violates, the IA stated that it was impossible to determine whether any inappropriate release of medical information occurred without additional information.

The Committee first conducted an in-depth analysis of whether the CAF vaccination policy infringed on the protected rights under section 7 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 limitations on 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 of whether such limitation is justified under section 1 of the Charter.

The Committee found that the CAF had not shown that consideration of the public interest justified the overly broad and disproportionate implementation of the vaccination policy, despite the high vaccination rate within the CAF and without regard for the members' occupation, duties and place of work. The Committee concluded that 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 then addressed the reasonableness of RM. 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 these administrative actions were unreasonable due to serious breaches of procedural fairness.

Furthermore, the Committee investigated the privacy breach allegations and found that the disclosure of the grievor's vaccination status was proportional to the objective of ensuring the health and safety of all CAF members.

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