# 2023-158 Careers, COVID-19

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-09-02

The grievor contested the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccination policy. The grievor also disputed the denial of a religious accommodation request, remedial measures (RM), and a recommendation for release from the CAF for non-compliance with the CAF COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The Initial Authority denied the grievance, determining that the grievor had been treated fairly in the denial of the grievor's religious accommodation request. 

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 denial of the grievor's religious accommodation request was reasonable.

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 also responded, in part, to recent Final Authority (FA) decisions on other COVID-19 vaccination policy related grievances. The Committee concluded that the CAF vaccination policy infringed on these rights and that their limitation 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 limitation was not justified under section 1 of the Charter.

Additionally, the Committee found that the administrative actions against the grievor, namely the RM and the recommendation for release under item 5(f), Service Completed – Unsuitable for Further Service, of the table to article 15.01 of the Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces, 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 FA quash the RM and remove all associated documentation from the grievor's personnel file, along with removing the recommendation for release.