Legal challenge of COVID travel mandate proceeds in court
After years of litigation, plaintiffs Karl Harrison and Shaun Rickard are challenging the constitutionality of the federal travel mandate. All other challenges in the past were ruled as moot.
A federal court ruling says a lawsuit challenging the Liberal government’s vaccine mandates can proceed to trial. Earlier legal challenges were dismissed as moot.
Plaintiffs Karl Harrison and Shaun Rickard, both of whom are businessmen, sought judicial review in December 2021. After years of litigation, parts of their constitutional challenge remain whereas others do not.
The travel vaccine mandate prevented an estimated 5.2 million unvaccinated Canadians from freely travelling by air, rail, or boat.
EXCLUSIVE: Transport Canada's top policy expert said it was a conscious decision to deny travellers compassionate exemptions to vaccine mandates.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) June 15, 2022
MORE: https://t.co/BPn3q5fAzh pic.twitter.com/6kP3bDUZvM
On Friday, Associate Judge Trent Horne allowed Rickard to argue his section 6 rights had been violated while both plaintiffs will similarly argue their section 15 rights were violated, reported the Epoch Times.
“While the chances of having vaccination status recognized as an analogous ground for the purposes of section 15 may be remote in light of the current jurisprudence, I am not satisfied that such an argument is bound to fail if the plaintiffs allege that vaccination would constitute an unacceptable cost to their personal identity, or would tear asunder immutable or even deeply held beliefs,” wrote Horne.
Harrison is a Canadian citizen, whereas Rickard is a permanent resident of 30 years from Britain; therefore, section 6 rights do not apply. Meanwhile, counsel representing the plaintiffs says an appeal is underway of the Court’s decision to strike claims under Sections 7 and 12.
WATCH: Justin Trudeau says he didn't "force" anyone to get vaccinated. While that might be technically true, watch his numerous attempts at vaccine coercion.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 26, 2023
Help us: https://t.co/Qxrj9gZfgapic.twitter.com/c3GH7MfIou
The duo's first legal challenge stems from former action taken by former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford and People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier. It was declared moot in October 2022, given the travel mandate was suspended that June.
In November 2023, Rickard and Harrison sought $1 million in damages against the federal government in civil court, reported True North. It sought damages under four sections of the Charter, of which two will proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court declined to hear Peckford’s and Bernier’s case in August 2024.
Pierre Poilievre puts forward a bill to ban vaccine mandates across the entire federal employment sector.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 25, 2023
Making Canada the most free country, he says, "includes bodily autonomy — the freedom to decide what people put in their own bodies."https://t.co/QRmdeFz1IY pic.twitter.com/W2I0dYv6Gk
The Department of Transportation defended the mandate. “The Government of Canada’s position is that the vaccination mandate is consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as Canada’s obligations in the area of human rights,” spokesperson Flavio Nienow said in an emailed statement to the Epoch Times.
The plaintiffs are also taking into account that a new Conservative government could take a different view of their case. “A federal election will take place in 2025 and a new government may likely take a different view of these legal proceedings.”
Former Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and then-Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos have long-claimed the mandates reduced public exposure to COVID-19, contrary to government data. The mandate had a limited impact on viral transmission concerning the Omicron variant, affecting Canadians regardless of vaccine status.

Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-01-14 18:58:19 -0500Unless the Supreme Court is purged of all Liberal hacks, we’ll never get fair verdicts.