Feds ban most religious exemptions on draconian vaccine mandates
There are currently over 350 active religious accommodation grievances with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, 74 percent of which involve federal workers whose previous requests for religious exemptions were denied.
A federal labour board will face complaints over COVID vaccine mandates in the workplace for years to come, according to Blacklock’s Reporter, with many alleging discrimination on religious grounds.
“There are over 350 religious accommodation grievances currently active with the Board,” wrote Christopher Rootham, an arbitrator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
“Arbitration hearings dealing with similar policies in the private or broader public sector have tended to last two days, sometimes followed by written submissions,” he wrote.
Future cases will be determined through written submissions after the Board ceased in-person hearings due to a backlog of grievances.
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 Employment Board has dismissed several complaints over vaccine mandates in the past.
Cabinet in a 2022 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons disclosed 74 percent of requests for a religious exemption were rejected, which is slightly higher than the rejection rate for medical exemptions, at 70 percent.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the largest federal union, wrote in a 2022 submission to the board that legally challenging vaccine mandates had "little chance of success," as most of its 230,000 members complied with the federal vaccine mandate imposed on November 15, 2021. Enforcement ended the following June.
The Treasury Board enforced its vaccine mandate on all federal employees from November 15, 2021, to June 20, 2022, even for those who work remotely. Limited exemptions were permitted on medical grounds with a doctor’s note and on religious grounds with manager questions attesting to the claimants faith and spirituality.
“The manager must be satisfied the employee holds a sincere religious belief,” said a 2021 Treasury Board memo Managers’ Toolkit For The Implementation Of The Policy On Covid-19 Vaccination For The Core Public Administration Including The RCMP. Requests were to be “addressed on a case by case basis,” it said.
"Under no circumstances should governments force Canadians to do anything against their will." @RomanBaber answers @LincolnMJay's question regarding wasteful government spending on vaccine contracts that ended up being thrown out. https://t.co/U3rVpK1Wmj pic.twitter.com/83N5UK4rkX
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) May 6, 2022
The Employment Board’s direction to speed hearings came as it dismissed the first of hundreds of complaints, including a grievance filed by a $64,000-a year finance officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs, who declined to provide proof of vaccination as a baptized Catholic.
“As a Catholic, I am told to follow my conscience,” wrote the complainant. “My Catholic upbringing through the Church, the Bible and God taught me about moral conscience and how believers are required to act according to their conscience.”
Asked, “How does this vaccine conflict with your religious beliefs?” the employee replied: “Vaccination is not morally obligated and must be done so voluntarily.” The employee cited a public letter by the Archbishop of Ottawa stating: “Vaccination is not as a rule a moral obligation and therefore it must be voluntary.”
Arbitrator Rootham rejected the claim. “His argument amounts to this: ‘I conscientiously object to the vaccine for reasons I do not explain and Catholics are expected to follow their conscience, therefore my objection is religious,’” wrote Rootham. “Arbitrators have routinely rejected similar claims by other employees.”
Conservative bill to ban vaccine mandates fails to pass in Parliament.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 27, 2023
By a 205 to 114 vote, the federal government rejected Bill C-278, An Act To Prevent The Imposition By The Federal Government Of Vaccination Mandates For Employment And Travel.
MORE: https://t.co/64g9l3dLzK pic.twitter.com/DTuDPfdNZ2
With no federal legislation banning mandatory disclosure of personal medical information as a pandemic precaution, Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced a private bill to prohibit the practice on June 2, 2022.
"I call on all Members of Parliament to end this discrimination," Poilievre told MPs at the time. "Give people back control of their medical decisions and their bodies by passing this bill."
Bill C-278, An Act To Prevent The Imposition By The Federal Government Of Vaccination Mandates For Employment And Travel, would prohibit any requirement for proof of vaccination as a condition of federal employment or public access to federally-regulated transportation. It was ultimately defeated at the second reading in the House of Commons on October 25, 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously described mandate critics as extremists. "These are extremists who don't believe in science," he said on September 16, 2021. "They are often misogynists, also often racists."
