Canadian federal employees and vaccine mandates

Interview Summary

The Canadian federal government has announced that they will move to apply a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for some federally regulated employees and all federal public servants.. What will this mean for employees in these sectors? Can federal employees refuse to be vaccinated? Will this policy influence employers not working for the federal government?

Lior Samfiru, an employment lawyer and co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joins Newstalk 580 CFRA with Leslie Roberts to answer these questions and more.

Interview Notes

Will employees not in the federal sector be subject to different rules regarding vaccines?

Employers who do not work within the federal government or for a federally regulated business cannot implement their own vaccine policies and mandate without government legislation. There is currently no legislation or provincial government mandate that implements mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.

Will there be court challenges to the federal employee vaccine mandate?

There will be multiple challenges facing this recent mandate. Many employers are already implementing vaccine policies despite no government mandate or legislation regarding COVID-19 vaccines. There could also be challenges facing the government based on human rights laws and on a constitutional basis.

Is a vaccine mandate similar to the no-smoking indoors ban?

It is important to remember that there is a distinction between the two scenarios. Vaccinations involve individuals undergoing a medical procedure and in the case of COVID-19 vaccines, a fairly new procedure. Smoking bans indoors do not infringe upon an individual’s human rights. However, current federal employees will have to be vaccinated and could face termination without severance if they fail to meet the requirements.

Will terminated employees be able to fight for their severance if they refused to be vaccinated?

Employers who are federally regulated in the transportation sector, or work for their federal government, are not allowed to have employees who are not vaccinated, it is no longer their decision. This is considered a frustration of contract as the employment relationship is no longer able to continue.

Can employees choose to work from home instead of being vaccinated?

Employees who are able to work from home should speak to their employer about a compromise if they do not wish to be vaccinated but want to continue working. Unfortunately, not all employees are able to work from home and will have to choose whether or not they wish to be vaccinated or lose their jobs.

How long does a human rights case take to make it through the court system?

It is typically a long process for a human rights case as the decision is often appealed and could take years to be resolved.