Canadian Armed Forces members continue to be discharged under vaccine rules weeks after other federal employers suspended mandates, Federal Court records show..One corporal who challenged her dismissal noted provinces and most employers also lifted COVID mandates..“She asserts it's inevitable that the directives will be changed to remove the vaccine mandate in view of changes to provincial COVID-19 protocols,” wrote Justice Angela Furlanetto. “She takes issue with the manner in which her religious exemption was considered.”.According to Blacklocks' Reporter, Cpl. Shannon Jones, a meteorological technician at Maritime Forces Pacific Headquarters at Esquimalt, B.C., was discharged July 30. Her dismissal came six weeks after cabinet ended vaccine mandates for 283,000 federal employees and the RCMP effective June 20..Court records showed Corporal Jones cited religious grounds in applying for a waiver from a November 15 directive that all soldiers, sailors and air crew show proof of vaccination. Only 98 military members were granted religious waivers, according to May 31 figures obtained. Another 42 Canadian Armed Forces members were granted waivers for medical reasons..“She contends her religious beliefs should be sufficient to satisfy the religious exemption,” wrote the court. “She argues in her written materials a religious accommodation is justified under the Charter.”.Corporal Jones was deemed “unsuitable for further service” under Queen’s Regulations And Orders. Jones sought a Federal Court injunction to block her dismissal pending an appeal. The court declined and ordered Jones to pay $3,200 in costs..“A growing list of recent cases have considered and rejected arguments that losing one’s employment as a result of a mandatory vaccination policy and the associated anxiety, psychological stress and emotional harm that goes along with that loss give rise to irreparable harm,” wrote Furlanetto..“These principles have been applied consistently and warrant no special consideration to employees of the Canadian Armed Forces.”.Figures to May 31 indicated a total 1,573 military were discharged or disciplined under the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. Another 307 civilian employees were suspended at the Department of National Defence for declining to show proof of vaccination..Military were discharged though the Canadian Armed Forces repeatedly complained of being unable to meet recruitment quotas. Members number some 56,000 compared to a required minimum strength of 61,000 fully-trained members and a longstanding target of 68,000 members..“There is no point in us having a target of 68,000 and continuing to be short,” John Forster, then-deputy defence minister, testified at 2017 hearings of the House of Commons public accounts committee..“There are some reasons for that. One is our capacity to recruit.”
