Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) could not fully comply with a federal vaccinate mandate and keep the trains running safely, according to labour board records. CPR said full compliance would “place the critical operations of the railroad at risk.”.“Canadian Pacific maintains that in order to become fully compliant with the ministerial order, the company has undertaken significant hiring efforts along with the reallocation and redistribution of resources,” wrote Tom Hodges, a federal labour arbitrator..“Since the placement of all non-compliant employees on a leave of absence effective January 24 would have placed the critical operations of the railroad at risk, a limited number of non-compliant employees were allowed to continue active employment in order to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operations of the railroad.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, the disclosure came in a protest by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference on behalf of an employee denied a religious exemption from the vaccine mandate. The union argued CP “openly acknowledged allowing certain unvaccinated employees to continue working” in defiance of the federal order..Hodges requested records detailing the number of scofflaws. “The company will also provide copies of the weekly reports submitted to Transport Canada in compliance with the Ministerial Order,” wrote Hodges..The Department of Transport last October 29 issued an act it required all federally regulated employees to show proof of vaccination or apply for religious or medical exemptions by January 24..Joshua Bergen, a Teamster described by the union as a devout Christian and church board member who “serves the church faithfully on an ongoing basis,” was suspended without pay on January 25. The labour arbitrator was told Canadian Pacific dismissed Bergen’s request for a religious exemption..“The union maintains the griever never received an explanation from the company about why his November 8 exemption request was denied,” wrote the arbitrator. “All he ever received was an email on November 9 that simply denied his request without providing any explanation.”.The Liberal government lifted the vaccine mandate for travellers and transport workers effective June 20. The number of employees suspended under the mandate has not been disclosed..The Treasury Board in an internal October 6 memo said employees claiming religious exemptions should be given some latitude. “The manager must be satisfied the employee holds a sincere religious belief,” said a memo..The directive followed a 2004 Supreme Court ruling in Syndicat Northcrest versus Amselem. “The state is in no position to be, nor should it become, the arbiter of religious dogma,” wrote the Court..The decision came in the case of Orthodox Jews in Montréal accused of breaching condo bylaws by erecting “succahs” or decorative temporary shelters on their balconies. Condominium managers had no business questioning whether the tenants’ convictions complied with Jewish law, wrote justices..“Sincerity of belief simply implies an honesty of belief and the court’s role is to ensure a presently asserted belief is in good faith, neither fictitious nor capricious,” wrote the Court. Whether an individual’s convictions were consistent was irrelevant, judges added.
