Shannon Jones, a serving Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member, filed an application in Federal Court for an injunction to fight what she feels is an unfair release due to the mandatory vaccinate mandate put in place by the CAF..A hearing will take place on June 6, 2022..The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has engaged well-known trial lawyer and former combat officer Phillip Millar to represent Jones — a healthy and skilled Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member who is facing a discharge from the military because she declined the mandated COVID-19 vaccine..“This will be the first of many injunctions sought to protect the serving military soldiers, and Ms. Jones is just one member of dozens of serving members of the CAF being represented by Mr. Millar on the basis of health concerns, religious or conscientious objections to the COVID injections,” said the JCCF in a Tuesday press release..“Warrant Officer James Topp is another client. Mr. Topp is a member of the CAF reserve force facing the charge of “conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline,” which has the potential to result in a court martial..Topp, who has been a serving member of the CAF for 28 years, gained national attention for his 4,293-km “Canada Marches” hike across Canada to protest federal vaccine mandates, forced quarantines, mandatory testing, and other conditions of employment or provision of services..He began his march on February 20 and has already reached Ontario and is well on his way to achieving his goal of reaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa by June 22. He also faces unemployment for declining the COVID-19 vaccination..The CAF has been fast-tracking the discharge of members who have not managed to secure a vaccination waiver..Beginning in January 2022, the JCCF received hundreds of requests from active military members for support, guidance and steps they could take to avoid being discharged under the CAF's 5F release procedure..The JCCF asserts that military members are entitled to have their constitutional freedoms, such as freedom of religion and conscience, protected..Millar, a former full-time combat officer in the CAF infantry, former assistant Crown attorney, and experienced trial lawyer — who has already successfully sued the Department of National Defence in the past — is taking a different approach to fighting for the rights of CAF members..“Ms. Jones’ life is being upended, her career destroyed and her pension put at risk without due process,” said Millar. “This is fundamentally a patched-together policy designed to punish those who do not get in line with the political objectives assigned to DND policy from Ottawa.”.“Everyone who signs up for the military understands there is an acceptance that your personal freedoms can be limited in order to preserve the operational effectiveness of the military, but the vaccine mandate has nothing to do with operational effectiveness as it is simply a political move imposed on the military by the federal government. There is inconsistency in how this policy is being applied, and it is unduly punitive and wrong. We are asking the Federal Court to grant an injunction that prevents the military from kicking members out before their concerns are heard,” said Millar.
