Ottawa could afford to require the vaccination of workers in the transportation sector and in areas of federal government employment, the Superior Court ruled on Tuesday.
According to the court, the obligation to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in these fields is constitutional.
This judgment will not change anything immediately, since the vaccination obligation was lifted two weeks ago, on June 20. On the other hand, the government could use it, should it wish to reinstate compulsory vaccination in the event of a resurgence of the pandemic.
The Superior Court was called upon to rule at the request of the Steelworkers union, which challenged the constitutionality of the vaccination obligation.
“We are still studying the judgment with our lawyers. This one was transmitted to us only in the evening. We are evaluating its scope and are weighing our legal recourses for the rest of things, ”reacted in a press release the assistant to the Quebec director of the Steelworkers, Donald Noël.
The union assured to be in favor of the vaccination of the population. “We nevertheless felt that the price to pay for a personal decision not to be vaccinated, either the loss of a job or an income, was disproportionate, when accommodation measures could have been put in place” , lamented Mr. Noël.
