In the face of calls to eliminate the requirement and concerns about when a promised “tweak” will really be made, the Liberal government is defending the military’s continued use of a vaccine mandate for Armed Forces members as a condition of employment.
Since December, the Canadian Armed Forces have mandated that all soldiers obtain two doses of a recognised COVID-19 vaccination or risk disciplinary action, including being discharged from the service.
More than 1,100 service men have not exposed their arms for vaccinations, despite the fact that the great majority have. More than 400 of those have subsequently, either voluntarily or involuntarily, put up their uniforms, and more are on their way out.
Even while demands for other government employees have been halted, the requirement is still in place. This week, the administration declared that the immunisation requirements for international travellers would be eliminated as of Saturday.
This is why Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urged the Liberals this week to reverse the military’s “discriminatory and unscientific vaccine mandate,” even though Gen. Wayne Eyre, the top of the defence staff, ultimately has the final say.
As she and other federal ministers informed Canadians on hurricane recovery operations in Atlantic Canada on Thursday, Defence Minister Anita Anand expressed support for the mandate.
“It’s a force that must always be prepared to execute domestic and international combat operations, sometimes in locations with little to no access to specialised medical care, sometimes in close quarters with their fellow Canadian Armed Forces soldiers,” she added.
“As a result, there are stricter requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces to implement health protection measures.
”
Anand did point out that Eyre is reexamining the requirement now that the government has removed its requirements for other federal employees. She continued, “(Eyre’s) directives remain in place for CAF members until further notice throughout this review.
The precise date the review might be finished is yet unknown.
The review is “a complicated subject,” according to Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier, who also noted that the military must “balance medical and legal imperatives, ethical considerations, and operational necessities.”
“The CAF will continue to exercise caution and make a choice only when it is considered safe to do so operationally.
The mandate was initially mentioned by the department in June, and a draught of a revised vaccine policy obtained by the Ottawa Citizen in July implied that the mandate would no longer require vaccinations for military members.
According to the draught document—which authorities claim Eyre did not approve—military members and new recruits would no longer be required to certify their vaccination status.
The letter also hinted to future legal challenges for those who were discharged from the military as a result of the vaccine requirement, suggesting they would be required to reapply.
Other government employees who weren’t immunised, on the other hand, were placed on unpaid leave but were permitted to resume their duties when the mandate was suspended.
A “tweak” was on the way, though, as Eyre said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press that he was working to find the “sweet spot” between the military’s medical, legal, operational, and ethical requirements.
At the same time, he argued that the mission was vital to maintain the military’s readiness to respond to any emergency, adding that many friends and other countries still had mandates and that the force had been requested to help in Canadian hospitals and long-term care institutions.
Going forward, we must retain our operational viability, he stated. We will thus modify the policy and provide something revised throughout the course of the coming weeks.
While certain groups and individuals opposed to vaccine mandates, pandemic lockdowns, and the Liberal government have exploited the military’s continuous need as a rallying point, some serving members have attempted to challenge the mandate in court but have been unsuccessful.
Liberal administration supports COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the military after review
About Author
