Canadian judge tosses Armed Forces members’ Covid vaccine mandate lawsuit over lack of evidence

A Canadian federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by 330 current and former Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel who say the military violated their Constitutional rights when it forced them to take the COVID-19 vaccine or be removed from the service. The plaintiffs were seeking $1.3 million in damages, but Associate Judge Catherine Coughlan has ordered them to collectively reimburse the federal government with $5,040 for its legal expenses, the National Post reported Wednesday.

Coughlan’s verdict was in response to the Trudeau government’s request to have the lawsuit dismissed on the basis that it lacked credibility and was based on “vexatious language.” The judge completely concurred with that assessment, claiming the suit lacked “material facts” or even “evidence” to back up its allegation that the vaccine mandate was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“For example, various COVID-19 vaccines are labelled an ‘experimental gene therapy’ and ‘biologics,’ without any basis for these statements established,” the Edmonton-based judge wrote in her Nov. 13 decision. “The COVID-19 pandemic is also referred to as an ‘emergency’ without any basis indicated for the use of the quotation marks."

“The only indications of bad faith are found when the pleadings baldly assert that, among other claims, Canada failed to carry out safety and efficacy testing for the vaccines, and that the Directives were premature and ‘promoted the fraudulent use of the biologics," Coughlan added.

The judge objected to any suggestion that enforcing the vaccine mandate was “criminal in nature.” The order for most CAF personnel to get the vaccine was issued in 2021. Exemptions were only issued if members proved that the shot violated their religious beliefs, would constitute a danger to their health or proved to be discrimination. Most members who refused the vaccine were administratively released from the service while others took the jab under protest and are now concerned about the effects on their long-term health.

Catherine Christensen of Edmonton’s Valour Legal Action Centre, who represented the plaintiffs, suggested during a Sept. 19 hearing that the vaccine mandate lawsuit could evolve into a larger class-action suit against the military based on “abuse of authority within the CAF,” the National Post noted.

The decision couldn’t be further from US President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to military personnel who were dismissed from the service for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Trump said they would be welcomed back into the military with full back pay and an apology. San Francisco transit workers were recently awarded $1.3 million each in compensation for being fired in response to their refusal to take the vax.