Ottawa can afford to require workers in the transportation and federal government sectors to be vaccinated, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
According to the court, the requirement of full vaccination against COVID-19 for work in these areas is constitutional.
Nothing will change in this judgment for the time being, since the vaccination requirement was lifted two weeks ago, on June 20th. On the other hand, the government could use it if it wants to reintroduce compulsory vaccination in the event of a renewed outbreak of the pandemic.
The Supreme Court was asked to rule at the request of the Steelworkers’ Union, which questioned the constitutionality of compulsory vaccination.
“We are still studying the verdict with our lawyers. This was only sent to us in the evening. We are assessing its scope and weighing our remedies for the remainder,” the Steelworkers’ assistant to the Quebec director, Donald Noël, responded in a press release.
The union pledged to be in favor of vaccinating the population. “Nevertheless, we felt that the price of a personal decision not to be vaccinated, either loss of job or income, was disproportionate when arrangements could be made,” lamented Mr Noël.