Following the Government of Canada's announcement on August
13, 2021 that it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for those
employed in the federal public sector and in the
federally-regulated air, rail, and marine transportation industry,
a growing list of Canadian employers have followed suit in
announcing their own vaccine mandates. This list now includes five
of Canada's largest banks, the City of Toronto, a large
financial services company and at least several large law firms, to
list only a few. With momentum for workplace vaccine mandates
growing by the day, employers are facing increased pressure to
address the issue of COVID-19 vaccinations among their
workforces.
Although the details vary, employer vaccine mandates require
employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of
in-person work. But do employers have the right to impose such
mandates? What if employees refuse? What if there are medical
reasons why an employee cannot receive a
