In October, the Quebec government announced that vaccination
would be mandatory for health care workers but did not provide
guidance for other economic sectors. In the absence of provincial
government directives on mandatory vaccination in the workplace,
employers must justify this measure based on the specifics of each
job. Recent Ontario arbitration awards, as well as a Quebec
decision, demonstrate the intricacies of this situation.
Recent arbitration awards in Ontario
In the space of a week, two grievance arbitrators issued
seemingly contradictory arbitral awards.
In an award issued on November 9, 2021, Arbitrator Von Veh
dismissed a union's grievance challenging Paragon Protection
Inc.'s mandatory vaccination policy. Paragon is a company that
provides security services to over four hundred clients. In
September, the employer notified employees of its mandatory
vaccination policy, which was then challenged by grievance.
