Covid

by **OutlawSoldier** Wed 19 Jan 2022, 9:29 am

Military launches formal proceedings against more than 900 unvaccinated troops

Published Friday, January 14, 2022

OTTAWA -- The Department of National Defence says proceedings have been launched against more than 900 Canadian Armed Forces members for refusing to get vaccinated, though none have yet been forced to hang up their uniforms.

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre ordered all military personnel be fully vaccinated by mid-October, saying the measure was intended to protect the military during the pandemic. The deadline was later extended to mid-December.

While most Armed Forces members complied with the order, with the Defence Department reporting a 98.3 per cent vaccination rate among Canadian troops, hundreds of others did not. Those soldiers are now facing the possibility of release from the military.

According to the Defence Department's latest statistics, by the end of December, more than 830 Armed Forces members had received formal warnings, orders to attend counselling and probation for refusing to get jabbed.

Formal reviews had been launched against another 100 unvaccinated troops who continued to defy the vaccination order even after those other remedial measures had been exhausted.

The launch of such reviews is usually the first step toward forcing service members from the military, though Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said the first forced releases aren't expected until the end of the month.

Forty-four full-time members of the Armed Forces have opted to voluntarily leave the military rather than get vaccinated, Le Bouthillier added. The number of part-time reservists who have chosen to leave wasn't immediately available.

"For those few who are unable to be vaccinated, each case will be assessed to determine whether and what accommodation is reasonable," Le Bouthillier said in a statement.

"The accommodations will take into account the health and safety of the defence team while focusing on continuing to achieve the Canadian Armed Forces mission."

While Eyre has made getting the COVID-19 vaccine a requirement for continuing to serve in uniform, the loss of any troops would further exacerbate the Canadian military's personnel shortfall.

The federal Liberal government has authorized the Armed Forces to have 68,000 regular-force members and 29,000 reservists, but it is short several thousand on both counts as recruiting has dried up during the pandemic.

The shortfall coincides with the military having faced unprecedented demands over the past two years as it has conducted numerous missions abroad while helping provinces with the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing number of natural disasters.

Eyre in an interview in November acknowledged the Canadian Armed Forces is "a fragile organization right now because of our numbers being down, because of the (operational) tempo, because of this crisis in (sexual) misconduct."

Several Armed Forces members tried to challenge the vaccine requirement in Federal Court last month, where they asked Justice Janet Fuhrer to intervene and stop the military from forcing them to get their shots.

But continuing a string of legal defeats for federal employees fighting vaccine requirements, Fuhrer dismissed their arguments.

"The applicants have failed to demonstrate that their interests outweigh the public interest in ensuring the readiness, health and safety of the Forces, the defence team, and the vulnerable groups they may be called on to serve," Fuhrer wrote in her decision.

She added: "If the requested injunction were issued, material harm to the public interest would ensue, in terms of increased health risks to CAF members and the public they serve."

Edmonton lawyer Catherine Christensen, who represented four of the military members challenging the vaccine requirement, said she was preparing to file a lawsuit on behalf of her clients.

CTV NEWS

by **OutlawSoldier** Wed 19 Jan 2022, 9:37 am

Unvaccinated military face 'steeper' challenge than airman who refused anthrax shot

The Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor

Jan 19, 2022

OTTAWA — Unvaccinated military members are in for a tougher fight than a retired airman who was disciplined for refusing an anthrax vaccine 20 years ago, his former lawyer warns.

Jay Prober said some in the Canadian Armed Forces who don’t want to take the current COVID-19 vaccines have contacted him because he defended Michael Kipling, the retired sergeant charged and ultimately acquitted of breaching an order to take an anthrax vaccine while serving in Kuwait.

“This would be much, much tougher and a much steeper mountain to climb,” the Winnipeg-based lawyer said in a recent interview.

“It’s completely different, quite frankly,”

Controversy over mandatory vaccinations for the military has re-emerged during the pandemic, with chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre ordering all personnel to be inoculated against COVID-19.

Back in March 1998, troops serving in Kuwait City near Iraq’s border were ordered to take an anthrax vaccine out of concern it could be used as a biological weapon.

That gave rise to the conflict with Kipling, a flight engineer who refused to be vaccinated because the vaccine was unlicensed in Canada. He had fallen ill after an earlier shot and feared the vaccine could be connected to an unexplained sickness other veterans experienced.

The doctor tasked with immunizing soldiers at that time was Stephen Ellis, the physician-turned-Conservative MP, who now assists Tory leader Erin O’Toole on shaping pandemic-related policies.

According to the reported testimony Ellis gave during Kipling’s court martial in 2000, the doctor had served as a former captain and squadron medical officer.

He felt he was in a dilemma because, as a doctor, he knew patients should be able to provide informed consent, which didn’t exist within the military structure because members must obey orders.

Despite briefing soldiers on the vaccine’s potential side-effects, Ellis testified he couldn’t appease Kipling’s concerns and saw how his refusal to be vaccinated caused stress for a member with more than 20 years of service.

“Mike has a right not to take the vaccine, but he must also — by virtue of him wearing a uniform and collecting a (military) paycheque — suffer the consequences,” Ellis testified, according to a report by The Winnipeg Free Press.

Through his office, Ellis declined to speak on the matter now.

O’Toole, who is himself a veteran, said recently that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a requirement for most military members because of their duty to serve. His support for vaccine mandates in the military is in contrast to his opposition to such requirements for air travellers and those working in federally-regulated sectors like trucking.

For Prober, the main difference between Kipling’s case and the mandatory vaccination order some members and reservists face today is that the refusal to take the anthrax vaccine affected only Kipling.

“COVID vaccines are different,” he said. “If you refuse a COVID vaccine you put others at risk, not just yourself.”

For that reason, he said justifying a refusal becomes that much more challenging.

A Federal Court judge recently ruled against granting an injunction for several Forces members who didn’t want to take their shots, writing they failed to demonstrate how their personal interest outweighs that of the public’s.

Another key difference is that unlike the U.S.-made anthrax vaccine — which the military had special permission to use because it had not yet been approved in Canada — today’s COVID-19 vaccines have been greenlit by Health Canada.

The Department of National Defence reports a vaccination rate among troops of 98.3 per cent. However, more than 830 members have received formal warnings, orders to attend counselling and probation for refusing to get jabbed.

Formal reviews have also been launched against another 100 unvaccinated troops who are still refusing to comply even after exhausting those other remedial measures.

Ultimately, unvaccinated service members could be dismissed from the military. So far, the department says 44 full-time members have left voluntarily.

In Kipling’s case, his refusal to be immunized resulted in him being sent back to Canada and charged with disobeying an order “without a reasonable excuse.”

He retired after the charge was laid, but a court martial was still held.

A military judge eventually ruled Kipling’s charter rights had been infringed and accepted that the anthrax vaccine he’d been ordered to take could have been unsafe.

The Forces appealed the ruling and the Court Martial Appeal Court ordered a new trial, but the case was ultimately dropped.

Reached at his home this week, Kipling declined to speak.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2022

NATIONAL POST

by **Accer** Thu 03 Feb 2022, 1:54 pm

Canadian military cuts dozens of unvaccinated troops, puts hundreds more on notice

Feb 03. 2022

Times Colonist

by **RazzorSharp))** Fri 04 Feb 2022, 6:18 am

Canadian Forces to investigate RCAF member who used social media to voice support of protesters

Author of the article:David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Feb 03, 2022

The Canadian military will investigate one of its members who went on Twitter with a video supporting the protesters who have disrupted Ottawa for the last week.

The man appeared in a Canadian Forces uniform, in front of a Canadian flag, and identified himself as Riley MacPherson, a member of the military.

He praised those taking part in the protest, including truckers, farmers and “everyone standing up for our rights and freedoms.”

He noted that those are the same “rights and freedoms I signed up to protect.”

“Thank you for your courage,” he added in his message to the protesters. “Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for your strength. I stand with you. Hold the line.”

The Canadian Forces confirmed the man is a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

But the Department of National Defence did not provide details about where the Canadian Forces member is located and what unit he serves with.

“The member’s chain of command has now been made aware and will conduct a fulsome investigation into the matter and ensure appropriate corrective action,” DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Thursday. “Members of the CAF must remain impartial when communicating publicly and are not permitted to express their personal views when in uniform.”

Le Bouthillier said any member of the Canadian Forces who brings discredit to the military “through either conduct or performance deficiencies, be it through actions or words, will be held accountable.”

The RCAF member’s account includes retweets of material critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as other material questioning vaccines. The RCAF member did not respond to a request for comment.

Protesters have paralyzed downtown Ottawa for a week, refusing to leave unless mask and vaccine mandates are removed.

Some protesters have been criticized for flying Confederate and Nazi flags and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There have been numerous reports of members of the public being harassed by protesters.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly suggested Wednesday that the Canadian Forces might be needed to deal with the protesters. But Trudeau said that using the military in such a situation is not being considered.

Defence Watch

by JAFO Fri 04 Feb 2022, 12:02 pm

It's been a minute since I left the military so this might have changed...

Is a involuntarily released, as stated in the Times Colonist article by Lee Berthuime, a dishonorable discharge?

by **Accer** Fri 04 Feb 2022, 2:28 pm

JAFO wrote:It's been a minute since I left the military so this might have changed...

Is a involuntarily released, as stated in the Times Colonist article by Lee Berthuime, a dishonorable discharge?

I'm guessing it would be under, Service Misconduct, Unsatisfactory Service, Unsatisfactory Conduct, or Notice of Intent to Recommend Release .

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/queens-regulations-orders/vol-1-administration/ch-15-release.html

by JAFO Sat 05 Feb 2022, 11:26 am

Thanks Accer the release system has changed.

I'm just curious to know if these CAF members being released will be labeled as a dishonorable which could lead to a problem if they get a job and need to be bonded? Like working in a bank, accounting firm, security etc.

by **Diesel** Wed 20 Apr 2022, 4:02 pm

National Defence says fewer unvaccinated troops kicked out of military than reported

Published Tuesday, April 19, 2022

CTV News

by Covert Tue 26 Apr 2022, 7:42 am

This 100-year-old N.L. veteran has COVID-19, but can't get the COVID drug to treat him

Alex Kennedy · CBC News · Posted: Apr 26, 2022

CBC News

by **Stargunner** Thu 28 Apr 2022, 4:55 pm

Nearly 1,000 Canadian Armed Forces members denied COVID-19 vaccine exemptions

Published April 28, 2022

CTV News

by Enforcer Thu 12 May 2022, 9:08 pm

COVID-19 outbreak hits HMCS Winnipeg crew

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date:May 12, 2022

There is an outbreak of COVID-19 onboard HMCS Winnipeg which is currently at sea conducting readiness training.

Royal Canadian Navy spokesman Lt.-Cmdr. Tony Wright confirmed information passed to this newspaper by various military sources. “As of May 12, 2022, there are seven positive COVID-19 cases onboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Winnipeg which is currently at sea conducting readiness training,” he noted in an email.

Wright said sailors have been told if they feel unwell they must inform the ship’s medical team to receive a rapid antigen detection test. Masks are also available to the crew if they want.

“Finally, the onboard Physician’s Assistant is actively monitoring the ship’s efforts at cleaning and sanitizing high-traffic areas to protect our sailors at sea,” Wright added.

The Royal Canadian Navy did not say how many crew are on board. However, the Halifax-class frigate usually has a crew of about 225 including aircrew.

Every member of the ship’s company is vaccinated, Wright noted.

The warship is based out of Esquimalt, BC.

Once HMCS Winnipeg returns to Esquimalt, the ship’s company will follow British Columbia public health direction on mitigating the spread of COVID-19, said Wright. Sailors who have tested positive for COVID-19 will self-isolate in their homes for seven days following onset of their symptoms. Any sailors who demonstrate symptoms will not be required to report to work, and shall seek advice for testing at Canadian Forces Health Services Centre Esquimalt, he added.

The ship will return to CFB Esquimalt Thursday night.

Defence Watch

by Covert Wed 22 Jun 2022, 9:03 am

Defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre reviewing vaccine requirement for Canadian Armed Forces

June 21. 2022

Collingwood Today

by Covert Fri 22 Jul 2022, 7:49 am

Canadian military poised to end vaccine mandate

Service members will no longer have to attest to their vaccine status and new recruits will no longer have to be fully vaccinated to enrol in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Andrew Duffy
Publishing date: Jul 21, 2022

Canadian Forces members discharged from service because they disobeyed an order to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will have the opportunity to re-enrol, according to leaked details of the military’s revised vaccination policy.

That policy, expected to be unveiled later this summer, will put an end to the military’s vaccine mandate, which was introduced in October 2021.

Under the updated policy, service members will no longer have to attest to their vaccine status and new recruits will no longer have to be fully vaccinated to enrol in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The directive from Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre will bring the military into alignment with the federal government’s updated vaccination policy.

Last month, the government ended the vaccine requirement for all civil servants and RCMP members. As of June 20, unvaccinated civil servants forced to take leave without pay were allowed to return to work.

Ending the vaccine mandate in the Canadian military is not so simple.

A draft copy of the new COVID-19 vaccination directive from the chief of the defence staff, obtained by this newspaper, notes: “Suspending the requirement for CAF members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will require significant administrative effort to address the files of members who were not compliant with the CDS directives on CAF COVID-19 vaccination.”

About 96 per cent of Canada’s military personnel were fully vaccinated, but more than 1,300 members requested exemptions from the vaccination order for religious, medical or other reasons.

At least 1,000 exemption requests were denied. Some of those involved have already been discharged, while others remain at different stages of the military’s discipline and grievance process.

According to figures released Thursday by the Department of National Defence, 105 Canadian Armed Forces members were approved for voluntary release based primarily on their opposition to the vaccine mandate. Another 241 CAF members have been released “non-voluntarily.” Another 434 CAF members are involved in administrative reviews that could lead to being released in the future.

Those members who have had their cases go through administrative reviews and face future release dates will be discharged from the military, according to the new draft policy.

Similarly, those who have been served with a notice of release — and are still waiting for administrative reviews — will have to abide by the decisions made during those reviews.

Other discipline procedures being conducted against unvaccinated service members will be ended, but paperwork connected to those cases will remain on personnel files, according to the draft policy.

The updated policy allows those released from the military due to their vaccination status to apply for re-enrolment. Those who received a 5(f) release — it means a member was deemed “unsuitable for further service” — will require waivers from the chief of the defence staff.

Edmonton lawyer Catherine Christensen, a military law specialist, called the re-enrolment provision “smoke and mirrors.”

“Because the only person who can re-admit someone who has been released under a 5(f) is the chief of the defence staff,” Christensen said, “and I don’t think someone who has gotten rid of so many people from a very short-handed military is now about to allow these people to come back.”

Christensen is building a class action lawsuit on behalf of almost 300 former Canadian Forces members released because of their vaccine status. That lawsuit will seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages based on what Christensen alleges was an abuse of power.

“These people have lost income, promotions and pensions,” she said. “These people being released are outstanding soldiers. It’s unbelievable the quality of the people the military is losing.”

Christensen said her lawsuit included people from all branches of the military and a disproportionate number of fighter pilots. She estimates the country has forfeited almost $1 billion in training costs because of vaccine-related discharges.

One discharged soldier, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it saddened him to see so many people leave the military because of the vaccine mandate.

“Plainly said, the vaccines don’t work as well as they once purported to,” said the soldier, a 20-year veteran. “They don’t protect us from the virus very well. Even vaccinated people are still at risk. We know that now. So why try and pretend that the CAF is doing the world a favour and eliminating strong, healthy and dedicated soldiers from the organization?”

A Department of National Defence spokeswoman said Thursday the military was reviewing the October 2021 directive on COVID-19 vaccination. That directive, she said, remains in effect “until further notice.”

The end of vaccine mandates comes amid a cresting seventh wave of COVID-19, a wave being driven by the BA.5 Omicron subvariant, a highly transmissible version of the virus.

Ottawa Citizen

by Whiskey Tue 09 Aug 2022, 4:19 pm

COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Canadian military will be ‘tweaked,’ says defence chief

By Staff . The Canadian Press
Posted August 9, 2022

Canada’s top military commander says he plans to “tweak” the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for members of the Canadian Forces in the next few weeks.

But defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre is also defending the use of mandates, describing them as necessary to ensure the military is ready to respond to any emergency.

Eyre made the comments in an interview with The Canadian Press as hundreds of service members remain unvaccinated despite orders to get the shot late last year.

The order is still in place even though a similar mandate for most other federal public servants was suspended in June.

Eyre says the military is different from other federal departments and agencies because of the way it operates and its importance as what he called Canada’s “insurance policy.”

As for the planned changes, Eyre says finding the right approach is complicated as officials consider the legal, medical, operational and ethical aspects of a revised mandate.

Global News

by **Accer** Mon 22 Aug 2022, 2:50 pm

Cadet military training camp in Ottawa hit with COVID outbreak

“Despite best efforts, 55 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at Connaught CTC during the summer, the largest cluster of which involved 24 individual cases"

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Aug 21, 2022

A COVID-19 outbreak this summer at a military training camp in Ottawa resulted in 55 staff and cadets coming down with the virus.

Military sources contacted this newspaper about the outbreak at the Connaught Cadet Training Centre, raising concerns about what they claim was poor treatment of the cadets, who at times went without food. In one incident, an adult staff member who had COVID, and who was not given meals, left the camp to go to a fast-food outlet.

In a statement, the Canadian Forces acknowledged there was an outbreak at the camp. “Despite best efforts, 55 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at Connaught CTC during the summer, the largest cluster of which involved 24 individual cases,” explained Maj. Jenn Jackson, a public affairs officer for the cadets. “To ensure physical distancing, two tents (which are designed to accommodate up to 48 individuals each) were designated specifically as isolation areas.”

Jackson said the peak of the outbreak took place from July 21 to July 25. There were around 430 cadets and staff at the camp.

Isolation protocol for the camp consists of housing positive COVID cases in designated tents, where individuals are instructed to follow provincial health measures and maintain social distancing. The length of isolation was for five days, and the isolation period began the day after the onset of symptoms, receiving a positive test result, Jackson noted. After completion of the isolation period, the individual had to wear a medical mask at all times for an additional five days.

Jackson said food was delivered to the tents during regular mealtimes and included accommodations for allergies and specific diets, but she acknowledged “the overall selection was more limited than typically available at the dining hall.”

Jackson noted that, as a result of a “miscommunication,” one adult staff member wasn’t provided with food and missed two meals. “They briefly left the camp, going to a drive-through while wearing their mask, which is the protocol in their home province,” Jackson noted. “Upon their return, they were advised of Ontario’s health regulations and the requirement that they remain at Connaught CTC for the duration of their isolation.”

The adult staff member was provided with meals for the rest of their isolation time in the tent.

The Connaught Cadet Training Centre staff includes on-site medical personnel. The cadets and staff with COVID-19 were monitored hourly by operations staff and provided regular medical support, including the administration of medications to mitigate symptoms, Jackson said.

Earlier this month, Ottawa Public Health warned that COVID-19 levels remained “very high” in the capital and stressed that everyone should keep up the “layers of protection” helping to limit transmission.

In its COVID update for Aug. 18, Ottawa Public Health noted that new COVID-19 hospitalizations and new confirmed outbreaks were moderate and decreasing. OPH, however, repeated that COVID levels continued to remain high.

There were 122 COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals as of the latest OPH update. In addition, there were 286 new confirmed cases. In total, there were 845 active cases. Case counts, however, are an underestimate of the true number of individuals with COVID-19, OPH noted.

Ontario is distributing free rapid antigen tests through pharmacies and grocery stores.

Defence Watch

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