Managers will decide on religious vaccine exemptions for federal public servants – CBC
Documents detail how managers should deal with employees seeking exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine
Oct 29, 2021
The federal government is advising managers they can use their own discretion when determining whether an employee is exempt from getting the COVID-19 vaccine because of their religious beliefs, Radio-Canada has learned.
The guidance comes in a government directive for executives, obtained by Radio-Canada, and outlines how managers should deal with an employee that seeks an exemption.
“The validity of the belief itself must not be challenged by the manager; They must determine only if the belief is sincerely held by the employee,” according to a document from the Treasury Board Secretariat.
Labour lawyer Marc Boudreau said the flexibility granted in this policy raises questions about how firmly the government plans to apply the rules.
Boudreau said the guidelines clearly tell managers not to contest any demands they consider sincere.
“I doubt that the government has established those rules in order to defend them in front of the Supreme Court,” he said.
