‘The jurisprudential landscape with respect to exemptions on the grounds of religion/creed in the context of a mandatory COVID‑19 vaccination policy is well‑established’
A recent case highlights the legal and financial risks employers face when administering religious or creed‑based objections to mandatory vaccination policies.
Air Canada has been ordered to compensate seven pilots who were initially denied religious exemptions from the carrier’s COVID‑19 vaccination policy and placed on unpaid leave, after an arbitrator found they were subjected to prima facie workplace religious discrimination.
In Air Canada v Air Line Pilots’ Association, 2026 CanLII 16803 (CA LA), sole arbitrator James Hayes ruled that the pilots’ exemption requests should have been granted at the outset, which would have placed them on paid leave while accommodation was considered, in line with other pilots whose objections were accepted.
The case arose from Air Canada’s mandatory vaccination policy implemented in 2021 and 2022. Several pilots who raised religious objections were denied exemptions and placed on unpaid leave effective 31 October 2021, while others who were granted exemptions were put on paid leave pending review of possible accommodations.
Previously, an Ontario arbitrator ruled that placing 39 employees on six months of unpaid leave for failing to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 was reasonable, even when office attendance was optional and field work was suspended.
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