Decision questions whether employer met duty to accommodate religious beliefs
Canadian Natural Resources Limited's rejection of a worker's religious exemption to its COVID-19 vaccination policy was overturned by Alberta's Human Rights Tribunal, marking another setback for the energy giant facing at least 13 similar complaints.
In a January 30, 2026 decision, tribunal member Faraz Bawa found that Gerardo Valencia's complaint has a reasonable prospect of success, despite the employer's argument that the five-year heavy equipment operator relied on form letters and failed to demonstrate sincerely held religious beliefs.
Valencia submitted his exemption request on October 6, 2021, approximately two weeks after Canadian Natural Resources announced its mandatory vaccination policy. The policy required full vaccination by December 1, 2021, and explicitly stated that "non-compliance would not be tolerated and would result in progressive disciplinary action, up to and including termination."
His submission included a confirmation of church attendance from Northlife Fellowship Baptist Church and a personal letter stating: "I have been made aware that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (the Jansen vaccine) uses cell lines from a child that was aborted in 1985: and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines test the mRNAs on cell lines from a child aborted in 1973."
The company refused the exemption request on November 23, 2021. The refusal letter stated that "these form...
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