Your Rights to decline a Vaccine in the context of Employment

Summary:

There are 2 types of law in Canada:

Public Law

Governs the relationship between the state and the citizen

In the context of you being an employee of the government trying to impose mandatory vaccination (either through collective bargaining or the course of a contract), then that would be unconstitutional and you can invoke the charter.

Private Law

Governs the relationships between private citizens (i.e you and your employer)

In a private context, if you sign a contract agreeing to be vaccinated as part of your employment and you subsequently refuse, then the employer does have a basis to dismiss you.

If you are already employed under a contact in which there are no provisions for vaccinations, and subsequent to this contract the employer tries to impose vaccination, then you can lawfully decline. If you are fired for refusing vaccination in this context then that would constitute wrongful dismissal and you would have grounds to sue your employer.

The Supreme Court has held that even where the charter does not strictly apply, the values of the charter still apply. Further, the Supreme Court has held that common law that is enforced by courts is also subject to constitutional and charter scrutiny.

The same actions that would be considered a constitutional violation by public authorities would be considered an unenforceable part of a private contract. There is a doctrine of unconscionability in common law that if a proviso shocks the conscious then it is unenforceable since "it is taking undue advantage of an inequality in bargaining power." Courts in common law cannot enforce a provision of a contract demanding medical intervention without informed consent since it would violate the charter.

Therefore, mandatory vaccination in all employment contexts would be unconstitutional and/or illegal. If you are fired in a private context, then your only remedy is to sue for wrongful dismissal.

What if I reluctantly take the vaccine just to keep my job? What if the vaccine harms me?

You could sue your employer though you might not succeed since you agreed.

What you can do is to mitigate your damage by getting your employer to acknowledge that "you are agreeing to take the vaccine even though you do not wish to take it, and if there are any side effects or damages that the employer acknowledges that they will be strictly liable to compensate you for any physical or neurological damage from the vaccine."