441-01287 (Health)

The Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was implemented in the fall of 2021 when vaccination provided a high degree of protection against infection and transmission of COVID-19 viruses. This approach served as an effective public health measure to protect public servants and the communities they worked in.  All employees have had access to Public Health Agency of Canada/Health Canada information about vaccines and how they work so they could understand how vaccination helps protect them and their workplaces against COVID-19.

The Policy is compliant with legislation, including the Privacy Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and collective agreements. On October 21, 2021, the Canadian Human Rights Commission published a guide on vaccination policies and human rights, which states that “Rights are not absolute. […] Requiring that an individual be vaccinated to work or travel is not a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Vaccination requirements are not a discriminatory practice because they are intended (and are necessary) to protect public health and safety.” The Policy provides for addressing requests for accommodation based on any prohibited ground of discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act, on a case-by-case basis.

Based on the evolving nature of the pandemic and the scientific data, the Government of Canada announced on June 14^th, 2022 that it would suspend vaccination requirements for federal government employees, and effective June 20, 2022, employees of the core public administration would no longer be required to be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Consequently, employees who had been placed on administrative leave without pay as per the Policy, could be reinstated as early as June 20, 2022.

The decision to suspend the Policy is based on the latest scientific evidence related to vaccine effectiveness against transmission and infection with evolving COVID-19 variants. Suspending the Policy allows the Government to easily reinstate it as needed, based on science and public health risk, in the future. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken a comprehensive, layered approach to border management, with measures informed by available data, operational considerations, scientific evidence, and monitoring of the epidemiological situation and pandemic response capacity both in Canada and internationally.

A number of factors supported lifting Canada’s COVID-19 border measures and travel requirements. These included increased immunity within the Canadian population, lower hospitalization and death rates, high vaccination rates, as well as the availability of vaccines (including bivalent formulation), rapid tests and treatments.

As of October 1, 2022, all travellers arriving in Canada are no longer required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter Canada or meet COVID-19 testing, quarantine or isolation requirements. All travellers no longer have to submit their public health information through ArriveCAN, undergo health checks for travel on air and rail or wear masks on planes and trains.

However, the Government of Canada encourages individuals to remain up to date with the recommended vaccinations, including booster doses when eligible. While not mandatory, all travellers are strongly recommended to wear well-constructed and well-fitted masks during their travel on planes and in airports, or other crowded indoor settings. Individuals are reminded that they should not travel if they have symptoms of COVID-19. If travellers become sick while travelling, and are still sick when they arrive in Canada, they should inform a flight attendant or a border services officer upon arrival.

The Government of Canada continues to work with international partners to enhance genomic sequencing capacity, and closely monitors the global epidemiology of COVID-19 and new variants of concerns. The Government of Canada will not hesitate to put in place additional protective measures for the health and safety of people in Canada should it be required.

On June 14, 2022, the Government of Canada announced the suspension of mandatory vaccination for federal employees effective June 20, 2022. In alignment with this measure, the Government of Canada also suspended the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Supplier Personnel.

This means that as of June 20, 2022, and until further notice, the vaccination requirements of the policy are no longer in effect.

Please note that Supplier Personnel may still be required to comply with site-specific workplace health and safety measures that have been put in place by federal departments and agencies separately from the policy.

Canada reserves the right to reinstate the policy in the future in alignment with public health guidelines and any vaccination requirements for the public service.

Protecting the health and safety of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel is critical to maintaining the CAF’s readiness to deliver on Government of Canada missions at home and around the world.

COVID-19 vaccine requirements are one of the many public health measures within our broader layered risk mitigation strategy that the CAF continues to assess. These measures have enabled the CAF to carry out operations at home and abroad, including the Whole of Government pandemic response.

As the pandemic has evolved, so too have force protection measures. In October 2022, the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) amended the directive on CAF COVID-19 vaccination. Since then, the requirement to have the COVID-19 vaccine has been guided by operational readiness and effectiveness. It will be required for employment in certain positions and on certain operations where it is assessed that the greatest reduction of risk is warranted to maintain operational readiness. These requirements will focus on those high-readiness, deployable, or core missions or tasks where an illness would create risk to an individual or the mission.

Further information about the CDS’ vaccination can be found at the following link: CDS Directive 003 on CAF COVID-19 Vaccination for Operations and Readiness.