an improved public health situation in Canada.”
Exemptions were given only “for the most compelling situations where there is no vaccinated alternative, for example another individual who is fully vaccinated cannot travel instead to perform the service,” the affidavit said. “Individual companies in the private sector should not be responsible for determining whether a person’s religious beliefs are ‘sufficient’ to merit an exemption from a federally mandated obligation related to public health, nor do companies have the means to evaluate a person’s religious convictions,” the letter said, according to the Globe.Article content
Under the emergency exemption, airlines approved 374 requests, at an 83 per cent approval rating, suggesting roughly 450 requests were received. Rail operators granted six requests, at a 40 per cent approval rate, suggesting 15 requests were received. These requests, the documents note, were approved by Canada’s airlines and rail operators and not Transport Canada. However, Transport Canada does administer so-called “national interest” exemptions. During the same five-month period, there were 739 requests for national interest exemptions; just 27 were granted, while 79 were still undergoing processing. The approved requests represent a 3.7 per cent approval rate.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs grilled public servants about the evidence that existed in support of the travel vaccine mandate. In November 2021, the court heard, an evidence brief on in-flight transmission from the Public Health Agency of Canada did not include a recommendation to introduce a travel vaccine mandate.