Hundreds of members of the Canadian Armed Forces filed a case against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but the court dismissed it.
The Federal Court has rejected a mass tort case brought against the federal government by 330 active and retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in June 2023. Associate Judge Catherine A. Coughlan declined to exercise jurisdiction over the case, ruling that the plaintiffs' case did not establish a legitimate cause of action.
The CAF's COVID-19 vaccination requirement that all members be completely vaccinated was contested in the 137-page lawsuit. All 330 CAF members were briefly described in the plaintiffs' Statement of Claim, which claimed they faced administrative sanctions, mockery, humiliation, coercion, loss of pay and benefits, and military discharge. Numerous military personnel who did get the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as reported side effects after immunization, such as bleeding, blood clots, neurological disorders, and heart difficulties.
The plaintiffs claimed that the mandates infringed upon several provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, such as the rights to equality (s. 15), life and security (s. 7), and freedom of conscience (s. 2(a)). Along with further claims for punitive and extraordinary damages, they also claimed $1 million in general damages for each plaintiff.
According to the court documents, one of the claimants is Jacqueline Marie France Boehme, a member of the CAF with the rank of Sailor First Class. Boehme, a Human Resources Administrator at HMCS CATARAQUI, claims that while nursing a baby, she was given two doses of the COVID-19 vaccination. She asserts that she has was diagnosed with several pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) and a hemorrhage in her left lung on March 7, 2022, following a cardiac adverse event following the initial dose. She claims that she was diagnosed with a thyroid lump four days later.
Armand Edward A. Garner, another plaintiff, is a Corporal in the CAF who works as an Aviation Systems Technician at 8 Wing CFB. He claims that after taking one dosage of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination, he developed atrial fibrillation and needed surgery.
Another plaintiff, Danis Doiron, a former member of the CAF who served as an Infanteer with the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment at Miramichi and was ranked Corporal, claims that following two COVID-19 shots, he had heart problems and a tiny tumour on his kidney.
Corporal and Infanteer Joshua Martin McCulloch spent over ten years with the Royal Canadian Regiment at CFB Petawawa. McCulloch claims that he and other people were compelled to live in an unheated tent during the bitterly cold months of November 2021 after he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. According to reports, they were informed that they could only have heat if they agreed to have the COVID-19 vaccine. He further asserts that there were large pension and income losses as a result of his May 2022 release.
Master Corporal and Infantryman Jonathan Michael Recoskie claims he was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture while under his leadership. He says he had to work outside throughout the bitterly cold winter after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine circumstances for three months without enough equipment or shelter. He also claims that he was isolated and humiliated as a result of his command encouraging his peers to make fun of him.
Although the plaintiffs presented a wide range of complaints, Judge Coughlan ultimately decided that the concerns addressed were more appropriate for the CAF's internal grievance procedure and that the Statement of Claim did not provide a legal foundation for the plaintiffs' claims. In addition, Judge Coughlan pointed out procedural errors that were overlooked in her analysis, such as incorrectly filed affidavits and secondary sources.
The language used in the plaintiffs' court pleadings was also heavily criticized in Coughlan's decision, which claimed it lacked evidence. She pointed out that the plaintiffs used the terms "biologics" and "experimental gene therapy" to describe the COVID-19 vaccines without presenting proof to support these descriptions.
The plaintiffs' use of quotation marks around the word "emergency" when discussing the pandemic also appeared to be a point of contention for the court, who implied that this demonstrated doubt regarding the pandemic's reality.
According to the judge, this type of rhetoric was part of a pattern of "vexatious" and "abusive" behaviour in the pleading, which she found disturbing. Judge Coughlan concluded that the filing constituted an abuse of process because the allegations, including charges of "fraudulent use" of the vaccines, were not substantiated by material facts. The plaintiffs were mandated to jointly pay $5,040 in legal fees.
Catherine Christensen, the plaintiffs' attorney, expressed disapproval of the Federal Court's ruling in an interview with The Canadian Independent declaring: "Once more, the Federal Court has used the grievance procedure as a cover to deny justice to CAF members who experience abuses of power from their superiors." Legislation that will enable our military personnel to hold their superiors responsible for unlawful and wrongdoing must be introduced by the future administration.
Regarding the potential appeal, Christensen continued, "I don't see grounds to appeal at this time." Before a final judgment is reached on that, a few more days of research are required.20241119_051012.jpg
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