Air Canada ordered to pay pilots over denied religious COVID vaccine exemptions

An arbitrator has directed Air Canada to provide back pay to seven pilots who were refused religious exemptions under the airline’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, finding this to be a breach of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Press reports.

In what was deemed a case of workplace religious discrimination, the airline placed these pilots on unpaid leave after determining they did not meet its standard for “sincere religious belief.”

Meanwhile, other pilots who satisfied that requirement were granted more than six months of paid leave, according to the ruling.

Air Canada had required employees seeking religious exemptions to submit a letter from a religious authority explaining why vaccination was not permissible.

However, arbitrator James Hayes concluded that the seven Christian pilots should have been approved for exemptions from the beginning, even without such letters, since their requests were “grounded in sincere religious conviction," CP reports.

The decision grants back pay covering the period from late October 2021 to early May 2022 – equivalent to what pilots with approved exemptions earned – after which all exempted pilots were placed on unpaid leave with benefits.

Religious exemptions added further complications for airlines already struggling during the pandemic, as travel restrictions grounded flights worldwide.

Air Canada maintained that it did accommodate religious requests when there was clear evidence of sincere belief and a direct connection to the inability to be vaccinated.

The airline also stated that requests based solely on personal preference or “the fear that COVID-19 vaccines may alter DNA” – or other scientifically unsupported claims – would not qualify for approval.

The seven pilots, representing a range of Christian denominations, cited different beliefs and scriptural interpretations to justify their opposition to vaccination.

One pilot argued that taking a new substance with uncertain long-term effects “risked defiling what Scripture calls the temple of the Holy Spirit,” CP reports.

Another described a decision guided by personal faith: “God was telling me this is not honest or true, and that taking the vaccine would be wrong for me.”

Issued on March 3, the ruling instructs Air Canada to compensate the pilots for lost wages within 60 days.

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