After years of litigation, two men who filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging the vaccine mandate for travel will get the chance to argue their case before a federal court.
Shawn Rickard, a Canadian permanent resident from Britain for over 30 years and Karl Harrison, a Canadian citizen, will have their lawsuit heard by a federal court after a motion to dismiss their case was shot down.
Rickard and Harrison had previously filed a legal challenge against the Trudeau government’s vaccine travel mandates that was subsumed under another court case filed by People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier and former Newfoundland Premier Brian Peckford.
The mandates were imposed by the Trudeau government in October 2021, barring unvaccinated Canadians from boarding places, trains, and marine vessels travelling within or outside of Canada.
The travel vaccine mandate prevented an estimated 5.2 million unvaccinated Canadians from freely travelling by air, rail, or boat.
However, the Trudeau government dropped its travel restrictions for unvaccinated Canadians on June 20, 2022 before the group’s case against the government could be heard.
Later that year, a federal court would dismiss the case, arguing that the grievances of unvaccinated Canadians concerning the government’s mandates became moot and were therefore not worth the court’s time. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada which decided against hearing the case.
Despite this, in November 2023, Rickard and Harrison decided to file a civil case against the government to argue their case and seek $1 million in damages.
The duo make the claim that the federal government’s vaccine mandate violated several of their Charter rights including section 6’s protection of mobility rights, section 7’s protection of life, liberty, and security of the person, section 12’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and section 15’s protection of minority rights.
However, crown attorneys sought to dismiss the case and filed a motion to strike the suit in July 2024.
Justice Trent Horne partially granted the government’s motion to dismiss, striking the claim that the duo’s section 7 and section 12 rights have been validated. Horne also dismissed Harrison’s claim that his mobility rights had been violated because of his status as a permanent resident, not a citizen.
Horne did rule that Rickard can continue to argue that his section 6 rights had been violated while both Rickard and Harrison will be granted the opportunity to argue their section 15 rights had been violated in a trial.
While Rickard and Harrison claim victory that their claims are heading to trial, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Sam Presvelos has filed an appeal to argue that section 7 and section 12 rights have been violated by the mandate.
The pair are also taking into consideration that if the 2025 election sees the Trudeau government fall, a new Conservative government could take a different view of their case.
“There are also political issues to consider. A federal election will take place in 2025 and a new
government may likely take a different view of these legal proceedings,” reads their statement.
