Dr. Bonnie Henry.
104] They included requirements that:
[
a) all persons over the age of 12 wear a face covering while in most public settings including:
malls, shopping centres, coffee shops, retail and grocery stores, liquor and drug stores,
airports, city halls, libraries, community and recreation centres, restaurants, pubs and bars,
on public transportation, in a taxi or ride-sharing vehicle, courthouses, and areas of office
buildings where services to the public are provided. This requirement remained in effect until
March 12, 2022, and Canadian airlines still require face coverings while travelling;
b) as of September 13, 2021, all persons provide proof of vaccination as a precondition to
attending or participating in, most public events and in restaurants, pubs and bars. This
requirement remained in effect until April 8, 2022;
c) all employees employed in the Federal Public Service, irrespective of their position or the
nature of their employment and whether they could work from home, be vaccinated against
COVID-19 by October 12, 2021. The consequence for non-compliance was leave without pay;
d) as a condition of continued employment, all BC employees in the health care sector,
irrespective of their position or the nature of their employment and whether they could work
from home, be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 26, 2021;
e) all employees employed in the BC Public Service, including those who were working
remotely and those with “telework arrangements”, provide proof of vaccination against
COVID-19 effective November 8, 2021. The consequence for non-compliance was leave
without pay for three months and employees were not entitled to use their vacation or banked
time to delay the effective date.
[
105] In addition to various government vaccine mandates, employers in the private sector
were strongly encouraged to adopt and implement policies that aligned with government
directives.
[
106] On September 6, 2021, when announcing the Federal Government’s MVP for civil
service employees, Prime Minister Trudeau encouraged private sector employers to follow
suit. Above, I set out his comments in response to a question about private sector employees.
Judicial Notice
[
107] Courts are entitled to take judicial notice of facts that are so notorious as not to require
proof.
[
108] In the context of COVID-19, this Court and other courts have taken judicial notice that
COVID-19 is a potentially deadly virus that is easily transmissible. Symptoms of the virus may
vary from person to person according to age, health, and other comorbidity factors. The virus
can mutate. Asymptomatic carriers of the virus can infect others. There is no known immunity
to contracting the virus and no verifiable evidence of natural immunity to contracting it, or a
known mutation, a second or more time: Steiner v. Mazzotta, 2022 BCSC 827 at para. 5, citing
Dyquiangco Jr. v. Tipay, 2022 ONSC 1441 at para. 22.
[
109] In addition, courts have taken judicial notice of the fact that vaccines work. While they
do not prevent infection, reinfection, or transmission, they reduce the severity of symptoms
and bad outcomes: see, e.g., A.T. v. C.H., 2022 BCPC 121 at paras. 38–39, 41; A.C. v. L.L.,
2
021 ONSC 6530 at para. 28; Saint-Phard v. Saint-Phard, 2021 ONSC 6910 at paras. 5, 7;
O.M.S. v. E.J.S., 2021 SKQB 243 at paras. 112–114.
[
110] I accept that it is appropriate in this case to take judicial notice of those facts.
Application of the KVP Test to MVPs
[
111] In addition to the public service, many private sector employers implemented MVPs.
One such MVP was considered in B.C. Hydro and Power Authority v. International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 258, 2022 25764 (B.C.L.A.) (Arbitrator: