A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit concerning COVID-19 vaccine mandates and policies, ruling that the statement of claim filed by 330 active or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action.
Justice Catherine Coughlan wrote in a Nov. 13 ruling that the plaintiffs failed to “establish all elements of the alleged cause of action,” in their pleading.
Coughlan agreed with the Canadian government, saying the court should decline to exercise its jurisdiction over the matter and instead let the CAF’s internal grievance process address the cases.
Hundreds of CAF members filed a $500 million class-action lawsuit with the Federal Court in June 2023, alleging the CAF “rushed an untested product onto its members,” made false statements about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, and did not give adequate options for members to refuse the vaccine….