Ottawa Seeks Dismissal of Recent Lawsuit Challenging Travel Vaccine Mandate

July 5, 2024 TruthUSA

The Attorney General (AG) has indicated its intention to file a motion in Federal Court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking damages for the COVID-era travel vaccine mandate.

Lawyers for the AG filed their notice on July 2, arguing that certain charter rights were not violated by the measure.

Businessmen Karl Harrison and Shaun Rickard filed their second lawsuit against the Minister of Transportation and the AG in November 2023, seeking $1 million each in damages for the alleged violation of their charter rights.

Their action followed a defeat at the Federal Court of Appeal weeks earlier regarding their initial lawsuit against the travel mandate. The appellate judges upheld the lower court’s decision, which deemed their case “moot” as the mandate had been repealed.

Mr. Harrison and Mr. Rickard’s first lawsuit, which was heard alongside those of PPC Leader Maxime Bernier and former Newfoundland Premier Brian Peckford, did not seek damages but rather a court ruling on the constitutionality of the travel vaccine mandate. Mr. Bernier and Mr. Peckford have appealed to the Supreme Court.

While the AG has moved to dismiss Mr. Harrison and Mr. Rickard’s second lawsuit, government lawyers stated they would allow the plaintiffs to amend their claim to specify their Canadian citizenship as it pertains to section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 6 relates to mobility rights and stipulates that under point 6(1), “every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada.”

“The Plaintiffs have not adequately pleaded the necessary elements of a section 6(1) claim and have not demonstrated a reasonable cause of action with respect to section 6(1),” the notice states.

The AG’s motion also asserts that the mandate did not violate the rights protected in sections 7 and 15 of the Charter.

Section 7 pertains to the right to “life, liberty, and security of the person,” while section 15 guards against discrimination based on various factors such as race and sex.

The AG argues that section 7 “does not provide protection for the ability to travel via federally regulated means of transportation.” It further contends that a Ministerial Order compelling an individual to make a choice “does not infringe upon the liberty interest.”

Government lawyers added that vaccination status is not a recognized basis for discrimination under section 15.

“It is not a violation of section 15 of the Charter for individuals to be treated differently based on their decision whether or not to be vaccinated,” they wrote.

Challengers to the travel vaccine mandate and their lawyers in Ottawa on Oct. 11, 2023. PPC Leader Maxime Bernier is in the centre. To his right is Karl Harrison and to his left Nabil Ben Naoum and Shaun Rickard. (Handout/Shaun Rickard)

Allegations

Mr. Harrison and Mr. Rickard have alleged that their rights were violated “due to government decision-making and conduct that was negligent, in bad faith, and willfully disregarded the absence of scientific evidence or contradictory scientific evidence regarding the role, particularly the unknown effectiveness, of Covid-19 vaccination in reducing the risk of Covid-19 transmission and infection within the transportation sector.”

The federal government implemented a travel vaccine mandate for air, rail, and certain marine travel in the autumn of 2021.

The mandate was halted on June 22, with Ottawa noting that it could be reinstated if necessary.

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