The complaints targeted cabinet decrees, including a requirement that border crossers and air travellers show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
“Our investigation did not assess whether the vaccination requirements were an unjustified limitation on individuals’ freedom of mobility guaranteed by the Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms,” wrote Dufresne. “Our investigation considered whether all aspects of the policy were necessary and proportional.”
Dufresne also dismissed complaints by federal employees, including RCMP officers and Canadian Armed Forces members, who were required to show proof of vaccination or face suspension without pay. He said the vaccine mandates were “necessary, effective and proportional” under the circumstances at the time.
A previous report by the privacy commissioner on the Treasury Board of Canada’s vaccine mandates said the complainants’ main allegations were that the collection of employees’ vaccination status—and in some cases religious or medical information to support their requests for vaccine exemptions—were unreasonable.
The report concluded that, “After investigation and analyses we found institutions’ collection of personal information under the policy complied.”
Modification to Statement
The Office of the Commissioner and provincial equivalents had previously written in a May 2021 joint statement that no existing federal law permitted governments to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations, as there must be “clear legal authority for introducing the use of vaccine passports for each intended purpose.”“There must be clear legal authority for introducing use of vaccine passports for each intended purpose,” said the statement, citing mandating vaccination as “an encroachment on civil liberties” that would require “a newly enacted public health order or law.”
Then-privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said at a press conference in 2021, “During the pandemic, is it reasonable for public health purposes for governments to require the disclosure of this information?”
“The question is not as clear-cut as it might seem,“ he said. ”Requiring individuals to provide health information such as vaccination status is certainly a reduction of privacy.”
Parliament did not pass any law on vaccine or quarantine mandates. All enforcement was authorized by cabinet order.
The May 2021 statement from the Office of the Commissioner was later modified to remove a sentence it deemed problematic.
The original statement included the sentence: “So far we have not been presented with evidence of vaccine effectiveness to prevent transmission, although members of the scientific community have indicated that this may be forthcoming.”
ATIP documents showed that on Oct. 7, 2021, Deputy Commissioner Gregory Smolynec sent an email warning that the sentence may be “misused by anti-vaccination people,” and suggested it be removed and the website modified to make clear it was an “updated” statement.
Therrien responded, “I agree the sentence can be deleted (science evolves rapidly)” with a “minimum of fanfare.” He added, “How about only changing the last line (Date modified) to include the date when the sentence was excised?”
On Oct. 22, 2021, Therrien sent an email to the executive director of communications, taking issue with the joint statement including an announcement on its update.
“Can’t we withdraw this October announcement, since there is one dated May 19? I understand that a sentence has been taken out of the joint declaration, but that does not deserve an announcement,” he wrote.
Later that day, the announcement was updated to having been posted in May 2021, but the current page showed a modification date of Oct. 8, 2021.
Vito Pilieci, a spokesperson for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, acknowledged in an email to The Epoch Times that the May 19, 2021, document was updated on Oct. 8, 2o21, to “reflect the evolution of evidence related to the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in preventing transmission.” But he said when the update was made, a “technical glitch” related to the “date modified” change triggered the system to highlight the months-old joint statement in the “News” section at the top of their home page.
“In order to remove the document from the ‘News’ section, the date was temporarily changed back to May 19, 2021, while a technical solution could be found. A patch was later applied and the modification date now reflects the date the document was edited,” he said.
“Along with millions of Canadians, I’m greatly concerned that an office tasked with safeguarding our privacy—and by extension freedom—was so ready to compromise, violating our trust and the truth,” Hill said.
