EXCLUSIVE: Canadian Military 2021 Memo Stated COVID Vaccine Mandate Would Not Be ‘Informed Consent’

A person receives a COVID-19 vaccine in a file photograph. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Canada’s top soldier received a memo from his advisory body in August 2021 telling him that imposing a vaccination mandate under threat of discipline would “not constitute informed consent.”

“Medical ethical restrictions prevent CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] Health Services personnel from administering vaccines without the informed consent of the recipients. Coercion of CAF members to accept vaccination under threat of military discipline would not constitute informed consent,” the memo reads.

Dated Aug. 12, 2021, the memo was sent to Chief of the Defence Staff Wayne Eyre, who was acting in the position at the time, and who later implemented a vaccine mandate for CAF members in October 2021.

It was prepared by C.L. Cloutier, a special adviser to the Strategic Joint Staff (SJS) Director Plans North America, serving under Major General Trevor Cadieu, who was then-director of staff at SJS. The role of SJS is to provide military analysis and advice to the chief of the defence staff (CDS), allowing the CDS to lead the CAF strategically.

“Current epidemiological modelling suggest that there lacks strong evidence to require vaccination of the remaining percentage of unvaccinated CAF members,” said the memo, noting the already high uptake of over 90 percent.

“Establishing a POV [proof of vaccination] requirement for the CAF would not only be punitive in nature, but would also be counter to the successful efforts made to date to encourage maximum voluntary uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The memo also stated: “The DND [Department of National Defence]/CAF approach toward encouraging voluntary vaccination and communications products should be shared with federal partners as a best practice to achieve increased voluntary uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.”

The memo was released as part of a legal brief ahead of testimony by Valour Law’s Catherine Christensen at the National Citizen’s Inquiry (NCI) in Red Deer, Alberta. Christensen, who testified before the NCI on April 26, represents 360 soldiers who were affected by the CAF vaccine mandate. The NCI is currently hearing from Canadians and experts to investigate governments’ COVID-19 policies.

An update to the CAF vaccine mandate in October 2022 made it less restrictive, with new recruits not required to be vaccinated, but the mandate was kept in place for certain roles and positions.

Prior to the change in policy, DND told The Epoch Times that over 400 soldiers had left the forces or were dismissed because of the mandate, while over a thousand more were under different stages of administrative processes that could lead to dismissal. Christensen believes the number impacted is much larger and in the several thousands.

Eyre Initially Did Not Support Mandate

Another memo signed by Eyre in March 2021 shows that he did not support a vaccine mandate for CAF service members at that time.

The same SJS adviser Cloutier presented options to Eyre with regard to vaccination policy, where the recommended option, which Eyre approved, was not to impose a mandate.

The memo said that the efficacy and long-term safety data were not yet available for each of the four vaccines authorized for use in Canada.

As such, the memo said that there was “no supporting evidence” to suggest all CAF members needed to be vaccinated and that implying it was required for compliance with the force’s occupational requirement “at this time would be incorrect based on the limited available data on the authorized COVID-19 vaccines.”

The memo notes that health-care providers have a professional legal and ethical responsibility to ensure informed consent is followed prior to any medical intervention, including vaccination.

“Informed consent means that the patient must voluntarily affirm their consent, must have had the ability to consent, and that said consent was fully informed,” the memo reads. “It should be noted that informed consent is an ongoing process, where an individual can elect to revoke their consent at any point.”

The memo recommended that there be “no formal requirement for the vaccination of CAF members” except in circumstances where a member is to be deployed to a foreign country with vaccination as a prerequisite for entry, or to a region or area within Canada that has imposed vaccination as a requirement

“In all circumstances, the CAF COVID-19 immunization campaign needs to be guided by the best scientific and medical evidence justified by a clear rationale administered in accordance with the best medical practices.”

The Epoch Times reached out to DND for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.