OTTAWA –
The Canadian Armed Forces says more than three-quarters of the more than 1,300 servicemen who have applied for exemption from the military requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine have been denied.
Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Francis Allen revealed the figure during testimony before a parliamentary committee this week, in which it also avoided questions about what would happen to these troops if the vaccine requirement was lifted.
Chief of Defense Staff General Wayne Eyre ordered all military personnel to be fully vaccinated by mid-October to protect the Canadian Armed Forces from COVID-19. The deadline was later extended to mid-December.
While most servicemen complied with the order, with the Department of Defense saying more than 98 percent of Canadian soldiers chose to be vaccinated, hundreds more did not.
Allen told the House Defense Committee that of the more than 1,300 members of the armed forces who have applied for medical or religious exemptions, only 158 have received approval.
Of the other requests, Allen said 980 had been rejected, while another 160 were still under review.
Despite the large number of refusals, only a handful of soldiers have been forced to hang their uniforms so far.
The defense ministry announced last week that 39 members of the armed forces have been forcibly released since December, although another 206 are in the process of being expelled from the army.
Ninety-four full-time members have voluntarily donned their uniforms instead of being vaccinated, the department added. The number of part-time reservists who chose to leave – or were threatened with expulsion – was not available.
Senior commanders have also provided numerous warnings, consultations and other efforts to persuade vaccine-resistant troops to change their minds and receive their strikes.
The defense ministry said nearly 1,000 servicemen had received warnings since December, when official checks were launched against 445 members who continue to oppose the vaccination order after other corrective measures have been exhausted.
Allen revealed the figures as she was scorched by members of the Conservative Committee, who also asked what would happen to those soldiers forced to take off their uniforms if or when the vaccine requirement was lifted.
“Vaccination is a requirement … to join the Canadian Armed Forces,” Allen said in response to a question from Conservative MP Ed Fast. “That’s the requirement right now, unless they can be vaccinated.”
The military also revealed that they are currently short of about 7,500 recruits, exacerbating a growing shortage of Canadian military personnel at a time when the armed forces have been asked to respond to numerous crises at home and abroad.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 28, 2022.
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