An arbitrator has ordered Air Canada to grant back pay to seven pilots denied religious exemptions from the airline's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
The decision states that Air Canada violated the Canadian Human Rights Act when it placed the pilots on unpaid leave because they failed to meet the company's bar for "sincere religious belief," while other pilots who cleared it received more than six months of paid leave.
Air Canada had required religious objectors to submit a letter from a religious leader explaining why they could not be vaccinated.
However, arbitrator James Hayes states that the seven Christian pilots should have been granted exemptions despite presenting no letters, given their requests were "grounded in sincere religious conviction" and that proof from an authority should not be required.
The ruling orders back pay for a period spanning late October 2021 to early May 2022, after which all exempted pilots were placed on unpaid leave with benefits.
The exemptions marked one more hurdle for airlines as COVID-19 battered the travel industry amid pandemic-related travel bans that grounded flights across the globe.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
