Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft sit parked at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on August 18, 2025. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
Seven Christian Air Canada pilots who were denied religious exemptions from the company’s compulsory COVID-19 vaccination policy have been awarded back pay after an arbitrator ruled the airline breached the Canadian Human Rights Act.
According to arbitrator James Hayes’ recent decision, Air Canada violated the act by placing pilots on unpaid leave after determining they did not meet the company’s criteria for a “sincere religious belief,” while other pilots who were deemed to have met the standard were granted more than six months of paid leave.
