A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto on March 23, 2021. Cole Burston/Getty Images
A federal employee placed on leave without pay for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds has been awarded back pay and $5,000 in damages by a labour tribunal.
Mathieu Lemay, a federal employee for 15 years, was working at the department of public safety and emergency preparedness when he was put on leave without pay after his application for vaccine exemption was rejected by his employer, according to a decision by a panel of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
