128 Soldiers Sue Military for Abuse of Power on COVID Policies; 31 Allege Vaccine Injury
Current and former soldiers have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian military’s top leadership and the Department of National Defence, alleging abuse of power and violation of charter rights in relation to COVID-19 policies.
The lawsuit involves 128 people who claim they were forced to take injections as part of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with some refusing and being expelled from the military and others complying and allegedly suffering severe side effects.
Among the alleged violations are “ignoring established law” on the right to privacy, informed consent, and the right to choose medical treatment, as well as “allowing physical and/or psychological torture of members under the command of CAF commissioned officers.”
Catherine Christensen of Valour Legal Action Centre filed the statement of claim in late September. It alleges various forms of abuse, such as soldiers being ordered to stay in a tent during the winter and being denied heating unless they get vaccinated.
In June, Ms. Christensen filed a similar suit on behalf of 330 current and former CAF members.
Former Defence Minister Anita Anand, former Deputy Defence Minister Jody Thomas, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Wayne Eyre, Vice Admiral Augus Topshee, and Chaplain General Brig.-Gen. Guy Belisle are among the defendants.
“The CAF shirked its own purpose and rushed an untested product onto its members, mislabeled this experimental gene therapy a ‘vaccine’, knowingly made false statements of safety and efficacy, and facilitated its mandate with no option to refuse except for mandatory permanent removal from service,” according to the statement of claim.
It goes on to say that COVID-19 is a low risk for healthy young adults, whereas that demographic is at higher risk of vaccine injury.
Because of the risk of heart inflammation, jurisdictions such as Ontario have recommended the Pfizer vaccine over Moderna for young people. CAF members were overwhelmingly vaccinated with Moderna.
According to the claim statement, commanding officers “acted aggressively to coerce members to accept biologics through acts that, in some cases, were criminal in nature.”
It claims that members of the CAF were made to “spend unnecessary extended periods of time outside in extreme winter conditions with no shelter or protections as well as forcibly confining members to small, cramped spaces with no respite for meals or personal hygiene needs.”
According to one plaintiff, those who do not take the injections should be “shot and killed.”
Vaccination Policy
In October 2021, General Eyre issued his first directive requiring vaccination, around the same time the Liberal government imposed a mandate on the public sector and federally regulated sectors.
Although the CAF is not a government agency, Gen. Eyre stated that mandating vaccination was done in part to “demonstrate leadership” to other government agencies and Canadians.
In June 2022, Ottawa suspended the public service mandate, and months later, Gen. Eyre issued a new directive relaxing the mandate. COVID-19 vaccination was no longer required to serve as of October 2022, but it was retained for operational roles and deployments.
According to the lawsuit, the temporary measures were intended to deal with a public health event, but the impact on some members was permanent.
The plaintiffs’ experiences varied, but the majority fall into one of the following status categories.
Some were discharged from the CAF under item 5(f), “unsuitable for further service,” a discharge usually reserved for someone who “develops personal weakness entirely or primarily due to factors within his control.” Others voluntarily resigned to avoid being expelled under 5(f), for example, by quitting their military careers early. Some were also granted medical releases.
Others in the lawsuit claim that they were able to keep their jobs due to administrative release processes that did not run their course or by complying with the vaccine mandate against their will. Thirty-one of those claim vaccine injuries, some of which are severe.
According to the lawsuit, one soldier stationed in Valcartier experienced health problems after receiving the two doses and attempted suicide.
Another Edmonton resident who was denied a medical exemption took one dose of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine to save his job, according to the lawsuit. “He now suffers from life-threatening adverse effects” and is awaiting medical release as a result of “being disabled and impacted by the diagnosed severe vaccine injury,” according to the claim statement.
Others reportedly experienced Bell’s Palsy, neurological issues, and heart problems after receiving the vaccine.
A previous Epoch Times investigation, published in November 2022, discovered that there were more vaccine injuries than hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the military. At the time, the CAF had recorded 324 adverse reactions to vaccination, 23 of which were severe.
The Epoch Times has asked the Department of National Defence for updated information, which has yet to be received.
Defendants: Charter Rights were not violated
The federal government has yet to file a statement of defense in response to the September lawsuit, but it has responded to a similar one filed in June.
The Attorney General’s counsel, Barry Benkendorf, called the lawsuit “scandalous, frivolous, and vexatious.”
“It consists of bald allegations without any material facts necessary to support the causes of action alleged.”
Mr. Benendorf stated that COVID-19 vaccination was “safe” and “effective,” and that it was part of accepted pandemic response measures.
“The Defendants deny that the Plaintiffs, or any of them, suffered as a result of being vaccinated or that they can be liable to the Plaintiffs for any negative effects from taking a vaccine.”
Mr. Benendorf also claims that the defendants violated none of the plaintiffs’ charter rights. He claimed that the plaintiffs had legal recourse through the military grievance process.
The Military Grievances External Review Committee (MGERC) investigated a number of plaintiffs’ grievances and determined that the CAF violated the members’ charter rights.
The administrative tribunal’s nonbinding decisions were made public last spring.
“I conclude that the limitation of the grievers’ right to liberty and security of the person by the CAF vaccination policy is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice because the policy, in some aspects, is arbitrary, overly broad and disproportionate,” in a single ruling.
General Eyre is the final arbiter of those complaints, but he has yet to address them. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, the removal of the Chief of Defence Staff’s authority over the grievance process.
Due to the vaccine mandate, the CAF lost hundreds of soldiers, as well as extensive experience from highly specialized trades.
The 128 lawsuit includes four pilots, including a former member of the elite Snowbirds Squadron. There are also three snipers, one of whom was a member of the covert anti-terrorism unit Joint Task Force-2. Four other plaintiffs were members of the JTF-2 or the Canadian Special Operations Regiment.
‘The People You Desire’
Serge Faucher, a former Air Force major, had 39 years of service and was on his way to being promoted to lieutenant colonel when he chose to retire rather than comply with the mandate. Mr. Faucher, a top athlete, will appear in the CAF video “One of the Fastest CAF-Men on the Planet” in 2021.
“Man oh man, these are the people you want in the armed forces,” he said of the two people named in the abuse-of-power lawsuits. “Canada is less safe due to the actions of the CDS.”
Mr. Faucher, a plaintiff in the first lawsuit, stated in an interview that he avoided the policy’s consequences by retiring, but as a result, he was denied three more years of service and a promotion. He initially declined to join the lawsuit, claiming that he was simply fed up with the situation and “done with this outfit.”
But he later changed his mind.
“I was aggrieved, because I was a good performing officer,” he was quoted as saying. “I was a role model for many people in the armed forces overall.” They wanted to promote me, and now I’m not good enough for them, so I’m being forced out.”
Logan White, a plaintiff in the second lawsuit, was forced out after 17 years of service under 5(f) for refusing COVID-19 vaccination. From CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, he worked as an avionics systems technician.
“My hope is that I can feel some small sense of justice, that people will be held accountable,” he said of his motivation for joining the lawsuit to The Epoch Times.
“And maybe some of the ordinary people who weren’t directly involved in any of the military stuff might reflect on some of the awful things they said and did to the unvaccinated people in their lives as well.”
Needed Relief
Plaintiffs are seeking various declarations from the defendants, including that they violated the public trust, that the CDS issued an illegal order, and that the defendants caused the plaintiffs harm.
They also want those who were released under 5(f) “unsuitable for further service” to be converted to voluntary release under 4(c). Dishonourable discharge can have an impact on future employment opportunities and is a black mark on one’s record.
Plaintiffs are also seeking $1 million in general and aggravated damages, in addition to other monetary damages for CAF’s alleged failure to comply with the National Defense Act (NDA) and other policies.
Soldiers were expelled from the organization through an administrative process rather than being court-martialed for failing to comply with an NDA order to get vaccinated. The latter would have included a court proceeding and the opportunity for the soldiers to present their case.
The plaintiffs also seek declarations that various top CAF leadership figures violated various charter rights, such as liberty and security of the person and freedom of conscience.
Ms. Christensen says she is currently preparing another lawsuit for soldiers who have been harmed by vaccines. In the coming months, she will learn whether or not Veterans Affairs Canada will pay compensation for vaccine injuries.
