Alert level: green OPQ: Q-580 Session: 451 Suggested file name: COVID_19_Mandate_grievances_suspensions_and_terminations Tabled on: January 26, 2026 Agencies: Estimated questions: 9 Estimated responses: 16 Original filename: Q-580 - COVID-19 Mandate grievances, suspensions and terminations, January 26, 2026.pdf External links / references: (none detected) Extracted PDF text preview: Q-580 Question With regard to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public service employees, contractors and temporary workers: (a) how many employees and temporary workers were terminated because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by (i) department, (ii) role, (iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor); (b) how many employees and temporary workers had their pay suspended because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by (i) department, (ii) role, (iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor); (c) were grievances led against the government for the COVID-19 vaccine employment mandates; (d) if the answer to (c) is armative, for each grievance, (i) what is the department, (ii) what is the role, (iii) what is the grievance, (iv) what is the state of the grievance, (v) what is the amount of money paid to the employee, (vi) did the government apologize for their actions; (e) did the government receive religious exemption requests for the COVID-19 employment vaccine mandate; and (f) if the answer to (e) is armative, how many religious exemption requests were received, broken down by (i) department, (ii) result of the request, (iii) who reviewed the exemption request? Response This response was tabled in the House of Commons on January 26, 2026, as Sessional Paper 8555-451-580. Order/Address of the House of Commons Question number Q-580 Asked by Dean Allison (Niagara West) Date asked November 17, 2025 Presented by Tabled on January 26, 2026 Sessional Paper 8555-451-580 House of Commons Instructions and Template Instructions dated November 25, 2025 Question: Q-580 Member: Dean Allison (Niagara West) Instructions These instructions are intended to be used by organizations assigned to produce a response in order to 1) provide a uniform government-wide interpretation of a question; 2) reference relevant government policies or documents; 3) present information in a consistent manner. Should an organization determine that the Privy Council Office instructions require clarification or additional guidance in order to ensure completeness of the response; the organization is encouraged to notify Privy Council Office. Period Up to and including November 17, 2025 All Departments Organizations are required to provide a response regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public service employees, contractors and temporary workers. Template Organizations that have information are required to complete the following template. Parts c) and e) should be answered directly on the response form. (a) how many employees and temporary workers were terminated because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by: (b) how many employees and temporary workers had their pay suspended because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by: Kevin Lamoureux Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons 2 (i) department (ii) role (iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor) Number of employees and temporary workers (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, for each grievance: (f) if the answer to (e) is affirmative, how many religious exemption requests were received, broken down by: Women and Gender Equality Canada Reply by: the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) Name of Signatory: Marie-Gabrielle Ménard Reply Women and Gender Equality Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada does not collect or track this type of information in any of its systems as there is no coding available that would be applicable. The only individuals who may have access to this information are the employees directly affected or their managers. The Department for Women and Gender Equality concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information. Women and Gender Equality Canada has not received any grievances related to COVID-19 vaccination mandates for public service employees, contractors, and temporary workers, and has not received any requests for exemption on religious grounds. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Reply by: the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (i) department (ii) role (iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor) Number of employees and temporary workers (i) what is the department (ii) what is the role (iii) what is the grievance (iv) what is the state of the grievance (v) what is the amount of money paid to the employee (vi) did the government apologize for their actions (i) department(ii) result of the request(iii) who reviewed the exemption request Name of Signatory: The Honourable Heath MacDonald, PC, MP Reply Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (a) how many employees and temporary workers were terminated because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by? (b) how many employees and temporary workers had their pay suspended because they didn't have the COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by? (i) department (ii) role (iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor) Number of employees and temporary workers Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada Not Applicable Not Applicable NIL (c) were grievances led against the government for the COVID-19 vaccine employment mandates? Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada received 23 grievances related to the government COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (d) if the answer to (c) is armative, for each grievance? (i) department (ii) role(iii) employment type (full-time, temporary, contractor) Number of employees and temporary workers Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada AS - 11 CO - 1 CR - 5 CTFIN - 2 EC - 1 EDLAT - 1 EG - 3 GL - 12 HP - 1 IT - 2 PG - 1 PM – 4 SERES - 1 Full-Time Seasonal Employees (44) Temporary Workers (1) (i) what is the department (ii) what is the role (iii) what is the grievance (iv) what is the state of the grievance (v) what is the amount of money paid to the employee (vi) did the government apologize for their actions Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CO Denial of religious exemption request 1 level NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CO Being placed on Leave without Pay 1 level NIL* No st st (i) what is the department (ii) what is the role (iii) what is the grievance (iv) what is the state of the grievance (v) what is the amount of money paid to the employee (vi) did the government apologize for their actions Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AS Being placed on Leave without Pay Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CR Being placed on Leave without Pay Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CR Being placed on Leave without Pay Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AS Denial of religious exemption request Grievance withdrawn Reimbursement of lost wages + $1,000.00 in damages No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada IT Being placed on Leave without Pay Final level response provided NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AS Being placed on Leave without Pay Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada PM Denial of religious exemption request Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada GL Being placed on Leave without Pay Grievance withdrawn Not Applicable No Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada GL Denial of religious exemption request Referred to adjudication NIL* No Agriculture and Agri-Food PG Denial of religious Grievance withdrawn Reimbursement of lost wages No (i) what is the department (ii) what is the role (iii) what is the grievance (iv) what is the state of the grievance (v) what is the amount of money paid to the employee (vi) did the government apologize for their actions Canada exemption request Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CR Denial of religious exemption request Grievance withdrawn Reimbursement of lost wages + $2,200.00 in damages No Agriculture and