PDF file: 451-0968_COVID_19_vaccines_and_public_employees_May_6_2026.pdf
OPQ ID: 451-0968
Session: 451
Question number: Q-0968
Sessional paper: 8555-451-968
Title: COVID-19 vaccines and public employees, May 6, 2026
Short description: 
Topic: vaccines
Identified concern: 
Keywords: 
Agencies: HC, PHAC, TBS, JUS, ESDC, RCMP
Date asked: 2026-03-19
Date tabled: 2026-05-06
Submitted by: Dean Allison (Niagara West)
Reply by: the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for
Responded by: Annie Koutrakis
Pages: 10
Status: not processed
Alert: yellow
Questions asked: 16
Questions answered: 
Percent responded: 0%
Referenced sources: COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal
Referenced links: (none extracted)
Official link: https://www.google.com/search?q=8555-451-968+ourcommons.ca
PDF URL: https://ivim.ca/foi/opq/r/451-0968_COVID_19_vaccines_and_public_employees_May_6_2026.pdf
TXT URL: https://ivim.ca/foi/opq/r/451-0968.txt
Original filename: Q-968 -COVID-19 vaccines and public employees, May 6, 2026 .pdf
Local source path: C:\Users\Dmitry\Documents\CODES\OPQ-App\data-raw\OPQ\ALL OPQ TO DATE\Q-968 -COVID-19 vaccines and public employees, May 6, 2026 .pdf
Machine extracted at: 2026-06-30 12:58:35

References / links:
- COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal

Machine notes:
(none)

Question text preview:
With regard to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public service employees, contractors and temporary workers, announced in October 2021 and those for federally regulated companies announced in December 2021: (a) did the government classify this policy as a public-health measure under the Public Health Agency of Canada Act, a human-resources requirement under the Financial Administration Act or as an occupational safety preventive measure under Part II of the Canada Labour Code;
(b) which ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials approved the final classification of the vaccination policy, and, for each, what was (i) their name, (ii) their title, (iii) the date of the approval;
(c) what hazard-identification or residual-risk assessments were performed under Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations sections 10.4 to 10.6 to determine whether existing controls such as hand sanitization, barriers, masking, distancing and disinfection were inadequate before escalation to mandating the COVID-19 vaccine;
(d) were Policy and Workplace Health and Safety Committees consulted under
Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations section 10.8 and section 125(1)(z.14) of the Code prior to implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and, if so, for each meeting, what are the details, including the (i) date, (ii) list of attendees, (iii) outcome of the meeting, (iv) internal tracking or file number of the minutes;
(e) did any federal department submit a notice or obtain approval under Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations section 12.04(1) when introducing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a biological preventive measure, and what documentation demonstrates compliance with 12.04(3) that the measure itself “did not create or contribute to a hazard”;
(f) did Department of Justice
Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Health Canada or the Treasury Board Secretariat issue any legal opinions or interpretive memos clarifying whether COVID-19 vaccination constituted “personal protective equipment” or was otherwise subject to Part II of the Canada Labour Code, and, if so, for each opinion or memo (i) what was the date, (ii) what was the name of the issuer, (iii) who received the information, (iv) on what date was it tabled in the House of Commons;
(g) did
Employment and Social Development Canada Occupational Health and Safety Officers revise 2020 findings that the existing hierarchy of control measures under section 122.2 of the Canada Labour Code were adequate, and, if so, for each revision what was the (i) date of the revision, (ii) reason for revision, (iii) evidence to justify the revision;
(h) did the Minister of Labour determine that COVID-19 vaccination qualified for introduction at the third stage of the hierarchy, in section 122.2 of the
Canada Labour Code requiring hazard elimination or reduction before resorting to personal protective equipment, and, if so, what analysis supported that decision;
(i) following the Prime Minister’s 2021 announcement that the COVID-19 vaccine policy aimed to “protect the safety of our workplaces,” did the government classify the COVID-19 vaccine mandate measure as falling within its Part II duties to protect employees at work, and how was that classification conveyed to departments;
(j) were employees explicitly informed that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was implemented to protect workplace health and safety and therefore that their rights under sections 125 to 128, including the right to know, participate and refuse dangerous work, would apply, and, if not, why not;
(k) which departments maintain records of federal employee exposures or adverse reactions resulting from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandate policy pursuant to section 125(1)(j), how many reports were made and what is the schedule for retention and reporting;
(l) which departments participated in interdepartmental meetings to coordinate the workplace COVID-19 vaccination policy, and which department led the decision to classify it as a public-health or human-resources measure rather than occupational protective equipment;
(m) does the government plan to propose amendments to Part II of the Canada Labour Code or to the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations to clarify the classification of biological or pharmacological interventions in workplace safety programs;
(n) did the Minister of
Labour consult the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health with respect to sections 122.2 and 124 of the Canada Labour Code regarding compliance before introducing medical or biological measures as occupational controls;
(o) did the Minister of Health, Health Canada or the Public Health Agency of Canada have knowledge that biochemical components of the COVID-19 vaccines were registered chemicals, and, if so, on what date did they inform all federal employees of these chemicals under section 125.1 of the Canada Labour Code; and (p) was the mandatory vaccination policy for federal workers classified as a workplace safety measure under Part 2 of the Canada Labour Code, and,
if so, on what dates were employees informed to document and report all adverse events, related to vaccination to the provincial worker's compensation boards for review?
Response
This response was tabled in the House of Commons on May 6, 2026, as Sessional Paper 8555-451-968.
Employment and Social Development Canada
Reply by: the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for
Northern Ontario
Name of Signatory: Annie Koutrakis
Reply
Order/Address of the House of Commons
Question number
Q-968
Asked by
Dean Allison (Niagara West)
Date asked
March 19, 2026
Presented by
Kevin Lamoureux
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Tabled on
May 6, 2026
Sessional Paper
8555-451-968
House of Commons
Employment and Social Development Canada
(f) did Department of Justice Canada, Employment and Social
Development Canada, Health Canada or the Treasury Board
Secretariat issue any legal opinions or interpretive memos clarifying whether COVID-19 vaccination constituted “personal protective equipment” or was otherwise subject to Part II of the Canada Labour
Code, and, if so, for each opinion or memo (i) what was the date, (ii) what was the name of the issuer, (iii) who received the information, (iv) on what date was it tabled in the House of Commons?
Employment and Social Development Canada is only aware of information on it’s role as regulator responsible for enforcement of the Canada Labour Code .
Employment and Social Development Canada has not issued an interpretive memo on COVID –19 vaccine constituting a personal protective equipment.
(g) did Employment and Social Development Canada Occupational
Health and Safety Officers revise 2020 findings that the existing hierarchy of control measures under section 122.2 of the Canada
Labour Code were adequate, and, if so, for each revision what was the
(i) date of the revision, (ii) reason for revision, (iii) evidence to justify the revision?
It is unclear what the reference to "2020 finding" refers to with respect to section 122.2 of the Canada Labour Code .
Section 122.2 establishes the hierarchy of measures to be implemented in response to a hazard in the workplace.
This requirement of the Code is consistent with best practices in occupational health and safety.
It is a prescriptive measure applicable to any preventive measure in response to a hazard.
The use of a vaccine aims to reduce the hazard by limiting the proliferation of a biological agent.
In the hierarchy of controls, vaccination therefore comes at the second level, namely hazard reduction.
However, it is not a form of protective equipment.
(j) were employees explicitly informed that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was implemented to protect workplace health and safety and therefore that their rights under sections 125 to 128, including the right to know, parti