By Canadian Press

Defence minister stands by military’s vaccine mandate

Sep 29, 2022 | 11:46 AM

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand says the COVID vaccine requirement for Canadian Armed Forces members is necessary to protect Canadians and allies alike.

The military vaccine mandate remains in place even though similar mandates for other federal workers including the RCMP was suspended in June.

Anand says defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre is revisiting the rule that all Armed Forces members receive at least two doses to remain in uniform.

But she says the military needs to have stricter medical requirements to ensure service members are healthy enough to respond to any emergency ⁠ — including in places with limited medical support.

Anand did not give any hint as to when Eyre would finish his review, saying only that the requirement remains in place until further notice.

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Eyre told The Canadian Press last month that he was looking to “tweak” the vaccine mandate, suggesting some sort of requirement would remain even after his review.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2022.

The Canadian Press