The province of British Columbia is facing court battles one after another from various parties over vaccine requirements it imposed during the pandemic.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) filed a legal challenge to the B.C. vaccine passport regime on Sept. 28, 2021, saying it discriminated against people who could not be vaccinated for medical reasons. Lawyer Geoffrey Trotter, who is handling the case for the CCF, says the province was too narrow in its list of acceptable medical exemptions from the passport and gave no opportunity for recourse.
“It was a closed list with no opportunity for individualized assessment. Of course, that’s good for administrative efficiency, but it’s not good for respecting the constitutional rights of people who can’t safely get the vaccine,” Trotter said in an interview.