Tag: body integrity

Arbitration victory for workers denied COVID-19 vaccine exemptions

During COVID-19 lockdowns many Canadian employers implemented vaccine mandates, forcing employees to choose between job loss or an unwanted COVID-19 vaccination. TDF lawyers met with many union members confronted with this dilemma, and explained their legal rights under human rights legislation and collective agreements

Many religious union members who opposed vaccination due to their sincerely held religious beliefs, filed religious exemption requests with their employers. However, these religious exemptions were often denied arbitrarily and superficially. Sometimes employers requested written proof of relevant spiritual doctrine from a religious objector. Sometimes employers summarily rejected claims of sincere religious belief.

In 2022, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), on behalf of 7 unionized Air Canada pilots, brought grievances against Air Canada for improperly rejecting their vaccine exemption requests. After their religious exemption requests were denied, the pilots were placed on unpaid leaves of absence. The union members alleged workplace religious discrimination under their Collective Agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

A labour arbitrator has now ruled in favour of the pilots, as reported in Air Canada v. Air Line Pilots’ Association 2026 CanLII 16803 (CA LA).

Arbitrator Hayes ruled that denying these religious exemption requests was improper and resulted in workplace discrimination contrary to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Collective Agreement. The arbitrator held that it was not appropriate for Air Canada to direct employees to justify religious exemptions with a “personalized, written, and dated explanation from your religious leader explaining the religious reasons why you are unable to be vaccinated against COVID-19.” Arbitrator Hayes reiterated that the law requires an employer to assess an individual’s subjective religious beliefs rather than making an overly objective determination of whether those beliefs objectively conform to the mandates of the religion.

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The Evolving Battle Over Vaccine Mandates and Informed Consent in America

In early February, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo made headlines by announcing the state’s intention to become the first in the nation to eliminate all vaccine mandates, extending beyond Covid-19 requirements to include long-standing immunizations for diseases like measles, polio, and hepatitis B. Speaking at a press conference, Ladapo framed the move as a defense of personal liberty, declaring, “Your body is a gift from God… Government does not have that right.” This policy shift, initially proposed in September 2025 by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and Ladapo, aims to dismantle mandates for schools, nursing homes, and other institutions, arguing that they infringe on individual autonomy. If enacted by the Legislature, it could start a ripple effect, as more people are waking up to the truth about vaccines.

Ladapo’s announcement sparked widespread debate, with many Americans celebrating the push for “medical freedom.” Supporters argue it empowers parents and individuals, aligning with a broader post-Covid anti-mandate sentiment. Critics condemn it as a dangerous rollback that could endanger vulnerable populations, such as immunocompromised children. As of this month, bills like SB 1756 have advanced in the Florida Senate, expanding exemptions but stopping short of a full ban, amid reports of measles cases fueling the controversy. Public health officials fear this could inspire similar actions in conservative states like Idaho, which has already followed suit.

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California Planning to Sue Trump Admin Over Revised Child Vaccine Guidelines, Bonta Says

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Feb. 17 that the state plans to take legal action against the Trump administration over the recent modifications to the childhood vaccine schedule.

The CDC on Jan. 5, with backing from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., narrowed the number of vaccines routinely recommended by the childhood schedule.

Bonta told Reuters in an interview that he has mobilized his team to identify the necessary details for a possible complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including jurisdiction and legal grounds for pursuing the lawsuit.

“I like the facts. I like science. I don’t want to give any airtime to his—I mean, just conspiracy [expletive],” Bonta told the news agency, referring to Kennedy’s stance on vaccines.

Bonta did not specify when the state might file or whether it would be a multistate filing. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who also spoke to Reuters, indicated his state may join California in the filing.

The Epoch Times reached out to HHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

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Leftist Medical Orgs Try To Shut Down Debate On Vaccines

Left-wing medical associations have banded together to block an upcoming federal meeting in an attempt to table vaccine discussion and debate in a public forum.  

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), set to meet Feb. 25-27, is expected to discuss the recently updated childhood vaccine schedule. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its cohorts are attempting to suppress open exchange through a court-ordered injunction scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 13. 

Shouting Down Dissent 

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut the number of recommended vaccines for American children from 17 to 11 following an executive order to investigate the vaccine schedule. The comparative report found that the U.S. schedule demands far more injections than other developed nations. Several vaccines on the schedule had never undergone large-scale double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trials before being approved by the Food and Drug Administration, safety reviews have been incomplete or nonexistent for decades, and liability protections for vaccine makers incentivize production over protection.  

The update is reasonable, aligning the U.S. with most other developed nations; but the American Academy of Pediatrics responded with outrage, blasting the government’s “dangerous” decision-making and adding another complaint to its 2025 lawsuit against Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The updated recommendations are “causing unnecessary confusion … compromising access to lifesaving vaccines and weakening community protection,” railed American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Andrew D. Racine. A co-plaintiff organization official warned of the threat of “increased illness and suffering by children and their families,” if the updated schedule is enacted.  

None of this is expected based on comparative data, but the American Academy of Pediatrics’ response continues to follow the same pattern — shout down dissent and sue to suppress debate. 

In June, the American Academy of Pediatrics protested HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s removal of all 17 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members, calling Kennedy’s replacement picks “vaccine skeptics” and the overhaul “an escalating effort by the Administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in lifesaving vaccines.” 

The group then sued Kennedy for allegedly violating federal law in changing Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women, amended the suit multiple times with additional complaints, and filed for an injunction to stop Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from meeting altogether later this month. 

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Scientists want to use self-amplifying mRNA to vaccinate those who do not want to be vaccinated

Newly published research papers demonstrate that gain-of-function research designed to investigate the effects of deadly pathogens is still continuing. In the course of research, live mice are being exposed to deadly doses of laboratory-built recombinant synthetic H5N1 viruses with codon optimisation, which boosts expression in human cells and cleavage site enhancement linked to viral virulence.  Lethal doses of synthetic viral material containing artificial DNA sequences are being forced into animals using lipid nanoparticles (“LNPs”) and electrical pulses. The aim of the research is to develop replicon mRNA vaccines and treatment strategies but alarmingly, the work is being partially funded by the US defence establishment and there are ties to multinational pharmaceutical companies.

A paper was published on 13 January 2026 in Nature Communications is entitled ‘Intranasal replicon vaccine establishes mucosal immunity and protects against H5N1 and H7N9 influenza’. It reports the development of a self-replicating mRNA vaccine targeted at H5N1 and H7N9 viruses – so-called avian or bird flu viruses. The vaccine is administered with an intranasal spray, which is designed to attach itself to the nasal mucosa via a nanostructured lipid carrier and then replicate itself like a virus in the human body. The research was funded by the Department of Defence of the US government. One of the stated aims of the research is to develop proof of concept for an mRNA vaccine delivery system, which will overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach whole populations rapidly.

In a parallel development, an international team of researchers from USA, Canada and the EU have used so-called gain-of-function methods to design, engineer and test synthetic versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus’s hemagglutinin protein – one of the key components that allows the virus to infect cells. Their results are reported in a Nature paper entitled ‘Electroporation and LNP-mediated delivery of plasmid DNA-encoded H5N1 influenza virus hemagglutinin support protection against highly pathogenic avian influenza’. In summary, the paper reports that researchers have produced synthetic versions of a dangerous flu component and injected them into mice. They then exposed the animals to very deadly strains of the H5N1 virus to see how well their synthetic constructs functioned. Their research was funded by a US federal vaccine-development initiative said to be designed to prepare for future influenza outbreaks using rapidly adaptable genetic platforms. 

Scientists are creating novel genetic viral pathogenic sequences and then saying we need to be protected from them. In other words, they are posing as saviours when they are the ultimate sinners.

The senior scientist involved, David B. Weiner, disclosed paid relationships with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Inovio, Flagship and other commercial biotechnology and/or pharmaceutical companies.

These reports demonstrate how the type of dangerous research which likely created covid-19 is still being conducted in laboratories around the world. If New Zealand were to pass the Gene Technology Bill, it is likely that our laboratories will be co-opted by the lure of lucrative funding to participate in such collaborative research projects, despite the fact that the FBI, CIA, MI6, BND and other international intelligence organisations have confirmed that the covid pandemic was likely the result of laboratory-engineered pathogen manipulation.

Make your feelings known. Our voice is more powerful than we realise. Do not get distracted by the injustices of the past to the extent of ignoring the very real threats that are being developed around us. We need a better future than the one that is currently being planned, created and curated for us. 

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HS Senior Escorted from School for Following Doctors’ Orders and Skipping Vaccine Booster

A high school senior in a western New York school has been banned because she did not get a vaccine booster that causes her to have serious side effects.

Depew High School senior Kayci Rae was escorted out of school on Oct. 16 because she did not get a meningitis booster shot, according to WKBW-TV.

“I just sit and scroll, there’s really not much else I could do,” she said. “It’s more emotional with it being my senior year. I feel like I’m shunned from Depew.

“They wouldn’t let me say goodbye to teachers, they wouldn’t let me go into the classroom,” Rae said. “I was in tears. It was hard, it was truly devastating, honestly.”

She is now in limbo, because the email she used to connect with the school was recently disabled.

“She had leg pain,” Andrea Billi, Rae’s mother, said. “You know, when you’re younger, having growing pains? That’s what we thought, then it progressed. Her legs will turn purple and go numb.”

Kayci’s aunt Shannon told WBEN-AM that at first, “We kind of almost ignored it, because we were like, ‘Is [she] just trying to get attention for it?’ But then she started showing us her legs when she would get these flares, her legs started to mottle. I don’t know if anybody knows what that is, it’s almost like a marbling of your skin, and essentially it’s a vasospasm of your legs. So her legs would blanch, turn colors, and she would get this pain.”

“It’s disabling for her,” Shannon said, indicating the problems have not gone away.

“She’s had her friends give her piggyback rides because her legs would literally hurt her. There was a time where she collapsed at her softball game, which the school nurse was her softball coach and her softball coach witnessed all of this,” she said.

“And she was in softball two, three years ago, and she would actually have to sit out mid-game because her pain would start to flare from the high intensity activity. And her teammates would be there rolling their bats on her legs,” Shannon said, adding that the school was told of this.

Billi said her daughter has had multiple tests that have come up empty.

“The only factor that we came to a conclusion on was this all started after she got the vaccine,” she said.

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War Dept. Battles Internal Resistance To Reinstate 86 Soldiers Ejected By Covid Shot Mandate

It’s been ten months since President Donald Trump ordered the full reinstatement of any willing military employees ejected for declining Covid-19 shots, but as of Nov. 15 just 86 such personnel have been reinstated. The reinstatements so far account for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the military personnel who likely left over the Biden administration mandate, depleting the military of some of its highest-character members and causing a historic personnel crisis.

President Trump’s defense team is “picking up steam” to address the reinstatements more quickly and fruitfully and approval times are down to two to three weeks after the application package is completed, Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata told The Federalist in a Tuesday afternoon phone call from his office. Confirmed in July, Tata said he immediately sought out veterans experiencing impediments to reinstatement. In September and October meetings and memorandums, “I tasked in no uncertain terms to the services that they will treat each of the members with the dignity that they deserve,” Tata said.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces, there’s a lot of good people working very hard on this,” Tata said. “We all understand the president’s executive order and the secretary’s directive, and we are moving out at full speed to welcome every single person that wants to come back from this disaffected community.”

When one service member posted online that a military processing station had turned her away from seeking the reinstatement the Trump administration has promised, Tata said after talking with her he called up the station commander and said, “What part of this don’t you understand?”

More formally, he noted the department is investigating Biden-era Covid policies and their implementation across the branches, and that investigation will make recommendations about whether and which personnel violated law and military policy in carrying out Covid orders. The investigation team includes service members reinstated after the Biden administration drummed them out of the military for their conscientious objections to Covid mandates.

Former Air Force judge advocate general Kacy Dixon, herself reinstated after declining a Covid shot while pregnant, is Tata’s liaison to that investigation and to Covid-separated soldiers seeking reparations the administration has promised for their injuries, including honorable discharges, lost benefits, and back pay, even if they don’t re-enlist. Tata noted that back pay for reinstated soldiers is often between $100,000-$150,000 per person and it includes the proper pay for promotions soldiers would have earned if they hadn’t been punished for exercising their constitutional conscience rights.

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Can the Government Mandate a Vaccine for Your Own Good? This Federal Court Says Yes.

Defending COVID-19 policies against legal challenges, government officials relied heavily on Jacobson v. Massachusetts, a 1905 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a smallpox vaccine mandate imposed by the Cambridge Board of Health. But the breadth of the license granted by that decision is a matter of dispute, even as applied to superficially similar COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Critics of those mandates argued that COVID-19 shots, unlike smallpox vaccination, do not prevent disease transmission, so requiring them amounts to paternalistic intervention rather than protection of the general public. Last summer in Health Freedom Fund v. Carvalho, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit dismissed that distinction as constitutionally irrelevant.

Rejecting a challenge to a 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) imposed on its employees, the majority held that the district “could have reasonably concluded that COVID-19 vaccines would protect the health and safety of its employees and students.” The implications of the 9th Circuit’s decision for the right to bodily integrity are alarmingly broad, since the court’s logic would seem to bless all manner of medical mandates that the government views as beneficial to the patient, even if they have no effect on other people.

The plaintiffs in the 9th Circuit case, including LAUSD employees who were fired because they refused to comply with the vaccine requirement, argued that Jacobson did not authorize that policy. Their case featured dueling interpretations of Jacobson that reflected different understandings of “public health.”

Is that rationale for government action limited to external threats such as disease carriers and air pollution, where someone’s actions risk harming others, or does it extend to self-regarding decisions that do not impinge on other people’s rights, such as lifestyle choices and consent to medical treatment? The 9th Circuit’s ruling implicitly embraces the latter view, which invites far-ranging, open-ended interference with individual freedom.

In Jacobson, the Supreme Court weighed “the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best” against the government’s interest in “preventing the spread of smallpox.” The majority repeatedly referred to that danger and noted “the common belief,” supported by “high medical authority,” that vaccination was effective at addressing it. The Court rejected the premise that people may do as they like “regardless of the injury that may be done to others.”

That concern about injury to others, the plaintiffs in the 9th Circuit case argued, did not apply in the context of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. While smallpox vaccination effectively curtailed the spread of disease, they said, COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission, although they may reduce symptom severity in people who receive them.

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Can You Be Vaccinated Against Your Will While Under Anesthesia?

A nurse whistleblower from within the hospital system has come forward with a grave warning: the term “vaccine” is quietly disappearing from medical consent forms — replaced with the broad and deceptive category of “Biologics” or “Biogenics.”

Under this new classification, patients could be injected with vaccines and other biological products —against their will, and without their explicit consent — even while unconscious under anesthesia. (source)

Evidence that giving vaccines against the patient’s will has been ongoing for some time:

• Patients in U.S. hospitals were given COVID-19 vaccines without their knowledge or consent while under sedation. Lawsuits are pending. (source)

• Legal teams claim health care workers have confirmed the practice, calling it an “abominable covert act.” (source)

• A mother in the UK fights to stop a hospital from vaccinating her Down syndrome child under sedation against her will. (source)

• Medical journals propose administering vaccines during “perioperative periods” to boost compliance, raising ethical concerns. (source)

The whistleblower warns that the danger lies in how these new forms are written. Patients and guardians may believe they are signing standard medical consent documents — but the language now allows for broad authorization of all biological agents, including vaccines.

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Army Lieutenant Who Was Court-Martialed for Refusing COVID-19 Shot Granted Full Reinstatement and Retroactive Promotion After Under Secretary of War Steps In to Fix Slow Processing

The U.S. Army has officially granted full reinstatement to former First Lieutenant Mark Bashaw, retroactively promoted to Captain, after Under Secretary of War Anthony J. Tata personally intervened to address the “last mile” delays in the reinstatement process.

Under Secretary Tata announced the action on X, formerly Twitter:

“On Monday, @MCBashaw emailed me about several ‘last mile’ issues in the COVID reinstatement process. We immediately convened @USArmy leaders to address them. At this stage, any delays are unacceptable. We’re committed to reinstating our impacted warriors ASAP.”

He later added that the Army and Department of War were engaging directly with Kevin Bouren and Mark Bashaw to resolve any outstanding concerns, noting that not all corrective efforts are visible to the public, but they are “happening steadily behind the scenes.”

Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 and intelligence officer Sam Shoemate responded on Under Secretary Tata’s announcement, stating: “I spoke to [Bashaw]. You sure lit a fire under their ass to get him taken care of. The problem is that it shouldn’t take the Undersecretary of the DOW to get that done.

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