Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Columbia Premier John Horgan scrubbed a tweet he sent out last week calling an incident outside a Surrey mosque an act of “hate and racism.”
Nygard’s request for religious exemption,” Le Beau said. “We are hopeful that the CSRD will reconsider its policy that requires all volunteer firefighters to take a new vaccination with a concerning side effect profile, to be permitted to work, or that they will comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the BC Human Rights Code, and honour Mr. The JCCF says Nygard became infected with COVID during the summer of 2021 while away fighting forest fires with the CSRD team. “It is clear now that the COVID vaccines do not prevent transmission or infection of virus, and evolving science is demonstrating that natural immunity provides robust protection against reinfection of COVID,” said Le Beau, citing the BC Covid Therapeutics Committee. While Nygard considers his work as a firefighter to be essential to the community, he won’t compromise his commitment to his faith and conscience. That shortage is putting local communities at risk, said Le Beau.
The JCCF says approximately 30 volunteer firefighters in the district have lost their positions due to the vaccine mandate, resulting in a shortage of volunteer firefighters. “CSRD is doing a disservice to the community by denying volunteer firefighters and losing their volunteer services,” said Charlene Le Beau, JCCF lawyer representing Nygard. The legal organization says Nygard has “conducted extensive research” on the COVID-19 vaccines, highlighting warnings issued by Health Canada on the vaccine labels for conditions such as myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots, and Bell’s palsy.Īccepting the medical procedure would violate Nygard’s conscience and religious convictions, the Justice Centre argues. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) sent a legal warning letter to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) demanding the accommodation of a volunteer firefighter’s COVID-19 vaccine exemption.Ĭraig Nygard of Celista, BC requested religious exemption from CSRD’s mandatory injection policy, according to thee JCCF, adding the volunteer firefighter also seeks exemption based on “research and weighing of vaccine’s benefits and risks, and the fact that he has naturally acquired immunity to COVID.”