Quebec Judge Rejects Request for Fully Vaccinated Jury in Montreal Trial | The Canadian News

A Quebec Superior Court judge ruled that a jury does not need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate in a Montreal fraud trial.

Judge Mario Longpré wrote in a ruling published Friday that full immunization was not necessary and cited concerns about privacy and the representativeness of the jury in his ruling.

The defendant at trial had filed the application, citing a recent decision in Ontario that saw an Ottawa judge rule that all jurors participating in a murder trial should be fully inoculated with two doses of vaccine. That ruling cited concerns about the Delta variant and the increase in cases.

But Ontario’s Jury Law allows those who are not physically able to perform their duties to be declared ineligible, a distinction that does not exist in Quebec, where the law only allows people with disabilities or mental disabilities to be exempted, Longpré wrote.

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“The Jury Law applicable in Quebec does not allow to declare jury candidates disqualified due to physical disability, even if it is concluded that not being properly vaccinated constitutes such disability,” the judge wrote.

The courts have deferred on the full vaccination of jurors in recent Canadian rulings. A BC Supreme Court decision last month did not allow the Crown to ask jurors questions about their vaccination status, citing privacy.

In the Ontario ruling, the ruling also did not allow potential jurors to be asked why they weren’t vaccinated, limiting the question to whether or not they were.

“The jury selection principle in Canada is also based on the fundamental principle of respect for the privacy of jury candidates,” Longpré wrote.

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Longpré said that the selection of a jury made up of properly vaccinated people also raises privacy concerns that are protected by the province’s human rights charter and the Quebec Civil Code.

The automatic exclusion of unvaccinated jurors could create representativeness problems early in the selection process, which could create problems for things like impartiality, Longpré wrote.

There is no vaccination requirement for actors in the Quebec justice system and the province’s vaccine passport is not used for the courts, he added.

The judge also noted that jury trials have been conducted without major problems or delays during the pandemic and that the province has opted for 14 juries to ensure trials run smoothly.

He wrote that jurors should be aware of health measures, as well as the fact that people might not be adequately vaccinated, and should be allowed to apply for a COVID-19 concern waiver.

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