EXCLUSIVE: Canadian Navy to Mandate COVID-19 Boosters for Sailors, Leaked Memo Shows

Members of the Royal Canadian Navy salute during a naming ceremony for Arctic and offshore patrol ships, at Halifax Shipyards in Halifax on May 29, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan)

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has mandated that all sailors stationed at sea must receive up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations, which includes at least one booster shot “within the last six months.”

“My direction remains that only sailors with up to date vaccinations, defined as the primary vaccination series plus either a booster within the last 6 months or a confirmed recovery from a COVID-19 infection within the last 6 months, be employed or undergo training as a member of crew aboard HMC ships and submarines,” wrote RCN Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee in a Nov. 4 unclassified memo obtained by The Epoch Times.

Topshee said all Navy members who choose not to receive vaccine boosters will be “posted ashore immediately and can not draw sea duty allowance.”

“Ships at sea have very limited access to medical care, and therefore, all those embarked should have vaccinations that are up to date,” he wrote.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) dropped its vaccine mandate for some members in early October, but kept it for those supporting “core operational functions,” which include positions requiring high-readiness or possible deployment on short notice.

The CAF’s new regulations dictate that members stationed abroad will be required to follow the vaccine requirements of their host nation.

‘Shipboard Spread of the Virus’

Topshee further said in the leaked memo that unvaccinated Navy members pose a risk on ships given the close living quarters.

“The RCN cannot accept the risk to ships program that unvaccinated personnel present in an enclosed living environment where we have seen the virus can spread quickly,” he wrote.

Topshee also said the Navy has so far avoided any serious “shipboard spread of the virus.”

“This management and avoidance of poor outcomes was enabled through 100 percent vaccination,” he said. “My intent is to maintain this approach.”

“We must remain ready to fight while remaining flexible and prepared to best support our members while also continuing to protect our force from the threat and risks that COVID-19 continues to pose.”

Personnel ‘Crisis’

Topshee said in late September that the RCN is currently severely understaffed, a situation he labelled as a personnel “crisis.”

“We need more people. We need them as quickly as we can get them,” he told The Canadian Press in an interview on Sept. 21.

The Navy commander said he needs about 1,400 new recruits to reach full strength, which represents about 17 percent of the RCN’s total ranks.

“Describing the current crewing and staffing shortages with ‘crisis’ is probably the right word across the Navy,” he said.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.