In short, yes, and yes; well, in most cases. The reality is that most workers in Canada do not have job security; what they have is an entitlement to severance if they lose their job through no fault of their own*.
The vast majority of employees can be dismissed at practically any time for practically any reason, or no reason at all, so long as that employee is paid out properly. What does this mean when it comes to vaccinations? In short, an employee who refuses to be vaccinated without any sort of human rights exemption can be let go. Employers are not required to provide a reason for termination, but they are required to pay an employee the appropriate termination pay according to the law and that person’s employment contract. Lastly, we frequently hear chatter about protections from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but since that only applies to government actions, it actually only covers a small subset of workers and not the actions of private employers.
*Unionized workers and some federally regulated workers are treated differently.
Do You Get Severance?
There is an exception to the entitlement to severance: when just cause for dismissal exists. Just cause can result from misconduct, such as theft, or insubordination, which means refusing to follow a reasonable direction.
The key question is whether a rule requiring vaccination would be a reasonable one in the eyes of the law. If so, refusing to be vaccinated would constitute insubordination. That will depend very much on the specifics of the situation; it is far more likely that requiring an emergency room nurse to be vaccinated will be seen as reasonable, as opposed to a clerical worker who does their job from home. Even where it is reasonable, there would have to be clear warning of the expectations and consequences of failing to meet them
The bottom line is that employees can be dismissed if they refuse to be vaccinated without a medical or religious exemption, but the jury is still out on whether or not they could be dismissed without any severance pay. In all likelihood, some employees could be.
