Toronto actor stranded in Vancouver after trouble with COVID-19 vaccine exemption at the airport

A Toronto-based actor and his mom will need to drive home from Vancouver after his vaccine exemption wasn't accepted at the airport over the weekend.

Actor Dorian Giordano and his mom Stephanie flew to Vancouver last month, after Dorian landed a role in a T.V. show filming in B.C.

When shooting wrapped up, the pair booked an Air Canada flight from Vancouver International Airport to Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto for Dec. 4, but they didn’t get past the check-in counter.

“(The agent) looked over my paperwork and said it was OK, then they looked over Dorian’s and said no, unfortunately they could not accept his medical exemption,” said Stephanie Giordano.

Stephanie is double vaccinated against COVID-19, while Dorian is exempt from the vaccine because of a chronic illness. The 18-year-old lives with autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition that causes the body to attack healthy brain cells. Dorian, who is playing a role in the upcoming series Jack Reacher, has a medical note from his doctor, recommending he be held from COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Dorian used that note, along with a negative PCR test, to board a flight from Toronto to Vancouver on Nov. 16. On Nov. 30, the requirement for all air travellers in Canada to be fully vaccinated went into effect.

“We knew there were (policy) changes,” explained Stephanie. “Nowhere were there changes mentioned that would affect the medically exempt.”

After dealing with at least three different Air Canada representatives, the Giordanos were eventually given vaccine exemption request forms for Dorian’s doctor to fill out. He did so, but on Wednesday, the airline rejected them again.

“We flew down here on a perfectly valid medical exemption,” Dorian said. “They could have tailored (a plan) to that, understood the circumstances, and had a solution for us coming back.”

An Air Canada spokesperson told CTV News in an email the airline is aware of the Giordanos' situation and is working to assist them. As of Nov. 30, Air Canada is asking customers to submit vaccine exemption requests 21 days prior to their travel date to ensure it’s processed in time, and travellers have enough time to provide missing or additional information to them.

“That said, we will process and review these forms sooner than that under exceptional or urgent situations,” wrote Peter Fitzpatrick, manager of Air Canada corporate communications, in an email.

Fitzpatrick adds the exemption forms were created by the federal government and could not be made available to the public until Nov. 30. Because their trip began prior to that date, the Giordanos don’t understand why Air Canada and the government won’t grandfather them in.

“If we knew the changes would affect the medically exempt, then we would’ve made (different) choices and decisions ahead of time,” said Stephanie. “There’s just so much discrepancy and confusion right now.”

Unsure of whether they’ll be permitted to board a flight in the coming days, the Giordanos will now rent a car and drive back to Ontario, in hopes of being home in time for the holidays. Dorian hopes his predicament will save other vaccine exempt travellers from added stress.

“No matter what medical condition you have, no matter the medical exemption, you never know what the circumstances are going to be,” he said. “You never know if you’re going to get the short end of the stick.”