Dr. Bonnie Henry forces healthcare workers to choose between vaccination and termination
In October and November 2021, BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a series of Orders applying to all BC healthcare personnel working for BC Health Authorities, care facilities, and other designated facilities across the province. As a result of these Orders, healthcare workers who did not show proof of receiving all doses of an approved Covid vaccine would be terminated.
Over the next two years, these public health orders were modified and expanded by the BC Government, capturing more and more healthcare workers.
- Orders issued between August 2021 and February 2022 allowed employers, operators, and contractors to obtain personal information, including Covid vaccination status, from healthcare practitioners and staff. Across BC, healthcare personnel were compelled to provide their legal name, date of birth, personal health number, and vaccination status to employers upon request. Employers and contractors were then compelled to report that personal information to the BC Government.
- A June 2022 Order required registrants of various medical colleges to disclose their Covid vaccination status to their respective medical colleges, who would report that information to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
- September 2022 Orders expanded the scope of previous Orders, requiring students applying to post-secondary medical programs, post-secondary staff working in care locations, and post-secondary administrative and managerial staff working in health services facilities to disclose their Covid vaccination status to their institutions, who would report that information to the Provincial Health Officer.
- April 2023 Orders expanded the scope yet again, requiring staff construction workers to be vaccinated for Covid in order to work at hospitals and other medical facilities. Previously, constructions workers, whether staff members or working under contract, as well as other outside service providers working on projects within the BC healthcare system, did not need to show proof of vaccination if they followed protocols set out in the Orders. The April 2023 Orders were silent regarding outside service providers, and specifically exempted construction services working under contract, meaning these groups of workers no longer needed to follow personal protective equipment protocols.
- A June 2023 Order cancelled the June 2022 Order. Registrants of medical colleges would no longer be required to report their vaccination status to their respective college, and colleges would no longer be required to report that data to the Provincial Health Office. However, healthcare workers of any Provincial Health Authority in British Columbia, including workers who did not have in-person contact with patients, would still be required to show proof of vaccination in order to work.
- An October 5, 2023 Order required any unvaccinated new hires to receive the requisite number of doses of the new XBB.1.5-containing formulation of the Covid vaccine to be allowed to work, making it impossible for many doctors, nurses, administrators, other healthcare workers, and non-healthcare workers to work in BC’s healthcare system.
These Orders saw approximately 2,500 BC healthcare workers terminated, causing critical shortages in the healthcare system across the province.
BC healthcare workers challenge Covid vaccine mandate at Supreme Court of British Columbia
On March 16, 2022, with help from the Justice Centre, 11 BC healthcare workers filed a constitutional challenge to the vaccine mandate for specified groups of healthcare workers. Here are a few of their stories.
Resident of Prince George, Phyllis Tatlock had held many senior healthcare positions in Alberta and BC in her twenty year career, and served as Director of Operations for BC Cancer since 2021. The Provincial Health Services Authority terminated her employment because she refused to be vaccinated for Covid for religious reasons.
Laura Koop lives in Canyon and had served her community since 2014 as a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, focusing on high-risk populations, such as those with mental health and substance abuse problems. She refused to be vaccinated for Covid for reasons of conscience and, as a consequence, her position was terminated. She expressed concern about the lack of informed consent, the lack of transparency of pharmaceutical corporations and all levels of Canadian (and international) governments, and the constantly changing goals and directives regarding Covid vaccination programs.
Monika Bielecki had worked in Kelowna as an Employee Health and Wellness Advisor since 2015. She has extensive experience in claims adjudication, rehabilitation services, disability management, and workplace accommodation processes. Ms. Bielecki had worked remotely since 2016 but was terminated because she refused to be vaccinated for Covid for reasons of conscience. At the time, she stated that the acceptance of any medical intervention should be a personal choice based on her own assessment of her health and risk factors. She felt that the Covid vaccine did not effectively prevent transmission and was associated with serious adverse reactions.
Lori Nelson resides in Surrey and had served as a Provider Engagement Lead, Clinical Informatics for the British Columbia Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). She worked remotely and had a work-from-home agreement with her employer. An employee of PHSA for 25 years, Ms. Nelson was nonetheless terminated because she refused to be vaccinated for Covid for medical reasons. She has severe allergies and has experienced multiple systemic and anaphylactic reactions to injections in the past.
Ingeborg Keyser had served Interior Health as a Communications Advisor in Kelowna since 2017. She was not a healthcare worker and had not contact with patients. She worked entirely from home but was terminated because she refused to be vaccinated for Covid. At the time, she was pregnant and expressed concerns about the lack of long-term safety data regarding Covid vaccines administered during pregnancy.
British Columbia’s mandatory vaccination policy saw thousands of British Columbia healthcare workers like Phyllis, Laura, Monika, Lori, and Ingeborg terminated from their in-person and remote positions within the BC healthcare system.
Exemptions from Covid vaccine mandate not a viable option for most healthcare workers
Exemptions to the vaccine mandate were available for only limited medical reasons as determined by government authorities, not by physicians. To be considered for an exemption or deferral, healthcare workers were required to have (a) taken one dose of an approved Covid vaccine and be able to prove having experienced a serious adverse reaction or (b) have been diagnosed with myocarditis or pericarditis. No exemptions were granted for reasons of conscience or religion, or to account for other medical concerns.
The Orders made no provision for natural immunity to Covid. Nor did the Orders make any provision for healthcare workers who worked remotely.
Healthcare workers were not permitted to seek reconsideration of the Orders under the Public Health Act, which is a remedy contained in that legislation.
Supreme Court orders Dr. Bonnie Henry to reconsider vaccine mandate for remote healthcare workers
On November 10, 2023, in a 10-day hearing at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, our lawyers argued that the Order continue to violate the freedom of conscience and religion, right to security, and right to equality of thousands of British Columbia healthcare workers.
In addition to asserting that vaccines have in some cases proven ineffective in preventing the transmission of Covid and as well have caused some serious adverse reactions, lawyers for the 11 healthcare workers argued that ordering vaccination as a condition of employment interferes with the right to medical self-determination – protected by Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Further, our lawyers pointed out that the mandates failed to provide opportunities for religious and conscientious objections – protected by Section 2 of the Charter. While healthcare workers had their employment terminated for being unvaccinated, the BC government hired remote contractors and did not enforce any vaccination requirements on them, generating a concern about equality – protected by Section 15 of the Charter.
Lawyer Charlene LeBeau stated, “The rights of healthcare workers must not be disregarded, even when the goal is to protect public health. This is especially true in relation to mandating a new medical treatment that has a terrible track record for adverse reactions and, in any event, has proven to be ineffective in stopping infection or transmission.”
On December 18, 2023, our lawyers presented their arguments to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Further written submissions were made on behalf of the 11 healthcare workers on January 22, 2024, in response to submissions made the previous week by the BC Attorney General .
On May 10, in a partial victory for BC healthcare workers, Justice Simon Coval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia released a decision, ordering Dr. Bonnie Henry to reconsider the Covid vaccine exemption requests of remote-working and administrative healthcare workers. While the Justice Centre is disappointed that the Court upheld the vaccine mandate on BC healthcare workers, this decision is a substantial victory for the remote-working and administrative workers who were terminated due to an unfair and unscientific mandate.
Charlene Le Beau stated, “This case was a judicial review, which means the court had to determine whether Dr. Bonnie Henry acted reasonably in making the Covid vaccine a condition of employment. We are disappointed with the court finding that Dr. Henry acted reasonably, but pleased with the court also finding that the application of the Orders to remote-working and administrative workers went too far. As a result, the court remitted the issue back to Dr. Henry so that, in light of the reasons for judgment, she can consider whether to accept requests for exemption to the vaccine for those groups of workers. This is a positive result for BC nurses, doctors and other health care workers.”
It is important that we continue to push beyond this partial victory. Thousands of healthcare workers and their patients are still being impacted by these Orders. Most importantly, these Orders continue to violate the freedom of conscience and religion, right to life, liberty, and security, and right to equality of thousands of healthcare workers in BC. On June 10, 2024, our lawyers filed a Notice of Appeal in the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
On July 26, 2024, Dr. Henry announced the end of the COVID public health emergency in BC, ending the vaccine mandate. Then, on August 28, 2024, Dr. Henry issued a reconsideration decision, reaffirming her refusal to consider exemption requests for remote and administrative healthcare workers.
Undeterred, the workers continue with their appeal. They submitted a brief on September 16, 2024, arguing that the judge misunderstood their claim. They were asserting the right to make personal medical decisions without state interference, not a right-to-work under the vaccine mandate, as the judge concluded. We’re now waiting for the province’s response.
