HALIFAX, NS: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is disappointed that the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has dismissed the judicial review of Judge Rickcola Brinton, whose medical privacy and judicial independence were violated in 2021.
The decision by Justice Christa Brothers was released two days before Christmas, on December 23, 2024.
Rickcola Brinton was a judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in 2021 when then-Chief Judge Pamela S. Williams imposed a vaccine mandate on all sitting judges.
Judge Brinton raised concerns with her colleagues about this policy because she believed it could impact marginalized communities and the judiciary’s role as impartial decision-makers. She declined to share her private medical information with Chief Judge Williams regarding her Covid vaccination status.
Chief Judge Williams then threatened to suspend Judge Brinton and to report her to the Judicial Council.
Judge Brinton went on medical leave after the vaccine mandate. Without her knowledge or consent, Judge Williams asked Judge Brinton’s doctor to hand over medical information related to her leave, as well as her Covid vaccination status.
Judge Brinton filed a complaint against Chief Judge Williams for improperly contacting her doctor to obtain that confidential medical information. The Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, Michael J. Wood, reviewed the complaint and summarily dismissed it without sending it to a review committee.
On June 6, 2023, Judge Brinton asked for a judicial review of this decision on grounds that it was unreasonable for the Chief Justice to summarily dismiss the complaint without following the normal procedure of putting it before a three-person committee. (A judicial review is a process by which courts make sure that the decisions of administrative bodies are fair, reasonable, and lawful.)
Lawyers for Judge Brinton also argued that the judge failed to appropriately balance the dismissal of her complaint against her constitutional rights and principles, including the principle of judicial independence and the right to keep her personal medical information private.
Our lawyers are now consulting with Judge Brinton and considering an appeal.
