A Purolator hybrid electric vehicle. (WikiCommon, by Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine)
A former British Columbia attorney general says a recent Purolator arbitration case that ruled in favour of unvaccinated workers is a “game changer” that could wipe out vaccine mandates for health-care workers in the province.
Suzanne Anton, a former justice minister under the B.C. Liberal government of Christy Clark, is weighing in on the likelihood of success for a lawsuit filed against B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry by a group of unvaccinated health-care workers. The doctors, nurses, and other health-care personnel, who were fired for not receiving COVID-19 shots, are asking B.C.’s Supreme Court to remove the province’s vaccine mandate so they can return to work.
B.C. is the only remaining province to maintain the vaccine requirement for health-care workers.
A decision last month by arbitrator Nicholas Glass in the Purolator case, however, could change everything, Ms. Anton told The Epoch Times.
“The Purolator case was a game changer,” she said in a phone interview. “It was a very well-written decision and it is the first time that a decision maker has gone down this road of, first of all, ordering compensation, that I know of… and secondly calling into question the British Columbia Public Health Officer.”
After nearly a year of arbitration, Mr. Glass last month ordered Purolator to compensate employees who said they were terminated for not receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The order applied to members of Teamsters Local Union No. 31 in Prince George, B.C., for any lost wages and benefits between Jan. 1, 2022, and their first day of work after May 1, 2023.
“In a province where courts and arbitrators have been quick to back the decisions of health officials, no matter how minimal the evidence, the case will send shock waves through the system,” she added.
Mr. Glass found that while the original mandates were justified based on advice from health authorities, Purolator was obligated to pay attention to health advice as it changed. After March 2022, the arbitrator noted health authorities were no longer saying “that a two-dose vaccination after 25 weeks was of any value in protecting against infection.” That led Mr. Glass to conclude that the unpaid leaves of absence ceased to be reasonable as of June 30, 2022.
“It’s been my view for some time that mandate issues need to be properly litigated, and this case shows the startling results which can develop when a well-informed arbitrator or judge has good evidence to work from,” Ms. Anton wrote, noting that the union challenging Purolator brought in a top expert in the field of immunology.
‘Startling Observations’
Ms. Anton called the arbitrator’s thoughts about Dr. Henry’s public health orders relating to vaccine mandates “startling and important observations.”
In a Sept. 12, 2022 order, Dr. Henry said “an unvaccinated person is more likely to become infected than a vaccinated person and is more likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 than a vaccinated person”—language that still exists in the current order.
Mr. Glass concluded that her statement was “wholly inconsistent with the preponderance of material” he was presented with during his case.
Ms. Anton said the wording “wholly inconsistent” was particularly noteworthy in its potential to influence other cases. “B.C. government lawyers will be reading this conclusion very carefully,” she wrote.
“Now, arbitrations are not binding in the way court decisions can be, but they are influential,” she noted. “To me the logic in this decision is extremely persuasive and I expect it will have significant ramifications, particularly for the unvaccinated health-care workers in B.C. who were fired over two years ago now.”
Ms. Anton called the health workers “heroes of COVID” who “laboured mightily,” working long hours to save lives in B.C. hospitals. She said while some unvaccinated workers have retired, found work at private health facilities, or left B.C., “many remain at home with shattered lives and no income.”
Ms. Anton told The Epoch Times that the health-care workers have a lot of public support.
“Most people I talk to are really surprised that they’re still fired,” she said.
She called the province’s decision to keep the mandate in place “political,” noting that Health Minister Adrian Dix is “behind [Dr. Henry] all of the way.”
With the majority of the fired workers involved in the litigation against the province, Ms. Anton noted in her article that compensation could be costly for the province if the court takes note of Mr. Glass’ decision.
“They may yet get their relief,” she wrote. “The Purolator decision can only help.”
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which has supported the legal challenge to the public health order, has said the provincial mandate is being kept in effect to the detriment of the province.
“Understaffing in British Columbia’s health-care system is literally killing people, based on an ideological decision to punish doctors, nurses and other health-care workers more than two years after they legitimately exercised their Charter right to bodily autonomy,” JCCF President John Carpay said in a release. “Science and medicine ought to prevail over ideology.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the B.C. Ministry of Health and JCCF for additional comment but did not hear back by press time.