Toronto Hospital Did Not Have Grounds to Terminate Employees Who Refused Covid Vaccine Arbitrator Rules
Stacy Hughes and Marisol Sanchez, former employees of Humber River Hospital, have been vindicated after losing their jobs over their refusal to be vaccinated for Covid-19. Arbitrator Jasbir Parmar has ruled that the hospital has failed in their efforts to prove the termination of employees to be justified.
While the ruling indicates that a vaccine policy is ‘reasonable’ in the face of a pandemic, it also acknowledged the right of the employee to choose what medical treatments they accept. When the right to choose conflicts with an employer’s directive, the employee’s choice “cannot fairly be characterized as an act of insubordination.” And, while she points out that the employer could take steps that include termination, she also clarified that, “such action could not be disciplinary in nature.”
Parmar goes on to say, “this Issue of an employer’s options in the face of an employee’s refusal…is not new” adding, ”an employer cannot respond with discipline to an employee’s exercise of her right not to consent to medical treatment and/or the disclosure of private medical information.”
In conclusion, her finding confirmed that both employees were wrongfully terminated.
Like many employers, Humber River Hospital established a vaccine policy that exceeded the provincial mandate (allowing unvaccinated employees to undergo regular Covid-19 testing). Then, when the federal government declared their intention to place staff on unpaid leave as a disciplinary measure for noncompliance, other employers felt empowered, believing they were protected as they followed (or surpassed) the lead of the government.
While we celebrate all rulings that reinforce our Charter rights, we have yet to see a thorough judicial review of the ‘science’ behind the government policies used as a template by these businesses. What we continue to see instead is a willingness to believe everything from the government, and nothing from the plethora of robust evidence to the contrary.
What leverage does our government have over these judiciaries that is stopping them from holding the government accountable for these violations of our Charter rights?
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