COVID-19
Ruling in favor of fired vaccine-free workers could end provincial jab mandates, former AG says
From LifeSiteNews
Arbitrator Nicholas Glass determined that the mandates in British Columbia were not valid and therefore the vaccine free must receive compensation.
A former attorney general for British Columbia said a recent case in which an arbitrator ruled in favor of union members who worked for courier giant Purolator but lost their jobs because they chose to not get the COVID shots could mean the end to healthcare worker jab mandates in the province.
According to Suzanne Anton, who was justice minister under British Columbia’s former Liberal government Premier Christy Clark from 2013 to 2017, the Purolator ruling is a potential “game changer.”
Arbitrator Nicholas Glass, as per a 196-page ruling made on December 14, stated that “the grievances complained that the grievors were improperly terminated or placed on involuntary unpaid leaves of absence.” He ruled the vaccine-free workers must receive compensation as the mandates were not “valid.”
As it stands, British Columbia under its NDP government is the only province in Canada forcing healthcare workers to have the COVID shots. According to Anton, the Purolator ruling could eventually help all the healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in the province who were fired because they chose not to get the shots.
Hundreds of British Columbia healthcare workers are suing the provincial health officer, Bonnie Henry, via a class action, for the province’s COVID shot mandates, which do not allow them to work.
According to the suit, Henry claimed that the “vaccination is safe, very effective, and the single most important preventive measure for health professionals […] to protect patients, residents and clients, and the health and personal care workforce, from […] COVID-19.”
However, the lawsuit points out the adverse side effects of taking the jab, including blood clots. It further cited a study that revealed that 5,770 out of 18,198 individuals (26.7%) who took the shot experienced an adverse reaction.
Anton, as she noted to The Epoch Times, said that Glass’ ruling 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.”
She said the ruling calls into question the “British Columbia Public Health Officer,” adding that the healthcare workers have public support, as people she talks to “are really surprised that they’re still fired.”
The union, which was challenging Purolator, had brought in a top expert in the field of immunology to help the workers’ case. On behalf of its grievors, it argued that the COVID jabs efficacy was diminished after the Omicron variant became prevalent in the early weeks of 2022 and the policy was not needed.
As per the ruling, Purolator has been ordered to give compensation to its hourly employees who did not get the COVID shots, which includes lost benefits and wages, between July 1, 2022, and May 1, 2023.
Purolator has also been ordered to give compensation to owner-operators beginning from the first date they lost income.
Purolator ruling will send ‘shock waves through the system,’ former AG says
Anton observed that the province’s healthcare worker COVID jab mandate is “political” and that the province’s Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, is “behind [Dr. Henry] all of the way.”
Henry, as early as yesterday, has still defended the healthcare COVID jab mandates as needed.
When writing in a guest column in Business in Vancouver (BIV), Anton observed that healthcare workers might soon “get their relief,” adding, that “The Purolator decision can only help.”
She also noted how the Purolator case will send “shock waves through the system,”
“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,” Anton noted.
On September 15, 2021, Purolator, like many Canadian companies around that time, mandated that its workers get the COVID shot to be allowed to its workplaces. Workers were given until December 25, 2021, to comply, with the full policy coming into force on January 10, 2022.
COVID vaccine mandates, which came from provincial governments with the support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government, split Canadian society. The mRNA shots themselves have been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children.
The jabs also have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies. As a result of this, many Catholics and other Christians refused to take them.
COVID-19
Freedom Convoy’s Tamara Lich shares heartfelt letter from children: ‘God will be by your side’
From LifeSiteNews
Ahead of the announcement of the verdict from her trial in Canada, the Freedom Convoy co-leader posted on X the ‘beautiful letter’ from a 4-year-old and 8-year-old.
With a few weeks until a verdict is released, Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich shared a heartwarming letter she received from a child, who told her to “keep fighting” for everyone and that “God will protect” her from the “enemy.”
Lich shared an image of the letter Thursday on X, writing, “Feels like a good day to share this beautiful letter I received from some very wise children.”
The letter, which was handwritten and sent to Lich by 4-year-old Zavier and 8-year-old Alanis, has the title “God loves You.”
“Thank you for fighting for everyones FREEDOM. God will be by your side and God will protect you from the enemy,” the letter reads.
“With God everything is possible. Stay strong we are praying for you every step of the journey.”
Lich was arrested on February 17, 2022, in Ottawa. Co-leader Chris Barber was arrested the same day.
Lich and Barber’s trial concluded in September 2024, more than a year after it began. It was originally scheduled to last 16 days.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich and Barber’s verdict will be announced on March 12.
They both face a possible 10-year prison sentence. LifeSiteNews reported extensively on their trial.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich recently spelled out how much the Canadian government has spent prosecuting her and Barber for their role in the protests. She said at least $5 million in “taxpayer dollars” has been spent thus far, with her and Barber’s legal costs being above $750,000.
In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government enacted the never-before-used Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022.
During the clear-out of protesters after the EA was put in place, one protester, an elderly lady, was trampled by a police horse and one conservative female reporter was beaten by police and shot with a tear gas canister.
Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23.
The EA controversially allowed the government to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.
From LifeSiteNews
Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland ruled that Pat King must serve three months of house arrest and dedicate 100 hours to community service for his participation in the 2022 Freedom Convoy
Freedom Convoy participant Pat King has been given a 3-month conditional sentence for his role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest against COVID mandates.
On February 19, Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland ruled that King must serve three additional months of house arrest and dedicate 100 hours to community service for his role in the Freedom Convoy. King’s sentence would have been 12 months, but the court gave him credit for time served prior to his trial.
“In the court’s opinion, there is a social harm to unduly elevating the sentencing rules of denunciation and deterrence in the context of political protests to result in punitive sentences at the top of the sentencing range,” Hackland wrote, explaining why he did not opt to sentence King to a whopping 10-year prison sentence, as the Crown prosecutors had advocated for.
“The risk is that an overly severe sentence of imprisonment in the context of legitimate, constitutionally protected activity can have the effect of creating a chill or fear of participation in political expression,” he continued.
In November, King was found guilty of two counts of disobeying a court order, one count of mischief, one count of counselling others to commit mischief, as well as one count of counselling others to obstruct police.
King’s charges are in relation to his role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy which featured thousands of Canadians camping out in downtown Ottawa to call for an end to the COVID regulations and vaccine mandates in place at the time.
Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government enacted the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, to put an end to the popular convoy. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23, but only after using the powers granted by the legislation to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in the assembly.
The two main Freedom Convoy leaders, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, are still awaiting their verdicts for their involvement in the 2022 protests. Like King, if convicted, they face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
While some of the most notable people involved in the protest, like Lich and Barber, face a slew of charges that come with potentially harsh sentences, other protesters charged for participating have seen their charges dropped.
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