Legal: BC Health Care Worker Lawsuit vs. Dr. Bonnie Henry
COVID-19: Court rejects bid by B.C. government to throw out case against vaccination orders
Dr. Henry’s statement during a provincial COVID-19 update.
Introduction
⚖️📜 Over 2 years ago, I predicted Dr. Bonnie Henry would become the most sued bureaucrat, (certainly Provincial Health Officer) in B.C. history. I suspect she thought she would be protected. She always has been before. Polio in Pakistan. Ebola in Uganda. SARS in Toronto.
Weaponizing Public Health: Controlling the Masses
As I observed her beginning to wield her powers to make life-changing public health orders under the Public Health Act of B.C., in the name of the Novel Coronavirus (later to be renamed SARS-CoV-2, the virus, and COVID-19, the illness), I couldn’t help but wonder why she did not understand the inevitable consequences that would flow from arbitrarily shutting down businesses and other organizations; peoples’ work, jobs and careers; and disrupting peoples’ incomes, families, school, and lives in monumental ways.
It was surreal to observe the casual and callous decisions, and the predictable deleterious fall out and impacts on peoples’ lives because of the orders she was responsible for making.
But then, as I processed the orders she was making, which clearly represented the weaponization of public health against 5+ million people, I came to realize people like Dr. Henry, and her fellow government collaborators, have lived their lives in some sort of protective bubble — separate from the real world. Elites are whisked away to safety when the fire in the kitchen gets too hot. They are largely protected from dealing with the logical consequences the harms and damage their actions and behaviour cause others.
Having worked in the B.C. government and three B.C. health authorities, I have seen some “stuff.” I think the attitude and culture of thinking you will get away with even the most egregious misconduct, with absolutely no consequences, is deeply entrenched in B.C.’s upper echelons of corporate governance and executive leadership within the public sector and government.
I suspected Dr. Henry was going to be in for a rude and unpleasant surprise about how her actions would catch up with her.
The Hegelian Dialectic: Problem Reaction Solution
I am no stranger to involvement in litigation — professionally and personally. I have a deeper understanding of the law than most people. In my professional practice, I have received extensive training, and gained experience working under various laws, going to court, filing reports and legal paperwork in different types of legal cases. I understand how and why litigation becomes the logical solution and reaction to the problems created, and/or caused by others.
In the real world, when you are responsible for causing damage to people (and businesses, or other organizations), then litigation is often the logical consequence. It was a “no-brainer” to me that Henry was going to be the lightning rod for the many legal cases, and potential class action lawsuits, that were likely be unfolding for years to come. After all, she is the one who made the majority of orders that would cause the damages — to individuals, to businesses, and other stakeholders. I strongly suspect she did not realize this was how things would go for her.
There is so much evidence that demonstrates she, as PHO, and the B.C. government knew that the public health measures she ordered were not supported by adequate, sufficient, or any scientific evidence. Or they had never been wielded at a population-level like this before. When had lockdowns ever been used to “quarantine” healthy citizens of a whole province, or country for a respiratory illness? When were businesses and whole industries shut down before?
For over two years, Dr. Henry has acted like she was handed a blank check. And she ran with it. Big mistake. Now she is finding this out.
The Judge’s Decision
"A judge has dismissed a bid by Dr. Bonnie Henry to have a legal challenge to several of her COVID-19 health orders thrown out of court.
The petition filed by an advocacy group argues the provincial health officer’s orders requiring vaccinations for health care workers are unconstitutional and should be set aside.
The Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy also alleges the orders fail to provide reasonable exemptions and accommodations for people with religious objections, vaccination risks, immunity from prior injection and recent negative COVID testing.
The legal test for whether to grant public-interest standing involves examining whether there is at least one serious issue involved in the case and whether the petitioner is affected by the legal action or has a genuine interest in the outcome. The test also looks at whether the legal action is a reasonable and effective means to bring a claim to court.
In his ruling on the dismissal application, Justice Simon Coval said the orders directly affected members of a defined and identifiable group in a serious way that, at least on the surface, affects their Charter rights.
On the issue of whether the suit is a reasonable and effective means of bringing the matter before the court, the judge found in favour of the society as well.
He said the petition brings forward “important and complex” health-care issues in the reconsideration request.”
Sources:
Fraser, K. (2022). COVID-19: Court rejects bid by B.C. government to throw out case against vaccination orders: A B.C. judge has rejected a bid by Dr. Bonnie Henry to have a legal challenge to several of her COVID-19 health orders thrown out of court. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved on May 5, 2022 from: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/court-rejects-bid-by-bc-to-throw-out-covid-legal-challenge.
Background to the case from the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy (CSASPP)
“Our petition challenges three sets of Dr. Henry’s Public Health Orders that mandated injections for health care workers. Our basis was that the orders were unreasonable and unconstitutional.”
Link: https://www.covidconstitutionalchallengebc.ca/status-updates
Legal Decision: Reasons for Judgment Granting Standing to CSASPP in Health Care Workers' Petition
Copyright © 2022. Tracey Young/Canadian Advocacy Centre for Health, Safety and Justice. All Rights Reserved.