In Public Health Sudbury & Districts v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, 2022 CanLii 48440 (ON LA), Arbitrator Robert J. Herman decided that the grievor was discriminated against on the basis of creed under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) when her employer denied her request for an exemption from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy), and that she was entitled to an exemption.
Background
The grievor was employed as a public health nurse. The Policy evolved with the pandemic and ultimately required all staff to be fully vaccinated, subject to exemptions on medical grounds or based on a protected ground under the Code. Unvaccinated employees would be placed on a leave of absence and their employment could be terminated if they did not become fully vaccinated.
The employee advised that she could not receive the vaccine because she is a believing, practicing, and observant Roman Catholic and a member of the Latin mass community, a more traditional and orthodox subset of the Catholic Church. She argued that her belief in a creed prevents her from getting vaccinated because to do so would in her mind be contrary to her conscience and would be tantamount to condoning abortion given the use of fetal cell lines in research for COVID-19 vaccines.
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