Standing Together Against Employee Coercion
Open Letter to Alberta Public Service Commission
Deputy Minister of Executive Council
October 12th, 2021
Dear Ray Gilmour,
This open letter is in response to your announcement of mandatory full vaccination for all Government of Alberta Public Service employees by November 30, 2021. We represent a wide range of vaccinated and unvaccinated Alberta public servants and their families from multiple disciplines, who are deeply concerned about the new involuntary, contradictory and controversial mandatory vaccine policy.
Whether or not our deep personal concerns are rooted in our individual legal, ethical, moral or spiritual beliefs, we are unanimous in our view that the Government of Alberta Public Service and Alberta Health Services vaccine mandate policy – is the wrong and inappropriate alternative to overcoming COVID19.
We believe that:
There are many sources confirming that this new policy is contrary to existing Government of Alberta (GoA) legislation, direction, expectation and education regarding the protection of an employee’s rights plus privacy as well as the strict adherence to diversity and inclusion. All Alberta Public Servants complete online training regarding respect in the workplace, yet such harassment and discrimination is now being displayed towards the unvaccinated. GoA employees who are exercising their freedom of choice to administer alternative strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID19 are being isolated, ostracized and penalized.
The CPSA Standards of Practice are the “minimum standards of behaviour and conduct” for physicians and physicians assistants in Alberta. The Standards of Practice state that “A care provider must OBTAIN CONSENT and ensure that the patient is fully informed and understands any medical examination., procedure or treatment before it takes place.”
Both Dr. Hinshaw and Dr. Yiu have violated this requirement in promulgating CMOH Orders or AHS Directives that vitiate consent by coercing citizens, AHS Health Care Workers and Public employees through coercive mandates to be injected against their will on pain of loss of livelihood or loss of basic rights to participate in social gatherings in public businesses or elsewhere in Alberta.
The forced injection of anyone without their consent is a gross violation of the most basic medical ethics. The GoA has no right or ability to impose medical procedures that do not meet the most BASIC STANDARDS OF CARE upon public employees.
The new GoA Vaccination Policy clearly states: “…employee’s personal information will be treated confidentially, in the same manner as all other confidential employee details, always in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Health Information Act where applicable”. Yet in the same policy, employees are required (non-voluntarily) to disclose their vaccination status by a deadline that will be used to determine future “disciplinary action”.
The GoA Private Information Policy clearly states: “While employers have the responsibility to monitor and manage workplace absences and comply with direction from the CMOH, the authority to collect and disclose personal medical information and lead procedures specific to the pandemic lies with AHS. For this reason, Managers must be careful what employee information they gather and distribute.” “… Information collected or received should only be necessary for tracking absences and in a manner that limits the number of people working with the information. This also applies in circumstances where an employee voluntarily discloses personal medical information or AHS contacts a Manager for a positive COVID-19 case in the workplace.” Yet in the new vaccination policy this private medical and religious information about an employee will be collected, accumulated, and widely communicated for possible enforcement of non-compliance to this involuntary directive.”.
The GoA Diversity and Inclusion Policy clearly states: “The Alberta Public Service is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace and creating a positive workplace culture where our differences are celebrated, and all employees feel free to be their authentic selves. We are committed to removing barriers in the workplace for underrepresented employees to ensure we are reflective of the diverse Albertans we serve.”. Yet not all public servants’ differences are being treated equally because of the new involuntary vaccine mandate directive.
The GoA Diversity and Inclusion Policy clearly states: “Inclusion refers to active, intentional and ongoing actions to create a community and society where individuals feel like they belong and that their unique perspectives, backgrounds, skills and beliefs are respected, welcomed and valued.”. Yet many public servants’ perspectives and beliefs are being discarded as irrelevant because of the new involuntary vaccine mandate directive.
The new GoA Vaccination Policy clearly states: “Alberta Public Service employees will need to get tested in the private sector, such as at a pharmacy – not through Alberta Health Services public COVID19 testing system – and cover any associated costs. Alternatively, you can get vaccinated for free.” The policy makes no accommodation for employees working from home. Consequently, some public servants are not being treated fairly and are being financially penalized by having to pay out of pocket for any alternative to the vaccine and potentially losing their income if forced to take a leave of absence because of the new involuntary vaccine mandate. This policy affects Alberta families not merely GoA employees because of a loss of pay with no end date.
The GoA vaccine mandate policy ignores existing natural immunity. The policy does not recognize the enhanced immunity possessed by individuals who have already had a COVID19 infection. Nor does the policy recognize numerous home-based health prevention treatments that are as (scientifically validated) effective as vaccines. In such circumstances, imposing a vaccination requirement on those who have already been exposed to, and recovered from COVID19, or are adhering to a prevention regime – adds nothing to an individual’s GoA workplace safety. The policy creates a false sense of security. Those vaccinated are being led to incorrectly believe they are immune and as a consequence are contracting COVID19 on a daily basis and spreading it to others. It has been scientifically verified that the vaccinated and the unvaccinated can both spread COVID19 in equal measure, as members of both groups carrying the same high viral loads when infected, according to data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). A recent report from Director of the CDC confirmed this hypothesis in October 2021.
It is our view that the GoA vaccine mandate policy is a violation of the Canadian Charter, Criminal Code and Human Rights. Through this policy, you are coercing and compelling your employees to consent under duress, on threat of adverse employment action, to make the inherently personal choice of what medical treatments to take. Leadership has no authority to order an unlawful act.
The alternatives to the vaccine, such as regular testing, are cost prohibitive and also privacy intrusive. Many GoA public servants have legitimate medical and religious exemptions that are personal and should not have to be exposed. Canadian law has long recognized individuals’ rights to personal autonomy and bodily integrity, which in our view this policy directly violates.
New court challenges have yet to be heard with respect to the GoA’s alignment with the Canadian Constitution, Human Rights Act, Privacy Act nor Health Act and International Law. A number of Demand Letters have sent to the Government of Canada and other jurisdictions.
The policy appears designed to implement a government objective that all employees be vaccinated against COVID19 or else. In that case, the policy violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ protection for individuals’ life, liberty and security of the person, protected under section 7. Chief justice Brian Dickson stated clearly in R. v. Morgentaler that “security of the person includes the right to protect one’s body from interference by others.”
Section 15 of the Charter prohibits discrimination. The vaccine policy of the GoA is clearly intended to discriminate against those employees of the GoA who hold deeply held beliefs that being injected against one’s will offends their religious, moral and ethical beliefs as well as discriminating against those employees who believe that the vaccines are unsafe from the standpoint of potentially causing “physical disability”.
The policy clearly infringes the rights of individuals who have a religious or conscientious belief or medical condition that prevents them from taking the COVID19 vaccines. We believe that the necessity to defend ourselves through an employee exemption based on medical or religious grounds, is of itself a personal privacy violation.
It is our view that the GoA vaccine mandate policy is contrary to rules of Natural Justice and fairness. Besides the documented medical risks associated to vaccines themselves. The policy clearly indicated “discipline” will be imposed for non-compliance absent of any judicial process. The issue whether or not the mandated employee vaccine compliance is legal – is still outstanding.
The GoA COVID19 vaccine mandate and the alternatives for non-compliance are not consensual for employees of the GoA. You are on record for saying “no one will be fired”. However, failing to comply with the non-negotiable terms and conditions of the GoA vaccine mandate for employees will lead to a mandatory leave without pay and thus a personal and family hardship.
It is our view that the GoA vaccine mandate policy is particularly egregious in regard to forcing vaccination on employees which are still appropriately considered experimental, not having gone through long-term trials or being fully approved in Canada. There are many reports of adverse reactions reported daily, including death, which have occurred from individuals receiving COVID vaccines. Health Canada specifically has warning labels for the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines which include: myocarditis, pericarditis, Bells Palsy and thrombosis. Informed Consent under the CPSA Standards of Care requires that a patient be allowed to make up their own minds as to whether their own personal risk from acquiring COVID 19 is greater or lesser than the risk THEY are willing to take from any acknowledged side effects. This is especially so in the context of injections that are given where the manufacturers and the Government agencies dispensing the injections are completely shielded from liability.
The following is a more comprehensive list of side effects sourced from https://sharylattkisson.com/
COVID19 ‘vaccines’ are not vaccines in the classical sense. These are ‘gene therapy’ drugs, never before injected into humans. They fail to provide robust disease prevention, cannot prevent disease transmission and can spawn ‘new variants’ which are now spreading through the global population. These drugs are still in the experimental phase and will not be validated until 2023. Everyone who submits to these vaccines or is forced to take them – is part of an ongoing drug experiment.
In our view, rationale to impose vaccines without consent as a primary prevention strategy is flawed. Whether or not it is openly reported by the GoA, the media or suppressed – there is clear scientific evidence from reputable professionals who have examined vaccines, medicines, treatments and protocols, from a critical thinking perspective, for the better protection of individuals against the COVID19 virus. Antiviral medicines are on the rise. Current available medications which are being withheld, are proven effective. Mandating vaccines is not the only viable prevention and treatment strategy against COVID19.
Can you confirm as the employer, that the GoA will accept responsibility for this imposed action upon your employees…
There are many more reasons why we stand against mandatory vaccination and highlight some of them below. Our concerns are not isolated nor unique. Your policy has created a larger division amongst the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated and support for those now being oppressed is growing. Whether or not employees get vaccinated or remain unvaccinated, it is the systemic policy of coercion that is the most offensive.
Our views are acknowledged and are supported by our own health care colleagues, which you can see for yourself in a companion open letter to the Alberta Health Services by over 4000 of our own Government of Alberta Health Care Professionals. They include peer reviewed publications and statements by established organizations: www.healthprofessionalsunited.ca
The following are only a few highlights from their first hand and scientific medical perspective:
Based on a similar barrage of open letters, legal actions, and formal complaints to governments around the world, in addition to our perspective and those of others not listed in this letter, plus our collective evaluation of the current literature – we decisively conclude that there is rationale justification and collective strong opposition to any mandatory vaccination policy.
The consequences of implementing such a vaccine mandate in the AHS alone (non inclusive of the impact on resources for the entire APS) will prevent many dedicated health care workers and other AHS staff from performing the jobs they have done valiantly over the past years. This will put our currently severely strained health care system under further undue and needless pressure and put more Albertans at risk due to our inability to provide care for our patients.
We respectfully request that the vaccine mandate be rescinded immediately. We legally oppose the administration and enforcement of such unlawful employer-to-employee actions. This distraction is unwelcome. As your Alberta Public Servants, we hope to be able to resume to our duties without fear of isolation, retaliation, privacy infringement, financial hardship and discipline for exercising our personal and fundamental freedom of choice.