In the wake of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announcing the replacement of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), with Dr. Mark Joffe, Airdrie constitutional lawyer Derek From joins In Focus with Melanie Risdon to discuss his lawsuit against Alberta Health Services (AHS) launched one year ago. .From, along with two frontline workers who sued AHS over its mandatory vaccination policy, discusses the firing of Hinshaw, Smith's position on protecting the unvaccinated from discrimination in the province, and the lawsuit originally launched against AHS this time last year..Brian Follett, a firefighter with the Lethbridge Fire Department (LFD), said despite being home recovering from a workplace injury at the time AHS brought in the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Follett was still expected to get vaccinated or face being put on unpaid leave. .Matt Chalupnicek, also a member of the LFD, is currently on paternity leave with a return date set for January. Chalupnicek was nearly placed on leave without pay for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine and had to fight to be placed on paternity leave to care for his newborn child. The frontline worker said he is debating returning to a position where he felt ostracized and discriminated against. .Kate King, not present for the interview, was another client involved in the lawsuit against AHS. King — a primary care paramedic serving a region east of Edmonton for the last 10 years — had a religious exemption from other vaccines. That exemption was dismissed with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines and King was expected to take the jab or also face being put on leave without pay. .“My religious exemption has been recognized the entire time, but when the COVID-19 vaccines came around I was told they would not be recognizing my exemption for this and I was put on leave without pay,” King told the Western Standard in a December interview..King, along with other frontline workers, organized the Alberta Boot Project in December and set up a display at the legislature in Edmonton featuring more than 700 healthcare workers' boots and shows along with a sign explaining the owner's position and length of service with AHS. .READ MORE: Suspended AHS workers show ‘human cost’ of vax-mandate at Alberta Legislature.“We want people to be aware of the human cost these (COVID-19) vaccine mandates have taken,” said King at the time..King ended up taking the Alberta Boot Project on tour throughout the province with stops in Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Peace River. .READ MORE: Alberta Boot Project draws attention at Calgary’s Peace Bridge.From said King has now resigned from her position as a paramedic and recently moved out of province. .The three, with the help of From, launched a lawsuit against AHS this time last year.
