Wanh Porter, a pediatric occupational therapist at the North York General Hospital (NYGH) is suing the hospital for wrongful dismissal and discrimination after being fired for her vaccination status. .Arriving in Canada as a young girl, Porter said she and her family "fled the tyranny of Communism in Laos." .Porter, who has worked at NYGH for more than 14 years, said the hospital began pressuring staff to get the COVID-19 vaccines in the spring of 2021. .At first, she was only required to complete an education module about the vaccines, but due to her religious beliefs, declined to have the injections. .In August, Porter and other unvaccinated staff were required to undergo COVID-19 testing every three days. Then in September, she was advised the hospital was making the vaccine mandatory for all staff and unless she was granted an exemption, she would be put on leave and then fired. .Porter noted the hospital said it would grant human rights exemptions to staff who could not receive the COVID-19 vaccines. .Porter said she hoped the hospital would adhere to its legal obligations pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code and filed an accommodation request on the basis of the protected ground of religious beliefs..Her request for accommodation was prepared by Calgary lawyer James Kitchen, chief litigator with Liberty Coalition Canada (LCC), who advised the hospital of the "unlawful nature of its conduct" and urged it to "not unlawfully discriminate against Mrs. Porter." .LCC, through its Liberty Defense Fund, is an organization dedicated to "supporting Canadians who are facing unjust and illegal discrimination for exercising their lawful freedoms," said the LCC website. ."The decision to receive a vaccine, particularly the potentially dangerous and experimental COVID vaccines, is a deeply personal health decision and, for Ms. Porter, a matter of sincere religious conviction," said Kitchen in the legal letter to the hospital. ."Ms. Porter is reasonable. She is willing to work collaboratively with North York on terms of accommodation that will be mutually agreeable and satisfy any of North York’s legitimate concerns."."Ms. Porter values her employment with North York and recognizes the difficult position employers currently find themselves in due to the politically unpredictable nature of COVID and government responses to it.".In her request, Porter included a highly detailed account of her sincere beliefs and included several referenced studies. .She said the hospital's human resources personnel asked her a series of "irrelevant and disingenuous questions" and told her unless she provided satisfactory answers and a letter from her faith leader, her request would not be considered. .Six weeks later, Porter was told her request was denied and informed she would be placed on leave without pay within a week and fired in a month. Porter said she was provided no reason for the denial. .Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Porter, her position had been advertised by the hospital 17 days before she was told her request for accommodation was denied. She said she was not only devastated to lose a job she loved, but to also be "treated with such discrimination and contempt" by an employer she has served for nearly all of her two-decade career. .Porter has filed a court claim alleging she was wrongfully dismissed and unlawfully discriminated against by NYGH and is seeking damages, including punitive damages. LCC is covering Porter's legal fees for the court challenge and is encouraging supporters to donate towards the case.
