A former CBC employee who lost his job for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine said forced vaccination reflects poorly on his former employer and some of his former colleagues became vaccine injured..Jean-Philippe Chabot testified on Day 2 of hearings at the National Citizens Inquiry on COVID-19 in Ottawa. The analyst and father of four said he worked for mainstream media for 10 years, but only started with the CBC in 2018. He worked in Radio-Canada's TOU.TV, the French equivalent of CBC Gem..“I really enjoyed working there. I would describe it as extremely positive experience. I mean, professionally, it was an ideal place for someone in my field, because there were many issues to tackle and a lot of freedom to use our creativity, our problem solving, which is incredibly positive,” he said..“I met a substantial amount of people that I really enjoyed working with and being around. And yeah, it's basically where I wanted to be for the rest of my career. I just loved it there.”.Chabot returned from a parental leave during the pandemic and worked from home..“There was no case that required me to go on the premises. And it was the same for almost everyone,” Chabot recalled..“June or July [2021], the CBC felt compelled to at one point state its position on mandatory vaccination on the internal employee website. So they posted a statement that basically said the vaccination was a personal choice, and they couldn't impose it unless a law was requiring it.”.Everything changed after the federal government began to push mandatory vaccination. On October 1, Chabot and other employees received a form saying they needed to disclose their vaccination status. He believed it was illegal for his employer to ask and so he submitted the form back saying, “I prefer not to disclose.”.The CBC acknowledged his response, but said he still had to declare he was vaccinated. .“I don't understand why that would apply to people working remotely. I mean, it's not even logical. So it looks like they put aside even most basic logic in favour of this all vaccine ideology.”.The professional association he was in said vaccine status disclosure has to be voluntary and that no reprisals can be brought upon an employee who refused is the CRHA. The human resources directors at Radio-Canada in Montreal, who he interacted with on this issue, are members of this order..“Right from the start, the CBC told us that very few [exemptions] would be granted,” Chabot said, which discouraged him from applying..“I spoke to many people who applied for one and every single one was rejected, like even those who seemed bulletproof, basically, like, were assigned by their bishop, and they were all turned down. So that was kind of disappointing.”.Chabot said he tried to appeal to HR at the CBC and with his union over the legality and constitutionality of the order. Both sources pointed to the federal government worker mandate, but Chabot didn’t think the CBC was actually included..“It didn't apply to us. It was limited to the central administration and RCMP. And there was no mention of Crown corporations in there,” Chabot said..“I just asked them very simply [at CBC] which directive is that? Can you tell me where it says … that applies to our corporations? And they basically shut the door to any further discussion when I mentioned that.”.A small cohort of coworkers in Chabot’s situation tried to support each other, but their mutual efforts were stonewalled..“One person in the group wrote the ethics commissioner at the CBC, and basically showed her the mandatory vaccination policy violated many, many points in the CBC's own code of conduct..“And I don't remember a reply exactly, but she just basically stated it was out of her purview…So she didn't seem to want to get involved with us at all.”.Chabot said a disciplinary measure of putting people on leave without pay was not in the collective bargaining agreement. However, his union refused repeatedly to file a grievance on his behalf..“There's a clause in the collective agreement that says something like, for every point that's not stated explicitly in the collective agreement, well, the employer can pretty much get to do whatever it wants.”.On Dec. 1, 2021, Chabot found his login privileges and email access had been revoked, which was “a shock.” He was ineligible for employment insurance, but used up his vacation time and found other work..“I don't know how many people the CBC coerced into getting these vaccines. I know some people didn't want them, and some people had to betray their own conscience and comply to the CBC policy,” he said..“I know that some of them have been harmed physically by the vaccine. And I wish I could have reached out to them for mutual support and to tell them that they're not alone.”.Months later, the CBC asked him to return. He refused, wary that he could be mistreated again. Others were given a few weeks’ notice to return, and if they were unwilling or unable to comply, they were formally let go..“The main reason I wanted to testify was because I want people to be able to have an informed opinion on the CBC and what it stands for. It's an important institution … and I think you can learn a lot about an organization by the way it treats its employees,” he said..“There was no justification to treat us this way, to prevent us from keeping working from home… If the CBC can’t be trusted to be ethical in the way it treats its employees, people should ask themselves if it can be trusted to be ethical in its other activities, including news reporting.”
A former CBC employee who lost his job for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine said forced vaccination reflects poorly on his former employer and some of his former colleagues became vaccine injured..Jean-Philippe Chabot testified on Day 2 of hearings at the National Citizens Inquiry on COVID-19 in Ottawa. The analyst and father of four said he worked for mainstream media for 10 years, but only started with the CBC in 2018. He worked in Radio-Canada's TOU.TV, the French equivalent of CBC Gem..“I really enjoyed working there. I would describe it as extremely positive experience. I mean, professionally, it was an ideal place for someone in my field, because there were many issues to tackle and a lot of freedom to use our creativity, our problem solving, which is incredibly positive,” he said..“I met a substantial amount of people that I really enjoyed working with and being around. And yeah, it's basically where I wanted to be for the rest of my career. I just loved it there.”.Chabot returned from a parental leave during the pandemic and worked from home..“There was no case that required me to go on the premises. And it was the same for almost everyone,” Chabot recalled..“June or July [2021], the CBC felt compelled to at one point state its position on mandatory vaccination on the internal employee website. So they posted a statement that basically said the vaccination was a personal choice, and they couldn't impose it unless a law was requiring it.”.Everything changed after the federal government began to push mandatory vaccination. On October 1, Chabot and other employees received a form saying they needed to disclose their vaccination status. He believed it was illegal for his employer to ask and so he submitted the form back saying, “I prefer not to disclose.”.The CBC acknowledged his response, but said he still had to declare he was vaccinated. .“I don't understand why that would apply to people working remotely. I mean, it's not even logical. So it looks like they put aside even most basic logic in favour of this all vaccine ideology.”.The professional association he was in said vaccine status disclosure has to be voluntary and that no reprisals can be brought upon an employee who refused is the CRHA. The human resources directors at Radio-Canada in Montreal, who he interacted with on this issue, are members of this order..“Right from the start, the CBC told us that very few [exemptions] would be granted,” Chabot said, which discouraged him from applying..“I spoke to many people who applied for one and every single one was rejected, like even those who seemed bulletproof, basically, like, were assigned by their bishop, and they were all turned down. So that was kind of disappointing.”.Chabot said he tried to appeal to HR at the CBC and with his union over the legality and constitutionality of the order. Both sources pointed to the federal government worker mandate, but Chabot didn’t think the CBC was actually included..“It didn't apply to us. It was limited to the central administration and RCMP. And there was no mention of Crown corporations in there,” Chabot said..“I just asked them very simply [at CBC] which directive is that? Can you tell me where it says … that applies to our corporations? And they basically shut the door to any further discussion when I mentioned that.”.A small cohort of coworkers in Chabot’s situation tried to support each other, but their mutual efforts were stonewalled..“One person in the group wrote the ethics commissioner at the CBC, and basically showed her the mandatory vaccination policy violated many, many points in the CBC's own code of conduct..“And I don't remember a reply exactly, but she just basically stated it was out of her purview…So she didn't seem to want to get involved with us at all.”.Chabot said a disciplinary measure of putting people on leave without pay was not in the collective bargaining agreement. However, his union refused repeatedly to file a grievance on his behalf..“There's a clause in the collective agreement that says something like, for every point that's not stated explicitly in the collective agreement, well, the employer can pretty much get to do whatever it wants.”.On Dec. 1, 2021, Chabot found his login privileges and email access had been revoked, which was “a shock.” He was ineligible for employment insurance, but used up his vacation time and found other work..“I don't know how many people the CBC coerced into getting these vaccines. I know some people didn't want them, and some people had to betray their own conscience and comply to the CBC policy,” he said..“I know that some of them have been harmed physically by the vaccine. And I wish I could have reached out to them for mutual support and to tell them that they're not alone.”.Months later, the CBC asked him to return. He refused, wary that he could be mistreated again. Others were given a few weeks’ notice to return, and if they were unwilling or unable to comply, they were formally let go..“The main reason I wanted to testify was because I want people to be able to have an informed opinion on the CBC and what it stands for. It's an important institution … and I think you can learn a lot about an organization by the way it treats its employees,” he said..“There was no justification to treat us this way, to prevent us from keeping working from home… If the CBC can’t be trusted to be ethical in the way it treats its employees, people should ask themselves if it can be trusted to be ethical in its other activities, including news reporting.”
