“No Canadian government has ever sought to publish the confidential personal health information of a group of people, with respect to communicable diseases…”
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The continuation of the COVID public health orders cannot be defended on the grounds that a health emergency continues to exist given the relaxation of mandates and a return to normalcy, insists respected Vancouver attorney Peter Gall.
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In the last month, he filed three petitions on behalf of health professionals in the British Columbia Supreme Court and before the Privacy Commissioner demanding that the province and the public health officer justify ongoing orders that trample on the rights of people. nurses and doctors.
“We have repeatedly asked the public health office to discuss with our clients any contrary scientific or other evidence they may have to justify the continuation of the vaccination mandate or the public disclosure of private medical information of health professionals. health, but so far, the government has refused to do so,” Gall said.
It added that the orders were based on “an immediate and significant public health risk in a region or province” that no longer exists “given the reduced severity of the virus and changing government responses.”
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“I know the government doesn’t want to go into exceptions, but they have a forensic psychiatrist who did all of his work virtually,” Gall said. “What risk was he posing?”
On June 20, the federal government waived COVID-19 vaccination requirements for federal public servants and transportation workers.
“Simply put, SARS-CoV-2 can no longer be said to pose an immediate or significant threat to public health in a region or province, and as such, it cannot currently be said to be an emergency as required by the Public Health Law”, said the lawyer who also acted for private clinics in the Medicare constitutional trial.
In his opinion, it is unreasonable to continue vaccination mandates against doctors, nurses and health workers in hospitals and community centers where many were, as a result of the orders, fired or terminated.
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“That’s because we now know that being vaccinated does not prevent or limit the risk of contracting COVID or transmitting the virus,” Gall said.
“Furthermore, there is absolutely no evidence that healthcare professionals spread COVID to patients, which is not surprising given the stringent precautions these healthcare professionals take to prevent COVID transmission.”
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Order in effect requiring BC healthcare professionals to disclose COVID-19 vaccination status
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The requests essentially challenge the authority and even the need to uphold measures so draconian that they are justifiable by dealing only with serious health risks.
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“Our customers do not take these steps lightly as they fully support the need for our public health officials to be proactive and vigilant in protecting the health of the residents of this province,” Gall said.
“However, they believe it is necessary at this time to bring this legal scrutiny to the strict measures that are not warranted at this stage of the virus, and that have had a seriously detrimental effect on the lives and livelihoods of doctors and nurses who have legitimate personal reasons for choosing not to be vaccinated.”
Gall filed petitions in the BC Supreme Court on behalf of five health professionals: York Hsian, David William Morgan and Hilary Vandergugten, and Peternella Hoogerbrug, who further argued that the orders violate constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.
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“To justify such an extreme measure, which forces health professionals to undergo medical treatment against their will or be denied the ability to practice their chosen professions in designated hospitals and community settings, there must be a clear and demonstrated connection between the order and the transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus, ”said the petition to lift the decree of November 18. “But in this case, there is none.”
As a practicing nurse, Hoogerbrug professes longstanding and sincere beliefs as a member of the Reformed Congregation in North America, which, along with its predecessor denominations, has opposed vaccinations for more than 200 years.
The complaint to the privacy commissioner concerned the March 7 order authorizing public disclosure of vaccination status and “highly sensitive personal health information” by medical regulatory boards and the government.
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“In fact, to the best of the whistleblowers’ knowledge, no Canadian government has ever attempted to publish the sensitive personal health information of a group of people, regarding communicable diseases, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Such a profound violation of privacy is simply not allowed in our society,” that petition stated.
Gall said current evidence indicates that COVID no longer poses a “significant, sinister and nebulous threat to public health,” and that extreme measures are no longer warranted.
Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry told a news conference in January that “we have to change our thinking,” noting that the government has begun to adopt measures similar to “how we manage other respiratory illnesses” such as the common cold. and the flu.
A government spokesman said Henry was “absent, so we have not been able to communicate with her regarding this request…there is nothing we can provide at this time, and there is not likely to be any comment on it.”
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