OCLA

Evelyn Egboye, a remote-working employee in Bank of Canada’s IT department has been placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive injections of a COVID-19 vaccine product. The Bank created its vaccination policy following the Canadian government’s mandate requiring vaccination for travellers and employees in federally-regulated industries.

Ms. Egboye’s accommodation request letter of Oct. 28, 2021, expressed her religious reasons for declining vaccination. Her request was also supported by a letter from her Pastor, which stated:

“In view of national and provincial regulations mandating vaccination passports, thereby limiting or denying access to goods, services, businesses, public venues, universities and colleges, as well as employment opportunities for unvaccinated persons, and in view of the fact that such mandates violate the conscience rights and bodily integrity of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons alike, we the undersigned issue the following sincerely-held declaration of Christian truth grounded in scripture, upholding the solemn and inherited right of every person to assert their freedom to decline any unwanted medical treatment or procedure, including vaccination without fear of discrimination, punishment or reprisal: … ”

…

This statement summarizes the deeply held conviction of [redacted] Church … “

The Bank’s email denying Ms. Egboye’s accommodation can be read here.

Media wishing to contact Evelyn Egboye can do so by contacting OCLA through the contact form at the link here.

Professor David Haskell of Wilfrid Laurier University has written to his university president, Deborah McLatchy, in opposition to the university’s decision to deregister non-vaccinated students from its programs.

The letter begins as follows:

Dear President McLatchy, VP Academic Vannelli, and VP Equity Walker,

This morning via an email from Dr. Vannelli, our university community was notified that starting today “there will be a portion of students officially deregistered from their in-person winter courses for not uploading proof of vaccination or having a valid exemption.”

We were told by Dr. Vannelli that banning these students from campus and derailing their degrees was justified because “the mandate was developed in consultation with health professionals and aligns with our priority of keeping students, staff, and faculty as safe as possible throughout the pandemic.”

This justification is flawed and, in its omission of pertinent facts, misleading. On behalf of the hundreds of students being harmed—emotionally, financially, and educationally—I am asking that you please reverse your decision.

The reasons to reverse course—even in this last hour—are backed by strong moral and empirical arguments. For the sake of our students—all of our students—please be open-mined.

…

The letter also links to several research studies regarding the efficacy of the COVID-19 vacines and the link to elevated rates of dangerous heart inflammation events and COVID-19 vaccination.

Read the full letter at the link HERE.

Doctors for Covid Ethics has posted a video by the renowned Prof. Sucharit Bhakdi entitled “The COVID vaccines were designed to fail”. The text introduction to the video states:

“In this 10-minute video, Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi discusses the fundamental reason for the current wave of “breakthrough infections:” the failure of the COVID vaccines had to be expected, because fundamental principles of immunology were ignored in their design.”

The video can be viewed on Doctors for Covid Ethics’ site at the link here.

A remote-working employee of the Ottawa-based charity Canadian Blood Services (CBS) has been fired for declining to receive injections of a COVID-19 vaccine product.

Gabriel Wilson, a 27 year-old Customer Support Representative in CBS’s organ tissue and donation branch requested accommodation under the organization’s vaccination policy on religious grounds.

Wilson’s accommodation request stated his religious beliefs and expressed that:

“My request for accommodation is that you continue to allow me to work remotely as I have for CBS over the last year and a half. My position is remote, and I will not be in contact with the public or other CBS staff.”

CBS denied Wilson’s request for accommodation in a letter dated Oct. 29, 2021, stating:

“We have carefully considered the information you have provided and have concluded that the reason for your refusal to be vaccinated is not due to a sincerely held religious belief, but rather due to a personal belief that will not allow you to become fully vaccinated. (…)

You have been unable to offer any proof that your religion prevents you from becoming fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccination. (…) it is our view that your beliefs do not require protection under the Ontario Human Rights Code.”

Via letter dated Nov. 17, 2021, CBS terminated Wilson’s employment, stating:

“As of today’s date, you have failed to demonstrate a fully vaccinated status, or failed to demonstrate that you intend to become fully vaccinated. (…) therefore, your employment will be terminated, with cause, effective immediately.

If at any point in the future you become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, we welcome you to re-apply for employment at CBS.”

Documents pertaining to Mr. Wilson’s case can be read at the links below:

• 2021-10-12: Gabriel Wilson’s accommodation request submitted to CBS
• 2021-10-29: CBS’s letter denying Wilson’s accommodation request
• 2021-11-01: CBS’s letter to Wilson placing him on a 10-day unpaid leave of absence
• 2021-11-17: CBS’s letter to Wilson terminating his employment for not being vaccinated

Media wishing to contact Gabriel Wilson can do so by sending an email to OCLA through the contact form at the link here.

Dr. Joseph Hickey, a data scientist at the Bank of Canada (Canada’s central bank), was removed from his duties and put on forced unpaid leave from work on Nov. 22, 2021, for declining to receive injections of a COVID-19 vaccine product. Dr. Hickey worked in the Digital Economy and Advanced Analytics Division of the Bank’s Canadian Economic Analysis Department. The Bank created its vaccination policy following the Canadian government’s mandate requiring vaccination for travellers and employees in federally-regulated industries.

Dr. Hickey is also the (volunteer) Executive Director of the Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA).

Prior to being placed on unpaid leave, Hickey requested an accommodation to be permitted to continue working from home as he and his colleagues had been doing since March 2020. His accommodation request letter of Nov. 12, 2021, expressed his:

• objection to the arbitrary and unnecessary nature of the policy;
• concerns about the known and unknown medical risks of the vaccine products;
• deeply held conviction that receiving an injection was not the right personal health choice for him;
• argument that the policy discriminated against him on the basis of age and sex, since males aged 30-39 have a significantly higher risk of developing heart inflammation (myocarditis or pericarditis) following two doses of an mRNA vaccine than females or males over 40, as shown by data from Public Health Ontario.

The Bank denied Hickey’s accommodation request and communicated this to him via a meeting on MS Teams on Nov. 18 and by email on Nov. 19, 2021. The Bank’s email states:

“Having reviewed your request in consultation with third party experts, the Bank has determined that you have not established that your request meets the threshold for a medical, religious, sex and age based accommodation.

…

Please note that you will be expected to comply with the Bank’s mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. To the extent that you remain non-compliant, you will be placed on leave without pay or benefits as of November, 22, 2021; your employment may ultimately be terminated if you remain non-compliant after the leave period.

As discussed, your access to the Bank’s system will be suspended. You will also be sent a prepaid courier box for the purpose of collecting your Bank assets. This will be sent to the home address the Bank has on file for you. If this address is not up-to-date, please provide me with the correct address. Please provide me with a personal email address so that I may contact you during your leave, if and when required. As well, you cannot come onsite and your building pass has been disabled.

Should you decide to comply with the Bank`s policy, please provide the dates you will be receiving, or have received, your first and second doses. Once you have your second dose please use the attached form to attest that you are fully vaccinated. Once I receive this completed form from you, your system access will be restored, your Bank assets will be returned to you, and you will be reintegrated to work as soon as possible. You will be removed from leave without pay and benefits the day following your second dose. However, please note that you will be required to work remotely for a 14 day period following the second dose, which is required to be considered fully vaccinated. Upon restoration of your system access, you will also be required to update your vaccine status using the Bank’s Service Now Attestation Tool.

I also wish to remind you that as a Bank employee you have access to the Employee Assistance and Family Program (EFAP) which is a confidential counselling and information service. Should you wish to avail yourself of their services, they can be reached at [redacted]. Please let me know if you have any further questions.”