Constitutional challenge of vaccine card filed by 2 B.C. women
Two British Columbia women who say doctors advised them against getting COVID-19 vaccines have filed a constitutional challenge of the province's vaccine passport.
A petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court says 39-year-old Sarah Webb, who lives in Alberta and B.C., developed an adverse reaction from her first dose of a vaccine in May and ended up in the emergency department of a Calgary hospital six days later.
The court document says Webb's symptoms included fatigue, heart arrhythmias, severe pain and a rash on her arm. It says she received antibiotics but developed further complications the next day and went to another hospital, where a doctor told her she should not get a second vaccine shot.
The petition filed against the attorney general and the Ministry of Health says Leigh Anne Eliason of Maple Ridge, B.C., was told by her doctor that she should not get a COVID-19 vaccine because of the risk of side-effects due to her medical history.
The Attorney General's Ministry responded to a request for comment from both ministries and said the government has not been served in regard to the petition.
“The province and the provincial health officer fully respect British Columbians' constitutional rights and freedoms,” it said in an emailed statement.
“We are taking the steps necessary to address and mitigate the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on all British Columbians. As the issue of proof of vaccination may be before the courts, we are not in a position to comment further.”
The petition says both women's physicians have written exemption letters citing their physical disabilities.
However, it says each of the doctors raised concerns that neither the government nor any provincial medical associations had provided guidelines on how to write such a letter or what information should be included.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the attorney general of British Columbia or the (Health Ministry) have considered individuals like the petitioners in making the vaccine card announcement or in crafting the vaccine card orders,” says the petition, which was filed on Sept. 23.
B.C. residents without proof of vaccination are prohibited from certain activities like dining in restaurants and entering movie theatres and gyms. That deprives the petitioners of their charter rights, the petition says.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated has options including ordering takeout from restaurants and watching movies and sports at home because her order is aimed at reducing transmission of the virus from anyone who may be infected.
Robert Hawkes, a lawyer who represents both women, said Friday that his clients don't know each other, neither is an “anti-vaxxer” and at least in Eliason's case, her husband and two children have been vaccinated.
“It creates a real hardship,” Hawkes said of cases when one person in a family can't get vaccinated and is cut off from accessing services, travelling or faces the prospect of losing their job because of vaccine mandates in the workplace.
“My frustration is that you do have pretty-far-out-there anti-vaxxers and pretty-far-out-there anti-maskers. And whenever you have someone who isn't in that group and raises any kind of an issue at all, they get lumped into that group,” he said from Calgary.
Hawkes said his office was in the process of serving the two B.C. ministries with court documents.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.