Legal Action Threatened Against Hospital Therapist Who Quoted Bible During Wrongful Dismissal Case

Wanh Porter, a married Christian woman from Toronto. (Courtesy of James Kitchen)

The lawyer for North York General Hospital (NYGH) has threatened to take legal action against a former hospital employee for answering questions about her religious beliefs with verses from the Bible during the discovery phase of a lawsuit.

Wanh Porter, a Christian woman from Toronto, worked as a pediatric occupational therapist in the neonatal intensive care unit at NYGH until November 2021, when she was fired from her 17-year position due to the hospital’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy.

In a July 14 legal update provided to The Epoch Times, Mrs. Porter’s lawyer, James Kitchen, said the case hit a “snag” during questioning in preparation for the therapist’s wrongful dismissal case against the hospital.

Lawyer Elisha Jamieson-Davies, acting for NYGH, asked the fired employee questions about the religious beliefs that led to her being unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and Mrs. Porter answered the question by presenting verses from the Bible.

Ms. Jamieson-Davies, who did not return requests for comment by The Epoch Times by press time, said in a June 2 letter to Mr. Kitchen that it is the hospital’s position that the fired employee is “not permitted to provide answers by reading directly from the Bible.”

“Should Ms. Porter insist on answering questions by reading directly from the Bible, we will seek instruction to bring a motion for directions, and rely on this letter in support of a request for substantial indemnity costs,” the hospital’s lawyer wrote.

Mr. Kitchen said in a response letter dated June 5 that the hospital was mischaracterizing the situation. He said at no time did Mrs. Porter answer questions by only reading from the Bible, but rather used it as part of her answer “and to help explain her answer” and alleged the hospital’s lawyer interrupted the ex-employee.

“The centerpiece of Mrs. Porter’s court claim is that she lives her entire life in accordance with the Bible ... the very reason her employment was unceremoniously terminated, ... so whatever answer she gives would necessarily include quoting Bible verses,” said the lawyer.

Mr. Kitchen suggested the hospital’s lawyer carry through with the threat. Eventually, Ms. Jamieson-Davies decided to abandon the demand for Mrs. Porter to stop answering questions about her religion by discussing the Bible, he said. The discovery will proceed in the fall.

COVID-19 Shots

Mrs. Porter was initially told by NYGH that she was required to complete an “education” module about the COVID-19 vaccines if she did not disclose proof of having received the required doses. By August 2021, she was submitting to mandatory COVID-19 testing every three days, regardless of symptoms. In September 2021, Mrs. Porter was told the COVID-19 shots were mandatory for all hospital staff, so the employee requested an exemption on the basis of her religious beliefs.

The hospital demanded “a letter from Porter’s faith leader to confirm Porter’s participation in her church,” according to court documents, and further information to substantiate the exemption request.

The hospital determined Mrs. Porter was not entitled to accommodation for her religious beliefs and denied her request. She was placed on unpaid leave and then fired.

Mr. Kitchen alleges the hospital publicly invited applicants to fill Mrs. Porter’s position 17 days prior to informing her that her accommodation on religious beliefs was denied.

In court documents filed by NYGH, the hospital admits it began recruiting for Mrs. Porter’s job “before the decision was formally made to terminate Porter’s employment for her failure to comply with the amended Immunization Policy, because Porter had made clear she had no intention to become vaccinated.”

Wrongful Dismissal Claim

Mrs. Porter was devastated not only because she lost a job she loved, but to have been treated with discrimination and contempt by an employer that she had served for nearly all of her almost two-decade career, the Liberty Coalition Canada said in a description of her case.

Mrs. Porter, whose legal fees are being covered by Liberty Coalition Canada, a nonprofit organization, has filed a court claim alleging that she was wrongfully dismissed and unlawfully discriminated against by NYGH and is therefore entitled to damages, including punitive damages.

The Epoch Times contacted NYGH for comment but the hospital declined to make a statement, citing privacy concerns.

“Lawyers are increasingly out of touch with or simply contemptuous of religious minorities that do not subscribe to their elite, woke worldview,” Mr. Kitchen told The Epoch Times on July 18.

He suggests lawyers were “driving the decisions” to deny tens of thousands of Canadian Christians their legitimate requests for religious accommodation regarding workplace COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and also “driving the ‘woke-ification’ of the government bodies who control whether lawyers like me keep their licenses to practice.”

According to Mr. Kitchen, there is a “growing trend of intolerance for anyone who dissents from the majority on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

“Our society is heading in a direction where the Bible will be increasingly censored and this situation is a glimpse into how that censorship will manifest itself in the legal world, despite the ironic fact our western legal tradition is rooted in the Bible,” said the lawyer.