The College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan (CRNS) has launched a discipline hearing against a nurse accused of abusing her position when she posted on social media against vaccine mandates.
The hearing for Leah McInnes is taking place from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 in Regina. Ms. McInnes is represented by the Justice Centre For Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).
JCCF said Ms. McInnes is facing discipline over social media posts that expressed her views on vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, and related issues like freedom of choice and medical privacy.
Notice of Hearing documents from the CRNS say that Ms. McInnes’s actions violated the association’s code of conduct.
According to the documents, one of her nine posts identified said, “If your boss tells you that you must submit to them and be penetrated in a number of ways in their authoritative way, coerced through threat, manipulation, ultimatum, shaming, etc, what do we normally call this?”
CRNS also accused Ms. McInnes of professional misconduct in joining protests against vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to JCCF.
“On September 1, 2021, you participated in an anti-vaccine mandate and antivaccine passport protest outside a public hospital in Northern Saskatchewan. You carried a sign that said, ‘RN against Mandates and Vax Passports.’ A photograph was shared on your social media pages and on the Global Media Facebook page,” the documents said.
The CRNS accused the nurse of the “misuse” of her influence as a health care provider.
“Nurses are sensitive to the inherent power differentials between care providers and persons receiving care. They do not misuse that power to influence decision making,” the document said.
The CRNS said that statements Ms. McInnes made about mandates were inaccurate as there were never any such edicts in the province. The college said the statements equate to misinformation or misleading information given to the public.
JCCF said that the CRNS proposed an agreement with Ms. McInnes where she would be expected to admit to professional misconduct. Ms. McInnes rejected the offer.
The association official charged Ms. McInnes in March. According to the JCCF, the CRNS has obtained an expert opinion. In response, the JCCF said they will be submitting two expert opinions in support of Ms. McInnes’ right to freedom of expression.
“As the hearing is still ongoing, we won’t be available to answer any questions or provide comments until it is wrapped,” the CRNS said in response to an inquiry from The Epoch Times.
Professional Associations Discipline Members
It’s not the first time that a professional nursing association has tried to discipline a member over social media comments related to the pandemic.An Ontario nurse, Kristal Pitter, was investigated by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) for posts made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CNO said that Ms. Pitter had made statements online that were contrary to public health guidelines and could be harmful. Ordered to attend a remedial education program, Ms. Pitter declined, saying the CNO decision did not consider her right to freedom of expression.
The case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of Ontario where a judicial review was dismissed in September 2022.
Another Saskatchewan nurse, Shelly Wilson, faced punishment from the CRNS in 2022 for social media posts about COVID-19 vaccines, masks, and treatment options that “did not accord with public health or mainstream media narratives,” according to the JCCF.
As a disciplinary measure, the CRNS asked Ms. Wilson to sign an agreement admitting her professional misconduct. If she refused, she was told the matter could be sent to a discipline hearing. The CRNS ended up dropping the case.
