Hello everyone, There has been lots of action over the last few days , so it’s time for an update.
Frontline 4 Freedom (F4F)
It an attempt to amalgamate all groups who are fighting against the mandates, a group has been formed called Frontline 4 Freedom (F4F). It is made of Physicians, RNs/LPNs, EMS, Police, Fire, RCMP, City employees, Corrections and 911 Dispatch. A telegram chat group was created which includes 2 members from each discipline who will then relay any important information to their respective groups. As we are stronger together, it will be a great way to be “in the know” as to what actions all the groups are undergoing. Due to the diversity of unions(and union vs non union), deadlines, and employers (ie: city vs AHS), action plans for each group will vary. What may work for one group, may not be in the best interest of another. As well, each individual’s personal situation will be different within each group, therefore altering an individual’s actions. However, the goal is to keep everyone in the loop, so please feel free to bring questions forward, should you have them.
As AHS employees, our deadline has been delayed to the end of November. Although some are contemplating that this may be a tactical plan from AHS to implement new policies, at this time, a month is a month where we are still working. It will give lawyers and our group extra time to formulate plans, as well as have other groups from Canada and around the word set precedence both in legal battles and statistics. Be assured that those small wins set a formidable precedence.
Legal Action
Over the last month, many discussions have taken place with labour lawyers, criminal lawyers, and constitutional lawyers as well as consultation with the JCCF (Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms). We have learned that for unionised employees there are some specific steps that need to take place prior to representation. They include request for union representation, letter of objection to the mandates, and submissions of exemptions. As everyone is aware, the unions are taking the same stance as AHS, and therefore will most likely not provide fair representation for their staff. As well, there is very slight hope for exemptions. Unfortunately, since the mandate’s date of Nov 30th has not come into fruition yet, we are unable, at present, to legally address this. The core committee is actively working on both failure to represent (DFR) letters and notice of liability (NOL) letters which will be made available when needed (hopefully never).
Some legal actions that have already taken place include a lawsuit by 4 Alberta physicians toward AHS and Dr Verna Yui, https://www.scribd.com/document/535085995/Unfiled-lawsuit-against-Alberta-Health-Services-by-four-doctors , legal warning letters to AHS from the JCCF https://www.jccf.ca/justice-centre-to-sue-alberta-health-services-over-mandatory-covid-vaccination-policy/ and Human Rights Complaints filed on behalf of APS (Alberta public service) and AHS, by lawyer Jeffrey Rath. https://westernstandardonline.com/2021/10/ws-exclusive-thousands-of-alberta-healthcare-government-workers-launch-human-rights-complaint/ .
Lawyers
At this time there are a few different lawyers involved with frontline workers. We will try to summarize these here, so if you wish to join with any of them you will have all the information.
First of all, the physician’s group has coordinated with lawyer Carol Crosson. They are non unionized, so she is able to be advocating for them at this time. Unfortunately, that is not an option that is available to us due to the union constraints. Any actions that take place with the physicians group which are successful, however, will also reflect well for everyone.
The JCCF is very active in fighting against the mandates in Alberta and all of Canada. However, they are not acting on behalf of individual groups, but instead are working at upholding the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Canadians. We have received excellent advice from them, however, their actions within the courts are independent from ours. Once again, any headway they make will directly affect us.
Rocco Galati
There was discussion about Rocco Galati, from Ontario, being requested to advocate for Alberta workers. For those of you that do not know him, he is a constitutional lawyer who is the most visible Ontario lawyer working against mandates. Unfortunately, due to regulations and demographics, if he were to represent Albertans, he would need to work collectively with a lawyer from Alberta. (similar to our practice permits only being regulated in AB) He has announced that if the number of Alberta employees is large enough, and if there is a lawyer willing to work with him, then he would represent in Alberta as well. This would also require a retainer of $1000-1500 per person. Retaining Mr Galati does not seem to be viable thus far, however, as meetings within the above subgroups recognize it would be a difficult to achieve. Other lawyers have also expressed no desire to coordinate efforts.
Jeff Rath
City employees met with lawyer Jeff Rath two nights ago to seek legal representation. Their group includes CPS, CFD, EPS, EFD, and other non sworn city employees. Previously to this, the nursing and EMS group also consulted with Mr Rath when a proposal for implementing an emergency injunction for the October 30th date was being discussed. At that time, because of the RN’s and EMS’s unions, we could not be included and therefore the injunction was filed on behalf of the physician’s group only. We are not sure if that injunction ultimately affected the one-month postponement of AHS’s mandate.
The respective chairs of each subgroup representing the CITY employees decided that they will be securing Jeff Roth as their lawyer. The city employees are under different mandates then Alberta Health
Services, however. Here are some differences. 1) their mandate for full “immunization” takes effect October 31st. 2) An alternate option has been made available to their employees which includes biweekly antigen tests for those who do not wish to get the shot. – They will be provided with tests for the month of November, and then will have to provide their own starting Dec 1st. 3) discussions within their group included complete refusal to disclose personal information/health records, refusal of all testing, and working towards removal of the mandate completely. Although this view is not held by all of their members (some are agreeing to swabbing as a compromise), their hope is that Jeff Rath will be able to make headway with their ultimate goal of full reversal. He will most likely be starting with Humans rights complaints against the city(ies). Mr Raths fundamental goal is to protect freedom of choice. Actions after the HR complaints are unsure.
At this time, Mr Rath is not asking for any money, however, there is discussion of setting up a Go Fund Me page to support his efforts. There is also discussion of asking those who wish to be involved to put in a minimal am’t of $. Contact info : rathco@rathandcompany.com, jrath@rathandcompany.com, mrejman@rathandcompany.com and https://www.rathandcompany.com/
Derek From and Fight for the Frontline
An alternate group that has been discussed within the EMS platforms is in conjunction with lawyer Derek From. He is coordinating through a group called Fight for the Frontline (not to be mistaken for F4F) which was started by fire/paramedics who fall under the mandate while working for AHS. Fight for the Frontline is available for all AHS employees. The objective with this group is to include alternate options for employees, including recognition of natural immunity, respecting medical and religious exemptions, and allowing for antigen testing as an alternate to the shot. Although much work is being done by Mr From right now, many of the outwardly actions will take place only after the mandates get enforced, and the unions fail to represent. Mr From’s legal fees are being supported by Rebel Media starting with 100,000$ to incur the costs of litigation. A spokesperson for this group is Tim Moen, who has spoken at multiple rallies thus far. If you would like to join Fight for the Frontline, go to the website www.fight4frontline.com and sign up at the bottom under “Need Help?” Here is an interview with Derek From by Rebel News: https://www.rebelnews.com/are_vaccine_mandates_legal_calgary_lawyer_derek_from_shares_his_insight .
At this time, many AHS employees have joined Fight for the Frontline, from both the RN and EMS groups, as it has been in place for many weeks now. Involvement of Jeffrey Rath with the city is new, but we will be sure to update as things unfold. We encourage you to contact them directly should you have more questions about joining that group. As mentioned, the CITY group have an Oct 31 deadline, and their actions may not necessarily align with EMS’, but their actions may set precedence so it will be interesting to see how things unfold.
Hopefully this update has clarified some information for you. As an aside, every lawyer we consulted stated “Don’t quit”! As this plays out, we will learn more and we will work on this TOGETHER! There are so many changes taking place all over the world right now as the world wakes up. One month is a long time…..we have time!
Reach out to the chats for support. Encourage those who have gotten the shot to still be a part of this fight. Review the information on our EMS website https://healthprofessionalsunited.ca/ems-action/ .