BC flu season marked first firing of hospital worker for refusing vaccine or mask

ROB SHAW

vancouversun.com

VICTORIA — A health care worker in Grand Forks is the first person fired under a new B.C. policy that forces health workers to get a flu shot or wear a protective mask around patients.

Arnold Hoekstra, who worked at the Boundary Hospital in the West Kootenay, was fired in December. His case was disclosed Wednesday by Health Minister Terry Lake at a press conference to wrap up the flu season.

The 49-year-old had held a permanent part-time position as an adult day program worker in Grand Forks, but said he refused instructions from his bosses at the Interior Health Authority to either get vaccinated for influenza or wear a mask at work.

“I don’t believe you should do things just because somebody tells you,” Hoekstra said in an interview Wednesday. “We should be able to think for ourselves, we should be able to make those decisions. I’ve worked in health care since the early 80s. You’d think we should be a little bit more enlightened but we’re not.”

The province brought in the controversial policy requiring vaccinations or masks for all health care professionals last year, and warned a failure to comply would result in sanctions.

B.C. is the only province with such a flu-prevention policy, and health care unions threatened legal action because they believed the move violated workers’ rights and wasn’t justified by scientific evidence. However, an arbitrator backed the government policy.

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