Former Fredericton firefighter who resigned over COVID vaccine policy sues city
CBC
A former Fredericton firefighter who resigned because of a COVID-19 vaccine policy for city employees is suing his former employer, claiming he was wrongly advised he'd be entitled to severance pay and pension benefits even if he quit.
Gregory Billings is now seeking $280,000 for pay in lieu of notice of termination, as well as damages for loss of pension and earnings up to his expected retirement at the age of 65.
Billings also alleges the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1053, his former union, failed to properly represent him by not grieving his "wrongfully induced" resignation.
"The plaintiff relied on the misrepresentations of the City of Fredericton that retirement was being offered to him and suffered damages as a result through loss of his severance pay and loss of a portion of his pension," states the claim, filed in the Fredericton Court of King's Bench by Jonathan Martin, the lawyer representing Billings.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit filed on Dec. 14 has been tested in court, and neither the city nor the union has filed statements of defence.
CBC News asked for interviews with the City of Fredericton and the firefighters' union.
City spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser, in an email, said the city will not comment on it as the matter is before the courts.
CBC News did not receive a response from the union.
According to Billings's claim, he was a 21-year member of the Fredericton Fire Department and held the role of captain of the fire prevention division when he resigned on or around Dec. 15, 2021.
Including overtime, he was earning approximately $140,000 annually.
According to the claim, issues between Billings and his employer began on Sep. 3, 2021, when he was sent home without pay in response to his refusal to comply with masking and testing protocols for unvaccinated staff.
On or around Oct. 15, 2021, the department notified Billings that if he continued not to comply, they would take steps to hire his permanent replacement, and that the union had approved his dismissal.
The following day, the fire department posted Billings's job as a vacant position to be filled, according to the claim.
The following week, Billings returned to work and obeyed the masking and testing protocols, but "promptly" thereafter was suspended for a day without pay over his alleged continual noncompliance with the protocols and for speaking with the media, according to the claim.
Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.
More than 30 years after Canada's military allowed women to serve in combat roles, it's now specifically designing uniforms and body armour to fit their bodies.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.
A 56-year-old man will return to court on Tuesday for a charge of second-degree murder, laid in a case London police have called an act of femicide.
The chairman of the committee leading Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec is backing the impartiality of his three-man team.
The province has taken a major step toward restarting its onshore natural gas industry.
Allan Legere, serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Alberta, has been denied a request for full parole.
Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has asked a judge to decide whether the City of Winnipeg can ignore a provincial decision about residential housing slated to rise next to the club.
A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.
One person is dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, following an incident Friday at a building in Regina.