Tribunal rejects northern Ont. woman’s complaint that masking rules violated her human rights

A Timmins-area woman who was refused access to a medical appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic because she refused to wear a mask has lost her human rights complaint.

A Timmins-area woman who was refused access to a medical appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic because she refused to wear a mask has lost her human rights complaint.

The woman appealed to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, claiming the Victorian Order of Nurses in Timmins discriminated against her because of her creed and a disability.

The incident took place in 2021. The woman arrived at the appointment for her children at the VON clinic, where visitors were required to be masked.

When told that pandemic rules meant she and her children had to be masked, she refused, and disputed whether they were really required to cover up.

“The applicant alleges that, because neither the applicant nor her children would wear a mask, they were ultimately refused entry and their appointments cancelled,” the decision from the human rights tribunal.

The woman filed a complaint with the tribunal, claiming she and her children had been discriminated against based on “creed and disability.”

But the tribunal said she presented no evidence whatsoever that she has a disability. And when describing her creed, the woman said, “I do not claim any religion but a relationship with our Almighty Lord in Heaven.”