Fired nurse raises question of trans discrimination versus sex-based rights at appeal hearing
Amy Hamm is a former B.C. nurse who was fired after a discipline panel found comments she made while off-duty were discriminatory against transgender people.
Amy Hamm was fired after regulator found she made discriminatory comments against transgender people
Karin Larsen · CBC News
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The hearing for a former registered nurse, who is challenging a disciplinary decision that found she made discriminatory and derogatory statements about transgender people while off-duty, began Tuesday in Vancouver.
Amy Hamm brought the appeal after she was suspended, then fired, from Vancouver Coastal Health and ordered to pay nearly $94,000 in costs.
The sanctions resulted from a disciplinary hearing by the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) that found, on four occasions, Hamm committed unprofessional conduct related to statements she made on online platforms while identifying herself as a nurse.
In the appeal petition, Hamm is described as prolific writer and a "long-time advocate of women's rights, particularly with respect to the adverse impact of gender ideology on such rights."
Hamm's lawyer Lisa Bildy said in her opening statement that Hamm accepts that a nurse can be disciplined for off-duty comments and that transgender people are a vulnerable group.
She said the appeal fundamentally comes down to the question of a regulator's jurisdiction.
"When a public debate is still alive in our legislatures, in our courts and in the courts of comparable democracy, may a professional regulator decide which side is correct and then discipline a professional who is on the other side? We say it may not," said Bildy.
Bildy highlighted examples of what she claimed were inconsistencies in the panel's findings of discrimination.
She said a personal essay Hamm wrote containing the line "woman is not a feeling, woman just is" was found by the BCCNM panel to be "discriminatory erasure."
In another instance Hamm wrote "men cannot become women," which was also found to be discriminatory.
Bildy gave exampoles of similar statements made by Hamm that panel found were not discriminatory, including, "we believe most Canadians recognize woman as a biological reality rather than a feeling."
The lawyer said the inconsistencies highlight errors in how the panel defined discrimination under the law. She also said that the panel mistook Hamm's advocacy for women's sex-based rights as misconduct.
"This is the heart of the appeal," said Bildy. "The panel made a determination that you cannot advocate for sex-based rights without including transgender women."
Worked for 13 years
Bildy was interrupted a number of times by Justice Jacqueline Hughes, who said the lawyer was making arguments that were "untethered" to her pleadings.
Hamm is a single mother of two who worked as a nurse and nurse educator for 13 years until she was terminated in March of last year.
B.C.'s human rights code was amended in 2016 to include protections against discrimination based on gender identity or expression, while the federal human rights and criminal codes were updated the following year.
Hamm has filed two complaints with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
The first alleges Vancouver Coastal Health discriminated against her and fired her based on her political beliefs. The second, against the College of Nurses and Midwives, claims regulatory authorities used their power to enforce a particular world view — in this case, gender ideology.
Hamm's appeal hearing in B.C. Supreme Court is scheduled to continue on Wednesday and Thursday.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karin Larsen is a former Olympian and award-winning sports broadcaster who covers news and sports for CBC Vancouver.
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