Michelle Marion was one of approximately 16 front line health care workers that the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) let go during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for not being vaccinated against the virus. “Three years ago. I was fired from the Stratford Hospital for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccinations. And even though it’s been three years, since that time, I’m still sadly not allowed back to work at the hospital,” said Marion. Marion spent four years as a nurse in the Stratford General Hospital’s operating department. After being let go in November 2021 she worked at a private surgical clinic before moving to Alberta, where she currently works in a hospital operating department that no longer has a COVID vaccination mandate. However, she wants to come back to Ontario. “If the Stratford Hospital would get on board with the other Ontario hospitals, who have changed their policy, I would come back in a heartbeat. I would love to work in the O.R. again. I would love to serve that community. That’s my community. That’s my home,” she said. Instead of returning home, following a grievance she and others filed for their termination from Stratford’s hospital Marion was handed a settlement offer in August 2024. In it, she was offered a $3541.50 ‘retirement allowance’ to withdraw her grievance and never apply for a job at the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance again. “Instead of the hospital offering us our jobs back, workers who are fully capable, fully trained and ready to go back to work - instead of them offering us our jobs, they’re asking us to sign a document saying we’ll never work for them again. And they’re wanting us to take a payout of taxpayer dollars to never work there again to be quiet and to go away,” said Marion. The settlement offer, if signed, would mean Marion could make no further claims against the HPHA, and would not seek re-instatement or apply for any current or future jobs the organization. The HPHA operates hospitals in Stratford, St. Marys, Clinton, and Seaforth. She also couldn’t talk about the settlement offer details with anyone other than her immediate family, lawyer, and financial advisor. Marion has not signed the settlement offer, and said she has no plans to. “I personally know nine other people who have been affected in the exact same way that I have. They’ve been offered this agreement to sign saying that they’ll never come back to work - and that was offered to us this summer, after the union decided not to take our case to arbitration,” she said. Officials with the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance consider all grievance matters involving employees to be confidential, so they didn’t have very much to say about the details of the offer provided to Marion. They did have this to say however: they said anyone who is qualified to apply for a job at the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance is free to do so. And those qualifications do still involve mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. “We continue to require proof of vaccination for all new hires, professional staff (physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, dentists), and volunteers. This is a part of our commitment to the health and safety of our patients, staff and community from COVID-19,” said Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO and President, Andrew Williams. Marion said she believes in “medical autonomy over coerced vaccination”, so she’s not planning on getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and does not believe she should have to to be a nurse again at the Stratford General Hospital. ‘We have a nursing crisis. They say it all the time. You hear it on the news, and yet here I am saying I’ll come back - I’ll come to work, I want to work, I love my job, and they’re asking me not to, and I just I don’t understand that,” said Marion. Here is the full statement from Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance President and CEO, Andrew Williams, in regards to Michelle Marion’s settlement offer: From the HPHA’s perspective, all grievance matters are to be kept confidential. Grievances are processes between Human Resources, staff – in this instance Michelle, and their respective Union, and are designed to come to a mutually agreed upon decision in relation to the issue in question. In saying this, anyone qualified for our open, posted positions is able to apply, and all qualified applicants will be considered, including anyone who may have previously left on a settlement.
