Witness Testimony

Janessa Blauvelt testified that she is a licensed practical nurse who worked as a float nurse at Yarmouth Regional Hospital under the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She described being removed from clinical training in March 2020 due to emergency measures and graduating later that year. She began full-time nursing work in December 2020 and testified that through 2020 and summer 2021 she did not observe COVID patients at her hospital, though a COVID ward was prepared.
In October 2021, she received formal notice that COVID-19 mRNA vaccination would be mandatory to maintain employment. She testified that workplace division increased and that she experienced significant psychological distress upon learning she would lose her job if she did not comply. She sought crisis mental health support and was placed on medical leave by a psychiatrist due to stress, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks related to the mandate. She submitted religious exemption documentation, including a sworn affidavit and pastoral support letter, but received denial without stated reasons.
Blauvelt testified that she filed a grievance through CUPE, contacted the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, and wrote to multiple elected officials, but received no substantive relief. She also submitted a conditional acceptance letter requesting employer liability for potential vaccine injury and participated in a notice of liability process with other employees. Her grievance did not proceed to arbitration, and she remains unable to work in her profession in Nova Scotia due to the ongoing vaccination requirement under the Section 32 public health order.