The Northern Health Authority (NHA) has responded to former employee Amy Blanding, who filed a civil claim after her reassignment and eventual resignation from the organization.
In its response, the health authority denies Blanding’s claims and rejects the possibility of financial settlement or recompensation for her.
Blanding, who worked for NHA from June 2018 until her resignation in June 2024, had temporarily taken on the role of director for inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) starting in August 2023.
Her duties included promoting diversity and inclusion across NHA, specifically working on anti-racism, cultural safety, and accessibility.
However, her social media posts and a performance at a concert in April 2024 sparked controversy, leading to complaints from members of the Prince George community.
The complaints, which centred around Blanding’s public comments on the ongoing Gaza conflict, criticized Israel's actions and accused the Canadian government of complicity. These posts and her performance, made in her personal time, were deemed by NHA to conflict with the core responsibilities of her role, which involved fostering an inclusive environment for all communities accessing healthcare, the health authority states in its response to her lawsuit.
“Although the performance and social media posts were made in the plaintiff’s personal time, given the unique office that the plaintiff held as IDEA director and as a senior leader within the organization, NHA had concerns that members of the public would attribute these positions to NHA,” the response states. “The NHA was also concerned that these comments by its interim IDEA director would lead to certain members of the community, as well as others within NHA, feeling ostracized or unwelcome and potentially hesitant to access health care.”
Despite an internal investigation and efforts to address the concerns, Blanding refused to apologize or amend her social media posts, which NHA believed might alienate certain ethnic and religious groups, particularly the Jewish community. As a result, NHA removed Blanding from the IDEA role earlier than scheduled, returning her to her original position as regional manager of organizational education and training in May 2024.
Blanding went on medical leave later that month and ultimately resigned from her position in June. "As such, she is not entitled to any damages," Northern Health states in its response.
In its response, filed Nov. 12, Northern Health notes that the key areas of responsibility for the temporary IDEA role, as explicitly set out in the IDEA contract and implied, included working with leaders across Indigenous health, professional practice, human resources and population health to develop an integrated approach to diversity, anti-racism, cultural safety and humility, psychological safety, equity, accessibility and inclusion across the region.
The person in the role was also expected to develop what’s described as a “diversity competency framework for NHA, and developing and implementing strategies that build these competencies.”
Specifically, the response notes that the person in the role would be responsible for “not engaging in activities, even on her personal time, that she knew or ought to have known may be offensive to individuals, both members of the public and NHA staff, who access services with NHA.”
NHA maintains that her removal was justified and that the company followed proper procedures.
In its response, Northern Health has denied the claims made by Blanding in her civil lawsuit, including allegations of breach of contract and constructive dismissal. The health authority argues that Blanding’s social media posts were damaging to the public perception of NHA and were incompatible with her role.
NHA has also denied any defamation, asserting its right to respond to public complaints and defend its policies. The health authority insists that it acted in good faith and within its rights as an employer to take corrective measures in response to Blanding's actions.
None of the claims by either side has been tested in court.
Blanding also sued some of the people who filed complaints about her with Northern Health. That case has not yet seen a response filed.
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