Question 1: Were the nurses justified in refusing the work based on their view that it was unsafe?

Scenario Two: The Investigation and Ongoing Refusal

Queen Elizabeth Hospitals human resources manager was notified of the work refusal at 3:30 p.m. The manager immediately investigated the situation and ascertained that the psychiatric patient posed no imminent danger. The manager determined that the nurses routinely worked with violent patients and the hospital provided security guards for the emergency ward as a matter of course. Thus, by 4:30p.m., the manager of human resources spoke to the nurses directly and informed them that the hospital deemed there to be no imminent danger and that the nurses were to care for the patient. The nurses continued to refuse to provide medical care until the patient was transferred to one of the provinces mental health hospitals the next morning.

Question 2: Did the hospital comply with its obligations under the Act?

Scenario Three: Discipline and the Ongoing Refusal

The nurses did not file a complaint with an officer under section 35(7) of the Act. Queen Elizabeth Hospital subsequently disciplined the nurses who refused to return to work in the form of a written reprimand and a one-week suspension (in keeping with the disciplinary article of the nurse collective agreement). The nurses alleged that the discipline was contrary to section 36 of the Act.