Appeal decision awaits for nurse fined $26,000
In the 15 months since Saskatchewan nurse Carolyn Strom was found guilty of professional misconduct for writing on Facebook about her grandfather’s “subpar” health care experience, there has been “a weight” on all health professionals in the province, says Strom’s lawyer.
“There’s a bit of fear that ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say that, maybe I can’t say that,’ ” Marcus Davies said Thursday outside Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench, where an appeal is underway against the decision by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association (SRNA) to charge Strom with professional misconduct and fine her $26,000 for her actions. The oneday hearing wrapped up Thursday afternoon after about five hours of argument. The judge reserved his decision.
“Nurses are being silenced while they wait for (the outcome of the appeal) because nobody wants to go through what Carolyn’s gone through,” Davies said.
Strom, who works as a nurse in Prince Albert, was on maternity leave in February 2015 when she posted an article about end-of-life care on her personal Facebook page and commented about her grandfather’s care at a health facility in Macklin.
Staff complained to the SRNA, which found Strom guilty of professional misconduct in 2016. It later fined Strom $1,000 for violating the organization’s code of ethics and ordered her to pay $25,000 to cover some of the costs of the investigation and hearing, which cost about $150,000.
Davies told reporters outside court that if the SRNA’s decision is not overturned it will be “very frightening.”
“For anyone who practises in a self-regulating profession — and I’m not just talking about nurses, we’re talking doctors, psychiatrists, chiropractors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, architects … — if this precedent stands, (they) can be gagged by their regulatory body if they make a public comment about a public issue,” he said.
“We’re really concerned about the effect this will have on the health-care system across Canada because if you take from the discussion the people who know that system, then the discussion becomes less valuable for the rest of us who rely upon that system.”
Lawyers representing the SRNA’s investigative committee told the judge that Strom’s post on Facebook harmed the reputation of nurses at the Macklin facility. They said the SRNA encourages nurses to advocate for their patients, but that they must do so through proper channels.
“The discipline committee composed of nurses decided that there is freedom of speech, the charter protects that, but it doesn’t protect the right to defame someone else,” SRNA lawyer Roger LePage told reporters outside court.
Even though Strom was on maternity leave, she identified herself as a registered nurse on social media and members of the public could reasonably assume she was speaking in a professional capacity, he added.
“Just because you’re off duty doesn’t mean that you can hang up your professional hat; you still have to be careful about what you say, how you say it, through what channels you say it, because you’re on 24/7 and that’s part of the obligation of being a professional,” LePage said.
Strom, who was joined by family to hear the arguments in Saskatoon, told reporters that she’s had “a very taxing three years.”
“It’s been really stressful and it takes its toll so we’re just hoping that the right decision is made and that we’ll be able to move on from this.”
Lawyers from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) also presented arguments at Thursday’s appeal hearing.
Dan LeBlanc, the lawyer representing SUN, told court that the fact the SRNA draws no distinction between nurses’ on-duty and offduty obligations is “unreasonable” and leads to “absurd outcomes.”
BCCLA lawyer Kara Moen argued the SRNA should not be trying to restrict the ability of its members to take part in important political conversations on social media.
It’s not clear when a decision on the appeal will be issued.