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The BC Human Rights Tribunal has allowed a case by a former Interior Health nurse who claimed that her mental health issues were caused by working in a "toxic and unsafe workplace" to move forward.

According to a recently published Oct. 30 BC Human Rights Tribunal decision, former Interior Health nurse Dr. Lorelei Rogers alleged that Canada Life Assurance Company discriminated against her when she went on long-term disability.

The decision says Dr. Rogers worked as a nurse until 2014 and then applied for long-term disability benefits through the work insurance coverage provided by Canada Life.

A condition of receiving long-term benefits was for the nurse to attend counselling, arranged by Canada Life.

"Dr. Rogers says the counselling she was required to attend was unhelpful, retraumatizing, and harmful for her," the decision reads. "She says her depression and anxiety were caused by a toxic and unsafe workplace, and the requirement for her to prepare to return to that workplace aggravated her mental health."

The decision says Dr. Rogers repeatedly explained to Canada Life that the counselling was making her mental health worse and her doctor agreed with her.

However, she says Canada Life either refused or did not respond to her requests.

"She also says she asked for support to access more helpful forms of treatment, and for referrals to qualified healthcare professionals, but Canada Life refused or did not respond to her requests," the decision reads.

In 2019 she filed a BC Human Rights complaint against Canada Life and the Health Employers Association of BC, which set up the insurance plan for the Interior Health Authority.

The Tribunal dismissed the claim against the Health Employers Association of BC and many of the allegations from Dr. Rogers that the way the insurance policy was structured was discriminatory.

The decision says at one point Canada Life reduced her monthly long-term disability payment by two-thirds because of a Canada Pension Plan disability payment she was getting.

"Dr. Rodgers says this drove her into bankruptcy," the decision reads.

While the Tribunal dismissed many of the nurse's allegations that the insurance company discriminated against her, it did allow her complaint to move forward on one point.

"The Tribunal has found that a request for medical information to substantiate entitlement to disability benefits may be discriminatory if the request is a form of harassment, or if the complainant’s disability creates a barrier to complying with the request," the Tribunal ruled.

The decision says the nurse's doctor told the insurance company that its requests were traumatizing for her.

The Tribunal ruled that Canada Life hadn't provided enough evidence as to why it kept asking for medical information.

"The evidence before me shows that she had also explained to Canada Life that this was traumatic for her, as early as February 10, 2016," the Tribunal ruled. "On the evidence before me, the Tribunal could determine, after a hearing, that Dr. Rogers’ agitation and anxiety arising from having to repeatedly explain her mental health condition was a disability-related barrier to compliance with the request for proof of continued disability."

The Tribunal's move means the nurse's case will now go to a hearing to make a final decision.

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