B.C. nurse appeals disciplinary decision over transgender comments
A B.C. nurse is appealing a decision by her professional regulator that found she committed unprofessional conduct for making "discriminatory and derogatory statements" about transgender people.
In a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court Monday, Amy Hamm alleges a disciplinary panel of the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives made several legal errors in its March decision.
The panel found Hamm's statements made across "various online platforms" between July 2018 and March 2021 were partly designed "to elicit fear, contempt and outrage against members of the transgender community."
The decision said Hamm publicly identified herself as a nurse or nurse educator while making statements that were mostly "untruthful and unfair," challenging the "existence of transgender women" and advocating for less "constitutional protection" for them.
Hamm told the college disciplinary panel that she is not transphobic, but rather concerned about the impact of gender identity and ideology on the rights of women and girls.
Alleged legal errors
In her application to reverse the disciplinary panel's decision, Hamm argues the panel "erred in law, or mixed law and fact, by favouring one 'marginalized' group over another and demeaning women's rights and protections" contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Hamm also alleges the panel erred in connecting her profession to her "off-duty gender critical advocacy" and expanding the scope of the term "discriminatory" to include disagreeing with gender ideology.
Neither Hamm nor the college immediately responded to requests for comment from CBC News. The college has yet to determine a penalty for Hamm.
The panel found Hamm's statements were targeted toward "vulnerable and marginalized" people and her comments may deter transgender people from accessing the health-care system.
The decision said the statements included an online article identifying Hamm as a nurse educator where she claimed that transgender activists wanted to "infiltrate or destroy" spaces designed for women only.
"By identifying herself as a nurse or nurse educator while posting discriminatory and/or derogatory opinions regarding a vulnerable and historically disadvantaged group on various online platforms, [Hamm] undermined the reputation and integrity of the nursing profession," the panel wrote in its decision.
The panel said Hamm can share her views but not while identifying her professional affiliation as a nurse.
Hamm has received supportive statements from several followers, including author J.K. Rowling. Hamm helped pay for a billboard in Vancouver supporting Rowling after she shared her views on gender identity online.
'I'm not transphobic'
Throughout the disciplinary hearing, Hamm testified that her advocacy was meant to protect women and children in sex-segregated spaces.
"I'm not transphobic. I don't have any issue with trans people — it's the infringement on women and children's rights," Hamm told the college disciplinary panel.
She said she completely rejects the concept of gender identity, calling it "anti-scientific, metaphysical nonsense," and on social media posts has referred to transgender women as men.
Nonetheless, Hamm told the panel that she always uses people's preferred pronouns at work, because that is her employer's policy.
"Whether or not I agree with certain policies, I limit my advocacy for changing policies to outside of work," she said.
Since the hearing, Hamm has written several columns for a variety of media outlets on multiple issues, including politics and crime, as well as sex and gender.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
9 hours ago
- CBC
Hazy holiday: Air quality drops as wildfire smoke blankets southwestern Ontario
Environment Canada has issued special air quality statements for southwestern Ontario as prairie wildfire smoke sits over swaths of the province. People in the Windsor, Chatham, and Sarnia regions can expect poor air quality and reduced visibility, Environment Canada said Monday morning. "The wildfire smoke may persist into tonight and possibly Tuesday before finally easing." Detroit and Toronto were among the top ten most polluted major cities in the world on Monday afternoon, according to a ranking by Swiss company IQAir. The CBC News Climate Dashboard also showed Windsor and other southwestern Ontario cities had some of the worst air quality in the country. Environment Canada warned of potential health effects, including "mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough." Wheezing, chest pains, or severe cough are less common but more serious symptoms. Older people, young kids, people with chronic conditions, pregnant people, and those who work outside are at higher risk, Environment Canada said. "If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate medical assistance." The federal weather authority also urged people to limit time outside and consider rescheduling outdoor activities, adding that windows and doors should be kept closed as much as possible. "If you must spend time outdoors, a well-constructed, well-fitting and properly worn respirator type mask (such as a NIOSH-certified N95 or equivalent respirator) can reduce your exposure to the fine particles in the smoke," Environment Canada said.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
A Calgary woman was unable to complete a breathalyzer test. Now, she can't drive
A Calgary woman says she had her driver's licence suspended after being unable to complete a breathalyzer test — and some experts say the situation is more common than you might think. Pam Lacusta, 58, was driving on Stoney Trail in April when she was pulled over by Calgary police, who administered a breathalyzer test. Lacusta attempted the test 30 times and couldn't complete it. The officer handed her an administrative penalty for failing to provide a proper breath sample — a penalty that carries the same consequences as driving while impaired. Now, Lacusta must complete a driver's education course and install an interlock device in her car before she can drive again. Her prior insurance now refuses to cover her. "I feel like I'm being punished for something that I never did," said Lacusta, who said she doesn't drink for religious reasons. Later on the day she was ticketed, Lacusta took a urine test at a private clinic at her own expense to prove she wasn't drinking. She sent CBC News a copy of the negative results. Edmonton-based paralegal Sandra Weber said she hears of situations like Lacusta's fairly regularly. Weber said people may struggle to complete a roadside test due to medical conditions like lung cancer or asthma, compounded by the stress of completing a test in front of an officer. Once someone has received a penalty for failing to complete a breathalyzer, she said, it can be difficult to fight. "It's up to the recipient … to prove that there was something wrong with the machine or something that the police had done wrong," said Weber, who works with Moreau Law. "It's a very challenging situation and without any medical evidence it's very difficult to overcome these types of tickets." Lacusta did appeal her penalty with a provincial adjudicator, who turned her down. Lacusta said her difficulty with the test may have been due to a recent Botox injection that kept her from making a proper seal with her mouth. She also later learned that she had two suspected rib fractures, but not in time to include that information in her appeal. 'Not enough puff' Recent research out of the University of Sheffield in the U.K. suggests there may be people without severe lung or breathing problems who nevertheless struggle to complete breathalyzer tests. "There is a small, but significant, subset of people who just don't have enough puff to be able to operate the machine successfully," said lead researcher Galen Ives, who noted that older people, short people and women are more likely to struggle. Ives said police should be more willing to offer blood or urine tests as an alternative to people who try and fail to complete breathalyzer tests, though he acknowledged there would be practical hurdles to testing at a second location. A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service said she couldn't comment on Lacusta's situation, but said anyone who believes they are medically unable to complete a breathalyzer test should tell the officer at the scene. A spokesperson for the provincial minister of justice said if people can't provide breath samples they may be asked to provide blood or urine samples "where certain legal requirements are met." Lacusta said blood and urine tests were not offered in her situation, and she believes they should be more widely available to people who can't provide a breath sample. For now, she's relying on her friends and her bicycle to get around the city, but still hopes to fight her penalty and have her clean driving record restored.
CBC
25-07-2025
- CBC
N.S. family says $85K surgery in U.S. might be daughter's only hope to walk again
Nora Nunn-Murphy doesn't know how her Halifax-area family will come up with nearly $85,000 for a rare hip surgery in the United States, but she knows she has to try. If not, her daughter may have little hope of walking as she gets older. Nunn-Murphy's seven-year-old daughter, Brenna Benoit, has cerebral palsy and a condition called hip dysplasia, which is forcing her hip to fully dislocate from the socket. Brenna used to be able to stand up and walk with the help of braces and a walker, but now gets around in her pink and blue wheelchair. Nunn-Murphy sees Brenna's hip mobility deteriorating and worries if she doesn't get the right treatment soon, her hip will be inoperable. She and her husband, Al Benoit, said they believe they have no option but to forgo the Nova Scotia health-care system and head to a surgeon in New Jersey who performs a hip surgery known as the café door procedure. The surgery releases tight muscles and connective tissue so the hip joint can sit better in the socket and move more freely. Nunn-Murphy said it's less invasive than other hip surgeries and is performed by only a handful of surgeons in the world. "That's a hard pill to swallow when you're living in a province that you feel like nobody can help you," Nunn-Murphy said in an interview at the family's home in Middle Sackville, N.S. "And by the time they do help you, it feels like it's a little bit too late." Brenna loves music, wheelchair basketball and swimming. She has a contagious laugh and a big smile. But she's been dealing with compounding health issues for her whole life, and Nunn-Murphy left work to provide full-time care and advocate for her. In 2022, CBC News covered the family's attempt to get financial support from the province, and their goal of getting Brenna to the U.S. for a different procedure to help her feet and ankles. 'You end up just spiralling' Brenna is a patient at the IWK Health Centre, a children's hospital in Halifax, where she's eligible for a surgery called an osteotomy to treat her hip dysplasia. But Nunn-Murphy said after many conversations with the surgeon who would perform the surgery, she concluded this option isn't right for her daughter. She said the procedure is mainly for chronic pain management, not to increase her hip functionality. And she said no rehabilitation would be available to Brenna afterward, which means Nunn-Murphy and Benoit would be responsible for that at home. "The surgery that's offered here could take away her ability to ever stand and use her walker again, which just means quality of life goes down for Brenna," Nunn-Murphy said. After years-long battle, Halifax woman gets out-of-province surgery paid for by N.S. As she looked for other options within the local health-care system, Nunn-Murphy felt she was running out of time. She said in the past, Brenna had waited nine months to get her wheelchair fitted, 11 months to receive the wheelchair, and more than a year to get braces for her feet. "As a parent now for seven and a half years in this system, I know we don't have time to take those steps where things are constantly getting lost, people don't call you back," Nunn-Murphy said. "You basically get a run around, and you end up just spiraling because you don't know what to do next." She decided to reach out to Dr. Roy Nuzzo, the surgeon who performed Brenna's last surgery in the U.S., and he introduced her to the café door procedure. As she researched it, she felt it could be Brenna's best chance. The family booked the surgery for November. Nunn-Murphy said the last time Brenna went to the U.S. for a surgery, she tried to get it covered by Nova Scotia's Medical Services Insurance, but her daughter's doctors wouldn't write letters in support of the procedure. This time, she felt she didn't have time to try. Health minister interview cancelled CBC News scheduled an interview Thursday morning with Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson to respond to Nunn-Murphy's concerns about the health-care system, and the fact the family will pay more than $85,000 to receive care in the U.S. When CBC showed up for the interview, a department spokesperson said it was cancelled because department staff wanted to speak with the family first. In an emailed statement, Thompson said she understands this a difficult situation for everyone involved. "I recognize there are situations where procedures and treatments are not available in the province," the statement said. "Even in these situations, we make every effort to support the delivery of care where it is available, if the patient is eligible." Nunn-Murphy said Thursday afternoon, a Health Department employee called her to walk her through the process of asking Brenna's doctor for a referral letter and applying for coverage for the procedure, saying the family is now "front and centre" with the department. IWK says its surgery can increase quality of life for patients In an email, an IWK Health Centre spokesperson said she is unable to comment on Brenna's case due to patient privacy, but responded to general questions about the health care offered at the hospital. Andrea Slaney said the osteotomy procedure available at the IWK "can include pain relief, improved hip function, reduced risk of hip dislocation, improved seating, improved daily personal care, and reduced risk of arthritis in the future, which has a substantial impact on quality of life." Slaney also said IWK rehabilitation services works with the orthopedic care team "to provide the best evidence-based care to patients." She did not respond to questions about whether the IWK is aware of the café door procedure and if it is recommended for patients. Nunn-Murphy said she had given literature on the procedure to Brenna's surgeon in Halifax, who said he would look into it on his own time, which she appreciated. But she didn't hear back from him for around two months, and only after CBC News contacted the hospital. Brenna's family is now focusing on fundraising $100,000 to cover both the surgery and its related costs, including rehabilitation, braces and travel. The payment for the surgery is due on Nov. 1. They've launched an online fundraiser and plan to hold community events like a raffle and a benefit dance. "This has been my career," Nunn-Murphy said. "I want to be her mom, but I also have to be everything else ... There's just so many shortfalls."
