Nova Scotia Supreme Court Dismisses Judge’s Complaint Over Superior’s Conduct During Pandemic

A judge's gavel in a file photo. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

A Nova Scotia provincial judge has had a lawsuit challenging the conduct of her superior during the COVID-19 pandemic tossed out.

Judge Rickcola Brinton was challenging an earlier decision by the chief justice of Nova Scotia, Michael Wood, with regard to a complaint she had made about Chief Judge Pamela Williams. Brinton said Williams had pressured her to reveal her vaccination status and sought out her medical reports without consent, according to the Dec. 23, 2024, court decision.

Brinton said the fact that Williams contacted Brinton’s physician for her medical records was an ethical violation of her position.

However, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice Christa Brothers disagreed that Williams’s actions amounted to misconduct. She said the case did not support a finding of judicial misconduct against Williams.

”Her decisions concerning how to assign judicial work and what medical information was required to support Judge Brinton’s medical leave fall within her authority as Chief Judge,” Brothers wrote.

”I conclude the decision bears all the hallmarks of reasonableness - justification, transparency, and intelligibility.”

Second Challenge

It was the second time that Brinton, represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), had challenged the actions of Williams.

Her first had been the complaint filed with Chief Justice Wood, who reviewed it and dismissed it without sending to a review committee.

Brinton then asked for a judicial review of Wood’s decision, saying normal procedure had not been followed. Brothers’s decision means the request for a judicial review has been denied.

The JCCF said it is consulting with Brinton about the next move, and may appeal.

According to the court record, in October 2021, Williams had contacted all the provincial judges to see if they would agree to reveal their vaccination status. Brinton and another judge were the only ones who disagreed.

At the time, Brinton said her concerns were medical privacy and the impact on “racialized communities” and the development of a “two-tier society.”

On Oct. 6, 2021, the Nova Scotia government said that all provincial employees had to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“While court staff, including judicial assistants and others working in the court system, were subject to this requirement, judges were not,” the court decision read.

On Oct. 25, 2021, Brinton tested positive for COVID-19 and began a 10-day quarantine, Brothers wrote.

After recovering from the virus, her doctor suggested she take a four-week leave from work. Brinton went on short-term disability, which then turned into long-term disability leave.

Medical Records Request

Before Brinton switched to long-term leave, Williams sent a letter to her asking if she would be returning to work after the short-term leave entitlement ran out in March. Williams said she had not been provided with medical reports proving the need for leave, and requested evidence of Brinton’s need to be away from work.

On March 21, 2022, in a message to Wendy Hudgins of Public Service Commissions Human Resources, Williams said she had received a fax from Brinton with a doctor’s note indicating Brinton would not return to work until May 22. Williams asked Hudgins if she should provide that notice as evidence to support Brinton’s leave or not approve the leave, according to the court decision.

Hudgins said employers expected a treatment outline. She suggested Williams contact the treatment provider for those details before deciding on denying the leave request.

On March 28, 2022, Williams sent a message to Brinton’s physician requesting some medical information. However, it was not provided as Brinton did not consent to the release of the information.

Long-term disability was approved for Brinton shortly after that, and the court document indicates she is still on leave.

In June 2023, Brinton filed a complaint about Williams’s actions to Chief Justice Wood asking that her complaint be forwarded to a review committee of the Judicial Council for investigation.

Brinton had argued that Williams’s actions “were a breach of her ethical obligation” to Brinton, as well as the obligation to respect Brinton’s medical privacy.

Wood dismissed the complaint on Dec. 10, saying that Williams’s actions did not support a finding of judicial misconduct.

”Her decisions concerning how to assign judicial work and what medical information was required to support Judge Brinton’s medical leave fall within her authority as Chief Judge,” he wrote.