A Quebec nurse who was accused of having made degrading comments towards an Atikamekw woman in March 2021 may be reinstated, an arbitration tribunal has ruled.
Nurse Sylvie Bellemare was fired after asking her patient, Jocelyne Ottawa, to sing a song in Atikamekw, in addition to asking if her name was pronounced “Joyce” in her community.
Ms. Bellemare and another nurse were quickly fired when the media started reporting on the incident.
This event occurred less than a year after the death of Joyce Echaquan, another Atikamekw woman, who had filmed herself during her last hospital stay in Joliette, in September 2020. The video, published on the social networks, made it possible to hear degrading comments from staff members.
In the case of Ms. Ottawa, arbitrator Dominique-Anne Roy ruled Thursday that the haste of the CISSS de Lanaudière to dismiss the two nurses meant that it had not adequately assessed the facts with which they were charged.
Ms. Roy concluded that the use of the name “Joyce” was an awkwardness, but that this error did not justify a dismissal. However, she blamed Ms. Bellemare for asking Ms. Ottawa to sing, and ultimately ruled that a ten-day suspension was sufficient.
The incident occurred shortly after cultural awareness training Ms. Bellemare had attended. The nurse explained during an arbitration hearing that she had tried to put into practice some of the advice learned during this session.
Even Ms. Ottawa, in her own testimony at the hearing, acknowledged that she did not think the situation should go as far as dismissal and said she hoped the two nurses would get their jobs back.
A spokeswoman for the CISSS de Lanaudière said that the court’s decision will be respected and that Ms. Bellemare will return to her job.
A decision is expected soon in the case of the second nurse who was fired.