A teacher in northern BC was suspended for 12 days for disrupting a vaccine clinic and yelling at health authority staff.
In a decision from the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, Patrick James Nelson, who has held a license to teach in BC since 2019, disrupted the vaccination clinic held at a school on Oct. 6, 2021.
The clinic had been set up in the school’s cafeteria and students who were legally able to make decisions for themselves were encouraged to attend the clinic to get vaccinated.
According to the decision, Nelson left the class he was teaching unattended and made his way down to the cafeteria and “angrily interrupted and disrupted the vaccination clinic with students present.”
Nelson began yelling at health authority staff and told them they “had no legal right to immunize students without parental permission.”
According to ImmunizeBC, parental consent is generally sought for children 12 years and under.
Nelson continued by saying the vaccines were experimental, dangerous and poisonous and should not be used. The consent agreement says Nelson told the staff that they were unethical in how they presented vaccine information and that they “should be ashamed of themselves.”
Another teacher in the cafeteria called for help from administration staff and some students were removed during the tirade.
One of the health authority staff members attempted to calm Nelson down.
“Nelson approached the nurse without wearing a mask over his nose and mouth (contrary to the District’s Covid-19 protocols) and proceeded to yell and point his finger in the nurse’s face,” reads the consent agreement.
“During this interaction, the nurse and Mr. Nelson were eight to 10 centimetres apart which was not consistent with the District’s physical distancing safety protocols.”
In early March 2022, the district issued Nelson a letter of discipline and suspended him without pay for 12 days.
“Nelson failed to model appropriate behaviour expected of an educator,” explains the agreement.
Additionally, Nelson was ordered to write an apology to the health clinic personnel and to attend a meeting with the affected students and staff. He was also required to complete a course in respecting professional boundaries and human relations.
Nelson agreed to sign the consent resolution agreement and that his behaviour constitutes professional misconduct.
In the fall of 2019, Nelson was also disciplined for swearing in front of his class.
He was required to complete a boundaries workshop and had to meet with the school principal every two weeks until the end of the first semester in the 2019/2020 school year to discuss behaviour management strategies.
