By Canadian Press

Quebec nurse gets job back after abrupt 2021 firing over Atikamekw patient treatment

Jul 8, 2022 | 1:37 PM

MONTREAL — A Quebec nurse who had been accused of making degrading comments towards an Atikamekw woman in March 2021 won’t be fired, an arbitrator has ruled.

The firing came in the aftermath of the September 2020 death of Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman who filmed herself as a nurse and an orderly at the Joliette, Que., hospital were heard making derogatory comments.

In the case before the arbitrator, nurse Sylvie Bellemare had asked her patient, Jocelyne Ottawa, to sing a song in Atikamekw and whether her name translated to “Joyce” in her community.

Bellemare and another nurse who treated Ottawa at a community health clinic in Joliette, northeast of Montreal, were quickly fired when media began reporting on the incident.

Arbitrator Dominique-Anne Roy ruled Thursday that the health board’s haste to act meant it did not adequately assess the conduct of the nurses, despite having 30 days to conduct a probe.

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Roy found that using the name “Joyce” was a blunder but not something that was punishable. However, she faulted Bellemare for asking Ottawa to sing a song, ruling that a 10-day suspension was sufficient.

The incident came soon after Bellemare had attended a cultural sensitivity training session, and the nurse told the arbitration hearing she had been trying to employ some of the advice learned there.

Even Ottawa, during her own testimony at the hearing, said she didn’t think the situation would get to the point of firing and hoped the two nurses would get their jobs back.

A spokeswoman for the health authority in the Lanaudière region said it will respect the arbitration ruling and ensure Bellemare’s reinstatement.

An arbitration ruling is expected soon in the case of the second nurse who was fired.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2022.

The Canadian Press