Thunder Bay transit driver accuses city of discrimination

A Thunder Bay transit operator has filed a complaint against the city with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, alleging his employer discriminated against him based on a disability.

Dan Campbell told CBC News he suffered brain damage in 2012 due to a severe, toxic reaction to an antibiotic he was taking for an abscess.  

He began occupational rehabilitation at St. Joseph's Hospital, he said, and received medical clearance to go back to work in the fall of 2013.

"And yet I was refused the ability to come back to work because the city just didn't think I could manage it," he told CBC. 

Didn't want to drive the Mainline right away

Campbell used his seniority to sign up for the easy Hudson route for his first shifts back at work, he said.  

But he alleged the city asked him to drive the Mainline and Memorial buses instead, saying it wasn't cost-effective to have him spend his two-hour, return-to-work shifts on the #7 route.   

"Those are the busiest, most difficult runs to do," Campbell said of the #1 and #3 routes, "and for somebody trying to get back after they've had a brain injury probably not the best thing to have them doing. ... And because I balked at that they decided that I did not have the mental capability to come back to work."

Campbell said in his complaint that he wrote to a city health nurse to express his concern about the return-to-work plan.

He claims that when he turned up at the transit garage to train to go back to work, he was told the training was cancelled and he would instead be meeting with his supervisor, a city nurse and a union rep.  

Campbell said he felt he had little choice but to detail intimate health issues – including those related to bathroom functions – in front of all the participants.

He said city staff then told him, "I had cognitive and physical issues that precluded me from driving the bus." 

Campbell said he was asked to sign a release permitting the city to seek further medical information from his doctor.

'an abhorrent invasion of my privacy'

The release sought permission to share the information with Campbell's supervisor, city labour relations staff, and the president of Campbell's union local – a request that Campbell described in a letter to City Manager Tim Commisso as "an abhorrent invasion of my privacy." 

"You know essentially we use a health nurse so they can filter the information," Campbell told CBC. "I think in human rights, medical information is private and protected."

"Continually what I hear is ... that it's a cooperative process, and in order to cooperate, you know, I have to give them everything," he added.  "But I think there's also a responsibility to safeguard the personal information of the individual." 

Campbell said further medical tests confirmed he could return to work, and he did so this summer, driving the #3 bus very early in the morning.

He said he is now back at work full-time.

The CBC contacted the lawyer handling the case for the city for a response to Campbell's complaint. 

She told CBC the city will not comment on personnel matters.

Campbell also names the city's benefits provider in his action, saying it discriminated against him in processing his claim for short-term disability benefits. 

The insurer also declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. 

None of the claims in Campbell's application have been proven.