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United Health Care Workers of BC

United Health Care Workers of BC

United Health Care Workers of BC (UHCWBC) is a Canadian not-for-profit society based in Vernon, British Columbia.

History

On October 13, 2023, Terri Perepolkin and Jedediah Ferguson filed a notice of civil claim on behalf of UHCWBC in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against provincial health officer Bonnie Henry for her role in the province's then-ongoing COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare professionals. The suit seeks to achieve class action status under the Class Proceedings Act.[1]

After the Government of British Columbia dropped the mandatory vaccination policy on July 26, 2024, Perepolkin confirmed the lawsuit was still going forward "as they were not suing for mandates to be dropped or jobs to be given back," but rather "trying to make sure that this can’t happen again."[2]

Certification hearings for the class action began on April 28, 2025, alongside a similar suit filed by BCPS Employees for Freedom Society. Both groups are represented by Umar Sheikh of Sheikh Law.[3]

Organization

UHCWBC is affiliated with BC Educators for Human Rights, BCPS Employees for Freedom Society, Power Workers Rights Society (PWRS), and United Health Care Workers of Ontario (UHCWO).[4]

Personnel

Name Position Notes
Terri Perepolkin Co-Founder[2:1] Vernon Jubilee Hospital

  1. Manchester, J. (2023, November 11). Fired health workers launch suit against Dr. Bonnie Henry, led by canned Vernon lab tech - Vernon News. Castanet. http://archive.vn/2023.11.30-214648/https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/456801/Fired-health-workers-launch-suit-against-Dr.-Bonnie-Henry-led-by-canned-Vernon-lab-tech ↩︎

  2. Duncan, J. (2024, August 3). Mixed emotions for fired BC health care worker after vaccine mandate lifted. KamloopsBCNow. https://web.archive.org/web/20240803211952/https://www.kamloopsbcnow.com/watercooler/news/news/Provincial/Mixed_emotions_for_fired_BC_health_care_worker_after_vaccine_mandate_lifted/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. MEDIA RELEASE: B.C. Public Servant and Health Care Worker Class Action Certification Hearing Starts April 28. (2025, April 18). BCPS Employees for Freedom Society. https://bcpsforfreedom.com/media-release-b-c-public-servant-and-health-care-worker-class-action-certification-hearing-starts-april-28/ ↩︎

  4. About UHCWBC. United Health Care Workers of BC. Retrieved April 26, 2025, from https://unitedtogether.ca/about-uhcwbc/ ↩︎