Shannon Wylie was employed by WestJet Airlines as a flight attendant for 13 years. This was her beloved career, and also a passion and a lifestyle that brought her a sense of profound accomplishment, pride, and purpose. She held this position for a significant part of her life, and it became part of her identity.

But Shannon’s true identity is in Christ. And as a devout Christian, seeking God’s guidance through prayer for major decisions in life has always been her regular practice of faith. Long before the COVID-19 “vaccine” mandate was ever implemented, or even before she knew many details about the “vaccine”, God gave her a warning, through prayer and spiritual discernment, to stay far away from this. Shannon believes what it says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, that as a Christian, “your body is the temple of The Holy Spirit…” and you should “glorify God in your body…”, so she would have dishonoured God if she disobeyed Him.

Shannon believes in the sanctity of all human life, and that God has chosen and created each person with purpose, even before and at the moment of conception. This conviction is deeply rooted in her faith and reflected in God’s Word (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139: 13,16). She believes God has given Christians a moral duty to defend the innocent and voiceless, and to take no part in the shedding of innocent human blood (Exodus 20:13 and 23:7). She discovered the COVID-19 “vaccines” were developed, tested, and manufactured using abortion-derived fetal cells/cell lines. Accepting this “vaccine” would have violated her faith and conscience, while also compromising her relationship with God.

Shannon’s sincere dedication to obey God’s Word & instructions, outweighed the threat of losing her beloved career. Her stand on this matter was clear and strong from the beginning, and remains unwavering to this day.

In 2021, as WestJet attempted to enforce the COVID-19 “vaccine”, Shannon requested a religious accommodation citing her deeply held genuine Christian beliefs and convictions. She weighed the possible unjust cost to her, yet she was not willing to compromise her convictions. Nor should she have ever been coerced to do so, under the threat of losing a career she loved for 13 years. Although persecution is a part of a Christian’s life, this does not mean that injustice should be tolerated. For this reason, Shannon took a stand and continues to defend her religious freedoms and human rights.

 

What Happened

  • December 2021 – Shannon submitted her accommodation request.
  • January 4, 2022 – WestJet denied her request, while falsely stating that she only offered “secular” and “philosophical” reasons.
  • January 13, 2022 – CUPE (her union) did not grieve the accommodation denial.
  • January 21, 2022 – WestJet fired Shannon, with no severance. She was only 2 years away from her 15-year goal of her “flights for life” retirement eligibility.
  • February-March 2022 – Shannon requested CUPE file a termination grievance, and requested arbitration. This was placed in abeyance, without her consent.
  • October 2022 – After the mandates lifted, WestJet offered to reinstate Shannon, but required her to sign a new contract which contained lies. Her conscience could not sign anything agreeing to lies as truth, where they claimed they did not violate her rights. CUPE later withdrew her grievance and closed her file.
  • October 2022 – Human Rights Complaint filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

 

Why This Case Matters

Shannon’s employer and union failed to protect her human rights in several ways:

  • WestJet failed their legal obligations to grant her a human rights accommodation.
  • WestJet dismissed and misrepresented her sincerely held religious beliefs.
  • CUPE never granted a grievance for her accommodation denial, nor provided an opportunity for arbitration.
  • WestJet terminated Shannon’s employment without severance, simply for her faith.
  • WestJet forced her to decide between salvaging her cherished career or preserving her conscience, relationship with God, and deeply held Christian beliefs.

 

Current Legal Stage and Possible Future Steps

With the help of her lawyer, James SM Kitchen, Shannon is taking the next step with her human rights complaint. She is prepared to bring her case forward until she obtains justice as she believes tolerating injustices only allows repetition of them. Shannon’s motivations to win this case extend beyond impacting her alone, to creating positive change in this world.

Readers interested in supporting Shannon may do so here.

This article was prepared by the editorial team at Kitchen & Wells LLP
to provide general information on current legal matters.