Last week a very different type of process took place on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Although the undertaking was unofficial, not sanctioned by government and costs were not covered by taxpayers, Niagara West Conservative MP Dean Allison chose to conduct an independent inquiry into the negative impacts of COVID-19 vaccines on Canadians. The purpose of the Inquiry was defined as giving vaccine injury victims an opportunity to be heard, and not to make findings of fact or reach conclusions. Health Canada did not appear.
Canadians were invited to ask to testify if they had been injured by any of the vaccines. The Inquiry received 1,400 requests to appear and was able to accommodate testimony from 50 witnesses. In some cases, a family member of the victim appeared as the victim had passed away, apparently from the effects of the vaccine. The hearings went on for four days.
The types of injuries reported by the witnesses were varied, although many were related to heart issues such as myocarditis emerging after receiving the vaccine. Witness also detailed a range of long-term physical and neurological conditions such as paralysis, chronic inflammation and mobility issues. A common complaint was how victims found medical professionals, government officials and others often denied that the injuries could have been caused by the vaccines. Canadians were repeated told of how safe the vaccines were without officials admitting there were problems that were not communicated to Canadians.
Shocking testimony was received from Rodney Palmer, a former CBC producer and journalist. Palmer said that he observed during the pandemic that CBC had morphed into the kind of broadcaster one would expect to find in North Korea, China or Syria, not in Canada. He said this was a state broadcaster, not a public broadcaster. He went on to say that the CBC was guilty of “the intentional manipulation of public opinion through lies and half-truths.” He stated that the CBC was merely parroting what the government wanted it to say, not what was the truth, during the pandemic. It was bombshell testimony. Considering recent CBC scandals such as the revelations by former CBC news journalist Travis Dhanraj that he wasn’t allowed to interview Conservatives and CBC’s attempts to avoid mentioning 9/11 as a terrorist attack, the CBC certainly has a serious ongoing credibility problem with Canadians.
Ottawa Police Constable Helen Grus also appeared to comment on her investigation into an inordinate number of infant deaths that appeared to have links to the vaccine. For her trouble and honesty, she was demoted by the Ottawa Police. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson also appeared before the Inquiry and largely criticized U.S. medical doctor and former presidential medical advisor Anthony Fauci for his behaviour during the pandemic.
Complaints about Health Canada’s Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) were also recorded. The program was reportedly very difficult to deal with – not surprising for any government program, unfortunately. Of 1,433 claims submitted to the VISP, only 252 were approved and just over $21 million was paid out. Some witnesses noted they had been caught up in the appeal process of the program for years.
Not surprisingly, there was very little coverage of the Inquiry in the mainstream media. This was unfortunate but, as most legacy media are currently being heavily financed by our tax dollars, they are loath to do anything to make the current government look bad in case they lose their subsidies. Fortunately, the proceedings were all recorded so Canadians can see what went on, and independent media covered the hearings very well.
The Inquiry’s website noted that over 30 developed countries conducted some type of postmortem examination of how they performed in terms of lockdowns, mandates and government decision-making around the pandemic, for the record and to determine ways a future pandemic could be better handled. Canada did not. Kudos to Allison for taking the initiative and being creative in finding a way that COVID vaccine victims could be heard. As the current Liberal government in Ottawa prefers secrecy, not transparency, in its ongoing activities, the Allison Inquiry format could provide a model for future investigations where the government refuses to be transparent with Canadians.
Catherine Swift was President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers & Businesses Canada from 2022 to 2026. She was previously President of Working Canadians from 2015-2021 & President & CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) from 1995-2014. She was Chief Economist of the CFIB from 1987-1995, Senior Economist with TD Bank from 1983-1987 & held several positions with the federal government from 1976-1983.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
