The BC-based non-profit taking legal action against the provincial government’s COVID-19 related measures concluded day three of its much anticipated certification hearing on Wednesday, claiming Crown counsel is “dragging its heels” in regards to publishing a previously agreed upon webcast of the proceedings..The Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy (CSASPP) filed a proposed class action suit against Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry in January 2021. Nearly two years later, the organization is locked in its most important battle yet — obtaining certification..Not to be mistaken with CSASPP’s petition for healthcare workers faced with vaccination mandates, nor its recently axed — and since appealed — vaccine passport petition, the class action aims to hold Henry accountable for the province’s COVID-19 related measures implemented in March of 2020, when Henry declared a state of emergency.. Flyer .Contingent upon certification, CSASPP says trial dates have been set for April 2023..Issues arise over where footage of hearings will be posted.CSASPP’s counsel, Polina Furtula, provided her submissions to BC Supreme Court Justice David Crerar Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and will continue to do so Thursday. Crown counsel will provide submissions once Furtula is finished..Shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, nearly 100 people gathered outside the courtroom to attend the hearing's first day. Within minutes of the doors opening at 10 a.m., every seat was taken. .BC Sheriffs permitted standing room along the far wall of the courtroom as stragglers arrived. Healthcare workers attended wearing scrubs; lawyers not connected to the case came to “see the show,” as they put it..One unique aspect of the hearing is that the judge previously granted an order allowing it to be recorded and streamed to the public each following day..READ MORE: Organization suing Henry moves forward in attempt to film hearings.A class certification hearing has never been filmed before in BC, but despite CSASPP’s historic success in having the order granted, it says Crown counsel is “dragging its heels” in regard to where the footage will be posted..“We have tried and exhausted diplomacy, but the fact is that they either do not understand the technical requirements they are insisting on, or are intentionally acting in bad faith to prevent you from seeing what has been going on,” said Kip Warner, CSASPP’s executive director Tuesday..The order was granted to permit the filming on November 7, leading to an ongoing series of prickly exchanges between parties regarding digital rights management among other factors..Being the most popular, practical, and cost effective platform, the BC government has used YouTube for years, including streaming the Cullen Commission footage and providing extensive COVID-19 updates. Nonetheless, CSASPP says Crown counsel is hellbent on making sure the certification hearing's footage does not make it onto the platform..“We drafted a letter to the court advising that the parties had reached an agreement. That should have been the end of it,” said Warner..However, two days before certification was to begin, Crown counsel pulled out of its previous agreement, citing problems with YouTube’s terms of service. CSASPP had agreed to use the unlisted and demonetized settings, which would presumably prevent the footage from being used “in ways they [Crown counsel] feared," as Warner said..In the interest of making the footage available as soon as possible, Warner said he’d have it uploaded to the video platform Vimeo, despite bandwidth concerns..“Unless Dr. Henry’s counsel decides to change their mind again at the eleventh hour, or the court does not approve of Vimeo, expect that this is where the footage will be published as soon as possible.”.Much to Warner’s dismay, Crown counsel did change its mind yet again, effectively preventing CSASPP from uploading to Vimeo on Wednesday. Warner said he is working on a plan..“Remember, unlike the other side, we do not have a $60B budget. We are not staying in hotels and receiving salaries out of the public treasury. We are all volunteers,” said Warner..“Please continue to contribute financially to our work. I think it is fair to say now that you are all aware we are a good investment and, perhaps, the only one left.”.Concerns about PCR test cycle thresholds.Aside from the webcast dispute, Furtula’s submissions and exchanges with Justice Crerar held the gallery’s attention as she addressed the government's COVID-19 practices. She specifically mentioned polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests yielding false positives, death tolls, vaccine passports, and more — and she did so with a focus on a report from Dr. Joel Kettner, Manitoba’s former chief medical officer..The PCR test — which has become familiar to most Canadians — is a tool often used in medical and biological research labs to detect the presence or absence of a gene. While the test can presumably detect the presence of a virus if one is infected, it can also detect fragments of the virus post-infection..The CSASPP argues that data from PCR tests used by the province is unreliable. They say that the higher the test’s cycle threshold (CT) is, the more likely it is to yield a false positive, potentially crediting an inflated number of deaths to COVID-19..The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) public health laboratory’s medical director, Dr. Mel Krajden, told the Western Standard in 2021 that despite a potential for false positives, a high CT is needed to detect early infection. As part of the Provincial Health Services Authority, the BCCDC provides data to the provincial health officer in regard to disease surveillance, detection, prevention, and treatment..Krajden is, as UBC professor Steven Pelech previously put it, "arguably the foremost authority in the province on COVID-19 data, at least on paper.".Krajden argued that a "very high" CT was needed to detect the low viral load of an early infection..“People don’t understand that in early infection, you will get at very high CT a very low viral load, and then as the infection progresses you get a high viral load and a low CT,” he said..Krajden acknowledged, however, that the test does not differentiate between what may be an early infection, versus what may be inactive genetic debris that poses no threat..In October 2021 he said the CT varied across jurisdictions in BC, but confirmed it is “typically in the range of 35-42,” and sometimes mid-40s, which is considered by many, including Pelech, to be an excessively high CT for accurately determining infection..The province did not take the probability of false positives into account when reporting COVID-19 deaths to justify its state of emergency. When this was addressed by Furtula in court, Crerar showed particular interest..CSASPP could seek damage costs for up to three million people.Crerar noted he’s taken steps to ensure he has “an open mind,” such as intentionally avoiding other COVID-19-related matters in BC. He further acknowledged that some information known to others may take him by surprise as a result of his efforts to maintain a supposedly unbiased mindset..Furtula further highlighted a September 20, 2021 staff forum when Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Patricia Daly, said vaccine passports are not intended to prevent transmission. Furtula addressed other incidents where health experts had contradicted government policy..READ MORE: BC officials contradict each other on vaccine passports.If CSASPP achieves certification, Furtula says the society will seek both a lump sum as well as damage costs for individuals, which may result in up to three million claims..Crown counsel will provide its submissions once Furtula is finished doing so, following which Crerar will determine if the lawsuit meets the requirements needed for a class action — and that is a big if..As for the unresolved webcast squabble, Warner provided an update to the Western Standard late Wednesday evening, noting that CSASPP has been inundated with requests from people across the country wanting to see the footage..“We have to tell them they have only our government to blame,” he said.."We've humoured them with various indulgences. But it's not really about the minor issues and they know that. They just don't want the world to see what's going on. That's all. Everything else is just footnotes on that."
