The National Citizen's Inquiry (NCI) into Canada's COVID-19 response is calling for people across the country to testify as witnesses in nine upcoming hearings.."With polls showing that 3 out of every 4 Canadians felt harmed by the pandemic response, politicians and bureaucrats reviewing their own notes is not enough. Canadians want their voices to be heard," said a press release from the NCI.."The National Citizens Inquiry will give a voice and a platform to those who have been left out of the government’s pantomime.".The press release said the closing of the Public Order Emergencies Commission, which was tasked with determining whether the federal government was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy, left Canadians with more questions than answers about the response to COVID-19..The NCI aims to give a voice and a platform to those who have been "left out of the government’s pantomime.".The press release said that it will take the full support and participation of the Canadian public for there to be a "real conversation around what went right, what went wrong, and how we can properly prepare for the future.".The inquiry is calling for people who have expertise in the categories of economics, health care, learning, mental health and wellness, constitutional expertise, and "any other area significantly affected by pandemic response at any level" to testify..The call also extends to Canadians whose personal stories may have been overlooked, which will help "illuminate any shortcomings in the responses of the last year." Manning previously told the Western Standard this will include Canadians who were harmed by COVID-19 vaccines or vaccine mandates..READ MORE: Vaccine-injured to testify at citizen's inquiry into 'unprecedented' government response to COVID.The inquiry's in-person and virtual hearings are expected to begin in mid-March and conclude by mid-May. The proposed locations are Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Red Deer, Victoria, and Ottawa, with the commissioners expected to produce their final report by late June..Preston Manning, who chairs the citizen's group responsible for the NCI, said he is taking a number of measures to ensure the commission does not turn into a "gripe-fest." The first is to finish the inquiry with recommendations of how the government could better deal with a future pandemic.."Secondly, people that testify, they'll be asked to swear to affirm that what they are telling is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And they will be subject to cross-examination.".Manning added if Canadians believe the commission is becoming too biased, they are free to apply to testify and correct the record.."Don't just sit there and complain and say, 'this is skewed or it's going the wrong way.' Provide the antidote to that, and there'll be an opportunity to do that," he said..Manning was asked about comments by NDP Health Critic Don Davies, who recently said Conservatives want to "play political games with a partisan pandemic panel led by Preston Manning.".READ MORE: NDP calls for independent inquiry into federal COVID-19 response.The former Conservative MP responded by pointing out Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith have also called for an independent inquiry into the country's pandemic response. ."So there's a number of people calling for this, though many of these calls are for the government itself to hold the inquiry, which has problems with respect to a slant, because you're asking the government to investigate themselves," Manning said.."So what we're saying is the best chance of this being as impartial as possible if it's independently-led and citizen-led, not led by either by either the government or by the opposition parties.".Manning confirmed no health officials or politicians from any level of government have yet agreed to testify. He said because the inquiry is not being held under the federal or provincial Public Inquiries Act, the NCI does not have the power to compel witnesses to testify.."All it will be able to do is invite some of those officials to testify. If they sympathize with the spirit of what is being done, hopefully some of them will comply.".Any Canadian who would like to testify can apply to do so at Witnesses – National Citizen’s Inquiry (nationalcitizensinquiry.ca)
