The Final Report of the National Citizens Inquiry into Canada’s response to COVID-19 was released during a virtual hearing on Tuesday. The report contains hundreds of recommendations impacting all segments of Canadian society. It was based on the testimony of more than 300 members of the public and expert witnesses during 24 days of hearings in eight cities and additional virtual hearings.The independent, citizen-led, citizen-funded inquiry was structured to be impartial, non-biased and free from political influence, with no funding from government and no large corporate funding. The report laments although subpoenas were issued to 63 members of government, regulators and authorities urging them to testify, none appeared.The report describes profound damage done to Canadian society and its institutions, including testimony from people who experienced adverse vaccine reactions, disruption of livelihoods and education, impaired mental health, reputational damage, professional discipline and censorship. Expert witnesses included doctors, scientists, lawyers, economists, teachers, psychologists, morticians, experts in risk management, public policy, emergency management, occupational health and safety, aviation safety, pharmacy, policing and journalism.“These testimonies provide irrefutable evidence that an unprecedented assault has been waged against the citizens of Canada. Not since (the Second World War) has the nation experienced such a devastating attack on its people,” Drysdale said.“The policy, legal and health authority interventions into the lives of Canadians, our families, businesses, and communities were, and to a great extent remain, significant. In particular, these interventions have impacted the physical and mental health, civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, jobs and livelihoods and overall social and economic well-being of nearly all Canadians.”Drysdale expressed deep appreciation for those who testified, but offered sharp criticism for broadcast mainstream media. He said they played a “sinister role…in terrorizing the public and then merely acting as mouthpieces of the government who relentlessly pounded Canadians with 24/7 propaganda without questions."“But the wholesale abandonment of long-held fundamental beliefs and even codified law was not the sole purview of the media. Many public and private bodies such as schools, medical providers and regulators, unions, justice and policing all failed Canadians. These institutions and individuals must also be held to account.”The primary recommendations of the report concerned COVID-19 “genetic vaccines.” The report said their use “should be stopped immediately.” In addition, “A full judicial investigation of the process under which the COVID-19 vaccinations were authorized in Canada must be carried out. Criminal liability, if discovered, may be dealt with under existing Canadian law.”A press release from the NCI summarized a broad list of recommendations.Conduct a thorough review of the Canadian courts’ handling of pandemic-related cases and their impact on the rule of law. Rebuild public confidence in the justice system by addressing concerns raised during the pandemic.Examine and reform the extent of executive authority during emergencies, ensuring proper checks and balances to prevent unelected officials from making far-reaching decisions without accountability or oversight.Establish a clear framework for the oversight of public health authorities’ decision-making processes during emergencies to balance public health needs with individual rights and freedoms.Enact legislation that requires administrative bodies to demonstrate their expertise and rationale for decisions, particularly when those decisions infringe on individual and human rights.Establish a clear framework for the oversight of public health authorities’ decision-making processes during emergencies to balance public health needs with individual rights and freedoms.Conduct an independent, multidisciplinary inquiry into the governance of professional colleges, especially those governing medical professionals, to ensure transparency, independence and accountability in their decision-making and that activities of the colleges adhere to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Safeguard healthcare professionals’ freedom of expression while ensuring they provide accurate and evidence-based information to the public.Review the ability of regulators to interfere in the patient–practitioner relationship, ensuring that professional judgment remains independent and guided by the best interests of the patient, including privacy protection of patient medical information.The government should review labour laws to ensure they provide adequate protection to both unionized and non-unionized employees during health emergencies such as the pandemic. This should include mechanisms for addressing workplace issues related to mandates and safety concerns.Ensure that in-person learning remains the primary mode of education, even during public health crises. Remote learning should only be used as a last resort and for a limited duration and in conjunction with parental consultation.Develop strategies to support vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, those struggling with addiction and victims of domestic abuse, during crises. Ensure access to essential services is maintained.Canada should reinforce the importance of Informed Consent, especially in the context of medical treatments such as vaccines. It should ensure individuals have access to comprehensive information about medical treatments, including potential risks and benefits and have the right to refuse treatment without coercion.Immediate development of a Judicial Panel, overseen by citizens, with the responsibility to investigate the human rights violations that were committed by both government and private corporations during the pandemic.Carry out immediate judicial reviews of all pandemic-related court cases that were denied on the basis of mootness or judicial notice.All levels of government must recognize that all religions including the body of Christ church is paramount in a free and democratic society and must be afforded all protections and shields guaranteed under the Criminal Code, the Canada Constitution, 1867, the Bill of Rights, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Commission a study to determine the validity of setting up a National Crisis Oversight Council to safeguard democratic principles, protect individual rights and maintain public trust during future emergencies, such as pandemics. The NCI also recommends that "Canada register immediate reservation against the Pandemic Convention and the amendments to the International Health Regulations once they are put forth by the WHO to allow time for proper consideration of the initiatives and their potential impact on Canada. At the same time, Canada should conduct a public inquiry and consultation into the benefits and risks of both its current obligations under the WHO, and the proposed Pandemic Convention and proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations."At the media event announcing the report’s release, Shawn Buckley, lead counsel for the NCI, said the hearings were on the “verge of collapse” many times, but divine providence allowed their completion. He credited the trucker convoy for prompting a period of “peace” that followed where many public measures against the pandemic were lifted.Buckley said the convoy “wrote the first chapter” of recent history, the NCI wrote the second, and “The next chapter is up to those watching to write.” He urged Canadians to “hold the line” and make Canada “a loving, free and peaceful nation once again.”The lawyer said many potential witnesses dropped out due to fears of economic, social or other repercussions. Even so, he said the coast-to-coast NCI hearings drew Canadians together to find courage and support.“We learned that we are not alone. We learned that we can overcome our fear. We are going to feel fear going forward, but we have been there, we have done that and we understand that we can master and overcome our fear. And we have learned that we can no longer sit still. We can no longer sit on our couches and have Canada lose their freedoms,” Buckley said.Digital copies of the Report are available at https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca.The NCI commissioners are:Chairperson Kenneth R. Drysdale, FEC, P.Eng., an executive engineer;Heather DiGregorio, a senior partner in a law firm;Janice Kaikkonen, MA, an educator and elected school board trustee;Bernard Massie, PhD, an independent consultant in biotechnology.
The Final Report of the National Citizens Inquiry into Canada’s response to COVID-19 was released during a virtual hearing on Tuesday. The report contains hundreds of recommendations impacting all segments of Canadian society. It was based on the testimony of more than 300 members of the public and expert witnesses during 24 days of hearings in eight cities and additional virtual hearings.The independent, citizen-led, citizen-funded inquiry was structured to be impartial, non-biased and free from political influence, with no funding from government and no large corporate funding. The report laments although subpoenas were issued to 63 members of government, regulators and authorities urging them to testify, none appeared.The report describes profound damage done to Canadian society and its institutions, including testimony from people who experienced adverse vaccine reactions, disruption of livelihoods and education, impaired mental health, reputational damage, professional discipline and censorship. Expert witnesses included doctors, scientists, lawyers, economists, teachers, psychologists, morticians, experts in risk management, public policy, emergency management, occupational health and safety, aviation safety, pharmacy, policing and journalism.“These testimonies provide irrefutable evidence that an unprecedented assault has been waged against the citizens of Canada. Not since (the Second World War) has the nation experienced such a devastating attack on its people,” Drysdale said.“The policy, legal and health authority interventions into the lives of Canadians, our families, businesses, and communities were, and to a great extent remain, significant. In particular, these interventions have impacted the physical and mental health, civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, jobs and livelihoods and overall social and economic well-being of nearly all Canadians.”Drysdale expressed deep appreciation for those who testified, but offered sharp criticism for broadcast mainstream media. He said they played a “sinister role…in terrorizing the public and then merely acting as mouthpieces of the government who relentlessly pounded Canadians with 24/7 propaganda without questions."“But the wholesale abandonment of long-held fundamental beliefs and even codified law was not the sole purview of the media. Many public and private bodies such as schools, medical providers and regulators, unions, justice and policing all failed Canadians. These institutions and individuals must also be held to account.”The primary recommendations of the report concerned COVID-19 “genetic vaccines.” The report said their use “should be stopped immediately.” In addition, “A full judicial investigation of the process under which the COVID-19 vaccinations were authorized in Canada must be carried out. Criminal liability, if discovered, may be dealt with under existing Canadian law.”A press release from the NCI summarized a broad list of recommendations.Conduct a thorough review of the Canadian courts’ handling of pandemic-related cases and their impact on the rule of law. Rebuild public confidence in the justice system by addressing concerns raised during the pandemic.Examine and reform the extent of executive authority during emergencies, ensuring proper checks and balances to prevent unelected officials from making far-reaching decisions without accountability or oversight.Establish a clear framework for the oversight of public health authorities’ decision-making processes during emergencies to balance public health needs with individual rights and freedoms.Enact legislation that requires administrative bodies to demonstrate their expertise and rationale for decisions, particularly when those decisions infringe on individual and human rights.Establish a clear framework for the oversight of public health authorities’ decision-making processes during emergencies to balance public health needs with individual rights and freedoms.Conduct an independent, multidisciplinary inquiry into the governance of professional colleges, especially those governing medical professionals, to ensure transparency, independence and accountability in their decision-making and that activities of the colleges adhere to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Safeguard healthcare professionals’ freedom of expression while ensuring they provide accurate and evidence-based information to the public.Review the ability of regulators to interfere in the patient–practitioner relationship, ensuring that professional judgment remains independent and guided by the best interests of the patient, including privacy protection of patient medical information.The government should review labour laws to ensure they provide adequate protection to both unionized and non-unionized employees during health emergencies such as the pandemic. This should include mechanisms for addressing workplace issues related to mandates and safety concerns.Ensure that in-person learning remains the primary mode of education, even during public health crises. Remote learning should only be used as a last resort and for a limited duration and in conjunction with parental consultation.Develop strategies to support vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, those struggling with addiction and victims of domestic abuse, during crises. Ensure access to essential services is maintained.Canada should reinforce the importance of Informed Consent, especially in the context of medical treatments such as vaccines. It should ensure individuals have access to comprehensive information about medical treatments, including potential risks and benefits and have the right to refuse treatment without coercion.Immediate development of a Judicial Panel, overseen by citizens, with the responsibility to investigate the human rights violations that were committed by both government and private corporations during the pandemic.Carry out immediate judicial reviews of all pandemic-related court cases that were denied on the basis of mootness or judicial notice.All levels of government must recognize that all religions including the body of Christ church is paramount in a free and democratic society and must be afforded all protections and shields guaranteed under the Criminal Code, the Canada Constitution, 1867, the Bill of Rights, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Commission a study to determine the validity of setting up a National Crisis Oversight Council to safeguard democratic principles, protect individual rights and maintain public trust during future emergencies, such as pandemics. The NCI also recommends that "Canada register immediate reservation against the Pandemic Convention and the amendments to the International Health Regulations once they are put forth by the WHO to allow time for proper consideration of the initiatives and their potential impact on Canada. At the same time, Canada should conduct a public inquiry and consultation into the benefits and risks of both its current obligations under the WHO, and the proposed Pandemic Convention and proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations."At the media event announcing the report’s release, Shawn Buckley, lead counsel for the NCI, said the hearings were on the “verge of collapse” many times, but divine providence allowed their completion. He credited the trucker convoy for prompting a period of “peace” that followed where many public measures against the pandemic were lifted.Buckley said the convoy “wrote the first chapter” of recent history, the NCI wrote the second, and “The next chapter is up to those watching to write.” He urged Canadians to “hold the line” and make Canada “a loving, free and peaceful nation once again.”The lawyer said many potential witnesses dropped out due to fears of economic, social or other repercussions. Even so, he said the coast-to-coast NCI hearings drew Canadians together to find courage and support.“We learned that we are not alone. We learned that we can overcome our fear. We are going to feel fear going forward, but we have been there, we have done that and we understand that we can master and overcome our fear. And we have learned that we can no longer sit still. We can no longer sit on our couches and have Canada lose their freedoms,” Buckley said.Digital copies of the Report are available at https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca.The NCI commissioners are:Chairperson Kenneth R. Drysdale, FEC, P.Eng., an executive engineer;Heather DiGregorio, a senior partner in a law firm;Janice Kaikkonen, MA, an educator and elected school board trustee;Bernard Massie, PhD, an independent consultant in biotechnology.
