Why Injured Canadians’ Stories Matter

Day 1 · 3:56:01 · Dean Allison · Teresa Buckley

• 📋 Allison cites 58,000-plus adverse reports, 3,000-plus admissible VISP claims, and only about 250 compensated.
• 💸 A Globe and Mail report showed most of $54 million to administrator Oxaro went to overhead, not claimants.
• 🌍 Canada is an outlier versus 30-plus democracies that held COVID inquiries; this forum lets injured voices be heard now.

Chair reopens on compensation failure and Canada’s missing national review.

← Thanks, Media Blackout, and Morning Adjournment | Volunteer Appeal: Break the Silence on Vaccine Injury →

Transcript

Dean Allison · 3:56:01

We're going to adjourn now until, uh, 1:15. So thank you very much for, uh, being here today. Over the past several years, Canadians experienced the pandemic in very different ways. Many families lost loved ones to COVID-19. We had many frontline healthcare workers and our first responders carried an enormous burden, and I want to thank all our first responders and our frontline healthcare workers for all the work that you do every single day. But there was also Canadians who suffered serious adverse events following vaccination.

Dean Allison · 3:57:49

Canadians who feel their stories and compassion for the those who were injured following the vaccination, and a commitment to transparency, accountability, and giving people a chance to share their story— giving people a chance to share their stories and to be heard. Canadians should never be afraid to tell their stories, and government should never be afraid to listen. Today I want to highlight two reasons why these stories matter and why Canada needs a more thorough exam— or the experience of Canadians who were injured. Government recognizes this, even the Liberals recognize this, and federal reporting— been over 58,000 adverse events reported in Canada, quite as serious. The Federal Vaccine Injury Support Program had received more than 3,000 of those claims were deemed admissible for review. And so the government acknowledged that people had been injured, and yet only over 250 people have been compensated.

Dean Allison · 3:58:54

Those numbers alone tell the story on just how slow and unfair the process has been. Many individuals tell us they have struggled to be heard, struggled to navigate the system, and struggle to obtain answers. There are legitimate questions about whether the support program is delivering the assistance efficiently. According to the report by the Globe and Mail last year, more than $54 million was provided to Oxaro, the company administering the vaccine injury support program, with more than $36 million being spent on administration. That's two-thirds, uh, spent on administration, while only a fraction of the claims have resulted in compensation. Whether one supports or opposes government pandemic policies, I believe Canadians agree on one principle: if people have been harmed, they deserve compensation, support, transparency, and timely assistance. Second, Canada's increasingly become an outlier among democratic nations when it comes to reviewing what happened during the pandemic. More than 30 democratic countries have launched significant COVID inquiries, including public commissions, parliamentary investigations, and independent national reviews.

Dean Allison · 3:59:57

These include countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, the United States, many G7 countries and many Commonwealth countries have recognized an event of this magnitude deserves careful examination. These reviews have looked at government decision-making, lockdowns, mandates, policies, vaccine policies, economic impacts, public health preparedness, and civil liberties concerns. They have not undertaken these inquiries because they all had the answers. They undertook them because their citizens deserve answers. Yet here in Canada, one of the most significant events in modern national history has never been examined through a comprehensive national public inquiry with the level of transparency and independence that many Canadians believe is necessary. That said, we're not proposing the national inquiry today. What we are proposing is something more immediate and accessible, an opportunity for Canadians to share their experiences, tell their stories, and ensure that their voices are are heard.

Dean Allison · 4:00:58

As I've traveled across the country, and as my colleagues have traveled across the country, we have heard countless stories from Canadians. People have come to my office, people have written letters, they've sent emails.

Teresa Buckley · 4:01:10

Some lost loved ones If you have experienced an adverse reaction, if you're bereaved, if you've lost a loved one, or if you're caring for someone who's suffering, please reach out.