National Citizens Inquiry – Day 03 Truro, NS

The conclusion to the Atlantic portion of the National Citizens Inquiry occurred on March 18th 2023, held at the Best Western Glengarry in Truro, Nova Scotia. Though the gallery started at around 50% capacity in the morning, it was abuzz with excitement, and reached almost 100% capacity by the end of the day. Online stats for the day indicated more than 9000 views across social media platforms, while the total impressions for the event on Twitter exceeded 1.1 million: the event’s Twitter page received a 7% percent engagement rate, which is far higher than the average Twitter engagement rate of 0.05%.

The opening testimony was from expert witness Dr. Laura Braden, a molecular biologist and immunologist from Prince Edward Island. Her presentation and testimony focused on four key points: the lack of effectiveness of mask wearing to prevent the spread of an aerosolized virus; the inappropriate use of the PCR test as the metric for disease prevalence in a population; the genomic sequence of COVID-19; and the good lab practices that were not present in the creation of the COVID vaccines. 

With regard to the mandatory masking policy, which in Nova Scotia is still in place in high risk settings, and which some businesses are continuing to instate, Dr. Braden echoed statements made earlier on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Inquiry that scientific studies such as the Danmask study and now the Cochrane Collaboration – a meta-analysis of 78 Randomised Control Trials carried out both pre- and post-COVID – indicate that surgical or cloth mask wearing, and even the use of N95 masks, had no impact in reducing the risk of infection from respiratory viruses. Dr. Braden stated that public health officials were ignoring this science.

Dr. Braden then went on to discuss the use of the PCR test and the myth perpetuated by public health of ‘asymptomatic spread’, citing the massive study published in Nature which showed that asymptomatic positive PCR results were false positives, and that no asymptomatic individual who tested positive for COVID-19 using PCR carried infectious virus, as confirmed by virus cultures. Dr. Braden cited the November 2020 ruling by two Portuguese Court of Appeal judges who ruled that while the PCR test could determine the presence of the RNA sequence for SARS-COV-2, it could not be used as a measure of infectiousness, and that huge numbers of the results were false positives due to cycle thresholds of over 35. Nova Scotia’s labs ran a total of 45 cycles.

Dr. Braden’s biggest bombshell came during her discussion of good lab practices, an area in which Dr. Braden has extensive experience, and the manufacture of the COVID vaccines. She testified that “every injection is a new event”, for it is simply not known what each vial contains. Dr. Braden cited a series of studies performed by Dr. Kevin McKernan which show that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are contaminated with whole strands of DNA, truncated mRNA and different kinds of plasmids, anywhere from 18-70 times the EMA’s “acceptable contamination” limit – something that can only occur if proper lab practices are ignored. The EMA’s standard for approval of Pfizer’s commercial vaccines was only 55% mRNA integrity, a shockingly low bar to set.

Dr. Braden’s testimony was followed by that of Dr. Tucker, a military doctor with 20 years of military service, who expressed his concern for the mental health of the military personnel and their families who were affected by the COVID restrictions. He testified that the denial of vaccine exemptions in the Canadian Armed Forces had a negative effect on the mental health of patients he saw.

Dr. Tucker also stated that the age stratification of risk of COVID-19 was well understood by the end of 2020, a claim later echoed by another expert witness, Dr. Aris Lavranos, a Nova Scotian emergency room doctor. Lavranos also addressed the fact that the stigmatization and criminalization of certain health choices, and the use of inflammatory language toward a group because of their health choices, is never healthy for society.

Dr. Dion Davidson, one of only a handful of vascular surgeons practicing throughout Nova Scotia and PEI, provided further testimony to the effect that even though there were very few critically ill COVID patients until late 2021, elective surgeries were deferred for months. Dr. Davidson also spoke about the principles of medical ethics, particularly the principle of informed consent, which he indicated was not followed during the COVID crisis. He stated also that he is resigning and is leaving Nova Scotia “because of the public health response to the COVID pandemic”. 

To follow, we heard testimony from Linda Adshade who worked as a public health official during the COVID-19 crisis and was in charge of contacting the  people awaiting the results of their PCR tests. She testified that the official reporting of positive and negative cases from the province was incongruent with the numbers that were being reported to the public.

The day ended with testimony from other Canadians who had lost their jobs, had been mistreated by healthcare professionals when admitted for COVID-19, or had been left severely injured following COVID vaccination. We were also treated to a video message from Jordan Peterson.

The commissioners’ report is expected to be released to the public in June, after the concluding hearings take place in Ottawa. Each commissioner was vetted to ensure a diverse array of expertise: one is a lawyer, another a philosopher, one an immunologist, a project manager and then a historian of war crimes.

Their goal for the NCI is to democratize information again, and mount public pressure on the institutions that enacted COVID policies in the hopes that it affects real change according to the will of the people, thereby restoring the public’s faith in Canadian institutions. 

Janice Kaikkonen drew parallels between the COVID crisis and The Krever Inquiry and the Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s, hoping that the NCI has the same impact on crisis policy that the Krever Inquiry had on blood collection and donation.

The Toronto portion of the NCI has just wrapped up, and the next hearings are set to take place in Winnipeg from April 13-15. A video of each hearing is available on the National Citizens Inquiry website, along with clips of many of the witnesses’ statements. The petition to support the Inquiry will be live for the duration of the hearings, and donations can be made to help this entirely citizen-led and citizen-funded public event.

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Judicial Review update: April

All motions were granted by the court; a much desired outcome for CANS and its members: “The Applicant, Citizens’ Alliance of Nova Scotia (CANS), comes before this court seeking to engage the Judiciary to perform a vital and rigorous ‘check’ among the ‘checks and balances’ integral to Canada’s constitutional democracy. The Applicant is asking the Judicial branch of government to take a critical look at decisions and actions taken by the Executive branch of government to determine if they are reasonable and lawful”

How have I been? Well…

How have I been? Well…
I suppose it starts with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. It was an emotional few weeks, and it culminated in a violent quelling of a peaceful protest, which was perfectly in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 2(c) (the fundamental freedom of peaceful assembly). It was legal to participate in, and fund, such a gathering until the government decided to pass orders and measures which made it illegal.

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