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The federal government bureaucrat who wrote the policy barring unvaccinated Canadians from flying or traveling by train said she had no recollection of health officials ordering travel vaccinations, according to court documents.
Jennifer Little, Transport Canada’s executive director of Covid recovery, made the comments on June 9 and 10 when she was called as a government witness to support the mandate in federal court.
“I don’t recall a direct recommendation,” Little replied, when asked if she knew on June 9 that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) or its parent department, Health Canada, had recommended a mandatory vaccination policy for travelers.
“We actually worked closely with them in developing the government-backed policy. So in terms of the written recommendation, for example, no,” she said.
The court proceedings are related to lawsuits challenging the federal vaccination mandate, which has been in place for nine months and was suspended on June 20. Unvaccinated people can now travel by plane, train and sea, but international travelers to Canada must still be. Unvaccinated Canadians should be vaccinated upon re-entry when quarantined.
One of the lawsuits was initiated by businessmen Carl Harrison and Sean Rickard. Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford, along with co-applicants and PPC leader Maxime Bernier, each face charges. The fourth case was filed by Quebec lawyer Nabil Belcachem on his own behalf.
Mandatory policy
She and her team started working on the policy in late July after the government decided to impose the mandate, according to an announcement on August 13.
On June 10, Little was asked again if there had been any comments from PHAC or Health Canada and if she had any “emails, briefs or reports” from those organizations recommending mandatory travel vaccination.
“I don’t recall any documentation from the Public Health Agency of Canada suggesting that Transport Canada take this approach to transport to Canada,” she said.
She said she and her team, who are still under 20 years old, have no scientific background, and that she accepts any data and information that PHAC has to offer without criticism.
“It is not my responsibility to question or analyze the information provided to me by public health professionals in this country,” she said.
The government suspended the vaccination order on June 20, warning that they could return at any time.
The government is seeking to have the case dismissed as a result of the ban, but the applicants want the case to be heard by a judge to address the alleged Charter rights violations.
The Liberals proposed mandatory vaccination in the summer of 2021 and it became a policy they campaigned on in the fall election.
After being elected, the Liberals took command of the public service and federally controlled sectors, as well as the air, rail, and some ships.
The missions were systematically defended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers. Science or as follows Advice Public health professionals.
“We’ve had Canadians’ backs every step of the way through this global pandemic, which means making sure we’ve followed the science, we’ve done everything necessary to keep people safe and we’ve done everything necessary to get our economy back on track.” As soon as possible,” Trudeau he said. On June 15 in the House of Representatives.
A little discussion about duties
The court heard from Dr Eleni Galanis, Executive Director of Integrated Risk Assessment (CIRA) at PHAC. The unit has the mission of identifying, estimating and evaluating public health risks and supporting decision-making for risk management.
She started in the role in December 2021 and joins the team where she advises the country’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, on a weekly basis.
Galanis was cross-examined on June 23 about what was said about vaccination obligations at those meetings.
“It’s usually when the decisions are made and … when things are planning to change,” she said.
“So whether Dr. Tam has made the decision to do this or is preparing for meetings… he will discuss these lifts and ask us to provide supporting information if needed.”
A few days before her cross-examination, Galanis was asked if she knew why the vaccination mandates had been lifted.
“Not particularly, no,” she said.
Galanis said the decision to step down with Dr. Tam’s advisory team was “soon, but not soon,” much earlier than the June 14 announcement.
Galanis said Tam didn’t really give the team enough to avoid the vaccination obligations. And she Tam, her advisory group, or CIRA never disputed or discussed the merits of the travel mandate.
I don’t remember about the vaccination order in general, but in general about the border measures and the plan to lift the measures or reduce the amount of measures was decided during the last part of the winter in this first transitional period. We’re in,” she said.
She attributes this shift to the decline of the micro wave along with high rates of vaccination and natural immunity.
If the issue of jurisdiction itself was not high on the agenda, then what the mission was supposed to address – the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through modes of transport – was not.
Galanis said the issue is discussed “occasionally” during meetings and said she could not recall Tam or the team discussing contagion on travel since she joined in December 2021.
Transfer in flight
In addition, Dr. Lisa Waddell, an epidemiologist at PHAC’s Emerging Science Group, testified in court.
Waddell, who reviewed the scientific literature on diffusion in flight, During cross-examination on May 31, he confirmed that the latest PHAC brief on that topic was scheduled for November 25, 2021.
Attorney Keith Wilson, who represents Peckford and his co-applicants in the action, asked Waddell in that brief.
“Do you agree with me that Canadians wanting to vaccinate for flying is not one of the distinct strategies?” Wilson asked.
“There wasn’t a lot of evidence on that, as a general strategy, it wasn’t reviewed in the literature and it wasn’t discussed in the review,” Waddell replied.
When Wilson asked if PHAC, abbreviated vaccine, was recommended as a requirement for air travel, Waddell said he did not.
Not advised.
The Epoch Times previously reported that the Health Canada official, who has the final say on issuing Covid-19 vaccines in Canada, was not advised to compel the court’s testimony.
Celia Lourenco, director general of the Biological and Radiopharmaceuticals Directorate at Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch, has the final say on approving vaccines. he said. At the beginning of June, she never advised, nor was she advised on the issue of needles for travel or working in public service and federally regulated sectors.
She also testified that vaccines must provide 50 percent protection against infection to be approved.
Lourenco acknowledged that current two-dose mRNA vaccines are declining in efficacy after 12 weeks, with very little protection, according to PHAC-produced charts filed in court, and said the vaccines would not have been approved if they had shown such numbers during early trials.
But Lourenco said the vaccines remain in circulation because they protect against serious side effects, though she could not provide a quantitative limit.
“In the postmarket, of course we’re still concerned about the effectiveness of the vaccine, but if the vaccine is waning to protect against the infection, does it still protect against serious disease? If so, it supports our analysis that the benefits outweigh the risks of the vaccine, he said.
Forced advice
The Epoch Times contacted Health Canada to find out if any individual, agency or group within the department has proposed that the government impose, maintain or eliminate the vaccination mandate.
Without answering the question directly, the anonymous spokesperson pointed to the government bodies behind the decision.
“Please note that the ‘Covid-19 vaccination requirement’ for federal public servants has been issued by the Treasury Board of Canada,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The spokesperson also said mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements for federally regulated transportation workers and travelers have been issued by Transport Canada, providing links to the policies.
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Noye Chartier is a reporter for The Epoch Times in Montreal. Twitter: @NChartierET Gettr: @nchartieret
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