The Canadian government and media spread fear among citizens about the COVID-19 pandemic while implementing measures to force them into taking vaccines under threat of potential reprisals, according to a report by the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).
The Canadian government, together with provincial governments and the mainstream media, “embarked on an information campaign designed to instill fear in the hearts of the citizens and ensure that they did not resist any and all draconian measures that were announced,” it states.
The NCI, a citizen-led and -funded effort to examine Canada’s pandemic response, pointed out in its report that the principle of “my body, my choice,” popularized by feminists, “vanished during the second year of the pandemic.” Instead, there was a “constant drumbeat” from public officials and media characterizing COVID-19 vaccines as “safe and effective.”
Politicians and public figures chimed in, saying pandemic restrictions wouldn’t be lifted unless everyone “did their part.”
“Canadians who hesitated to get vaccinated were branded as anti-vaxxers, despite having voluntarily received every other vaccine, recommended by public health, in their lives,” the report reads.
“Politicians encouraged people to blame the unvaccinated for the restrictive measures that stopped them from getting back to normal. Those who had taken the COVID-19 vaccines felt morally superior and validated in scorning those who didn’t ‘do the right thing.’ Public shaming became a societal norm.”
The government framed issues in a “particular way, using emotionally charged language, or by exploiting existing biases,” spreading them to the public through media. This allowed them to influence how “people perceived events, individuals, or groups,” according to the NCI.
The Freedom Convoy demonstrators “peacefully protested” against mandates, according to the report.
“[Yet] the government used mainstream media to portray these people as violent, racists, and anarchists, who were threatening the very lives of the people of Ottawa,” it reads.
Propaganda was used to stifle dissenting voices and alternative perspectives, according to the report.
“Both media and government personalities demonized dissenting opinions. Their labels of ‘anti-vaxxer’ or ‘science deniers’ were intended to associate people who did not consent to the experimental injections with ‘Holocaust deniers.’ Many people fell prey to the fear of being labelled and remained silent,” it reads.
Whether the media was “state-controlled” during the pandemic or simply bought into the governments’ messaging and began repeating such narratives without question was “not discovered through testimony at the inquiry.” A deeper investigation into the matter needs to be carried out, the report states.
Vaccine Mandates
The report points out that coercion was applied to “virtually every aspect of Canadians’ lives” during the pandemic. Workplace vaccination mandates forced even workers who never intended to get a COVID-19 vaccine to take the shot, as people were afraid to lose their jobs. The government also blocked employment insurance for people who lost jobs because they didn’t get vaccinated.The NCI heard testimony from several witnesses who said that “they or a loved one felt compelled to take the injection, under the threat of losing their livelihood.”
Several educational institutions implemented vaccination requirements, such as denying unvaccinated students access to classes to “coerce students to get vaccinated.” The government imposed vaccine mandates for domestic and international travel.
The announcement that unvaccinated people wouldn’t be allowed to sit near vaccinated individuals on planes came at a time when “it was already known that vaccinated people could transmit the COVID-19 virus to other vaccinated people.”
“This inconvenient fact went unacknowledged so that pressure on the unvaccinated could continue,” the report reads.
Vaccine passes were designed to prevent unvaccinated individuals from accessing anything not deemed essential, including visiting their children’s school and services such as restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters.
“The message was clear: if you want access to these people/things that you like/love, you must submit to vaccination,” the NCI stated.
In October 2021, the Canadian federal government imposed vaccine mandates in the public sector, requiring proof of vaccination from federal public servants as well as people employed in federally regulated industries such as banking. Individuals who didn’t show proof of vaccination or had a medical or religious exemption were placed on unpaid leave.
People traveling on VIA Rail trains and on cruise ships also had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result.
Vaccines ‘Should be Stopped Immediately’
The NCI report is based on the testimony of more than 300 members of the public and expert witnesses.Although subpoenas were issued to 63 members of the government, authorities, and regulators, none of them appeared at the hearing to give testimony.
In his remarks during the hearing, NCI Commissioner and Chairperson Ken Drysdale said the testimonies “provide irrefutable evidence that an unprecedented assault has been waged against the citizens of Canada,” according to a Nov. 28 statement.
“Not since World War II has the nation experienced such a devastating attack on its people,” he said. “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 report recommends that the “current use of COVID-19 genetic vaccines in Canada that were authorized under the revised provisions of the Interim Order and the newly revised Food and Drug Regulations, should be stopped immediately.”
A full judicial investigation into the authorization process under which the COVID-19 vaccines were approved must be carried out, it states.
Representatives for Health Canada didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
