What was once portrayed as a “conspiracy theory” in the media is now being acknowledged as a possibility by Health Canada: the virus causing COVID-19 could have been the result of a lab accident.
“There are currently four hypotheses regarding the pathway of emergence including direct zoonotic transmission or a spillover event, introduction through an intermediate host followed by zoonotic transmission or spillover, introduction through the food chain, or introduction through a laboratory incident,” the briefing note stated.
“The precise origin of COVID-19 remains unknown,” it added. “To address the lab hypothesis, it is important to have access to all data and consider scientific best practice.”
Three years ago, the department dismissed the suspicion that China concealed information about COVID-19, with then-health minister Patty Hadju saying on April 2, 2020, “We have to work collectively as a world to defeat this virus.”
“Do we trust China to provide accurate information?” a reporter asked at the time.
“Your question is feeding into the conspiracy theories that many people have been perpetuating on the internet,” Ms. Hajdu said in response.
China maintained that the coronavirus originated via human contact with infected mammals at Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.
At the time, China claimed 4,645 COVID-19-related deaths, a number equal to the average fatalities in Canada’s winter flu season. China, in its latest submission to the World Health Organization, claimed to have 121,536 COVID-19 deaths, almost the same number as Spain (121,852) and fewer than the United States (1,127,152), India (531,915), Russia (399,772), the United Kingdom (228,144), Germany (174,979), and Iran (146,303).
On June 4, 2020, the Health Department deleted from its public database all official figures from China, Blacklock’s reported. “We can confirm China was removed from the global comparison graph as we were comparing Canada with other selected countries that continue to report new cases,” said David Wolkowski, spokesperson for the department.
The latest question period note marks the first time the federal department has acknowledged the possibility of a “laboratory incident,” which has been discounted by China, noting there is “an increase in media attention” regarding the pandemic origins after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article was published on Feb. 25, 2023. The WSJ reported on a classified U.S. intelligence report, indicating that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded with “low confidence” that COVID-19 arose from a laboratory incident.
In addition, the briefing note quoted previous government investigations, including by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that concluded with “moderate confidence” that the virus likely spread via an “unintended laboratory-related incident.”
“Canada is supportive of all efforts that will contribute to a clear understanding of the origins of the virus,” the health department said. “This work must continue to follow the facts, be independent and transparent, and be free from politicization or interference.”
