More than 1,000 Canadians have applied online to testify about serious health problems they say they experienced following COVID-19 vaccination, according to organizers of an upcoming inquiry led by Conservative MP Dean Allison.
The Allison Inquiry is a non-partisan preliminary inquiry intended to give Canadians who report being injured by COVID-19 vaccines an opportunity to share their experiences.
The hearings are scheduled to take place on Parliament Hill from September 8 to 11, with approximately 50 Canadians expected to testify.
Allison, the MP for Niagara West, provided an update on the inquiry during a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, saying the response from Canadians has been far greater than organizers anticipated.
“More than 1,000 people have now applied online asking for the opportunity to have their voices heard,” Allison said.
Allison said many applicants have spent years struggling with their health, looking for answers and attempting to navigate a medical system they believe has failed to address their concerns.
While only about 50 people will testify during the hearings, Allison stressed that their stories represent thousands of others who have come forward or have never reported their experiences.
“The 50 people who testify are not the only stories that matter,” Allison said. “They represent more than the 1,000 people that have contacted us and the many, many more Canadians across the country who have never come forward.”
“These are not statistics,” he added. “They are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbours.”
Allison also mentioned the case of Scott Gorry, a former parliamentary staffer who died in July after developing myocarditis.
According to Allison, Gorry had told his sister that he wanted his story to be told and is expected to testify at the upcoming hearings on behalf of her late brother.
Dr. Charles Hoffe, a British Columbia physician who has previously raised concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, also spoke at Thursday’s press conference.
Hoffe recounted his concerns from the early stages of the vaccine rollout, saying he had warned provincial health officials that he believed the injections posed significant risks.
“I pointed out to her that it was clear to me that the COVID injections were more dangerous than COVID,” Hoffe said, referring to a letter he said he sent to B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Hoffe also disputed the claim that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives, pointing to what he described as changes in all-cause mortality following the vaccine rollout.
He argued that Canada’s system for reporting vaccine injuries had failed to adequately capture adverse events.
Hoffe said he personally submitted 14 vaccine injury reports and claimed that all 14 were rejected by public health authorities.
Lawyer Shawn Buckley, who is involved with the inquiry, additionally spoke, focusing on the experiences of Canadians who have reported vaccine injuries and their attempts to obtain medical care and compensation.
Buckley said that when interviewing people who report serious injuries, he asks them what has been the most difficult part of their experience.
He said he expects people to point to physical disabilities, chronic pain, financial hardship or the impact their conditions have had on their families.
Instead, Buckley said many identify their interactions with the medical system as the most difficult part.
He said many of the people he has interviewed use the term “gaslit” to describe their experiences, claiming they have been told that their symptoms are psychological or unrelated to vaccination.
The inquiry has already faced criticism from Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen, who mocked its name and questioned its legitimacy earlier this month.
Gerretsen argued the hearings were more about Conservative grievances surrounding COVID-19 mandates and the Freedom Convoy than establishing facts.
Allison responded by inviting Gerretsen to attend the September hearings, emphasizing that MPs from all parties were welcome.
This Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen needs to be called up short by a plethora of world renowned medical voices to hear how ignorant and full of Liberal biases his gas lighting comments actually are!! Disgusting, pathetic and borderline criminal that this kind of person earns his salary off the backs of taxpayers!!!!
Justin Trudeau needs to be held to account for his harassment of Canadians that chose not to take the covid shot. Also for making it mandatory for people to take if they wanted to be part of society! He made fun of and called those that didn't want to do it names! That man is evil thru and thru!