Transport Canada’s official rationale for mandatory travel vaccines lacked days to implementation: internal email

A senior Transport Canada official had asked Health Canada for more data to justify the policy, 13 days before it took effect, expressing doubts about the basis for mandating vaccines for transport, according to an internal electronic report. This was made clear by email.

“As long as there is up-to-date data or clear evidence of the safety benefits of vaccination for transport system users and other stakeholders, it would be helpful to support Transport Canada. [in] Aaron McCrory wrote in an email to Dawn Lumley Mirari on October 18, 2021:

McCrorie is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety and Security at Transport Canada, and Lumley-Myllari is Director of Strategic Policy Division at Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

First time exchanging emails Reported Early August on the blog Common Sense by columnist Rupa Subramanya. The Epoch Times has since obtained the source document and can shed more light on what was said.

The documents were filed in court last week in connection with four lawsuits challenging travel vaccine mandates.

McCrorie told Lumley-Myllari that his department wants compulsory vaccinations to make transportation systems safer, and that this was “partially supported” by the PHAC document on public service vaccine mandates. rice field.

McRory said the document “helps reasonably support transportation safety”.[e] But such grounds are not very strong. “

Transport Canada officials highlighted problems related to the lack of data on the risk of in-flight transmission of the virus.

The Epoch Times previously reported that both Transport Canada and PHAC had previously assessed the risk as low.

“While the documents contain information about disease transmission in confined spaces, they do not provide data or evidence related to the safety of transportation systems, passengers or crew,” McCrory told Lumley. Told – Mirari.

“This document also mentions the CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Studies that explicitly mention[s] Further studies are needed to confirm whether vaccination is effective against Delta variants. “

McCrorie told Lumley-Myllari that unvaccinated travelers were eight times more likely to test positive, putting “a position that vaccinated travelers are much less likely to transmit COVID within the transit system. He said he was aware of PHAC documents stating that it “strongly endorses “

In conclusion, McCrorie asked Lumley-Myllari to review the data and “provide up-to-date evidence demonstrably useful in supporting TC.” [Transport Canada] measures. “

response

Four days after sending an email requesting help from PHAC to strengthen Transport Canada’s rationale for vaccine mandates, McCrorie sent a follow-up message to Lumley-Myllari.

“Our requirements are due on October 30th, so we need something soon,” he wrote on October 22nd.

Lumley-Myllari replied an hour and a half later, McCrorie said the medical adviser was “working to update the rationale to reflect recent data and enhance the documentation addressing your request below.” I told you.

Lumley-Myllari told McCrorie on Oct. 28 that a more complete response has been provided, and the insistence on vaccination to bring COVID-19 under control continues to grow, with PHAC calling for a “public vaccination campaign.” The sanitary basis is still sound,” he said.

None directly recommended mandatory vaccination per se, but emails noted a significant increase across Canada in mandatory vaccination in provinces and territories, as well as in other sectors such as health care and businesses. I point out that there are

Lumley-Myllari also listed statistics on COVID cases and hospitalizations, showing a much higher proportion of unvaccinated people, and noting that vaccines are less effective.

Public health officials also attached a summary of evidence from PHAC on the risk of infection during flights to her email, which they said contained information through May 2021.

“As further evidence is emerging about the potential risk reduction of vaccination of both travelers and airline staff, there may be an opportunity to revisit this issue,” said Ramlee Mirari. Stated.

In-flight transmission

Transport Canada was already aware of PHAC’s brief on the risk of in-flight transmission, but its findings were rejected by officials in the ministry responsible for developing mandatory vaccine policies.

Jennifer Little, Director of the COVID Recovery Team, was presented as a witness by the Attorney General in defense of travel obligations.

She said during cross-examination in early June that she chose to ignore Brief’s findings because they were outdated and did not consider the more contagious variants of Delta in circulation at the time. has no scientific background.

After Lumley-Myllari told McCrorie of the possibility, the PHAC outline was actually revisited, and an updated version was published a month later in late November 2021.

“Across the review, the risk of infection during flight is low,” said Brief.

The brief’s author, Dr. Lisa Waddell, an epidemiologist at PHAC, who was cross-examined in late May, said the travel mandate was based on little data on in-flight infections and even less on the impact of vaccination. rice field.

“There are not many studies that have looked at the vaccination landscape. Most of the studies that have been done were done before widespread vaccination,” she said.

Waddell added he was unaware that the government was conducting its own investigation to assess the matter.

The liberal government suspended mandatory vaccinations for domestic travel on June 20, but warned it could be reverted depending on the situation.

The Attorney General is seeking to have the lawsuits challenging the mandate dismissed on the basis of injustice.

Challengers argue that the mandate could still be re-enforced and that judges would need to assess potential violations of charter-protected rights.