Witness Testimony

Heather Burgess, a retired pediatric nurse, testified regarding the experience of her elderly mother during COVID-19 lockdowns in Saskatoon. Her father died in late February 2020, and shortly afterward her mother, who had vascular and Alzheimer’s dementia, was moved from assisted living into a higher level of care. Following lockdown implementation in mid-March, family members were prohibited from visiting. She described her mother’s confusion and distress in unfamiliar surroundings, including repeated phone calls in which her mother believed she had been kidnapped and attempted multiple times to leave the facility.
Ms. Burgess stated that limited virtual contact was arranged through video calls, and anxiety medication was prescribed to manage her mother’s distress. In August 2020, after her mother suffered a broken hip and was hospitalized, family members were permitted limited visitation in hospital, which allowed them to provide support. The following month, after a subsequent fall resulting in a broken pelvis, her mother was determined to be near end of life. She testified that hospital staff restricted the number of family members present at the bedside during her mother’s final hours, preventing multiple siblings from being present when she died, although access was permitted after death.
In addition to describing her mother’s experience, Ms. Burgess spoke about her personal decision to remain unvaccinated and her concerns regarding pediatric vaccination and myocarditis. She reported experiencing social exclusion and restrictions on access to public spaces due to vaccination status and expressed concern about what she characterized as silence within the medical community. She suggested that greater openness and accountability within regulatory and governmental institutions would be necessary in future public health crises.