Witness Testimony

Catarina Burguete testified that she is a mother of four and a retired healthcare professional who returned to work as a personal support worker in long-term care during staffing shortages. She described significant impacts on her children, including her eldest daughter being dismissed from Queen’s University for refusing vaccination despite recovering from COVID-19. Her daughter experienced social ostracism and academic delay before being permitted to return after mandates were lifted. Her younger children faced prolonged remote learning, social isolation, cancelled activities, and psychological stress. Her youngest son, who has a speech impediment, received a mask exemption after she challenged the lack of data regarding masking effects on speech development.
Burguete testified that while working in long-term care she was required to undergo daily testing but was terminated in October 2021 for refusing vaccination. She stated she offered continued testing as an alternative but was told vaccination was mandatory. She has not returned to work because the county facility maintains its vaccine requirement. She also described exclusion from certain church choirs that required vaccination, despite previously volunteering to sustain music ministry when others were unwilling to participate during restrictions.
She further testified that her family’s brewery business was limited to bottle shop sales while the bar portion was shut down, and that they donated approximately $30,000 in hand sanitizer early in the pandemic to support local health efforts. Socially, she described losing friendships but forming new support networks through informal gatherings during lockdowns. She concluded by expressing that while some normalcy has returned, there has been no public acknowledgment, apology, or accountability from political or public health leaders for the harms experienced.