Witness Testimony

Regina Goman testified that she was an active member and local president within the Solidarity movement in Poland in the early 1980s. After the declaration of martial law in December 1981, she was arrested for distributing information that contradicted the government narrative and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, serving approximately thirteen months before being released under amnesty. She later immigrated to Canada in 1986 as a political refugee, seeking civil liberties and religious freedom.
During the COVID-19 period, Goman stated that she opposed public health mandates and declined vaccination based on religious conviction. She applied for a religious exemption through her employer in September 2021, received a positive performance review shortly thereafter, and was subsequently denied the exemption. She testified that she experienced workplace pressure, loss of employment, and was later diagnosed with delayed post-traumatic stress disorder, which she attributed to both her earlier persecution in Poland and her recent experiences in Canada.
Goman also testified that Canadian travel restrictions prevented her from travelling to Poland in February 2022 to receive the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity awarded by the Polish government. She expressed concern about what she characterized as increasing government overreach, media influence, and the erosion of civil liberties, drawing parallels between her experiences under communist rule and contemporary Canadian policies.