Witness Testimony

Amie Johnson, a dental hygienist with nearly 22 years of experience in Chester, Nova Scotia, testified that she declined COVID-19 vaccination after reviewing public health data and questioning transmission claims. She stated that the Nova Scotia Dental Board did not mandate vaccination, but her employer later required it and terminated her employment in early 2022 following an asymptomatic positive PCR test and a quarantine period. Johnson described the termination as devastating both professionally and financially.
She further testified that attempts to secure employment at other dental offices were unsuccessful once her vaccination status became known, despite no formal regulatory requirement. Johnson described social and professional ostracism within her small community and characterized the workplace environment as hostile prior to her dismissal.
She also described broader family impacts, including exclusion from funerals due to vaccine passport rules, her daughter’s withdrawal from a university nursing program and subsequent tuition loss due to institutional vaccine requirements, and her husband and son being removed from a construction job site after their vaccination status became known. Johnson stated that she did not regret her decision and characterized the policies as coercive.