Witness Testimony

Samantha Lamb testified that she experienced progressive low back degeneration for many years, culminating in severe symptoms in 2018–2019 that significantly impaired her ability to work and function. After extensive attempts at conservative treatment, a surgeon determined in late 2019 that she required decompression and spinal fusion surgery at the L5-S1 level. However, with the onset of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, her surgery was delayed as procedures classified as “elective” were postponed. She ultimately received surgery in May 2021, after approximately two and a half years of waiting.
Following surgery, she described limited access to in-person rehabilitation services due to healthcare restrictions, receiving only virtual classes initially and experiencing delays of several months before beginning physiotherapy. She stated that vaccination passport requirements complicated access to physiotherapy facilities and that interruptions occurred due to quarantine rules and provider travel-related testing requirements. During this period, she faced pressure from her disability insurer to return to work, applied unsuccessfully for CPP disability prior to surgery, and later paid privately for a functional assessment to document her physical limitations.
Ms. Lamb reported that she was required to attempt a rapid return to work despite persistent limitations in sitting and standing tolerance, leading to renewed pain and resumption of medications including nerve pain treatment and slow-release morphine. She testified that her disability benefits were reduced when her claim was reassessed, resulting in significant income loss. Nearly two years after surgery, she continues to experience daily pain, weakness, and related complications, and she attributed her prolonged impairment in part to surgical delays and restricted rehabilitation access during the pandemic.