Witness Testimony

Ann McCormack, a former licensed pharmacist with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree, testified regarding pharmacy practices during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in rural Alberta. She described differences in vaccine distribution between pharmacies, including competition for vaccine supply and an increased billing fee of $25 per COVID-19 dose compared to approximately $13 for traditional vaccines. She stated that pharmacies did not purchase the vaccines directly but billed the province for administration. She also testified that pharmacists were encouraged to consult patient databases and contact individuals to book vaccination appointments.
McCormack emphasized informed consent as a foundational principle of healthcare, stating that consent must be voluntary, informed, and based on capacity to understand risks and benefits. She characterized employment mandates such as “no jab, no job” as coercive and inconsistent with voluntary consent. She further testified that when questions arose about long-term safety data or risks such as blood clots, responses from some pharmacists minimized uncertainty, and she expressed concern that professional opinions were sometimes inserted into patient discussions rather than strictly factual information.
She stated that she was not licensed at the time and did not administer vaccines, but indicated she would have resigned if required to inject a product about which she had concerns. McCormack also testified that she lost her pharmacy assistant position after declining to wear a mask despite having a medical exemption, following a public complaint. She filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission and stated that proceedings have been delayed for nearly two years, raising concerns about access to legal recourse.