Witness Testimony

Sean Mitchell testified that during spring 2020, ambulance call volumes in Durham Region dropped significantly—by roughly two-thirds compared to prior years—despite public messaging that hospitals were overwhelmed. He stated emergency departments were less busy than he had ever seen in his career, and offload delays decreased. He described a disconnect between media portrayals of crisis and frontline experience, noting that internal reports showed low regional case counts relative to population size. He also raised concerns about dispatch screening protocols that classified patients as low risk based on travel history, which he said resulted in unnecessary paramedic isolation and staffing shortages.
In late 2020 and into 2021, he testified that call volumes returned to normal and offload delays increased, with management acknowledging system strain. During spring 2021, he stated he began observing unusual neurological and cardiac presentations in younger, previously healthy adults, including stroke-like symptoms, sudden narcolepsy episodes, pericarditis findings on ECG, and ST-elevation myocardial infarctions. He reported noticing recurring patterns in patients who had recently been vaccinated and requested that vaccination status be tracked in paramedic reporting systems to evaluate trends, but said management declined to implement any change.
Mitchell testified that workplace sick leave and WSIB benefit payouts increased substantially in 2021 compared to 2020. He stated that vaccination became mandatory for paramedics under provincial directives, and that he ultimately lost his employment for non-compliance. He concluded that greater transparency, data reporting, and attention to frontline observations were necessary to properly manage future public health events.