Witness Testimony

William Munroe, a trained population analyst and former BC Statistics Agency employee, testified regarding his review of British Columbia COVID-19 situation reports beginning March 2020. He explained that a population analyst examines mortality data by age and sex to determine whether deaths are evenly distributed or clustered within specific age groups. He stated that early data showed COVID-19 deaths were concentrated in older age groups, with a reported median age of death of approximately 86–87 years, which he noted was above provincial life expectancy. He emphasized that no deaths were recorded under age 30 by the end of 2020 in the reports he examined.
Munroe criticized the presentation of mortality data in BC CDC reports, particularly the use of percentage-based charts comparing COVID-19 deaths to the general population. He argued that expressing small numbers of deaths as percentages created visually exaggerated representations, while the absolute number of deaths—such as 12 or 13 in March 2020 out of a population of roughly five million—was statistically very small. He stated that case fatality rates would have been a more appropriate metric and suggested that the use of percentages without contextual clarification could mislead public interpretation.
He further testified that early international data, including data from China, indicated age-specific mortality patterns inconsistent with comparisons to the 1918 influenza pandemic. He stated that median age of death and clustering in high-mortality age groups were evident prior to emergency declarations. Munroe concluded that while population statistics are typically used to inform public policy, the methods and presentation of data during the pandemic did not always meet standards of transparency or methodological clarity.