Witness Testimony

Remus Nasui testified that although his paramedic service did not impose a strict vaccination requirement, unvaccinated employees were subject to weekly—and later shift-by-shift—rapid antigen testing. He described experiencing two different realities: while on duty he could enter venues to provide care without restriction, but off-duty he was barred from restaurants, gyms, travel, and public spaces due to lack of a vaccine passport. He testified that he was unable to travel abroad to visit his ill father and that his family was excluded from a recreation centre despite one household member being permitted to attend.
Nasui stated that workplace culture changed significantly after mandates and public messaging labeling the unvaccinated negatively. He described coworkers refusing to work with unvaccinated colleagues and expressing hostility online. Drawing from his upbringing in communist Romania and experience in apartheid-era South Africa, he compared vaccine passports to discriminatory pass systems, stating that discrimination based on medical choice mirrored prior systems he had witnessed.
In his professional capacity, Nasui testified that beginning in late 2021 and accelerating in 2022, he observed a marked increase in calls for chest pain, palpitations, first-time seizures in adults with no prior history, and cardiac arrests. He stated that prior to 2021 he encountered cardiac arrests approximately once a week to once a month, but during 2022 they became nearly daily occurrences at times. He also referenced a case of myocarditis in a male colleague following a booster and stated that approximately 70 percent of his service contracted COVID during the Omicron wave. He concluded by calling for respect for bodily autonomy, non-discrimination, and broader consideration of alternative public health approaches in future emergencies.