Witness Testimony

Nadine Ness, a former RCMP officer medically retired due in part to severe vasovagal syncope, testified that mask mandates posed significant health risks to her because heat triggers fainting episodes. Despite holding a medical exemption and wearing a face shield, she described repeated confrontations in public settings. In one retail incident while pregnant, she fainted after being required to sign a mask-related form, sustaining injuries and later experiencing a miscarriage the same day. She filed a complaint with the company, which subsequently removed the policy requiring the form.
Ms. Ness also testified about the impact of school COVID-19 mandates on her 11-year-old daughter, who has OCD and anxiety. She stated that masking and sanitization policies exacerbated her daughter’s mental health condition, resulting in an assessment of medium to high suicide risk. In response, she co-founded a parent advocacy group, Unify Grassroots, which rapidly grew and organized presentations to school boards and legal efforts to challenge vaccine passport policies. Although an injunction application was not successful, she stated that the group became a provincial hub for professionals opposing mandates and advocating for informed consent.
She further described public criticism and media scrutiny following a video she produced urging government officials to reconsider their approach to unvaccinated citizens. After speaking with the provincial premier, she reported a shift in public messaging but stated that she and her physician husband subsequently faced online attacks and professional complaints. She also testified that a College of Physicians policy required unvaccinated physicians to disclose their vaccination status publicly. During a later pregnancy, she described reluctance by a high-risk obstetrician to see her in person due to masking issues and recounted a hospital interaction she perceived as hostile, contributing to her decision to consider delivering outside a hospital setting.