Witness Testimony

Ryan Orydzuk testified as an occupational health and safety professional with over 15 years of experience at Canada Post, including roles as a safety officer and human resources business partner. He described submitting a formal “Letter of Informed Consent” to his employer containing approximately 90 questions regarding vaccine safety, employer due diligence, and compliance with the Canada Labour Code. He stated that his employer largely deferred to Public Health Agency guidance and did not substantively address his occupational health and safety concerns, leading him to initiate a formal work refusal process.
Orydzuk argued that once employers implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates as workplace safety policies, they assumed full legal responsibility under Part II of the Canada Labour Code. He testified that vaccines were effectively treated as personal protective equipment, thereby triggering employer duties related to hazard identification, informed consent, training, and investigation of occupational illness. He referenced the Criminal Code (including the Westray amendments), the definition of “danger,” and employer obligations to prevent foreseeable harm, asserting that adverse event data met the legal threshold for workplace danger. He further raised concerns regarding PCR testing under the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act and the handling of vaccine-related injuries under workers’ compensation systems.
He concluded that employers failed to conduct adequate due diligence, improperly labeled employees as “non-compliant” rather than processing refusals under established occupational health and safety procedures, and avoided accountability mechanisms built into federal labour law. Orydzuk stated that no meaningful accountability has occurred to date and encouraged employees to examine their employers’ compliance with occupational health and safety legislation.