Witness Testimony

Sierra Rotchford, a registered paramedic in Alberta since 2012, testified regarding changes in emergency medical service (EMS) call patterns beginning in 2020 and intensifying in 2021. She stated that early lockdowns were marked by increased mental health crises, anxiety-related calls, overdoses, and reduced high-acuity emergencies. After returning to work in January 2021 following a period of medical leave due to sepsis, she reported a noticeable rise in myocardial infarctions, strokes, seizures, and sudden unexpected deaths, including events in individuals aged 30–40. She stated that provincial EMS call volume rose significantly in mid-2021, citing reported increases up to 70 percent during peak periods.
Rotchford described attending stroke and seizure cases in younger demographics during the spring and summer of 2021, coinciding with vaccine rollout in those age groups. She recounted a documented facility transfer involving a patient flagged as a possible AstraZeneca vaccine injury and noted that the AstraZeneca vaccine was withdrawn shortly thereafter. She emphasized that her testimony reflects her direct experiences on assigned calls and acknowledged limitations in drawing causation conclusions.
She further testified that workforce impacts intensified during the vaccine mandate period, with elevated stress-leave rates and ambulance staffing reductions, estimating that 35–40 ambulances per day were not operational by late 2021. She described pursuing a medical exemption due to post-sepsis inflammation risks but stated that her physician declined testing or referral. Rotchford concluded that mandate policies contributed to operational strain within EMS and that visual documentation of staffing shortages was presented to government officials to illustrate the impact on patient care.