Witness Testimony

Dr. Matthew Tucker testified that he is a family and emergency medicine physician in Nova Scotia and served 21 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, including nearly 10 years as a military doctor. He continues to work as a civilian physician for the military and previously worked part-time in a civilian emergency department during the pandemic.
His testimony focused on what he described as a marked increase in anxiety and depression among military personnel over the past several years. He stated that mental health concerns became a dominant theme in his clinical practice during the COVID period, describing symptoms such as insomnia, low mood, low energy, fear of public interaction, and inability to cope with evolving work demands. He attributed much of this increase to the stresses associated with COVID restrictions, including travel limitations, isolation requirements, erratic work schedules, and separation from family support networks.
He emphasized that military families are uniquely affected by mobility, frequent relocations, and distance from extended family. He described how lockdowns and interprovincial travel restrictions intensified stress for spouses and children, particularly when community activities and support systems were shut down. He testified that children presented with behavioral and anxiety-related concerns during this period.
Dr. Tucker stated that rising mental health issues contributed to a broader personnel crisis within the military, with members becoming unfit for duty or leaving service, potentially affecting operational readiness. He noted that while some improvement occurred as restrictions lifted, certain individuals did not recover and continued to experience significant psychological effects.
Regarding his emergency department experience, Dr. Tucker testified that from 2020 through 2021 he did not encounter a surge of COVID patients and did not treat a COVID-positive patient until January 2022. He stated that age-related risk stratification became clearer later in 2020.
When asked about vaccine mandates, he confirmed that the Canadian Armed Forces mandated vaccination in the fall of 2021. He stated that members who were denied medical or religious exemptions experienced increased stress.
In closing, he emphasized that patients should never be belittled or dehumanized for medical choices or anxieties and stated that professional empathy is essential in medical practice.