Witness Testimony

Peter Van Caulart, a water and wastewater operator training instructor with more than 35 years of experience, testified that his private post-secondary training business relied heavily on in-person, hands-on laboratory instruction for municipal and industrial water system operators. He stated that during COVID-19 lockdowns, municipal treatment facilities and laboratories were closed to outside personnel, eliminating his ability to provide instruction and reducing his business revenue to near zero. He described liquidating business and personal assets to remain solvent.
Van Caulart testified that provincial and federal travel mandates, including federal air travel vaccination requirements and Prince Edward Island re-entry restrictions, prevented him from traveling for work unless vaccinated. He stated that he ultimately received the COVID-19 vaccine due to economic pressures and described the decision as one he regretted.
He further testified that as medical power of attorney for his mother in long-term care in Ontario, he felt compelled to consent to her vaccination under threat of removal from the care facility. He reported that she experienced medical complications after vaccination and passed away several months later. He stated that he believed the adverse reaction was not formally recorded in the national reporting system.
He also described what he characterized as strict and “draconian” border controls in Prince Edward Island and parts of Atlantic Canada, including barricades, checkpoint questioning, and community tensions related to lockdowns.