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Day one of the Allison Inquiry is in the books, and if the first testimonies are any indication, Canadians are only beginning to understand the scale of the vaccine injury crisis this country has spent five years trying to ignore.

The inquiry, led by Conservative MP Dean Allison, was created to do what Ottawa has refused to do since the rollout of the novel modified RNA COVID-19 injections: actually listen to the people who were hurt by them, and dig into why the federal Vaccine Injury Support Program has left so many of them behind.

I sat down with Allison at the end of the day, and his message was that this isn't about politics, but permission.

"We want to give people permission to tell their stories," Allison said. "If they can't tell their stories, then they can't get help. If they can't get help, they continue to feel terrible, they feel isolated."

Special guest U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and Denis Rancourt — a physicist with a PhD in the field who spent 23 years as a professor and lead scientist at the University of Ottawa — set the tone for the day, laying out context that's old news to those of us who've covered this unfolding story for years.

Two sitting MPs, Mike Dawson and Chris Lewis, also shared their own experiences with vaccine injuries publicly, for what may have been the first time.

But one testimony that stopped the room was a Canadian Forces veteran who said he was prepared to die for this country, then discarded by it the moment he was injured.

"Imagine giving your life for your best friend, and in return, they turn their back on you," Allison said, visibly perturbed by what he heard. "That is so disturbing. What a travesty for people who were prepared to give their life to protect our country, only to be turned away and kicked to the curb."

Allison didn't shy away from critics already dismissing the inquiry online as a "conspiracy round table."

"Our own government admits people are injured. They have a program for it, and they keep numbers on it," he said. "Anyone who minimizes these individuals doesn't know what they're talking about. They're either arrogant, or ignorant, or maybe both. These people have real stories. There's been real harm done, and we owe it to them to at least hear what they have to say."

Even Canada's state broadcaster showed up, albeit briefly. Allison said a CBC reporter approached him in the morning to ask what he expected out of the day, then vanished. No panel invite. No follow-up.

"I haven't seen any fair coverage so far," Allison said. "What I'm expecting is that independent media in the room will be fair, because we actually talk to real people. Legacy media talks to people inside the bubble."

That's the difference this inquiry is banking on: real people, telling real stories, in front of the parliamentarians who are supposed to be listening.

Day one is over, but the stories are only getting started.

Day two of the Allison Inquiry will bring roughly a dozen vaccine-injured Canadians to the mic.