Health Canada’s ongoing delay tactics hint at AstraZeneca vaccine scandal
Canada’s health regulator’s delays in addressing an ATIP request about 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses from a contaminated U.S. facility signal a lack of transparency, hinting at reliance on corporate data rather than independent oversight.
In a saga that underscores the Canadian government’s apparent aversion to transparency, Health Canada continues to stonewall an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request filed over a year ago, seeking critical details about the safety oversight of 1.5 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses imported from a contaminated U.S. facility. The agency’s latest maneuver — a 195-day extension granted over a year ago — points to a troubling pattern of lacklustre accountability and disavowing of public trust.
In May 2024, as AstraZeneca withdrew its experimental vaccine from global markets, I filed an ATIP request to uncover the truth behind Health Canada’s authorization of doses produced at a Baltimore, Maryland, plant notorious for substandard practices, including poor disinfection and mishandled materials. Health Canada had proudly claimed in April 2021 that it “verified” these doses and that they met “quality specifications” through rigorous testing and scrutiny of AstraZeneca’s quality control. If true, producing the supporting documents should be straightforward.
Yet, as the 30-day ATIP deadline loomed, analyst Nathan LeDuc informed me that while 100 pages of records were ready, accessing the hyperlinked data Health Canada relied on to ensure the vaccine’s safety would yield over 2,000 pages and require “extensive consultations” with AstraZeneca. This revelation confirms that Health Canada lacks its own data, instead deferring to Big Pharma in a troubling abdication of oversight.
Undeterred, I insisted on the full scope of records, including all hyperlinked information. Health Canada’s response? A 195-day extension, citing the need to consult AstraZeneca about releasing the truth to the public, a delay that prioritizes corporate interests over taxpayer transparency.
Fast forward to now – June 2025 – and the saga drags on. The assigned analyst is “away,” with a colleague vaguely noting the department is still “clarifying” unspecified issues while processing records. The file, already months overdue, remains mired in bureaucratic limbo. Canadians deserve answers, not excuses.
This isn’t merely about paperwork; it’s about a government that mandated an experimental vaccine, touted its safety, and now refuses to substantiate its claims. If Health Canada conducted the tests and reviews it boasted of, those records would already be public. Instead, we get delays and deflections.
Canadian taxpayers, who funded the vaccines and the bureaucrats overseeing them, deserve transparency. Health Canada’s endless extensions portray a commitment not to openness, but to covering tracks. As we await a concrete timeline, one thing is clear: every day of delay is a calculated bet that the public will forget. We won’t.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-06-12 19:18:40 -0400It’s not wrong to suspect Liberals. When they delay and obfuscate, it’s their way of managing the crisis. They also need to have time to craft a convincing lie.
