Secret oaths signed by Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and other pandemic managers obligated them to conceal information that "may result in embarrassment" for cabinet, according to Access To Information records and a federal memo.

“As an employee of the Government of Canada I acknowledge I have read and understood the Values And Ethics Code For The Public Sector,” said the pledge. “I remain bound by my oath.”

Dr. Tam was one of at least 29 managers from various government agencies, including the Public Health Agency, Foreign Affairs, Health, Industry, and National Defence, who signed the oath, reported Blacklock’s.

Other signatories included the president of the Public Health Agency, the deputy industry minister, and the chief trade commissioner.

Memos reveal feds ordered dozens of pandemic managers incl. Dr. Tam to sign secrecy oath pledging never to divulge info that "may result in embarrassment" for cabinet.  https://t.co/yTMCMCaXyH @GovCanHealth pic.twitter.com/13Eor6PUKJ

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) May 2, 2025

During the pandemic's peak, the Department of Health entered into $8 billion in vaccine agreements with seven companies: AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Medicago, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer, and Sanofi. Despite repeated requests from Commons committees, the contract terms remained undisclosed.

The vaccine purchase agreement prevented any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information to competitors or the media for fear it would cause embarrassment, criticism, claims against Canada, and jeopardize supplier relations and procurement.

Pfizer Canada's then-president Najah Sampson testified that disclosing their confidential agreement would be an extraordinary use of authority and cautioned against setting a precedent with unintended consequences for Canada's reputation.

Vaccine prices ranged from $14.50 in the EU to $19.50 in the US, but Canada paid about $30 per dose, according to a 2022 Auditor General's report. Conservative MP Garnett Genuis called the situation "outrageous" and questioned what caused the higher cost.

Watch as Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland dodges answering whether the federal government will disclose the hidden costs in contracts with COVID vaccine manufacturers. pic.twitter.com/MexaaWT9tv

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) September 7, 2023

Continued controversy followed the abrupt scrubbing of dozens of government web pages last July, detailing billions in payments to COVID contractors. The Department of Public Works provided no reason for deleting the pandemic accounts. 

Detailed online records revealed nearly $24.5 billion in payments, primarily to sole-sourced suppliers for goods ranging from gloves to ventilators.

A Public Works spokesperson stated that contracting details would only be revealed "upon request." The accounts were "archived" but not public.

Blacklock’s reported that the federal government spent $720 million on 40,456 ventilators, most of which were unused, with no refunds tendered for the faulty devices.

Records show the Department of Health paid Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) a premium of 49% over payments to other suppliers. Their $28,250 fee per device follows Baylis Medical ($23,730), StarFish Medical ($22,600) and Thornhill Medical ($18,993). 

According to an internal audit, Canada’s health agency confirmed it discarded millions of medical supplies the year before the COVID pandemic, forcing a rushed leasing of three warehouses to store new supplies.

MORE: https://t.co/JoZLlZzqT9 pic.twitter.com/el6aFRgiSi

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 13, 2023

Public health managers have yet to explain why they failed to maintain medical stockpiles.

Federal agencies disclosed insufficient medical supplies, including masks, and COVID vaccine wastage, which surpassed $1 billion.

Millions of high-grade N95 and surgical masks, gloves, and surgical gowns were discarded after closing three government warehouses in 2019.

The Department of Health acknowledged its mistake. “We are facing a real crunch today,” said a March 20, 2020 staff email, nine days after the pandemic declaration.

Several major health organizations, including nurses, emergency physicians, public health, and medical associations, publicly criticized Canada's pandemic response.

"We were caught flat-footed," Dr. Sandy Buchman, then CMA president, told the Commons health committee. “I don’t think we were adequately prepared.”

A Federal Court judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit against the pandemic response, deeming the court an unsuitable substitute for a public inquiry. Parliament passed weakened pandemic governance legislation after rejecting a mandatory federal review clause. 

Canada boasted a higher death rate than other industrialized nations, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center, but considerably less than pandemic models anticipated.

Transparency denied: Liberals dodge public inquiry into COVID response

Liberal MPs rejected a request to conduct a thorough review of COVID-19 pandemic (mis)management at a House of Commons health committee yesterday.

MORE: https://t.co/zih2rBoyNx pic.twitter.com/KP6vekBlnk

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) October 24, 2023

“Canadians will never get the answers they deserve if the ministers who perpetuated or promoted many of the failures, … are the same ones reviewing their own government’s response,” Conservative MP Ted Falk told the Commons.

Cabinet has repeatedly dodged a public inquiry into their pandemic. The health department completed over 20 internal audits in 2023 revealing "critical weaknesses and gaps," but will not release them.

Audits revealed "limited public health expertise" and rapid turnover of four presidents in 28 months, according to Blacklock's, some who also signed the oath.

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