Citizen-led inquiry on pandemic measures stops in Saskatoon

Saskatoon is the latest stop for the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI), which is looking into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by governments to combat it.

The inquiry is citizen-led and citizen-funded, according to Michelle Leduc-Catlin, the spokesperson for the NCI.

“The NCI was started so that we could examine the pandemic response from the government because we found that four out of five Canadians experienced harms during the policies that were implemented so we want to hear from them,” she explained Friday.

On the inquiry’s website, the objectives of the inquiry include inviting and securing testimony around the “appropriateness, efficacy, legality and constitutionality of governments’ responses.”

The inquiry is travelling across the country and, after three days hearing testimony in Saskatoon, is moving on to Alberta.

Leduc-Catlin said the inquiry has been hearing from private citizens about the harms they endured and still are from the response, and while everyone has their own story, she said the themes are the same.

“The themes (are) people trying to follow rules that don’t appear to have any scientific basis but were followed because people trusted their institutions, they trusted the government, they trusted the health authorities, they trusted the police (and) they trusted the legal system,” Leduc-Catlin explained.

The inquiry is also hearing what it’s calling expert testimony in each location. Leduc-Catlin said the inquiry has also sent summonses to officials and policy-makers but none have showed up.

“This is not a political exercise (and) this is not about sides. We need to start coming together as Canadians, we need to find that kindness and compassion that we are known for, that we used to have (and) that we seem to — hopefully temporarily — lost,” said Leduc-Catlin.

The inquiry and hearings are important because Leduc-Catlin said a historical record is needed and the country is just beginning to see the fallout of policies that don’t seem to have been well thought out.

She said this isn’t like past inquiries people have seen because this one isn’t run by government.

“This is a bunch of citizens who are gathering together to make something happen, to start a dialogue,” she said.

Leduc-Catlin said people have been participating in whatever way they can.