Allison Inquiry | Opening Statements | Day 1 September 8th, 2026

Inquiry chair MP Dean Allison and Inquiry Counsel Shawn Buckley open Day 1 in Committee Room 415 on Parliament Hill. Allison sets out the purpose of the four days: hearing Canadians who report serious injuries after COVID-19 vaccination, and what happened when they sought care, recognition and compensation. He cites federal figures of over 59,000 adverse event reports, including over 11,000 serious, and the Vaccine Injury Support Program's roughly 3,500 claims, 252 approved by the Medical Review Board, and about $21.5 million paid. He raises Dr. Charles Hoffe's account of 14 injury reports that he says were rejected or dismissed, and thanks journalists who pursued information on the program.
He notes that more than 30 countries have reviewed their pandemic response while Canada has not held a comprehensive national inquiry, and introduces Senator Ron Johnson to provide context. Buckley thanks the volunteers, experts and injured witnesses, and says the inquiry received more than 1,400 applications to testify. He describes doctors, MPs and journalists who he says felt unable to speak on the subject, witnesses who withdrew under family pressure, and injured people who told him the hardest part was not being heard. He asks all viewers, including those skeptical of vaccine harms, to listen with an open mind.

Recorded at the Allison Inquiry, Day 1, September 8th, 2026. For more information, including the full list of witnesses and experts, go to allisoninquiry.com.

0:00 Welcome, purpose and federal numbers
0:58 Under-reporting and Dr. Hoffe's rejected reports
2:11 Compensation and the Vaccine Injury Support Program
2:53 Thanks to journalists and the call for a national inquiry
5:44 Shawn Buckley: why this inquiry exists
8:06 1,400 applications and family pressure
10:28 The witnesses' conditions and not being heard
11:46 Technical difficulties
14:09 Being gaslit and asking viewers to listen
17:03 Vaccine hesitancy and an invitation to listen