Sandra Finley

2024-02-06 Marco van Huigenbos describes the situation: two of the Coutts 4 are now free, after 223 days in remand (jail) in Alberta.

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Feb 062024
 

This is very serious shit.

Marco van Huigenbos attended at Court in Lethbridge on Feb 6th.  Two of the Coutts 4 were entering a plea deal.  Marco does an excellent job of explaining the situation, the ramifications.

Near the end of the interview Marco speaks to the condition of the men after two years in remand.

Everybody should hear this.

Interview with Jason Lavigne:   https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2055309163

 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

MARCO VAN HUIGENBOS  is himself being prosecuted as an “organizer” of what happened at Coutts.  It’s pretty clear that he fell into the role of emissary between the assembled protestors and the police because he is thoughtful and articulate.  He was asked to present in person – – you may recall his testimony – – to the Inquiry into the Invocation of the Emergencies Act (a.k.a. the “Rouleau Commission”).

EARLIER POSTINGS, MARCO VAN HUIGENBOS

            1. 2023-09-05 COUTTS, AB,   7 Court cases in Lethbridge: Artur Pawlowski again; Marco van Huigenbos; Prosecution of “Coutts 4” (in jail for well over a year without trial); case of Jaclyne Martin, partner of Jerry Morin. Morin is one of the “Coutts 4”.
            2. 2023-09-08 Ft MacLeod Councillor speaks on the plight of the Coutts 4, Marco Van Huigenbos

 

2024-02-06 Sask Court of Appeal hears challenge to Saskatchewan’s Covid gathering limits. From JCCF

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Feb 062024
 

Court to hear challenge to Saskatchewan’s Covid gathering limits

Thanks to JCCF.

SASKATOON, SK: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal will hear the appeal of Jasmin Grandel and Darrell Mills on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 10 AM CT, at 520 Spadina Crescent East, in Saskatoon. Ms. Grandel and Mr. Mills challenge Saskatchewan’s former ban on outdoor gatherings of more than 10 persons as an unjustified violation of their Charter freedom of peaceful assembly and other Charter rights and freedoms.From March 17, 2020, until July 11, 2021, Saskatchewan imposed various prohibitions on outdoor gatherings, including limiting them to only 10 people. At the same time, Saskatchewan allowed more than 10 people to meet indoors. Jasmin Grandel and Darrell Mills attended various peaceful outdoor protests in 2020 and 2021, resulting in hefty fines for violating Public Health Orders.At the time, Jasmin Grandel was a kinesiology student at the University of Regina, with a young son in kindergarten. She was concerned with the inconsistency of the Public Health Orders and with their detrimental psychological and economic effects. She feared that the Orders would negatively impact small businesses, leading to unemployment and poverty for families.Darrell Mills, who also participated in peaceful outdoor protests, is a resident of Saskatoon with 30 years of experience in mechanical construction. He is certified in Mask Fit Testing and trained in supplied air breathing systems. He was concerned about the negative health impacts of improper mask use.While outdoor gatherings were restricted to a maximum of 10 persons for certain periods, the province permitted numerous public indoor gatherings that far exceeded 10 persons. At the same time, Saskatchewan Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab stated that “outdoor gatherings while observing physical distancing are better than indoor gatherings.” On June 5, 2020, then-Regina Police Chief Evan Bray, along with many other officers, attended a large Black Lives Matter rally in Regina with hundreds of people, thereby violating existing public health orders and garnering significant media attention. At the time, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said, “…my assumption is that the law enforcement officials have used their judgment with respect to this particular rally…” Dr. Shahab called it a “special event,” and no one was charged with breaching public health orders. Six months later, numerous Saskatchewan residents were charged and prosecuted for violating public health orders because they, like participants in the Black Lives Matter rally, had peacefully protested outdoors.In April 2021, lawyers provided by the Justice Centre filed a constitutional challenge to the restrictions on outdoor gatherings, on behalf of Ms. Grandel and Mr. Mills. The Originating Application challenges these restrictions for violating the Charter freedoms of thought, belief, opinion and expression, association and peaceful assembly. The Application also suggests that pro-freedom protests against government lockdown policies have been especially targeted by law enforcement.At trial, an eminent infectious disease specialist provided expert evidence that outdoor transmission of Covid was negligible, where physical distancing could be practiced and where single-day gatherings with no indoor component could take place. The government did not present evidence that Covid was transmitted at outdoor gatherings. Instead, they relied on the ‘precautionary principle’ put forward by its public health expert that lockdown measures should be taken even if “cause and effect” had not been fully established scientifically.“It appears that lockdown harms were not considered by the government or by the court, when applying this ‘precautionary’ principle. Neither the Saskatchewan government nor the lower court wanted to take precautions against the physical, mental, social, financial and economic harms that lockdowns inflicted on people,” stated John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre. On September 20, 2022, Justice D. B. Konkin of the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan upheld the government’s restrictions on outdoor gatherings as justified violations of Charter freedoms. Justice Konkin assessed only the breach to freedom of expression, representing only one of the various Charter rights alleged to be breached by the Applicants. In his decision, he wrote, “In a state of public health emergency wreaking severe havoc on the health of Saskatchewan residents, Sask [sic] was burdened with the immense task of balancing multiple interests.”Andre Memauri, lawyer for Ms. Grandel and Mr. Mills, stated, “Our infectious disease specialist made it clear at the lower court that the outdoor transmission of Covid-19 was negligible, much like every other respiratory illness in history. There was no compelling basis for the Saskatchewan government to impose such extreme restrictions on people’s rights to assemble, express themselves and associate outdoors. The rule of law means that laws should be enforced equally, but the Saskatchewan Government encouraged and supported Black Lives Matter protests outdoors in large numbers while ticketing people who six months later protested the violations of their Charter freedoms.”

1988- John Denver and Alexander Gradsky (Russian) sing What Are We Making Weapons For? with lyrics

 Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Feb 052024
 

 

 

Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)
Song by John Denver

2024-02-04 re Julian Assange: Ai Weiwei says Censorship in West ‘exactly the same’ as in Mao Zedong’s China. The Evening Standard.

 Julian Assange, Wikileaks, Chelsea (Bradley) Manning, Arjen Kamphuis  No Responses »
Feb 052024
 
Julian Assange draws nearer to final decision on extradition to the USA.
Ai Weiwei’s observations on political censorship in the West are worth reading.
This is also a tribute to Arjen Kamphuis, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden.   And others in numbers way too many to mention.
I stand in honour of their sacrifices and lives.  To not stand with them would be too large a betrayal.
I had forgotten about the TedX Talk given by Arjen, a young man who was “disappeared” in Norway.
RELATED: 
Artist’s London exhibition was cancelled over social media post on Gaza.
Ai Weiwei joins a protest supporting Julian Assange, as the artist speaks out on censorship (James Manning/PA Wire)

by Piers Mucklejohn

 

Political censorship in the West today is “exactly the same” as it was in China under leader Mao Zedong, artist Ai Weiwei has said.

The 66-year-old told Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that “society becomes so timid, to really avoid any kind of questioning or argument”.

He was responding to a question about the cancellation of his exhibition by the Lisson Gallery in London in November following social media posts regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict.

“I grew up within this heavy political censorship,” Weiwei said, referring to the exile of his own family when he was one year old.

“I realise now, today in the West, you are doing exactly the same,” the activist and documentarian added.

Criticising the suspension of two New York University professors for comments related to Gaza, Weiwei said: “This is really like a cultural revolution, which is really trying to destroy anybody who have different attitudes, not even a clear opinion.

“So I think that this is such a pity, that it happened in the West, so broadly in universities, in media, in every location.

“In universities or political sector – everywhere – you cannot talk about the truth.”

Weiwei’s art often addresses political issues in China and the artist has a history of openly criticising the Beijing government’s stance on human rights and democracy.

When asked whether he believed Western artists were doing enough to defend freedom of expression, Weiwei said they had been “corrupted by capitalism”.

“They are just seeking money and also to be famous,” he added.

In 2011, the artist was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport and detained for 81 days. He left China in 2015 and has not returned since.

Weiwei said he “never regrets” speaking out.

He said: “I’m defending a value which would profit and benefit everybody.”

“My little experience does not really matter, but rather I somewhat have to speak out,” Weiwei added.

“An artist has the responsibility to do that.”

Weiwei’s graphic memoir, Zodiac, was published by Penguin Random House at the end of January.

2018-09-14 Leakers and Publishers: Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Arjen Kamphuis, Net neutrality. #LetChelseaSpeak & #FindArjen

 Julian Assange, Wikileaks, Chelsea (Bradley) Manning, Arjen Kamphuis, Media, public interest  No Responses »
Feb 052024
 

Original posting:   2018-09-14

There is no line between

  • Assange the Publisher silenced 
  • Attempted silencing of Chelsea Manning the Leaker
  • (too early to determine re Arjen Kamphuis)   the disappearance of Arjen Kamphuis has never been solved (2024-02-05)
  • Attempted Control of the Internet by various means (see “Net Neutrality”, at bottom).

– – – – – – –  – – –

Why the interest in Arjen Kamphuis?

https://files.gendo.ch/Books/InfoSec_for_Journalists_V1.1.pdf

Logan Handbooks 7

Information Security for Journalists, Protecting your story, your source and yourself online

By Silkie Carlo and Arjen Kamphuis

About this book

This handbook is a very important practical tool for journalists and it is of particular importance to investigative reporters.  For the first time journalists are now aware that virtually every electronic communication we make or receive is being recorded, stored and subject to analysis and action.  As this surveillance is being conducted in secret, without scrutiny, transparency or any realistic form of accountability, our sources, our stories and our professional work itself is under threat.   . . .   (read on).

– – – – – – – –  – – – – –

2018-09-01   An Online Vigil in Defense of Julian Assange With Daniel Ellsberg, Craig Murray, Bill Binney and Ray McGovern

When the record is sorted out,  it becomes even clearer the degree to which  Western military is a rogue Government unto itself.  The major Leakers leaked data that revealed the truth about wars and about “security”.   Critical to the leakers is the Publisher.   The rogue Government, the lucrative war machine, is not going to allow Julian Assange to disrupt their business.

Amid growing talk that the US, UK and Ecuador are about to make a move on Assange:

RELATED: 

2018-09-03   Chelsea Manning banned from speaking tour in Australia. & then, Manning continues with speaking tour via video link despite lack of visa    Sept 08:  no change in status – – entry visa continues to be withheld by the Australian Govt.

#LetChelseaSpeak   https://www.facebook.com/events/667541910294248/ 

2018-09-13   UPDATE: Chelsea Manning DID speak in New Zealand (thanks to citizen protest)

2018-09-03   Julian Assange’s associate cyber security expert mysteriously missing in Norway, RT News

2018-09-12   Belongings of missing associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are found in the sea off of Norway,

UPDATE  Sept 13:   Kayak of Arjen Kamphuis found.

2018-08-16 Winnipeg firm defends $1M deal to send sniper rifles to Ukraine, CBC

2018-09-01   Arms industry spends millions to promote brands in schools (UK), The Guardian

2018-07-23  Trump is taking US down the path to tyranny – Jeffrey Sachs, Global News, CNN

2018-09-01  “Breaking News” by Alan Rusbridger – the remaking of journalism and why it matters now.  (Rusbridger is former editor of The Guardian)

 

Net Neutrality

If you don’t know “net neutrality”, its current status in Canada,  please take a moment – – it’s important to us all.

2018-08-23 Verizon under fire for ‘throttling’ firefighters’ data in California blaze.

2024-02-03 Synthetic Milk is Not Milk + Measles Outbreak Breakdown. From CHD

 Food  No Responses »
Feb 032024
 

The “synthetic” milk is available at Walmart in the U.S.  I don’t know about Canada.

I suppose it will be used in other food products, too.

You might like to know something about it!    I get angry that the manufacturers are allowed to label products to be something that they are clearly not.

https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/shows/good-morning-chd/synthetic-milk-is-not-milk–measles-outbreak-breakdown/

As modern technology’s rapid development broadens its claw-like grip on society, it is inevitable that the food industry would be impacted. Lab-grown foodstuffs begin looking more and more like a franken-version of the homegrown, organic products, once familiar to our ancestors. But sometimes they appear innocent and organic, stealthy and obscure as to their true nature. Alan Lewis, Dr. John Fagan and Alexis-Baden Mayer join together to share an important warning for consumers, everywhere.

Plus

Measles is in the news again, but is it a serious concern or a media fear tactic? Host Paul Thomas and Dr. Larry Palevsky discuss measles and MMR risk through a pediatric lens and give parents and guardians practical tips for safely navigating an outbreak and making decisions that are best for their child.

2018-03- Carol Van Strum, author of A Bitter Fog, awarded the David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award (herbicides, Monsanto’s Agent Orange).

 Chemical poisoning, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Rule of Law  No Responses »
Feb 022024
 

Carol Van Strum’s book, “A Bitter Fog“, is one I’ll not forget.  I learned a lot.  I am very happy for Carol that she received this Award.

UPDATE:   It’s Feb 2, 2024; I’m reading RFK’s book, The Wuhan Cover-Up.  It’s about American chemical and biological warfare.  It seems that not much has changed.  But maybe in this round of the fight we’ll take them to their knees.

A Bitter Fog: Herbicides & Human Rights  (1983 original book)
A Bitter Fog is the true story of people fighting to protect their families and homes from Agent Orange and other poisons sprayed on them from the air. This book tells the story of ordinary people who defied profiteering corporations and indifferent government agencies. Meticulous research exposes deception and outright fraud by chemical companies to keep profiting from herbicides they knew were toxic and government complicity in covering up severe human health problems and environmental damage.

The award-winning PBS documentary film The People vs. Agent Orange is based in large part on material first revealed in A Bitter Fog. It was awarded the Christopher Award, which is presented to writers whose works “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”

This new edition of A Bitter Fog adds a brief update on the fight for environmental justice and numerous photographs that add a new perspective to the story.

Biography, thanks to Wikipedia:

Carol Van Strum (née Scott; born 1940) is an American environmental activist who since 1975 has fought against the spraying of herbicides, including Agent Orange, in the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon. Her subsequent research, including over 20,000 documents revealing corporate and government cover-ups, was donated to the Poison Papers project in 2017. In 2018, Van Strum received the David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to forestry policy favoring selective harvest without the use of herbicides.

Van Strum moved to Siuslaw National Forest in 1975. Shortly afterwards, helicopters sprayed the forests and water courses in the area with phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, the 50-50 mixture used in Agent Orange (including surplus Agent Orange itself after it was banned by the military in Vietnam).[1] Concerned by the apparent resultant negative effects on their family, animals and plants, Van Strum, her husband Steve and their neighbours co-founded Citizens Against Toxic Sprays (CATS).[1] It was formed to give forest dwellers a united voice against the United States Forest Service, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Dow Chemical Company, manufacturer of the herbicides.[2] CATS gathered information from residents and undertook a community-wide public health survey.[1] Together with the Oregon Environmental Council and the Hoedads Reforestation Cooperative they filed a lawsuit against the US Forest Service in 1976 claiming that an environmental-impact statement for the herbicides was insufficient. U.S. District Judge Otto Richard Skopil Jr. issued an order in March 1977 to halt all spraying of 2,4,5-T in the Siuslaw National Forest until deficiencies in the statement were cleared up, thus effectively eliminating the spray program for a year.[3][4] Although the ban was rescinded two years later, the work by Van Strum and others contributed to final cancellation of all 2,4,5-T registrations by EPA and a new national forest policy that favors selective harvests without herbicides.[2]

In 1983, Van Strum wrote A Bitter Fog: Herbicides and Human Rights.[1] The book details widespread fraud in the safety testing of all pesticides used in forestry and a decade long struggle to end use of dioxin-contaminated and all other herbicides on the forests of Oregon, by taking on the chemical and timber companies as well as government agencies.[1][5]

In 1987 Van Strum and Paul Merrell wrote No Margin of Safety: a preliminary report on dioxin pollution and the need for emergency action in the pulp and paper industry. Originally published by Greenpeace, it is now available within the pages of another volume.[6]

Over four decades of research and work by Van Strum on pesticide and poison cases, including lawsuits against the Forest Service, litigation by Agent Orange veterans, personal injury cases by exposed workers, and numerous other cases involving PCBs and dioxin, Van Strum amassed over 20,000 documents which she stored in a barn on her property.[7][8] In 2017, she donated these to the Poison Papers digitalisation project. The papers include scientific reports, evidence submitted in courts of law, internal and external correspondence of chemical companies such as DOW and Monsanto, and of government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, often gathered via freedom of information requests. The documents are said to reveal corporate and government cover-ups of dioxin studies, collusion enabling continued registration of pesticides based on fraudulent or nonexistent studies, and decisions to continue marketing known carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens.[9]

The Poison Papers, also available with continuing additions through Columbia University‘s Toxic Docs program are now available online for use by anyone seeking information on the dangers of using harmful chemicals in aerial herbicide spraying and attempts to end such spraying.[10]

Van Strum and Tran To Nga, a Franco-Vietnamese environmental activist,[11] appeared in the 2020 film The People vs. Agent Orange.[11] The two have been involved in attempting to stop companies from producing, spraying, burning and dumping toxic defoliants such as those contained in Agent Orange and to force accountability for the harmful effects of these.[11] Because of the once-prolific production, use and dumping of these chemicals and their long half-life, they can now be found in the soil, water, air and in living organisms, in many countries.[11]

In 2017 a ban against the spraying of pesticides on private timberland in Lincoln County was approved by voters.[12] The ban was overturned two years later by the state.[13] The Lincoln County Community Rights group asked Van Strum to be the spokesperson for the Siletz River ecosystem at the Oregon Court of Appeal in a challenge to the rescinding of the ban.[14] In June 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s ruling without comment.[15]

 

2024-01-23 College of Physicians drops misconduct charge against doctor who issued vaccine exemptions, Alberta. Thanks to JCCF.

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Jan 252024
 

https://www.jccf.ca/college-of-physicians-drops-misconduct-charge-against-doctor-who-issued-vaccine-exemptions/  

 

Rebel News reporter Adam Soos was joined by John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, to discuss Dr. Michal Princ’s victory over the rescinded misconduct charges.

 

2024-01-19 Free speech victory: Charges against nurse who opposed vaccine mandates defeated. Saskatchewan case. Thanks to JCCF

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Jan 252024
 

Free speech victory: Charges against nurse who opposed vaccine mandates defeated

REGINA, SK: The Justice Centre is pleased to announce that the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan (CRNS) has ruled in favour of nurse Leah McInnes following an October and November 2023 disciplinary hearing. The Investigation Committee of the CRNS had charged Ms. McInnes with spreading “misinformation” because she had voiced her concerns about vaccine mandates. The outcome vindicates her right to professionally advocate for medical ethics and evidence-based health policy.“This is a significant victory for free expression and democratic participation. Nurses, doctors, psychologists, teachers, lawyers, engineers and all Canadians who work in a regulated profession have the freedom to advocate for their beliefs and should not face threats from their own professional association or professional regulator,” stated John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre. Ms. McInnes had been charged by the CRNS’s Investigation Committee, which investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct complaints, for her social media advocacy and for protesting vaccine mandates. The Investigation Committee’s broad allegation against Ms. McInnes was that her advocacy, including her use of the common term “vaccine mandate,” amounted to “misinformation.” Ms. McInnes is a mother of two and has been a Registered Nurse in Saskatchewan since 2013.  Ms. McInnes’s advocacy was measured and balanced. She had supported vaccines as an important tool in Covid-management efforts while also pointing to emerging scientific evidence regarding viral loads and transmission, which showed that Covid vaccines did not eliminate transmission. Ms. McInnes opposed vaccine mandates as a violation of basic ethical principles of autonomy and informed and voluntary consent of each and every patient. When Covid vaccines were introduced and voluntarily received in the spring and summer of 2021, the question of vaccine mandates was publicly debated across Canada. On June 30, 2021, the Saskatchewan Government indicated that it would not enforce a vaccine mandate because doing so would pose a “potential violation of health information privacy,” and, later, that it would “infringe on people’s personal rights.” The Saskatchewan Government also stated that a vaccine mandate for provincial employees was not being considered and, on September 10, 2021, rejected a proof-of-vaccination system, stating that mandates create “two classes of citizens based on… vaccination status,” and would be a “divisive path for a government to take.” Similar sentiments were echoed by Alberta’s Jason Kenney and Ontario’s Doug Ford, who claimed it would lead to a “split society.”Around the same time, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses was calling for the “mandatory immunization” of all healthcare workers–a demand repeated by many, including Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili and a group of Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Medical Health Officers. Guided by her conscience and professional ethics, notably, her respect for bodily autonomy and informed consent, Ms. McInnes vocally opposed vaccine mandates. She protested vaccine mandates by holding a sign that read, “RN against Mandates and Vax Passports.” According to the Investigation Committee of the College, this sign amounted to “misinformation” with an intention to deceive.   Shortly after Ms. McInnes’s advocacy began, the Saskatchewan Government changed course and imposed a vaccine mandate.

A fellow Registered Nurse filed a complaint, calling Ms. McInnes, “Leah aka anti-vaxxer.”The complaint resulted in charges, including the charge that Ms. McInnes knowingly spread misinformation on the basis that, purportedly, no “vaccination mandates” had ever been implemented. It appeared that, according to the Investigation Committee, only a policy of “restrain and vaccinate” qualified as a “vaccine mandate.”After an initial investigation, the Investigation Committee proposed an agreement that would have Ms. McInnes admit to professional misconduct, but she rejected this offer, choosing instead to stand up for her professional and Charter rights. The Investigation Committee charged her on March 28, 2023, and filed a Notice of Hearing, the details of which were later expanded after counsel for Ms. McInnes demanded clarity from the College as to what exactly the College alleged to be “misinformation”, “disinformation” or “misleading” information.Ms. McInnes’s expert witness, former Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario Dr. Richard Schabas, confirmed that the term “vaccine mandate” had, in the medical profession, no special meaning beyond its meaning in everyday language. In all contexts, “vaccine mandate” refers to a requirement to either get injected or lose certain rights or freedoms. “Ms. McInnes used the term ‘vaccine mandate’ just as nearly everyone else did in public discourse, including the Toronto Star, the CBC, CTV, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, CKOM, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, academia, Occupational Health and Safety, Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Saskatchewan NDP, and governments,” stated Andre Memauri, co-counsel for Ms. McInnes. “But the Investigation Committee nevertheless forced Ms. McInnes through this painful process, causing her needless grief,” continued Memauri.The Investigation Committee also alleged that Ms. McInnes knowingly spread misinformation about Covid vaccines. Ms. McInnes had posted that vaccines did not provide sterilizing immunity, i.e., that vaccinated people could contract and transmit the virus. During the hearings that took place in 2023, experts, including the Investigation Committee’s own expert, testified that vaccines do not provide sterilizing immunity, vindicating Ms. McInnes. Co-counsel to Ms. McInnes, Glenn Blackett, says, “It’s chilling to recall that this vitally important fact, that the Covid vaccine did not provide sterilizing immunity, was broadly censored while Canadians were supposedly debating the wisdom of vaccine mandates. Poor information makes for poor decisions.”Thankfully for Ms. McInnes and all Canadians who depend on an informed and ethical nursing profession, the Discipline Committee of the College accepted the evidence presented to them and found that Ms. McInnes had, in no way, misinformed the public.Mr. Blackett continued, “This is a hugely important decision, not just for Ms. McInnes, who embodies the ‘moral courage’ Canadians should expect of all health professionals. It is perhaps most important for upholding a nurse’s right to voice ethical and scientific dissent and to participate in democratic discourse. The importance of professional freedom of speech and conscience can hardly be overstated. Science, ethics and democracy simply do not operate without freedom to think and speak. If you can’t trust a professional, be it a nurse, doctor or lawyer, to tell you what they think is true, you can’t trust them at all.”As for Ms. McInnes, she sees this as a victory for free speech in the medical community which will only lead to better outcomes. “I very much value the right of my colleagues to express opinions different than mine and support them in their endeavours to seek change in healthcare and government policy they perceive to be in the public interest. I’m grateful that the CRNS Discipline Committee recognized my right to do the same, as it’s only in the collection of our opinions that the public truly benefits,” she stated. After hearings and submissions in October and November 2023, the College’s Discipline Committee published their decision on January 12, 2024, dismissing all charges against Ms. McInnes. In their decision, the Discipline Committee stated that the case against Ms. McInnes should not have even proceeded to a hearing.For media inquiries, please contact media@jccf.ca.

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