CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has responded to the Final Report of the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force, which examines lockdowns and vaccine passports that were imposed on Albertans from 2020 to 2022.
This Task Force was led by Dr. Gary Davidson, Chief of the Emergency Department at Red Deer Regional Hospital from 2016-2020, and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta.
The other authors and contributors are Dr. Blaine Achen, Dr. David Vickers, Dr. Justin Chin, Dr. David Speicher, Dr. Byram Bridle, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Kevin Bardosh, Dr. John Conly, Frank Byl, Angela Wood, Mark Bell, and Natasha Gonek.
The 269-page Final Report, released on January 24, 2025, provides a detailed and comprehensive review of Alberta’s lockdowns, mandatory masking and mandatory vaccination policies that were imposed from 2020 to 2022.
“This final report from medical doctors is a damning indictment of the Kenney-Hinshaw response to Covid, showing that neither lockdowns nor vaccine mandates were necessary,” stated John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre.
“The Final Report reveals that the Alberta government relied on inaccurate modelling, and failed to validate models with real-world data, or update them continuously based on evolving evidence. Lockdowns did more harm than good. Mandatory masking did not reduce the spread of Covid. PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing did not provide a sound basis for lockdowns and mandatory vaccination policies. The Alberta government ignored natural immunity to Covid when imposing vaccine mandates. The mRNA vaccine should not be injected into healthy children and teenagers, and it should not have been mandatory for anyone. The government failed to give proper consideration to alternative Covid treatments, including ivermectin, fluvoxamine, and colchicine. Alberta’s Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) recommended not using vitamin D3 for Covid treatment, in spite of a study showing a correlation between low levels of vitamin D3 and poor Covid outcomes,” continued Carpay.
“Especially troubling is the conduct of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, which undermined the professional autonomy of doctors, and silenced scientific debate,” continued Carpay. “Former Premier Kenney and former Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw should apologize to Albertans for these grave failures, and the harm and suffering they imposed on Albertans.”
“Even more important than an acknowledgement from Mr. Kenney and Dr. Hinshaw of how harmful and destructive their policies were would be a clear signal from Danielle Smith’s government that it intends to implement the Final Report’s recommendations,” concluded Carpay.
Summary and Highlights of the Final Report
Chapter 1 of the Final Report addresses governance and the flow of information. The Kenney-Hinshaw regime abandoned Alberta’s existing pandemic response plan, lacked transparency in decision-making, and failed to engage with available evidence when making decisions. The Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) used evidence inconsistently, showing biases in the process, source, and weight of evidence used in decision-making.
Chapter 2 outlines the failures of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta: over-centralization, lack of transparency, limited consideration of alternative perspectives, undermining professional autonomy, and a failure to consider diverse viewpoints in policy development.
Chapter 3 challenges the Alberta government’s use of inaccurate modelling scenarios in early 2020, its failure to validate models with real-world data, its failure to update models continuously based on evolving evidence, and its failure to give sufficient weight to sources of information other than modelling when making decisions.
Chapter 4 evaluates Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), more commonly known as lockdowns. The Task Force noted that “these measures had a limited effect on reducing infection growth” and “also incurred significant social and economic costs.”
Chapter 5 highlights the lack of evidence for continuous masking in preventing Covid and other respiratory illnesses, noting that “the number of COVID-19 infections did not decrease despite the implementation of mask mandates and widespread vaccination.” The Task Force noted that masking can be harmful, and that “the choice to wear a mask should be a personal medical decision, guided by informed consent.”
Chapter 6 raises concerns about the accuracy of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and their potential for false positive and false-negative results. Rapid antigen tests are likewise unreliable as a screening tool, and should not be used as a basis for lockdowns.
Chapter 7 notes that infection-acquired immunity, obtained through prior infection with Covid, can provide durable and protective immune responses. Studies demonstrate that vaccine-acquired immunity is not superior to natural immunity, a fact that was overlooked or downplayed by the Alberta government in its public health messaging and policies. Those with natural immunity, and the majority of Albertans who were not threatened by Covid, should not have been subjected to coerced vaccination.
In Chapter 8, the Task Force recommends halting the use of Covid vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks, ending their use in healthy children and teenagers, conducting further research into their effectiveness, establishing support for vaccine-injured individuals, and providing an opt-out mechanism from federal public health policy.
Chapter 9 challenges the failure of federal and provincial health authorities to give proper consideration to alternative Covid treatments, including ivermectin, fluvoxamine, and colchicine. Alberta’s Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) recommended not using vitamin D3 for Covid treatment, in spite of a study showing a correlation between low levels of vitamin D3 and poor Covid outcomes. The Task Force urges Alberta to “allow healthcare professionals to prescribe treatments in their patients’ best interest and ensure access to therapies with established safety records.”