Canada set up a $50M vaccine injury. Those harmed say it's failing them
Stephen, 45, a service manager for a luxury automobile dealership, had been fighting to live for weeks in May 2021, but stopped struggling. She informed friends on social media that the man she loved, incredibly fit and with no prior health issues, wouldn't make it.
Outside the window of his intensive care room in Peterborough, Ont., an impromptu group of friends soon gathered to hold a vigil, in love and support.
'I saw things nobody should see and I wasn't equipped to deal with,' MacDougall remembered four years later. 'I watched them use the paddles on him. I watched them bag him.'
A rare adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine left Stephen dead in his prime.
Ross Wightman, a former pilot and realtor, social worker Shannon Dupont, and kindergarten assistant Kayla Pollock also suffered life-altering injuries after their vaccinations.
These four people, and their families, were among millions of Canadians who rolled up their sleeves to get their shots during the pandemic.
For their loved ones, communities and country.
The largest public immunization in Canadian history reduced the spread of deadly disease, saving the lives of thousands of Canadians by mitigating the effects of the virus and reducing emergency room admissions. For most, vaccines slowly brought life back to normal.
But for a small group injured by their shots, life never returned to what it once was.
The 0.011 per cent
The government reassured the public that serious side effects were possible, but rare.
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There have been 11,702 reports of serious adverse events following a COVID-19 vaccination, according to Health Canada. That's equal to 0.011 per cent of the 105,015,456 doses administered as of December 2023.
As a way to help, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau announced the Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) in December 2020.
The effort, which began six months later, aimed to support people who have been seriously and permanently injured by any Health Canada-authorized vaccine administered in the country on or after Dec. 8, 2020.
Approved claimants could receive lump sum injury or death payouts, ongoing income replacement, and reimbursement of medical expenses.
But instead of the government operating VISP, as is done with similar programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, Canada elected to outsource the work.
In March 2021, the government hired Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. — now called Oxaro Inc. — to administer the program.
The challenges began soon after it launched.
A Global News investigation has uncovered complaints that the program has failed to deliver on its promise of 'fair and timely' access to financial support for the injured.
This five-month probe is based on more than 30 interviews with injured and ill people, former VISP workers, and attorneys who allege the effort is being mismanaged, leaving claimants feeling angry, abandoned, uncared for, and even abused.
'They promised to take care of us,' MacDougall added. 'They didn't fulfil their promise.'
This Global News investigation also revealed: Oxaro Inc., has received $50.6 million in taxpayer money. $33.7 million has been spent on administrative costs, while injured Canadians received only $16.9 million
PHAC and Oxaro underestimated the number of injury claims VISP would get, initially predicting 40 per year and then up to 400 valid claims annually. More than 3,000 applications have been filed — of those, 1,700 people are still waiting for their claim to be decided.
Some injured applicants say they face a revolving door of unreachable VISP case managers and fundraise online to survive.
Some say their applications were unfairly rejected by doctors they've never spoken to or met.
Despite decades of calls for a vaccine injury support program, the federal government cobbled it together during a pandemic.
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As Global News neared publication, a spokesperson for new Liberal Health Minister Marjorie Michel contacted the news organization and provided this statement:
'These allegations are completely unacceptable. The VISP supports people who are vulnerable and need support. I've asked PHAC to find a solution that ensures a responsible use of funds and that people receive the support they need. All options are on the table.'
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Minister of Health Marjorie Michel rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, June 2, 2025. Adrian Wyld / Canadian Press
Neither the company nor PHAC were prepared for the surge of claims that arrived, former workers say.
Staff were too few and inexperienced to handle them all, other ex-staffers say.
One said VISP operations were plagued by many 'bottlenecks.'
Others described it as 'chaos.'
Oxaro and PHAC declined interview requests.
In response to a 15-page list of questions, the company said, 'The VISP is a new and demand-based program with an unknown and fluctuating number of applications and appeals submitted by claimants.'
Read the full Oxaro statement HERE.
'The program processes, procedures and staffing were adapted to face the challenges linked to receiving substantially more applications than originally planned,' Oxaro added. 'Oxaro and PHAC have been collaborating closely to evaluate how the program can remain agile to handle the workload on hand while respecting budget constraints.'
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The complexity of the claims filed can also affect processing timelines, Oxaro said.
PHAC, meanwhile, said it is reviewing Oxaro's five-year arrangement to administer VISP, which is up for renewal next year.
Read the full PHAC statement HERE.
The agency also wrote that it is weighing 'concerns raised by claimants and beneficiaries' and factoring in how other countries managed their respective programs.
Its goal: learn 'best practices' elsewhere, and ensure the future Canadian program is delivered 'in a fair, efficient and cost-effective manner.'
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Fair and efficient?
Don't talk to Becky Marie Campbell about fair and efficient.
Three weeks after her vaccination in April 2021, Campbell, a B.C. school teacher and mother of four, began to feel numbness in her legs while driving down the highway.
Soon, she was unable to walk and was subsequently hospitalized.
Like several others who became sick after shots, the perfectly healthy and fit Campbell was sent for a psychiatric evaluation when she raised the possibility of a link between her vaccine and illness.
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British Columbia resident Becky Marie Campbell became gravely ill after her vaccination, but was denied support by VISP even though her own doctor suggested her illness was 'most likely related' to the shot. Images courtesy Becky Campbell
A doctor later determined she was of sound mind.
As she prepared to leave the hospital after a month-long stay, Campbell said a staff member offered her a second vaccine shot. She cried. She left in a wheelchair, looking emaciated.
Campbell then applied to VISP in October 2021.
She racked up $20,000 in debt for treatments, medicines, mobility equipment and physiotherapies during her attempted recovery.
Campbell's own physician said her shot and illness were 'most likely related.'
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A partial view of Becky Marie Campbell's Vaccine Injury Support Program application, which was supported by her own physician. Courtesy: Becky Marie Campbell
Unidentified VISP physicians, however, rejected her claim on Sept. 6, 2022.
They said they found 'no peer-reviewed medical literature' that suggested a 'causal association' between her vaccination and subsequent illness at that time.
When she received the news, Campbell burst into tears: 'You didn't call me, you had no appointment with me,' she said, referring to the panel of three unidentified doctors which VISP hired to evaluate her file.
'They weren't part of my case at all, and they decided my fate? That's a little unfair.'
'I believed that living in Canada, I would be taken care of,' Campbell said.
'It wasn't about the money … It was about receiving support from my country. Instead, I felt I was faceless,' Campbell said. She did not appeal.
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Mike Becker of B.C., experienced severe pain, nausea, dizziness and huge blood clots in his right leg after receiving a vaccine in 2021. His right leg is now larger than the left. He is on blood thinners. Images courtesy Mike Becker
Mike Becker understands Campbell's anger and resentment.
VISP also rejected his application, even though pain and swelling in his leg began immediately following his vaccine shot and got worse every day until he went to the hospital nine days later.
His leg sears with burning pain at night from deep vein thrombosis, commonly known as blood clots.
The condition caused his right leg to swell like a balloon, four inches larger than the left.
He now suffers from dizziness and can no longer work as a carpet and furniture upholstery technician. Becker has had 30 doctor visits since his hospitalization in 2021, and takes blood thinners to avoid death.
Becker said VISP denied him support because his hospital hematologist failed to record his blood platelet levels, which would have confirmed causality between his vaccine and clots.
The VISP report, which included no physicians' names, acknowledged Becker's illness came shortly after his vaccination, but concluded the shot was 'unlikely' to have caused it.
However, VISP added a caveat: should the medical world's understanding of such events evolve and new evidence come to light, 'this case should be revisited and reconsidered.'
Unlike Campbell, Becker appealed. In November 2022, he informed his VISP case manager and sent in the necessary appeal paperwork.
Nobody then answered his emails for almost two years, he said.
Becker would not let it go.
Finally, a VISP case manager responded by email. She informed him that his case had been mistakenly closed, according to a copy of the correspondence obtained by Global News.
VISP had incorrectly recorded in its computers that there was no appeal, although his case manager knew Becker had appealed and filed the necessary documents.
'I have spoken with my manager and have asked that we fast-track your case so that we can rectify this timelapse of your case,' the new VISP case manager told him in the email.
Eleven months later, he says he's still waiting.
Becker calls VISP 'a big scam.'
'It's not working to help people injured like me.'
Phyisicians saw trouble coming
Some experts say things could have turned out differently.
For 40 years, physicians and public health officials in Canada had been calling for a federal, no-fault government vaccine injury support program. All other G7 countries, except Canada, had one.
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Dr. Kumanan Wilson had tried to persuade the federal government to launch a vaccine injury support program in Canada for years but was unsuccessful until the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the country. Trevor Owens / Global News
Among those stressing the need for such a program was Dr. Kumanan Wilson, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Bruyère Health Research Institute. His research focuses on immunization and pandemic preparedness.
Before COVID-19, Dr. Wilson said he had 'a frustrating set of discussions' with the federal government. Creating a program, he said, 'kept dropping as a priority.'
Dr. Wilson said he warned officials about other countries' experiences with the programs.
'You don't want to stand these things up right in the middle of an emergency,' he said, noting it doesn't typically end well.
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Many of VISP's current woes might have been avoided if only it had begun earlier, Dr. Wilson said.
Pain and suffering
Kimberly MacDougall of Peterborough, Ont., has never spoken publicly about her husband's death until now. Her pain and suffering are easily seen on her face.
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Kimberly MacDougall lost her husband after he suffered a severe adverse reaction to his COVID-19 vaccine. Patrick Capati / Global News
MacDougall's husband, Stephen, then 45, died from myopericarditis post-COVID vaccine, leaving her a young widow of two children, then 9 and 12.
She received the maximum death benefit under PHAC guidelines, an amount equal to about three years of Stephen's salary.
Still, she believes the sum that PHAC and Oxaro paid out is unjustly low. Stephen expected to work 15 or more years in the luxury car business.
He had planned to fund their children's university educations and was a rising star in his world who was being headhunted.
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A family photo of Kimberly MacDougall, her late husband Stephen MacDougall and their children during happier times. Courtesy of Kimberly MacDougall
As a community leader, Stephen had encouraged many people to get vaccinated, but a series of disastrous events followed his immunization: the myopericarditis was a deadly inflammation of both his heart muscle and the lining outside it that claimed him in weeks.
MacDougall plunged into grief and trauma.
A family friend hired lawyer Lori Stoltz to file MacDougall's VISP claim.
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The VISP prepared this brochure to explain the process of applying and getting financial support to people injured by COVID-19 vaccines. Global News
While VISP brochures advertise that the program will 'continue to support you for as long as needed,' there was a cut-off time for MacDougall and her kids.
In addition to the death benefit, the program said it would only pay for enough grief therapy to cover weekly sessions for MacDougall and their children for a little over three months.
What's more, MacDougall said, VISP would only pay $100, roughly half the cost of each visit.
That's when Stoltz wrote a blistering letter to VISP, saying she was 'stunned' by the program's 'apparent institutional indifference' to the young family's 'suffering and need for financial support.'
VISP then conceded it would refund the full cost of each session. But the program dug in — 15 visits only.
'And then my kids are supposed to be fine?' MacDougall said, voice breaking. 'I'm supposed to be fine?'
She has been unable to return to work as an elementary school teacher.
MacDougall thinks VISP lacks humanity and is 'shameful.'
As she mourned her husband's death, she explained, a VISP case manager requested she get copies of his autopsy report and death certificate.
'It got to a point where everything was a battle. I didn't have any fight left in me. And that's kind of where I'm at, that's how I've moved forward,' MacDougall said. 'I don't want to fight anymore.'
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Lengthy delays
Toronto attorney Jasmine Daya called for a Vaccine Injury Support Program in November 2020, a month before the official government announcement.
Now, she and other attorneys harshly criticize the program. Daya calls it 'a sham.'
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Lawyer Jasmine Daya wanted the government to create a vaccine injury support program. Now, she thinks what was later created is a frustrating 'sham.' Trevor Owens / Global News
She says her numerous emails to VISP often only receive generic responses.
'Sometimes those auto emails say, 'Due to the high volume, we'll get back to you when we can,'' Daya added. 'I want to be able to do my job, which is to help these individuals, and I can't.'
Victoria lawyer Umar Sheikh also said VISP is 'incredibly difficult to deal with,' adding its findings are not necessarily reliable or fair to people, and they take too long.
A VISP brochure and its staff have told applicants that the average claim can take 12 to 18 months to process. But some have waited far longer.
Sheikh is helping several claimants with VISP battles, including Dan Hartman, an Ontario father who lost his 17-year-old son, Sean, in September 2021.
The teenager died alone in his bedroom in the middle of the night.
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The last photo Dan Hartman took with his son Sean before his sudden, unexplained death after his vaccination. Photo courtesy of Dan Hartman
Dan Hartman suffered emotional shock, taking time off work.
Three physicians from VISP rejected Hartman's first claim in 2022, denying the father's assertion that the vaccine was linked to his son's death.
Initially, a post-mortem examination characterized the cause of death as 'unascertained.'
The VISP report noted the post-mortem on Sean's body found 'mild R(ight) and L(eft) ventricular enlargement,' which a pathologist described as 'not uncommon in athletic young men.' Sean was a hockey player.
But the heart enlargement led Hartman to believe his son had a rare adverse reaction, so he appealed the VISP decision with new evidence in May 2023 and still waits.
Fed up, Hartman and Sheikh pressed VISP to explain its lengthy delays.
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Victoria attorney Umar Sheik is helping several VISP claimants with their battles with the program. Max Trotta / Global News
According to an email Global News reviewed, VISP staff replied that they have had trouble finding a forensic pathologist to examine the late Hartman's tissues.
Revisiting the case may confirm or disprove any causal link between the teen's vaccination and his death.
In the meantime, medical knowledge of adverse reactions has increased.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told vaccine makers to expand warning labels on COVID-19 vaccines that would spell out the risks of possible heart injuries that afflict males aged 17-26, like Sean Hartman.
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Health Canada issued a similar warning for 'younger male adults and adolescents' in June 2021.
Still, Hartman waits.
Kayla's 'nightmare'
Kayla Pollock waits, too.
After first applying in 2022, Pollock's VISP application remains stuck in 'intake.'
Her injuries have not been assessed, she says.
She uses a wheelchair because of her transverse myelitis, a condition that involves swelling of her spinal cord and the loss of lower body functions. Medical research has documented hundreds of cases of transverse myelitis following COVID vaccination.
As a result of her illness, Kayla is no longer able to work.
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Kayla Pollock says she suffered a vaccine injury that damaged her spine. She mailed her VISP application in July 2022 and was told it was lost. She resubmitted her claim and said her case remains in 'intake' three years later. Dealing with VISP has been 'hell,' and a 'nightmare,' she says. Trevor Owens / Global News
She used to be a kindergarten assistant. Now, she receives Ontario disability support.
She lost her townhome. Her son's father is now his primary caregiver, and she sees their boy only on alternating weekends.
Pollock said things are so bleak for her that she requires personal support workers and has been offered Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). In the absence of VISP support, she has been raising money online.
'Unfortunately, it costs me more to be alive than if I were dead,' Pollock says.
After waiting for three years, she no longer believes VISP will ever compensate her.
Approved... yet still outraged
Former pilot and realtor Ross Wightman understands the frustration, anger and desperation of people dealing with the support program.
VISP accepted his injury claims, but Wightman remains enraged. He says he often cannot reach anyone at VISP and has had 10 case managers work on his file.
Ross Wightman's VISP application was approved. He says he regularly waits months for VISP medical expense refunds. The program is an unfathomable 'dumpster fire,' he says. Courtesy Nicole Wightman
Wightman, who lives near Kelowna, B.C., was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome after his vaccination and applied to VISP in 2021. He received $270,000 in indemnities in 2022, becoming one of the first people to be approved.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that has been linked to COVID-19 vaccinations. The condition causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness when the immune system attacks peripheral nerves.
No longer able to work, Wightman awaits a second reassessment of his injuries.
His wife left her job to care for him and their two young children full-time.
After the one-time injury award, he waited 20 additional months to be approved for a VISP income replacement benefit in 2023. That benefit is capped at $90,000 a year — the maximum for all claimants — though he earned far more as a realtor and former pilot.
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Asked about VISP, he likens it to a 'dumpster fire.'
'I don't know how it could be done worse,' added Wightman.
'There have been times where I have thought about not continuing with some of my therapies just because I'm tired of incurring expenses and eating expenses for such a long time.'
Instead, he says the slow pace of financial support forced him, for a time, to turn to the 'bank of family.'
Wightman stated at one point that $12,000 in VISP funds were deposited into his bank account, but it took him more than 10 weeks to confirm what that refund was supposed to cover. VISP officials also kept him on tenterhooks for months, waiting for $25,000 in other reimbursements, he added.
'Such poor communication and record-keeping undermine trust in the program and create additional stress for those who depend on it,' added
Mounting paperwork, mounting debt
As a social worker living in Manitoba, Shannon Dupont thought she knew how to help vulnerable people through a crisis. But she, herself, is now lost and alone, battling VISP.
Prior to her vaccine injuries, which occurred after each of her three injections, she had two jobs and made an average of $104,000 a year.
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Shannon Dupont, of Manitoba, displays all the Vaccine Injury Support Program documents, emails and forms she's gathered. Melissa Ridgen / Global News
She says her employer mandated that she be vaccinated.
But Dupont suffered a stroke, Bell's palsy, lost half her field of vision in her left eye and dexterity in her hands. She developed an autoimmune disorder that gave her hives.
In September 2022, the provincial health authority recommended that Dupont receive no further COVID-19 vaccines. She can no longer work.
In her dealings with VISP since 2021, Dupont says she has had nine case managers whose letters, emails and forms cover her entire dining room table.
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VISP told claimants like Shannon Dupont by email that they would contact them 'quarterly.'
Two years after she applied, VISP approved her for a one-time $24,294 injury payout.
However, she believes VISP 'missed a significant amount of my injury.'
She has since applied for reassessment four times and sought refunds for medical expenses.
Many vaccine-injured people have also asked for their cases to be reconsidered.
VISP now owes her $180,000, Dupont alleges.
As she waited, Dupont says she cashed in her investments and lived on credit cards.
In March, she finally started receiving a VISP income replacement benefit of $3,700 monthly, but her battles continue due to confusion between VISP and her health insurer.
In December, VISP announced the government program would now be her first payor, reversing its initial position.
She says that the insurer now wants her to repay $86,000 — money she says VISP has not paid her.
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- Global News
Is VISP an independent administrator? Here's what some documents say
The Public Health Agency of Canada publicly identifies Oxaro as VISP's 'independent 3rd party administrator' to highlight the arm's-length relationship between government and contractor. This was the reason PHAC outsourced the administration of VISP in the first place: to avoid a potential conflict of interest between its role as promoter and approver of COVID-19 vaccines and the role as administrator of another program that offers financial support to those damaged by the shots. Despite the assertion that VISP is independent, a PHAC communications strategy for the Vaccine Injury Support Program reveals that PHAC and Oxaro (formerly RCGT Consulting) regularly consult each other before responding to any question about the program, or to questions about VISP claimant cases that are asked by journalists or members of Parliament. View image in full screen An excerpt of a PHAC email obtained under the Access to Information Act. Global News A second document shows that PHAC and Oxaro agreed to co-develop what their VISP funding agreement described as 'a joint litigation-management plan.' Story continues below advertisement The plan requires them to work together 'for the purpose of mitigating risk of litigation' that could be launched against the agency or company, the document says. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy A copy of the PHAC funding agreement was obtained under the Access to Information Act. View image in full screen Two pages from the 2021 government funding agreement between Public Health Agency of Canada and Oxaro (then called Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting) shows they agreed to develop a litigation management plan. Global News Global News suggested to Oxaro that such arrangements suggest the consulting company is not an entirely independent administrator. Oxaro's written response? 'This question should be addressed to PHAC.' When Global News asked PHAC, the agency's repeated response was: 'VISP is being administered and delivered independently by Oxaro.'
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- Global News
‘Nothing Was Ready': Inside Canada's Vaccine Injury Support Program
A $50-million program the federal government created to help Canadians seriously injured by COVID-19 vaccines is in disarray, current and former staffers say. The Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP), created during the pandemic, was designed to compensate people who have been seriously and permanently injured by any Health Canada-authorized vaccine administered in Canada on or after Dec. 8, 2020. The Public Health Agency of Canada subsequently selected a consulting firm, Oxaro Inc., to administer the program. The Ottawa-based company vowed it had the 'people, processes, and tools' to run the initiative with 'industry best practices.' However, a five-month-long Global News investigation, involving more than 30 interviews with current and former Oxaro employees, injured claimants and their attorneys, has uncovered allegations that the company was unequipped to deliver fully on the program's mission, questions about why the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) chose this company over others, and internal documents that suggest poor planning from the start. Global News also heard descriptions of a workplace that lacked the gravitas of a program meant to assist the seriously injured and chronically ill: drinking in the office, ping pong, slushies and Netflix streaming at desks. The overall result: many claimants feel they have not received the 'timely and fair' access to support that the government promised. View image in full screen People wait in line at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Montreal in January 2022. Graham Hughes / Canadian Press When the pandemic struck in 2020, Canada was caught flat-footed. Advertisement It was the only G7 country without a vaccine injury support program. Millions of Canadians lined up for the shots, which helped reduce emergency room admissions and curtail the impact of the pandemic. The government reassured the public that they'd be safe, but it acknowledged that in rare cases, people could experience serious side effects. There have been 11,702 reports of serious adverse events following a COVID-19 vaccination, according to Health Canada. That's equal to 0.011 per cent of the 105,015,456 doses administered as of December 2023. Reactions included Guillain-Barré Syndrome, myocarditis, cardiac arrest and Bell's Palsy. For those unfortunate few, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau pledged that VISP would look after them. 'We want to make sure that Canadians have fair access to support,' he said in December 2020. Two months later, PHAC invited companies to submit proposals for administering VISP, saying the agency lacked the staff and expertise to operate the program itself, according to a draft 2023 report on VISP by Health Canada and PHAC. The government viewed the outsourcing decision as 'the best option.' That way, it could avoid a conflict of interest that would arise from serving as both the approver of the vaccines and the one that compensated people for the harms vaccines caused, the documents explained. Four entities responded to the PHAC request and had roughly three weeks to apply. Among them was Oxaro (then called Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc.), a firm that vowed to employ 'experienced dedicated case managers to support a claimant throughout the application process.' It won the contract. The minister of health pushed Oxaro to launch three months ahead of schedule. But when the program did, in June 2021, some former staffers say the company wasn't ready. View image in full screen Global News Oxaro and the Public Health Agency of Canada declined to be interviewed for this story. In a statement to Global News, Oxaro wrote, 'Our process ensures that all cases are treated fairly and with the same care, respect, and due diligence.' 'Building the program as they went' Seven former workers told Global News that the staff VISP hired to run the day-to-day operations had little, if any, experience in public health, insurance or claims management. Many employees were straight out of high school or college, or had previous jobs in retail, bartending and data entry, according to former workers and LinkedIn résumés. There was a revolving door of staff, according to several former employees. A half dozen members of the team that helped prepare the VISP bid were gone within six months, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Claims managers with more experience were eventually hired, but at least three quit, according to their colleagues. Among the employee frustrations, there was also no clear roadmap for managing a claim. Five current and former workers told Global News that policies and procedures were incomplete. Others bemoaned a lack of training. 'They (VISP) had no idea what they were doing,' one former worker said. 'Nothing was ready. We were still being designed two years after the contract was awarded.' 'They were building the program as they went,' another said. The Public Health Agency of Canada did write a policy framework for VISP, but it was up to Oxaro to design and implement it, according to PHAC documents. It wasn't properly fleshed out, former workers said. Advertisement 'I asked for the policy language we would use to decide cases,' one said. 'There was none.' As a result, another worker said they relied on 'word of mouth' to figure out how to handle claims. And to some injured claimants, that lack of guidance was obvious. Monroe Orleans, a realtor from Hamilton, says his VISP case manager asked him to contact his cardiologist to obtain a letter about his personal tax status. View image in full screen Monroe Orleans seen before and during his hospitalization for a vaccine injury to his heart. He says a VISP case manager asked him to contact his cardiologist to obtain a letter about his personal tax status. Courtesy Monroe Orleans 'Why?!' he exclaimed, mystified, questioning how a heart doctor would know anything about tax filings. VISP eventually approved Orleans' case for heart damage he suffered after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. He has a second claim for kidney failure still pending. Kimberly Macdougall, whose husband died of myopericarditis post-COVID-19 vaccine, was also left dumbfounded. At the height of her grief, VISP asked her to retrieve physiotherapy records from three years earlier, when her husband broke his hand playing ultimate frisbee. 'What does that have to do with anything?' she said. VISP also approved her case. View image in full screen Kimberly MacDougall questions why VISP required physiotherapy records from her late-husband, for a hand injury which occurred three years before his death. Patrick Capati / Global News Claims of drinking, ping pong, Netflix Inside VISP's downtown Ottawa office, the work culture included Friday afternoon drinks, ping pong games (often so loud they affected productivity), slushie machines, streaming videos on phones and 'a lot' of chitchat, former workers described. 'I felt like I was there to kind of hang out and socialize,' one said. 'It was kind of like school in a way.' Concerned about appearances, a top Oxaro executive sent an email in advance of an office visit from the Public Health Agency of Canada, instructing workers not to watch videos during the office drop-in. Though two workers confirmed the existence of the email, Global News was unable to obtain a copy. In the last year, some workers said, drinking on Fridays has ceased and the company has tried to curb video streaming in the office. Oxaro would not respond to questions about its workplace culture, nor would it comment on statements by former workers. Former workers say the casual environment inside VISP contributed to the company missing its targets. Claims piled up. One worker confessed that the amount of work they completed was 'well below' what was expected. Lost in the rising number of claims were the injured, the worker added. 'I don't think anyone actually understood the severity or the relevance of the program that was being contracted to the firm,' they said. 'I think they (injured claimants) were merely names on paper and nothing more than that.' View image in full screen People who say they have been hurt by vaccines must complete an application form before their claim can be evaluated. PHAC Those injured claimants said the treatment from VISP workers 'lacked humanity.' Advertisement One injured woman, whose case was eventually approved, said she was brought to tears when her claims manager shouted at her and swore, 'You're just after free money.' That same VISP case manager allegedly told a second injured person: 'You didn't have to get the vaccine.' He was later fired, according to former workers. Several workers said that despite the team's inexperience and limited resources, they still tried their hardest to provide support payments to those in need. View image in full screen VISP has approved 219 cases. More than 3,000 people have applied. 'I did everything I could for that program. I couldn't do any more,' one former worker said. A second former staffer said that in recent months, there were signs of improvement, but that the system was still as slow as 'molasses.' 'It's frustrating,' he said. 'I can't help these (injured) individuals out.' View image in full screen The Public Health Agency of Canada is based in Ottawa. Rob Kazemzadeh / Global News Global News sent Oxaro a 15-page list of questions, including detailed allegations from former workers and claimants. Oxaro would not comment on those specifics, stating instead it is working with PHAC and 'continues to adapt its approach based on actual number of applications and appeals received.' Read Oxaro's response to Global News. PHAC told Global News it 'takes the concerns raised by VISP claimants and beneficiaries seriously' and is 'actively reviewing the VISP experience to date,' including an examination of best practices from other countries, to ensure its 'future program will effectively meet the needs of Canadians.' The government's five-year deal with Oxaro is up for renewal in mid-2026. View image in full screen Of the $50.6 million the government of Canada has paid to Oxaro, a third of that amount, $16.9 million, has reached the injured. Oxaro has spent the rest on administrative and program costs, PHAC data shows. Oxaro said its monthly invoices to the government 'reflect actual costs' that are 'reviewed and approved by PHAC.' Health Canada Minister Marjorie Michel, via a spokesperson, sent an unsolicited email to Global News prior to publication, saying: 'These allegations are completely unacceptable… I've asked PHAC to find a solution that ensures a responsible use of funds and that people receive the support they need. All options are on the table.' Why a consulting firm? The question many injured claimants and former workers have raised over the course of this investigation: how did an accounting and advisory firm land a contract managing health claims? In its 155-page submission, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. (now Oxaro) cited two examples of its experience in health claim adjudication. Advertisement One was designing and operating the Memorial Grant Program for First Responders, a smaller federal program that pays out a one-time, lump sum to beneficiaries of emergency workers who died as a direct result of their duties. The other was acting as liquidator of Union of Canada Life Insurance after it became insolvent in 2012, processing outstanding accident, life and medical claims, and transferring policies to other insurers until 2015. Three other contenders There were three other bidders for the VISP contract, and all had health claims adjudication experience: Green Shield Canada, Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. and ClaimsPro LP. Global News obtained a redacted copy of Green Shield's proposal, which highlighted its track record as Canada's 'fourth-largest health and dental benefits provider,' boasting over 60 years of experience. 'We are ready to begin intaking claims within 45 days,' the GSC bid stated, adding it had a proven track record of timely claim payments, with 99.9 per cent accuracy over each of the last four years. View image in full screen Green Shield Canada submitted a detailed proposal to administer VISP back in 2021, highlighting its decades of experience and status as a non-profit company. In March 2021, a six-person committee 'unanimously' selected RCGT, PHAC said. Although the Public Health Agency refused to explain why or how that decision was reached, it did reveal that RCGT (Oxaro) was neither the highest nor lowest bidder. The unsuccessful bidders would not answer questions from Global News. A flawed forecast As VISP enters its fifth year, roughly 1,700 applicants are still waiting for their cases to be reviewed and decided, according to VISP data. Part of the reason: the initial forecast for the volume of claims VISP would receive was wildly inaccurate, and the system wasn't prepared for the influx. In February 2021, PHAC initially estimated VISP would get 40 claims per year, with the possibility of higher-than-average numbers in the first three years. View image in full screen That number was bumped up to 400 'valid' claims annually, according to the contract between RCGT and PHAC signed four months later. It received that amount in the first five months alone, according to VISP data. VISP has received 3,073 claims to date. That unforeseen volume hampered the program's effectiveness almost from the start. Instead of living up to its bid promise of a call centre that would respond to emails within one hour and contact from an applicant within one day '90% of the time,' applicants have recently received emails stating, 'due to an unexpectedly high volume of claims' VISP will 'aim to contact claimants quarterly.' View image in full screen VISP has sent several claimants an automatic email response, saying they will aim to contact them 'quarterly.' In its written response, Oxaro said, 'VISP is a new and demand-based program with an unknown and fluctuating number of applications and appeals.' It continued, 'The volume of claims received does have a direct impact on processing timelines,' as does their 'nature and complexity.' Advertisement PHAC and Oxaro workers have stated the average claim takes 12-18 months to process. Some applicants who spoke with Global News have been waiting three years for their claim to be decided.
