Latest news with #AlbertaCourtofKing'sBench
Global News
17-07-2025
- Health
- Global News
VISP aimed to curb vaccine injury lawsuits. Now, people are suing in 3 provinces
Carrie Sakamoto left her family's beloved dogs outside in the freezing cold. She started fires in her kitchen, and she fell down the stairs of her Alberta home — several times. These incidents all occurred since 2021, when Sakamoto was injured and rushed to hospital after a rare adverse reaction from a COVID-19 vaccine. Sakamoto was hospitalized for 17 days. For a time, she could not walk, talk, chew or focus. The federal government announced a program in 2020 to help people like Sakamoto, pledging timely and fair support to the unfortunate like her who were seriously hurt after immunizations. The program was supposed to spare the injured and fragile the cost and stress associated with litigation. In Sakamoto's case, the program, called the Vaccine Injury Support Program, or VISP, did neither. Instead of providing Sakamoto, of Lethbridge, Alta., with timely and fair financial support, she says that VISP and the outside consultants who were selected to administer it for the federal government — Oxaro Inc. — have only exacerbated her physical and psychological suffering. 'Extremely frustrating. Dehumanizing. Incredibly dismissive. Even abusive,' is how Sakamoto describes her experiences and dealings with Canada's VISP. Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Extremely frustrating. Dehumanizing. Incredibly dismissive. Even abusive," is how Sakamoto describes her experiences and dealings with Canada's VISP. Sakamoto made those comments in a sworn statement she filed in a class action lawsuit launched in the Alberta Court of King's Bench in 2024. She is a lead plaintiff against the federal and provincial governments in this Alberta court case. View image in full screen Excerpts from Carrie Sakamoto's 2024 sworn affidavit, which was filed in an Alberta class action lawsuit. She harshly criticized Ottawa's Vaccine Injury Support Program. 1 Both Oxaro and the Public Health Agency of Canada, which hired Oxaro to run VISP in 2021, declined to comment on Sakamoto's case, allegations or criticisms of the federal program. Advertisement In response to a 15-page list of questions from Global News about its VISP administration, Oxaro Inc. sent a series of written statements. 'The VISP is a new and demand-based program with an unknown and fluctuating number of applications and appeals submitted by claimants,' the company said. View image in full screen Ottawa consulting firm Oxaro Inc. was hired in 2021 to administer the federal government's Vaccine Injury Support Program. 1 '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.' 'We aim at providing a process that ensures that all cases are treated fairly and with the same care, respect, and due diligence,' the company added. 2:48 Whistleblowers allege 'high school' workplace inside federal program Read Oxaro's statement here. In an interview with Global News, Sakamoto said she does not think Oxaro should have been hired to administer VISP. 'I don't think they realized how many injured people were going to apply. And I think they're overwhelmed,' she added. Lawyers representing Sakamoto and a group of plaintiffs alleged that the two governments provided the public with false, misleading and/or incomplete information about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, preventing the public from making an informed decision regarding vaccination. The case and allegations against VISP highlight the depth of despair and frustration thousands of Canadians feel after being promised they would be taken care of if their immunizations triggered rare adverse reactions and they were injured. Injured applicants like Sakamoto say they also face a revolving door of unreachable VISP case managers and arbitrary and unfair decisions. The Alberta class action case remains before the courts. A hearing to determine if the class will be certified has been scheduled for mid-2026. Both the federal and provincial governments have tried unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed. The Attorney General of Canada called the lawsuit 'frivolous, irrelevant, and improper.' 4:04 'Chaos' inside Federal Vaccine Injury Support Program A Global News investigation into VISP published earlier this month revealed that Oxaro Inc. has received $50.6 million in taxpayer money, including $33.7 million spent on administrative costs, while injured Canadians received only $16.9 million. (Payouts to the injured have since increased to $18.1 million in the latest reporting period, ending June 1, 2025. But Health Canada was unable to say yesterday how much more money Oxaro was paid above the $50.6 million tallied during the last reporting period.) Global also found that 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 3,317 applications have now been filed to June 1 — of those, 1,738 people are still waiting for their claim to be decided. 3:02 Federal Vaccine Injury Support Program leaving some injured people waiting for years The government launched VISP as 'a no-fault system' in 2021, which was supposed to compensate injured and fragile Canadians without them having to pursue costly, stressful and time-consuming litigation against vaccine manufacturers and public health officials. Advertisement However, a Global News investigation has found that five Canadians have now launched lawsuits against governments and manufacturers for injuries they allege are the results of the vaccinations, amid allegations that VISP has failed to support them. They include Sakamoto and several of the injured and ill people featured in Part 1 of this investigation, including Ross Wightman of British Columbia and Ontario residents Kayla Pollock and Dan Hartman, whose 17-year-old son died suddenly in his room in the middle of the night after his vaccination. Read more about their stories here. View image in full screen British Columbia attorney Umar Sheikh. 1 Victoria lawyer Umar Sheikh represents several vaccine-injured people and others across Canada who claim they were injured by COVID-19 vaccines. Sheikh argues that pushing people to file lawsuits for damages is contrary to the rationale of VISP, which intended to keep sick and vulnerable people out of courtrooms. 'These cases will cost between $20,000 and $40,000 in fees and costs. You're dealing with clients who are injured, who have no money, and they're not working,' added Sheikh, who represents Pollock. View image in full screen Carrie Sakamoto as she appeared in a selfie in 2019, prior to her vaccine injury in 2021. 1 Carrie Sakamoto shares Pollock's plight. Once a healthy and vibrant mother, she, her husband, and their three boys lived on a dreamy seed farm in the foothills near Lethbridge, Alta. Now, she says her life is one in which the physical, psychological and emotional toll has been immense. Everything in Sakamoto's life and family situation changed after her second COVID-19 shot during the pandemic. Within a few hours of her vaccination on June 18, 2021, Sakamoto developed flu-like symptoms that worsened daily. Her health rapidly deteriorated. Her husband was sick, too. While her husband, Shawn, got better, Sakamoto never recovered and ended up in hospital. She suffered from Bell's palsy, with severe head pain that still requires medication. A Health Canada adverse reaction injury database shows Sakamoto is not alone: 216 people like her reportedly suffered Bell's palsy-like facial paralysis after vaccinations in the pandemic.
Global News
28-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Canadian doctors group challenging constitutionality of Alberta transgender law
A group representing Canada's doctors is challenging the constitutionality of Alberta's legislation limiting access to medical treatment for transgender youth, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience. The Canadian Medical Association says the challenge, filed Wednesday in Alberta Court of King's Bench, is meant to protect the relationship between patients and doctors when it comes to making treatment decisions. 'This is a historic and unprecedented government intrusion into the physician-patient relationship and requires doctors to follow the law rather than clinical guidelines, the needs of patients and their own conscience,' the association said in a statement. The legislation was part of a trio of bills affecting transgender people that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government passed last year. 2:06 Alberta tables bills affecting transgender youth, student pronouns, sex education The association, which represents more than 75,000 physicians, is specifically challenging the bill that blocks doctors from prescribing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to children under 16 and bans gender reassignment surgeries for those under 18. Story continues below advertisement The other bills ban transgender women from competing in amateur women's sports and require children under 16 to have parental consent to change their names or pronouns at school. Smith has said the medical treatment legislation is necessary to protect children and ensure they don't make major decisions before they become adults. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Dr. Jake Donaldson, who is one of three Alberta-based doctors involved in the court challenge, said the law has put him and other doctors in a 'state of moral crisis.' 'It is encroaching upon sort of the autonomy of physicians and our ability to provide what we believe is best, and individualized, evidence-based care for patients,' the Calgary family doctor said in an interview. 'It forces me to sort of stand on the sidelines and refuse to provide care to patients who would otherwise, in all likelihood, significantly benefit from it.' Donaldson said he has roughly 40 young patients who receive the kinds of treatment the law outlaws, although a grandfather clause in the legislation means those patients aren't being cut off. 'From the standpoint of gender-affirming care, what we are able to do in the medical world is help people,' Donaldson said. 'There's good evidence behind what we're doing, (and) there are guidelines that we follow. Nobody's making decisions willy-nilly.' Story continues below advertisement Association president Dr. Joss Reimer said Donaldson isn't alone in being in a moral crisis as a result of the law. She said the association doesn't want to see physicians 'put in a position where they have to choose between following their ethical guidelines … following what their college expects of them, what the guidelines say, or following the law.' 'It's not unprecedented for the CMA to get involved in legal matters, but it was unprecedented for a bill in Canada to restrict the ability for physicians to offer advice to patients,' Reimer said. 4:22 Protests against Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's sweeping new transgender policy in Calgary, Edmonton Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery's press secretary Heather Jenkins said in an email that the government believes the bill will protect children from making 'irreversible decisions.' 'Alberta's government will vigorously defend our position in court,' Jenkins said. Story continues below advertisement The association isn't the first to challenge the constitutionality of Smith's legislation. In December, advocacy groups Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation, as well as five Alberta families, launched a Charter challenge against all three bills. They also filed for an injunction. Hearings for the injunction application took place in Calgary in March, but a judge has yet to make a ruling. A spokesperson for Egale said in a statement that it welcomes the medical group's challenge. 'No one benefits when governments insert themselves into the relationship between doctors and patients,' it said. Smith has previously said she thinks the three bills strike a fair balance and that the Charter allows for limits on rights. 'We have all kinds of restrictions on the ability of minors to make decisions. And we do that because we want to make sure that they are at full capacity to be able to make decisions that are going to be consequential to them,' the premier said in December. Smith said later that month that she would use the Charter's notwithstanding clause 'as a last resort' to override possible breaches to ensure the legislation is implemented.
Global News
23-05-2025
- Global News
Alberta judge grants bail for man convicted of 1987 murder after new trial ordered
Decades after Roy Allan Sobotiak was sentenced to life for the killing of an Edmonton woman, the 61-year-old is set to walk out of prison. Alberta Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted bail Friday to Sobotiak, who was convicted in 1991 for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. His conviction was quashed in February and a new trial was ordered. Macklin told court that Sobotiak is considered legally innocent and must be granted release. Lawyer James Lockyer said his client was to be released later in the day. 'Thirty-six years is a very long time for someone to be in jail,' said Lockyer, who has worked on the case with Innocence Canada. 'It's a good day for him, it's a good day for justice. But he's going to find it difficult getting back into a world he doesn't know.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a good day for him, it's a good day for justice. But he's going to find it difficult getting back into a world he doesn't know." Story continues below advertisement 'I think he'll find a lot of things in the world quite frightening, but he's going to have good support as soon as he gets out and thereafter. So I'm confident he'll manage.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Sobotiak was 26 when he was charged with first-degree murder in the 1987 killing of Kaminsky. The 34-year-old mother, whose body was never found, disappeared after a night out with friends at a north end pub. She was last seen with Sobotiak. The trial heard Sobotiak told an undercover officer that he tortured, sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered Kaminsky before disposing of her body in the garbage. Sobotiak was convicted of second-degree murder. A conviction appeal was dismissed in 1994 and leave to appeal to Canada's top court was denied in 2004. He had been serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Alberta. Crown prosecutors agreed to Sobotiak's bail but said he should be kept under house arrest. Lockyer suggested a curfew. Sobotiak is to live in Fort McMurray and must abide by conditions, including a curfew, a travel restriction and electronic monitoring for three months. Innocence Canada, a non-profit that advocates against wrongful convictions, said Sobotiak has always insisted on his innocence. Lockyer said his client is the longest-serving wrongly convicted person in Canadian history, behind David Milgaard and Romeo Phillion. Story continues below advertisement In February, former federal justice minister Arif Virani quashed Sobotiak's conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a miscarriage of justice 'likely occurred.' Months later, lawyers for Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery filed a judicial review, arguing in court documents that Virani provided no reasoning why a new trial was warranted. Lockyer said he finds it surprising Alberta requested a review and Innocence Canada will be supporting Sobotiak and the federal government. 'We think it's unlikely to be successful, but that's not going to be our decision,' he said. Heather Jenkins, press secretary for Amery's office, said in an email Friday the ministry is unable to comment as the matter is before the courts. No date has been set for a new trial.
Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Alberta judge grants bail for man convicted of 1987 murder after new trial ordered
EDMONTON - Decades after Roy Allan Sobotiak was sentenced to life for the killing of an Edmonton woman, the 61-year-old is set to walk out of prison. Alberta Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted bail Friday to Sobotiak, who was convicted in 1991 for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. His conviction was quashed in February and a new trial was ordered. Macklin told court that Sobotiak is considered legally innocent and must be granted release. Lawyer James Lockyer said his client was to be released later in the day. 'Thirty-six years is a very long time for someone to be in jail,' said Lockyer, who has worked on the case with Innocence Canada. 'It's a good day for him, it's a good day for justice. But he's going to find it difficult getting back into a world he doesn't know. 'I think he'll find a lot of things in the world quite frightening, but he's going to have good support as soon as he gets out and thereafter. So I'm confident he'll manage.' Sobotiak was 26 when he was charged with first-degree murder in the 1987 killing of Kaminsky. The 34-year-old mother, whose body was never found, disappeared after a night out with friends at a north end pub. She was last seen with Sobotiak. The trial heard Sobotiak told an undercover officer that he tortured, sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered Kaminsky before disposing of her body in the garbage. Sobotiak was convicted of second-degree murder. A conviction appeal was dismissed in 1994 and leave to appeal to Canada's top court was denied in 2004. He had been serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Alberta. Crown prosecutors agreed to Sobotiak's bail but said he should be kept under house arrest. Lockyer suggested a curfew. Innocence Canada, a non-profit that advocates against wrongful convictions, said Sobotiak has always insisted on his innocence. Lockyer said his client is the longest-serving wrongly convicted person in Canadian history, behind David Milgaard and Romeo Phillion. In February, former federal justice minister Arif Virani quashed Sobotiak's conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a miscarriage of justice 'likely occurred.' Months later, lawyers for Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery filed a judicial review, arguing in court documents that Virani provided no reasoning why a new trial was warranted. Lockyer said he finds it surprising Alberta requested a review and Innocence Canada will be supporting Sobotiak and the federal government. 'We think it's unlikely to be successful, but that's not going to be our decision,' he said. Heather Jenkins, press secretary for Amery's office, said in an email Friday the ministry is unable to comment as the matter is before the courts. No date has been set for a new trial. Sobotiak is to live in Fort McMurray and must abide by conditions, including a curfew, a travel restriction and electronic monitoring for three months. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alberta judge grants bail for man convicted of 1987 murder after new trial ordered
EDMONTON – Decades after Roy Allan Sobotiak was sentenced to life for the killing of an Edmonton woman, the 61-year-old is set to walk out of prison. Alberta Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted bail Friday to Sobotiak, who was convicted in 1991 for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. His conviction was quashed in February and a new trial was ordered. Macklin told court that Sobotiak is considered legally innocent and must be granted release. Lawyer James Lockyer said his client was to be released later in the day. 'Thirty-six years is a very long time for someone to be in jail,' said Lockyer, who has worked on the case with Innocence Canada. 'It's a good day for him, it's a good day for justice. But he's going to find it difficult getting back into a world he doesn't know. 'I think he'll find a lot of things in the world quite frightening, but he's going to have good support as soon as he gets out and thereafter. So I'm confident he'll manage.' Sobotiak was 26 when he was charged with first-degree murder in the 1987 killing of Kaminsky. The 34-year-old mother, whose body was never found, disappeared after a night out with friends at a north end pub. She was last seen with Sobotiak. The trial heard Sobotiak told an undercover officer that he tortured, sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered Kaminsky before disposing of her body in the garbage. Sobotiak was convicted of second-degree murder. A conviction appeal was dismissed in 1994 and leave to appeal to Canada's top court was denied in 2004. He had been serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Alberta. Crown prosecutors agreed to Sobotiak's bail but said he should be kept under house arrest. Lockyer suggested a curfew. Innocence Canada, a non-profit that advocates against wrongful convictions, said Sobotiak has always insisted on his innocence. Lockyer said his client is the longest-serving wrongly convicted person in Canadian history, behind David Milgaard and Romeo Phillion. In February, former federal justice minister Arif Virani quashed Sobotiak's conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a miscarriage of justice 'likely occurred.' Months later, lawyers for Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery filed a judicial review, arguing in court documents that Virani provided no reasoning why a new trial was warranted. Lockyer said he finds it surprising Alberta requested a review and Innocence Canada will be supporting Sobotiak and the federal government. 'We think it's unlikely to be successful, but that's not going to be our decision,' he said. Heather Jenkins, press secretary for Amery's office, said in an email Friday the ministry is unable to comment as the matter is before the courts. No date has been set for a new trial. Sobotiak is to live in Fort McMurray and must abide by conditions, including a curfew, a travel restriction and electronic monitoring for three months. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.
