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.
Hellbound and Down 