Stephanie Giguère
Day 3 · September 10, 2026 · 0:26:32
Key points Stephanie Giguere, 46, a psychotherapist for Interior Health in British Columbia with a master's in counseling psychology, testifies she was healthy and active before vaccination. She says she received a single Moderna shot on January 21, 2021, and within about 90 minutes her hands and arms went numb while she was typing. She describes a 23-day head pressure she calls the worst pain of her life, plus racing heart rate, loss of words, weakness, falling, and poor proprioception. She says her doctor did not see her in person for two and a half years, told her she might start soiling herself at 40, and diagnosed her with adjustment disorder. She recounts turning to a naturopathic doctor for help after the medical system offered no hope, saying he put her back on her feet. She describes lasting trauma from being labeled unvaccinated, from Trudeau's comments calling the unvaccinated extremists, and from online hatred and gaslighting. She says her WorkSafeBC claim was denied for lack of data by a reviewer she alleges mocked the vaccine-injured, and she compiled 404 references to document her case.
Speaker 1
0:02 Our next witness is Stephanie Giguere. 0:05 I'm sorry, I just pronounced that wrong, didn't I? Speaker 1
0:08 Giguere. 0:10 I'm not doing very well today, Stephanie. 0:13 Stephanie, will you take the Bible in your right hand? 0:20 Stephanie Giguere, do you promise or swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? 0:27 So I'll be God. Speaker 1
0:30 I'd like to introduce you to the inquiry. 0:34 In our previous interview, you made it clear that you've never had COVID. Speaker 1
0:39 And you were 46 years old. 0:42 I was 40 at the time. 0:44 Right, but today you're 46. Speaker 2
0:46 Oh, apologies. Speaker 1
0:48 Yeah, no worries. 0:49 You're 46. 0:50 You've got two children. 0:52 You were a psychotherapist for the region's health authority. 0:58 Interior Health in British Columbia, you have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychiatry, a Master's in Counseling Psychology. 1:06 You were volunteering with a couple of churches. 1:09 You were hiking, swimming, gardening, foraging, as you described it. 1:13 You smile about that. 1:16 And you had no health conditions. 1:17 You were on no medications. 1:19 You were in good health and fully functional prior to the vaccine. Speaker 2
1:25 My bachelor's in psychology and behavioral science, not psychiatry. Speaker 1
1:30 Thank you for correcting me on that. Speaker 2
1:32 So on the age and I'm right on the bachelor. Speaker 1
1:38 Can you share with us your journey? Speaker 2
1:40 So. 1:43 I knew you were going to ask this question and my journey probably takes seven days to describe. 1:49 There's many facets to what happened to me. 1:52 I mean, medical. 1:53 psychological, social, political. 1:59 I'm thinking you're asking about my patient journey. Speaker 1
2:03 I'm asking you about your vaccine journey because you only had one shot. Speaker 1
2:08 And that was Moderna on January 21st, 2021. 2:14 And you had an immediate reaction. Speaker 1
2:18 And so I'm wanting you to start there. 2:20 So Speaker 2
2:22 Okay. 2:24 Well, I was exposed to the product, as Deanna McLeod explained this morning. 2:33 I'm going to try to stick with that. 2:34 I was exposed to the mRNA product on that day around 1130, and nothing happened immediately. 2:43 However, after I came back from lunch, about 90 minutes later, I noticed that my hands were 2:51 going numb. 2:53 I was typing actually a report for a lawyer's office at the time, and I can type like the wind where I used to. 3:01 And at that point, my hands, right up to my elbows, really started feeling numb. 3:09 I described to my husband, my hands felt like dough, like they were completely useless. 3:16 At that point, I was... 3:18 At that point, I believe my executive functioning had started declining also because I was quite disoriented. 3:27 Clinically, we speak of judgment, and my judgment was way off. 3:34 I'm at a point where I'm trying to finish my report with my elbows because sending this is more important than whatever is happening to me at the moment. 3:43 So immediate neurological harm happened to me. Speaker 1
3:50 even driving home was a lack of judgment. 3:53 Can you describe how you drove home? 3:55 Because you've lost ability of your... Speaker 2
3:58 Instead of going to the hospital, I drove home with my wrists, put into gear like that, went home. 4:06 Yeah, I was scared. 4:09 And from there, the headache started. 4:12 I had the worst headache of my life. 4:15 It was pain in my brain. 4:17 And there's a difference between pain in your brain 4:21 and a headache, there was pressure in my head that lasts for 23 days. 4:27 And I can describe this simply maybe by saying that I remember being like sitting in the car as a passenger from then on and looking at these concrete stairs just outside the car. 4:42 And I thought if I could just bang my head hard enough on these concrete stairs, maybe I could break my skull and maybe my brain would be okay. 4:51 This is, this is how painful this was. 4:54 Um, and I could hear inside my skull. 4:58 It was like, it was like pop rocks. 5:00 It was crackling. 5:01 I was in there and it just kept going day and night. 5:07 And my entire body was in horrible pain. 5:11 And then my heart rate, uh, very soon started like out of nowhere going up, you know, the 130, um, 5:20 resting heart rate, 160 resting heart rate. 5:24 So just a great deal of pain and multi-system turmoil. 5:32 And then I started losing my words. 5:35 And I am a woman of words. 5:37 I have made an entire career out of words, careful words, some of them elaborate. 5:43 And so to start slurring and stuttering and having no capacity 5:50 to find words to produce any coherent sentences, whether in my head or through my mouth, and then losing my motor control. 6:02 I mean, this was the most scary experience of my life. 6:07 It was the most painful experience of my life. 6:11 And there's more. 6:12 I started having weakness in my legs. 6:16 I started falling to the ground. 6:18 I started having problems with proprioception where I didn't know where my body was. 6:24 I couldn't do this. 6:26 You know, bring a glass to my mouth. 6:27 I dumped a liquid on my lap. 6:29 I'd poke myself in the face with my forks. 6:32 I lost a lot of weight just because I couldn't eat properly to feed myself. 6:40 So there is just Speaker 3
6:41 Just a lot that was happening. 6:44 Just a lot. Speaker 1
6:51 You had said to me in an interview when you're describing this as you're starting to run into walls, you've developed a lump in your throat, your speech is becoming difficult, you can no longer think straight. 7:05 And then you said to me, my fear and pain 7:10 had reached a level that I could no longer rationalize or push through. 7:15 And can you explain what you meant by that? Speaker 2
7:19 Well, I kept trying to go to work that first week. 7:23 I mean, I slept 16-hour nights, 20-hour nights the first week or so, maybe 10 days. 7:29 And then on the Monday, I'm like, ah, I got to go to work. 7:33 I couldn't dress myself because I had too much pain in my arm. 7:36 So my husband dresses me and then he drives me to work because my clients are more important than my health at this point. 7:44 Or, you know, they're telling us, don't come to the hospital. 7:47 All this is normal. 7:48 I'm like, I'm pooping my pants. 7:50 Is this normal? 7:51 Doctor, by the way, said, you're 40, Stephanie, you know. 7:56 So for all of you who are turning 40 this year, sorry. 7:59 Doctor said you might start pooping your pants. 8:01 Just so we're clear. Speaker 1
8:03 Well, let's just stop there because that's shocking. 8:07 So what's the exact context? 8:10 Because obviously it's a case of gaslighting. Speaker 2
8:14 Oh, I thought you were asking about the context. 8:16 I was going to say if you miss the door entry too long and you run into the door jam too long, you may poop your pants if you have to go, if you need seven tries to get in there. Speaker 1
8:27 No, no, I just mean the doctor saying this to you. 8:29 So do you recall the context of that? Speaker 2
8:32 Well, 8:33 And I love her. 8:34 She's been my doctor for a long time. 8:36 She no longer has a medical clinic in my town. 8:40 The context of this was that she actually did not see me for two and a half years in person. 8:51 So we had phone calls. 8:53 She recommended that I drink a lot of water and sleep a lot. 8:56 And I said, is 20 hours a night enough? 8:58 Yeah. 9:00 And she said, you know, you've worked hard during the pandemic. 9:04 And she diagnosed me with a mental disorder. 9:09 She diagnosed me with adjustment disorder. 9:14 With a mixed anxiety and depressed mood. Speaker 3
9:19 Because Mr. Buckley, it was all in my head. Speaker 1
9:28 You know, we've, we've heard that a lot and I, I not having experienced it, you don't know, like you can't have a feeling, but as best you can, like, how do you react to that emotionally and mentally when you're suffering terribly and you know, the doctors just gaslighting you by saying that. Speaker 2
9:55 You stop having any kind of trust in the medical system. 9:58 and you turn to alternative systems. Speaker 4
10:05 Which you did do. Speaker 4
10:07 Can you share about that? Speaker 2
10:09 Well, so the ER doctor, the medical doctor, told me to wait until I had an appointment with my GP, which was three weeks later. 10:23 If I had a client who presented the way I presented it, 10:27 I would have waited until they were airlifted to St. Paul or VGH or maybe Foothills. 10:32 He told me to go home, wait for three weeks. 10:36 In the meantime, my husband was able to secure an emergency appointment with a naturopathic doctor of great repute in the next town. 10:44 And he saw me almost immediately. 10:47 And he initiated a protocol at the time. 10:52 There was no available doctor. Speaker 1
10:54 protocols that we know of so he did his best and he put me back on my feet i i just want to i think i think it's important to stay here for a minute so the medical system was offering you no hope at all and you turned to a naturopathic doctor and you found that that journey was helpful for you absolutely and and you understand now that 11:21 There are protocols. 11:22 There has been research into vaccine injury. 11:27 And there's things to do. 11:29 I had asked you during an interview what was the most difficult part of this. 11:36 It was one of the earlier interviews. 11:39 I hadn't learned that I should expect this answer because I'm expecting it to be the suffering and all of that. 11:45 That's not how you answered it. 11:47 Can you share with us 11:49 what the most difficult parts for you were. Speaker 2
11:51 I don't recall how I answered it. Speaker 1
11:53 You actually said it was the gaslighting and the online hate, and you even gave an example, and the pool lady. Speaker 2
12:00 Well, I mean, there's been interesting debate around whether Justin Trudeau said it or not, but I am a native French speaker, and he did call us extremists, racists, and misogynist people who did not believe in science. 12:16 And I want to say, 12:17 for context that having had only one dose, I was considered unvaccinated, right? 12:24 I did not receive any exemption. 12:25 BC does not give exemptions. 12:27 As far as I know, they give six month deferrals that have to be renewed every time. 12:33 And so to become an unvaccinated, to become a hated person in my own country, to be told by all kinds of people that I don't understand the scientific method of 12:47 that I'm anti-science, that I'm misogynistic and racist and a whack job and a little tinfoil hat person was extremely offensive to me. 13:01 And many apologies are owed to us, all of us, the vaccine injured, the unvaccinated. 13:07 I am disgusted by what happened. 13:10 People killed themselves. 13:11 We had suicide on our hands. 13:13 People accepted MAID because they were coerced into it. 13:17 And the public cheered to see us die. Speaker 1
13:23 We've got people from around the world watching, so I'm just going to give them some context when you're saying racist and misogynist. 13:29 So just for the rest of the world, Canadians know this, but our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was on a Quebec television show, and he's talking about the unvaccinated. 13:43 And I think he asks the question, the rhetorical question, 13:46 How long are we going to tolerate them? 13:51 And as we know from MLA Ontario, MLA Hillier, he was asking why the federal government was building detention camps across Canada. 14:01 And so we know we're building detention camps. 14:03 And our prime minister on television is saying, how long are we going to tolerate them, the unvaccinated? 14:12 And that's the show where he called the unvaccinated racists. 14:16 and misogynist. 14:18 So for the rest of the world, just imagine your leader, while the government is building detention camps on national television, asking how long are we going to tolerate them, meaning the unvaccinated. 14:33 Stephanie, in the province where I was, Alberta, the opposition leader, Rachel Notley, was calling for the army to go door to door to identify the unvaccinated. 14:46 When I would lecture in Alberta after things calmed down and you could actually have public gatherings, I would sometimes ask the audience, well, put up your hand if during the dark days of COVID you honestly believe that the army would be going door to door, dragging unvaccinated people out of their homes and forcefully vaccinating them. 15:12 And sometimes almost every arm goes out. 15:15 Now, how does the population in Alberta heal from that? 15:20 I don't know the answer, but it's just, this is what you're talking about. Speaker 2
15:24 And these are the dreams that I still suffer from. 15:28 These are the dreams that I've had. 15:30 People coming, throwing me on the bus, sending me to the camp. Speaker 1
15:34 Can you tell us about those dreams in a little more detail? Speaker 3
15:40 You know, people in uniform kicking in my door. Speaker 2
15:46 coming to drag me out of bed, maybe by my hair, maybe giving me another brain injury by roughing me up, pushing me on a bus, taking me God knows where, to do to me God knows what. 16:02 I wake up in tears. 16:04 I wake up in panic. 16:06 I haven't slept well in all these years. 16:10 I have been surrounded by enemies. 16:14 I have been identified as an enemy of the state. 16:17 Trudeau didn't just call us misogynist and racist. 16:19 He said we are extremists. Speaker 3
16:22 He said we're dangerous. 16:28 So I don't know. 16:29 I don't know what else to tell you about this. Speaker 2
16:31 Terrible, terrible post-traumatic symptoms that I'm living with every day. 16:37 Every day. 16:38 How do you live in a society that has done this to you? 16:43 where the media has been complicit with this, when the government lied to your face, where your MP's office and your MLA's office hung up on you. 16:54 How are secretaries enabled to decide what's important for the country, what is of national interest? 17:01 It's rhetorical. 17:02 They're not. 17:04 They shouldn't be. 17:04 It's disgusting what happened to us. Speaker 1
17:10 Now, aside from the government, there was also citizens. 17:14 You spoke to me about online hatred. Speaker 2
17:18 Well, the group we don't talk about, we had the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, the pro-vax and the pro-choice. 17:26 There's a third group. 17:28 There's a third group of us that was wanted dead by everybody. 17:32 I believe Carol Avon said this morning, you know, the vaccinated told us, oh, you're dangerous. 17:38 You know, it's not true. 17:39 You're a liar. 17:41 Someone vaccinated told us, ah, you were dumb enough to take it. 17:44 Just go die. 17:45 So there's a lot of that. 17:47 There's a lot of that. 17:48 Not a lot of empathy, not a lot of kindness, not a lot of real respect or any consideration for evidence for that matter. 17:55 No consideration. 17:56 So online was cruel, but I decided to keep speaking because we have to tell the truth. 18:04 We have to prevent other people from being hurt. 18:10 We need to study people like me. 18:12 When my workers' comp claim was denied, I was told there was no data. 18:19 Ironically, when I was able to start reading again, I started devouring neurological journals, and I started reviewing cases that resembled mine. 18:29 And I excluded strokes because there was thousands of those, and I needed a team for strokes. 18:34 So I left stroke alone, and it was pretty simple. 18:36 I looked at things that were more differently complexed. 18:41 And I came up with 404 references of, you know, peer review, blah, blah, blah, real journals. 18:48 And I put together a bibliography. 18:50 I did the literature review. 18:52 And I sent it to Workers' Comp, which is WorkSafeBC. 18:55 And a fine assistant put my bibliography on top of everything. 19:02 And then she slid in the doctor, oh, Charlene Kotze. 19:06 I'll tell you about her later. 19:09 who said there is no data to support, you know, there is no data. 19:14 I'm like, I am the data. 19:16 Charlene was my medical reviewer, and she had countless posts, and I got screenshots of her wishing death on the unvaccinated, calling them all COVID idiots, and also mocking the vaccine injured. 19:32 So this is the person who decided to deny my claim. 19:36 It's just shocking. 19:37 Shame on her. Speaker 1
19:41 I think we're learning at this inquiry that nothing is shocking. Speaker 5
19:46 Thank you, Stephanie. 19:47 Thank you very much for being here. 19:48 We do appreciate your time. 19:50 I know we have a couple of questions and we're running close to the time. 19:53 Mr. Dawson, turn it over to you, sir. 19:55 Thank you. Speaker 6
19:57 You said you're a sociologist. 19:59 I'm a psychotherapist. 20:00 Psychotherapist. 20:02 How do you think that the COVID and the vaccines and the way people were treated 20:10 affected people socially, mentally? 20:13 I wanted to ask Mr. Drysdale, but we ran out of time. 20:17 But I'll ask you, how do you think it affected people socially and mentally? 20:22 When we lock seniors up, we don't allow people to go out in public. 20:25 We don't allow our kids to go to school. 20:28 How do you think that affected people across Canada? Speaker 2
20:31 I believe that it has caused unspeakable and unforgivable harm. 20:36 And I hope to see accountability Speaker 5
20:40 Thank you. 20:41 Thank you for being here. 20:43 Mr. Holden, and then Mr. Motz after Mr. Holden. Speaker 7
20:48 Merci beaucoup, Stephanie, pour ton témoignage. Speaker 8
20:50 Thank you very much, Stephanie, for your testimony. 20:53 It's very courageous. Speaker 7
20:55 How about right now? 20:56 I mean, obviously it was very intense and difficult for years. 21:01 Is it... Are things getting better as far as... 21:07 engagement in the community? 21:09 Do you find more support now? 21:10 How are things now as opposed to a few years ago, specifically now where you still think it's very difficult still? Speaker 2
21:18 My current doctor is a lot more supportive. 21:20 I mean, my initial doctor was very supportive with my mental disorder. 21:28 I think people are opening up. 21:30 I think people are 21:32 gently and cautiously starting to feel more shame for the way they have been when they look back. 21:40 And I think there's a little bit more openness and curiosity. 21:44 So I applaud that. 21:48 And I would welcome apologies over time. 21:52 Thank you. Speaker 5
21:54 Mr. Motz and then Mr. Cokins. Speaker 9
21:58 Thank you very much. 22:00 for your testimony. 22:02 To Mr. Dawson's question, you indicated that you hope, and I'm just paraphrasing that, that those responsible are held accountable. 22:11 What does that accountability look like for you? Speaker 2
22:16 I would like the justice system to do its job and to actually look at the harm that was done and not give free passes to people because of their authority or positions, connection or wealth. 22:31 I would like the justice system to do its job. Speaker 9
22:34 What about the medical profession? 22:35 What about the medical system? 22:37 What's your thoughts on that? Speaker 2
22:38 I think the doctors were also concerned. 22:41 victims of a terror campaign. 22:43 I think they were held at the throat. 22:46 And I think actually my doctor did the best she could. 22:49 I received long-term disability because of my mental disorder. 22:56 And so I think she actually served me quite well. 22:57 She might have known that the medical system might not have done me any good. 23:02 And she knew that I was seeking help elsewhere. Speaker 5
23:04 Thank you. 23:07 And finally, Mr. Hawkins. Speaker 10
23:09 Thank you, Madam Jigar, for your testimony. 23:12 I can sense your frustration. Speaker 10
23:14 And I've been an MP for a long time, and I remember those years. 23:20 They were the worst, worst years, I think, for many people. 23:25 It was an awful time. 23:27 It's an absolutely awful time. 23:31 But I'm frustrated because I don't think 23:38 we've properly, and I appreciate this inquiry, I don't think we've properly acknowledged the harm that was also done to many people like yourselves. 23:53 And, you know, we had a strange time. 23:57 We had a government that signed indemnity agreements with vaccine companies or, you know, drug companies. 24:05 We've never seen 24:08 The government then absorbs the responsibility and has its vaccine injury program, which by all accounts is being administered by people who are frankly, should have never been associated with the program to begin with. 24:24 I'm just trying to be politically correct. 24:27 And there's a whole bunch of people here and many, many more who I think have been affected without even knowing 24:38 Of course. 24:40 I can list many family, friends, and acquaintances that I have. 24:43 I know many, many people. 24:46 And there was a lot of people that had illnesses and ailments during COVID after the vaccines that never even thought to question whether or not the vaccines might have been the cause of it. 24:58 And I don't think there has been a sense of justice about any of these things at all. 25:05 The fact that people willingly or unwillingly 25:07 were coerced into receiving the vaccine or taking the vaccine, what more needs to be done in order to make people like yourselves feel whole? 25:18 What more could be done to make you feel? 25:21 I mean, there's justice, but there's also feeling whole from this. 25:25 What could and should the government be doing to make people feel whole as a result of what they've endured? Speaker 3
25:36 Would you like a nice answer or my real answer, Mr. Calkins? 25:44 I have no faith in human government. 25:49 My hope comes from Jesus Christ. Speaker 2
25:53 And I would like to recite a verse if we have time. 25:58 It is in Revelation 21 floor. 26:02 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 26:07 There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 26:14 There shall be no more pain. 26:17 For the things of the past, for the former things have passed away. 26:23 I do not believe government can make me whole again.