Outrage in Canada: Vaccine Injury Support Program Wrongly Declares B.C. Woman Dead
The federal Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) has reached a new low.
Global News revealed this week that Oxaro Inc., the Ottawa-based consulting company administering the program wrongly declared B.C. resident Carol Messenger dead—even as she continues to live with a life-altering vaccine injury.
Messenger, a retired Vancouver Fire and Rescue captain, was paralyzed from the waist down after developing transverse myelitis 25 days following her second COVID-19 shot. Despite her condition, VISP labeled her a “deceased claimant” in October 2024 while processing her application for compensation.
“They actually said I was dead,” Messenger told Global News. “I don’t feel dead. Unbelievable.”
A System Failing the Injured
VISP was launched in 2021 to provide financial support to Canadians injured by vaccines. Instead, it has become a bureaucratic nightmare.
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Of more than 3,300 applications filed, 1,738 people are still waiting for decisions.
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While $54 million has been paid to Oxaro, only $18 million has reached injured Canadians.
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Messenger’s claim has been stuck in limbo for nearly two years. After being wrongly declared dead, she and her doctors had to fight for months just to have her medical records accessed.
Lives Forever Changed
Messenger, once an active firefighter and mentor to aspiring recruits, has been forced to adjust to permanent disabilities. She still walks with a limp, suffers from chronic pain, and has endured invasive medical treatments and years of physiotherapy.
Her husband, Dan, says the ordeal has devastated their retirement and eroded their trust in government.
Calls for Accountability
Health policy experts warn that Oxaro’s mismanagement undermines Canada’s entire immunization program. With taxpayer money flowing disproportionately to administration instead of victims, critics say the Auditor General and Parliament must step in.
Messenger hopes her story sparks change:
“All I can pray is that when their contract is up, that they will never have this again or ever have the ability to impact people so negatively.”
👉 CHD Canada will continue to follow this story and amplify the voices of injured Canadians left behind by VISP.
Watch/Read the Global News Report HERE
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