LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.
(LifeSiteNews) – The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) released a report called COVID-19 and deaths in older Canadians: Excess mortality and the impacts of age and comorbidity. It is an overview of the overall data regarding deaths associated with COVID-19 in Canada in 2020.
The focus of the report is to highlight what the government believes is the disproportionate effect of deaths “with COVID” on the elderly and infirm, mainly in nursing homes and long-term care (LTC).
According to the resource, Canada recorded just over 16,000 excess deaths in 2020 based on estimates pertaining to yearly averages leading up to 2020. The report does not say how many deaths were recorded as having been associated with a COVID-19 diagnosis, but Statistics Canada states that there were nearly 15,300 such deaths.
It should be noted, whatever may or may not be the truth about any of the information the federal or provincial governments provided regarding COVID-19, estimates are essentially educated guesses, so a fluctuation in one direction or another does not necessarily signal a notable change in disease in a nation. There are myriad factors that could cause mortality to rise or fall in contrast with what has been estimated. That being said, a claim of 16,000 excess deaths in the Canadian context is not insignificant.
According to the report, the government expected 295,379 deaths to occur in the Canadian population at large in 2020, but 309,912 deaths were observed in the same year. Of the total deaths recorded, almost 250,000 were adults 65 and older, which is to be expected given life expectancies in Canada.
Of the deaths recorded in those older than 65, the report states that 14,140 “were coded to COVID-19,” which is said to represent 87% of all excess deaths in 2020. It is also stated that “more than 80% of COVID-19 deaths occurred in long-term care.”
The report acknowledges that the excess mortality numbers cannot be explained only by reported COVID-19 deaths: “The number of COVID-19 attributed deaths do not account for all excess mortality during this period; therefore, other factors such as delays in seeking and accessing treatment and worsening of the overdose crisis have also likely contributed to the excess mortality.”
In addition, it stated that the data are “provisional and will change with time.”
Overall, the data presented by the PHAC seems to raise more questions than provide answers. We still do not have the detailed categorization of deaths from all causes for 2020; that information is not typically released by the government until near the end of the following year. The 2019 data were not released by Statistics Canada until November 26, 2020.
When detailed information is released about 2020 deaths from all categories, it will be important to analyze the numbers to see whether they match the manner in which Canada has historically categorized deaths so that we can make sense of what has happened over the past 19 months.
In preparation, several factors should be considered in light of the report just released by the PHAC.
- Vanishing flu deaths
- Cause of death inconsistencies.
- Massive amount of missed doctor’s appointments, surgeries, screenings
- Nursing home and LTC debacle
The case of the vanishing flu
It is no secret at this point that the flu is said to have taken an extended vacation in 2020, much to the surprise of Canadians and others around the world who have known the flu to be a mainstay every year. The flu is not simply something that “goes away” any more than seasonal allergies or runny noses on toddlers.
However, we are supposed to believe that the flu did in fact take a hiatus and allowed COVID to take center stage. One article from CBC last November stated, “At this point in last year’s flu season, Canada had already recorded 711 positive cases of influenza. So far this year, there have been just 17.”
On November 17, 2020, there were only 17 flu cases recorded in that given flu season, almost 700 less than the previous year. The article stated that this is despite significant testing for the flu compared with previous years. It also stated that in New Zealand flu infections were down 99.8%.
As an aside, there is a massive distinction between “cases” and “infections,” but that would require a comprehensive study of its own. I recommend an article by Jeffrey Tucker, who explained the matter perfectly.
Quickly, the term “infection” was historically used to describe someone who has tested positive for an illness, whereas the term “case” was historically used to describe someone sick enough to require treatment for an illness. The conflation of these two terms during the declared pandemic has caused issues, to say the least.
At any rate, let’s assume that the government is telling the truth, and that we can trust the data that the flu simply took a leave of absence. Between 2015-2019, there were an average of 7,333 deaths recorded due to “flu and pneumonia,” according to official Canadian statistics.
Putting aside the total number of infections or cases for a moment, we must assume that the official numbers of flu deaths for 2020 will include almost no deaths, given that it was admitted on many occasions that there were virtually no cases of the seasonal illness to be found.
Granted, the stats group flu and pneumonia together (more on categorizations of deaths in moment), but how many deaths must not have occurred that the flu that otherwise would have? We cannot, and probably will never know for sure, but we can speculate.
Let’s imagine that there were 5,000 fewer flu deaths last year than normal. … We can then take that into account when assessing the number of excess deaths reported by PHAC. We are told that about 16,000 excess deaths occurred, and that about 15,000 died with COVID. Considering that the all-cause death estimates would have included flu deaths – as flu was always a factor until last year – we have to assume that the estimation would have been in the thousands. This means that since there should be virtually no flu deaths to report in 2020, the supposed 15,000 COVID deaths account for fewer excess deaths than is expected at face value. Those missing flu deaths that would have otherwise been part of the overall estimates must be accounted for by something, and it can’t be said that it was COVID … that is, unless COVID simply “replaced” the flu, which would be a whole other story.
Cause of death inconsistencies
You have no doubt seen the headlines about various people dying of COVID, only to do a little reading and find out a person was counted as a COVID death when they were actually on death’s door with a serious cancer but tested positive for COVID at some point around their death. Recently, Alberta’s top doctor had to apologize for saying a cancer-stricken 14-year-old died from COVID after his family protested the obvious lie.
I spoke with a pathologist from an Ontario hospital (he wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons) and he explained that it is normal that any potential illness is listed on a death report when someone dies, no matter how insignificant it seems. However, this information is not released to the public generally and, after a comprehensive investigation, the primary cause of death is determined.
For example, an elderly man with Alzheimer’s may be on life support, only to develop bacterial pneumonia in his last days. Under normal circumstances, doctors would state that he died of the illness he fought for years, but sadly suffered an infection in his weakened state. His cause of death would be the chronic disease, as that was what weakened him to the point of succumbing to the final blow of the chest infection.
The PHAC fact-sheet admits that this normal process has been seemingly thrown out the window. The report stated: “Approximately 90% of COVID-19 related deaths that occurred between March and July 2020 occurred among individuals with pre-existing chronic conditions.” It then lists in a footnote the chronic diseases taken into account in the reporting which are: “heart disease, stroke, cancer… asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer disease or other dementia, mood and anxiety disorders.”
The same report also lists pneumonia as one of the “comorbidities” that contributed to the excess mortality that the government is trying to pin on COVID. There is a reason why Stats Canada has a category for “flu and pneumonia” as a cause of death; they are like the chicken and the egg – you can’t really separate them. Did grandpa die of the flu that caused the pneumonia or the pneumonia that resulted from the flu?
There are other issues here. We already mentioned Alzheimer’s disease, which accounted for more than 6,000 deaths each year from 2016 to 2019, but what about “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?” Disease deaths of this sort are listed on Stats Canada “Chronic lower respiratory diseases.” They included things like chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and serious long-term asthma. It is common that many who die from these types of illnesses do in fact die with a pneumonia infection or would test positive for a virus in their final moments, but again, when the 70-year-old man who smoked for 50 years dies with pneumonia after years of emphysema, we do not say he died from a virus.
Almost 13,000 Canadians die each year from these illnesses. We have to ask ourselves, given the dodgy nature of COVID case reporting, how many from this category were reported as COVID deaths? Again, the estimates about deaths in 2020 must have included a similar number of pulmonary deaths as years prior, but it is probable that more than a few who would have been in that category were listed as COVID deaths instead. This further weakens the claim that COVID accounted for so many excess deaths, as many of the numbers would have been essentially moved from one category to another.
We haven’t even discussed the more than 50,000 heart-disease deaths that occur each year. How many died from a long battle with a heart issue, only to test positive for COVID when they already were terminal? We may never know.
At this point, it is reasonable to assume that many thousands of deaths that in years past would have been put in other categories were dubiously associated with COVID in 2020 in Canada. There is just simply no way that COVID could even come close to accounting for the excess mortality as a result. But the excess deaths did happen, but not because of COVID.
Massive amount of missed doctors’ appointments, surgeries, screenings
In Ontario alone, hundreds of thousands of people missed routine cancer screening appointments last year. Dr. Jonathan Irish, provincial head of surgical oncology at Cancer Care Ontario and Ontario Health, says health systems may face a “tsunami” of patients whose diagnosis and treatment was delayed by the pandemic presenting later with more advanced disease. “The collateral damage of COVID-19 in many areas is going to be significant.”
You do not need to have a degree or be and “expert” (perhaps it is best to not consult the “expert” class these days) to understand that untold suffering and death has occurred as a result of people staying away from the doctor. How many did not go to the emergency room during the “waves” because they were worried about “overwhelming” hospitals or were simply scared to catch a virus? How many ignored an ache or pain in their lower back for similar reasons, only to find out that cancer had made its way into their bones? How many who died from healthcare failures during 2020 were also listed as COVID deaths after testing positive from a PCR test done at an irresponsible cycle count after being admitted to a hospital?
Again, the number of excess deaths that cannot responsibly be associated with COVID are many. It is not unreasonable at this point to suggest that there are more excess deaths in the overall numbers that have nothing to do with COVID than those that could be truly associated with the Chinese virus.
We have yet to discuss nursing homes.
Nursing home and LTC debacle
As was stated, more than 80% of COVID-19 associated deaths occurred in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. All the aforementioned issues of vanishing flu deaths, cause of death inconsistencies, and limited medical attention most certainly effected the elderly and infirm in care facilities.
The report from the PHAC also stated 45% of Canadians age 85 and over who died after testing positive for COVID-19 between March and December 2020 had dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It is well established that those who suffer from such a disease die prematurely due to complications caused by the disease. In addition, the average life expectancy in Canada is under 83 years old.
What happened to the elderly in LTC was a disaster. Whether COVID killed nearly as many as is reported or not, the way that these poor people were treated is the stuff of nightmares. By the time 6,000 COVID deaths had been reported from Canadian nursing homes, only 29 had been reported from Australia. Adjusting for population size and considerations of other factors do not come close to explaining the disparity between the two nations.
Mainstream media and the government have tried to suggest that it was “COVID” that got all those elderly residents because lockdowns weren’t strong enough, or the homes weren’t protected enough. That would only suffice as an excuse if lockdowns in any capacity had been proved to result in better management of a virus in any locale.
However, when raw data are compared from neighboring U.S. states, it is clear that lockdowns cannot be said to have done a single thing in preventing the spread of COVID or anything else. There is no discernable difference between states like North and South Dakota when it comes to death rates or infections rates. A major difference does exist, however, in that one state remained free with a high quality of life while the other did not for a time.
One comprehensive paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research debunks lockdown falsities in a succinct way: “As a way of slowing COVID-19 transmission, many countries and U.S. states implemented shelter-in-place (SIP) policies … To understand the net effects of SIP policies, we measure the change in excess deaths following the implementation of SIP policies in 43 countries and all U.S. states. … We find that following the implementation of SIP policies, excess mortality increases. The increase in excess mortality is statistically significant in the immediate weeks following SIP implementation for the international comparison only and occurs despite the fact that there was a decline in the number of excess deaths prior to the implementation of the policy … We failed to find that countries or U.S. states that implemented SIP policies earlier, and in which SIP policies had longer to operate, had lower excess deaths than countries/U.S. states that were slower to implement SIP policies. We also failed to observe differences in excess death trends before and after the implementation of SIP policies based on pre-SIP COVID-19 death rates.”
It is highly dubious to suggest that locking down nursing homes harder would have saved lives. Consider the fact that those who were not sick were not allowed to leave. Can you imagine another situation where a healthier person is required to stay around an unhealthy person … for reasons of public health? If anything, locking the poor people in those homes without access to family or anyone else who could comfort them was a human rights atrocity.
The elderly were treated like dispensable disease vectors that were to be sacrificed to the public health ideology. Again, we do not have to be experts to understand that when you cause undue stress to befall a person, their health declines and they die faster. I am sure many have stories of grandpa shortly dying after grandma did – dying of a broken heart. Or a loved one died from a heart attack after an immensely stressful period at work. There are many more examples we could cite.
Now, imagine the scene in a nursing home during the early days of the lockdown. Televisions on in most rooms and common areas with the news declaring that an incurable plague had arrived from China. In some cases, residents were locked in their rooms and did not see a member of the overwhelmed staff for more than a day, only having food dropped off outside their door. Many residents did not have their soiled diapers changed often enough, thus had to wait for the coming virus without basic hygiene taken care of.
Some were dehydrated to the point of dying from lack of water: Canadians in 2020 died from dehydration in a nation that might have more drinkable water than anywhere on earth!
What effect do we think the whole lockdown affair had on the ailing health of so many elderly residents of LTC? It is probably immeasurable in the strict sense, but I think we can all use our common sense to understand that the measures enacted by governments in Canada thrust already fragile LTC nursing home residents off a precipice.
If losing the will to live on an individual basis is enough for someone to let go of life, how much more must this apply to the large numbers of abandoned elderly patients who had to watch their friend say goodbye to his children via Zoom; breathing his last virtual breath while an employee clad in a hazmat suit held an iPad.
It is sickening, and it is clear that the setting thrust on the elderly by the government killed many of them prematurely – positive PCR COVID test or not.
Perhaps this was the logical conclusion of what happens in a country that legalized euthanasia.
Overall, when we consider the data presented by Canadian public health and when we consider all the factors we have discussed, it is safe to say that in Canada the excess morality is as much or more because of the COVID measures than the disease itself.
A year ago, a lockdown advocate might be able to argue that “it would have been worse if we didn’t lockdown, the collateral damage is a shame.” But after a year of misinformation and constant attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, naysayers are eerily silent as Florida continues to report some of the lowest infection rates in the United States. The same can be said about North Dakota, Sweden, and other places that dealt with the declared pandemic with reason and sanity.
The deadliest virus in Canada over the past 19 months has not been COVID or the vanishing flu; the deadliest virus has been the virus of incompetent government, which is arguably responsible for the excess morality.
If any person killed so many people, we would call them a “mass murderer,” but those in charge of this disaster are simply called “politicians.”