[00:00:00]

Shawn Buckley

Our next witness today is Dianne Molstad.

Dianne, can you please state your full name for the record, spelling your first and last name?

Dianne Molstad

Dianne Molstad, D-I-A-N-N-E M-O-L-S-T-A-D.

Shawn Buckley

And do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Dianne Molstad

I do.

Shawn Buckley

Now, you worked for the Edmonton School District for roughly 30 years, and you’re a retired counsellor and teacher. You’ve got several university degrees and graduate work that you’ve done. Is that correct?

Dianne Molstad

Yes.

Shawn Buckley

And you have had a long-term issue with high blood pressure.

Dianne Molstad

Yes, indeed. I came back to Canada from a cruise with my Toronto girlfriend in February of 2020, and I was still trying to maintain the hypertension. So the blood pressure would shoot up to 180, I was taking it at home. I knew that it was about time because of my obesity, that I needed to get on a medication.

So I went for my yearly checkup, and that was in February. I was still working out at the Y [YWCA/YMCA], although I had to quit that because they refused to allow their volunteers to work if they didn’t have the COVID shot. And I refused to get that shot, and I still don’t have it. So I went for my yearly checkup in May of Õ21, and I told Christine that I was ready to go on the medication because I didn’t want to die of a stroke. I was really enjoying my grandchildren, who are wonderful, and I spend a lot of time with them. Although my son and his wife had the shots, they would never allow their children to have the shots, but they wanted to travel back and forth to Hawaii and whatnot. So I spent a lot of time with my grandchildren, three and four at the time, and then a new baby. And so I’ve continued to do that.

Shawn Buckley

Can I just slow you down here? My understanding is you call your doctor Christine. You had been seeing her as your doctor for 30 years.

Dianne Molstad

Yes, indeed. I’d gone to the Baker Clinic all my life and my obstetrician, my gynecologist, had my children through that clinic. My children went to pediatricians there and I maintained that clinic, although the doctors did change. I had Christine for a doctor for almost 30 years, give and take some periods of time when I was out of Canada and out of the city.

Shawn Buckley

Okay, so now you have this appointment. Does Christine write you the prescription you are after?

Dianne Molstad

No, when I went back after the medical and got the results, that was at the point where we were going to discuss the medication, but she told me at that appointment on June 2, that I would not be able to come back to her clinic again if I did not take the shot. So I was just in shock because I didn’t know what to do or to say. I said, “What? How can you do that?” “Oh, I can do that.” And I said, “Well, what about all of your other patients?”

Because I knew she had a lot of senior patients like me. I was, well, I”m almost 78 in May, but I was at that time a bit younger. I have to admit now, I guess I”m a senior. But, at any rate, I was in shock. A lot of her patients are a lot older than that, too, and I”ve seen them in the waiting room.

So at any rate, I couldn’t do anything. I just left, and I went home very angry, and very upset. And my son said, “Mom, just get a new doctor. Forget it. Move forward. Get a new doctor.” And so I started the process that day. I started to go on the-

Shawn Buckley

Can I just make sure everyone understands? Was it strictly because you would not take the vaccine that your doctor of 30 years basically fired you as a patient?

Dianne Molstad

Yeah.

Shawn Buckley

And she made it clear that any patient that she had that was not vaccinated was going to be fired.

Dianne Molstad

Could not go in her clinic.

Shawn Buckley

Regardless of how much the patient may have depended on her for assistance.

Dianne Molstad

Correct.

Shawn Buckley

Okay, and I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just think it’s so important for people to understand what you’re saying.

[00:05:00]

Dianne Molstad

And it was really shocking because people were being bullied. In retrospect, I didn’t put in a complaint to the medical association because by that time I realized they wouldn’t have done anything anyway because they were all in lockstep. It would have been futile.

So I didn’t bother with that. I proceeded to try and make appointments, and although I was disappointed somewhat, she was a bit of a bully, but she had diagnosed things for me, like, you know, she wasn’t involved in my cancer diagnosis, but she was involved in another diagnosis. She was excellent at some areas of medicine, and so I really liked her.

So at any rate, I started to phone around and I found out then, in Alberta at the time, you had to be approved by the doctor. So you were not allowed to just go and make an appointment. You had to go through what was called a meet-and-greet. And if you didn’t meet the qualifications of that particular physician, then they wouldn’t take you on.

Shawn Buckley

My understanding also was that you were actually on the phone for four days trying to even find doctors that would have an appointment with you.

Dianne Molstad

Absolutely. I used the internet, and you have to look up physicians that are taking new clients, new patients. And then you phone, and you find out, and you wait. So yeah, it was like two days, and then over the weekend, and then two more days. I set up a number of appointments, but I needed to see somebody fairly soon.

And the reason that you can’t see someone soon is because it’s a meet-and-greet. And so they extend the time to a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month, three months. So I was in a bit of a pickle because by this time my blood pressure is, of course, escalating. I finally found a clinic in North Edmonton that took mainly Aboriginal people, and they agreed to take me, at which I was thrilled.

I went to see a Dr. Prince, who was wonderful. He talked me through the process and helped me onto a medication. But he was only there temporarily, and he was going into administration. So I was kind of left again in the search in trying to acquire a regular physician that I could go to for the monitoring of the medication. He gave me some hints on how to monitor it. And talked to me about people that were in isolated areas that had to do this on their own, and don’t be upset about it, and there are a lot of people that live in northern regions. I understood that because IÑ

Shawn Buckley

And you live in Edmonton.

Dianne Molstad

I live in Edmonton.

Shawn Buckley

So it’s kind of a remote region of one million people. So don’t worry, you might have to manage yourself. You can’t get a doctor because you’re not vaccinated.

Dianne Molstad

Exactly, yeah. So that was part of it. But I had worked up on the reserves in Fort McMurray during the stats census. So I sort of understood in part what he was saying. And there are some people in northern regions of the country that don’t have access to doctors, regular physicians.

So at any rate, the process continued. And I went for the meet-and-greets. And I went for several. And then finally, I had one with a doctor in South Edmonton, a Dr. LÑas I’ve been told that I might be sued. But at this point in my life, I say, bring it on. My son said, “Don’t worry, Mother, you don’t have any money anyway. They won’t sue you.”

Shawn Buckley

Right, so you’d like to mention the doctor’s name, but we’ve kind of counselled you “let’s not name.” And we don’t need to. But please share the story about what happened because that’s the important part, is the encounter.

Dianne Molstad

It was awful because I pride myself in being a fairly smart, independent, strong, individual woman, and I was totally insulted. She told me that I wasn’t very intelligent and then asked me for the regime of vitamins and things that I was taking. So I gave her a list, off the top of my head, of all of the vitamins I was on and the amounts. She said, “Oh, well, you’re absolutely taking a toxic level of vitamin D,” because I was taking 4,000  units, “and why are you taking zinc? You don’t need to be taking that.”

I was taking 25 milligrams only of zinc at the time. And then other medication, I take a Valtrex as a prophylaxis,

[00:10:00]

because like 95 per cent of the population I have herpes. No, okay, I’m not going to go into that.

Shawn Buckley

I don’t think we need that list.

Dianne Molstad

I’m sorry, yeah, I do go on.

At any rate, she basically insulted me and demanded that I, bullied me again about the vaccine. And I said, “No, I’m sorry, I am not going to take that shot.” And I didn’t go into the reasons. I just stood firm and said, “I’m not going to take the shot.” Then, she actually accepted me as a patient, and that kind of flabbergasted me because I thought for sure she would refuse. But after bullying me and insulting me and insulting my intelligence, she said that she would take me on as a patient.

So I thanked her very much, and of course, left thinking there’s no way I would ever go back to her.

So I continued in my process and eventually found a wonderful doctor at another clinic in Edmonton, the Allen Clinic. She was a young woman who gave me the lecture that they had been instructed to give all of their patients: that I should have the vaccine and blah blah blah. And I said, “You know, Dr. Porth, I’m not going to have it, and I appreciate what you’re saying.” She said, “Well, I have to let you know, I can’t give you any exemption.” And I said, “No, I don’t want anything. I just want a doctor.” I was pleased that she accepted me. But she did actually move after a year.  She had to go to Manitoba.

But I do have a wonderful doctor now who told me, “You can vent anytime.” He said, “Don’t get me going because if I start to vent,” He said he’s horrified at what they did to doctors in Alberta, and how they were forced to not treat their patients who were ill. And so he’s a great guy; he’s originally from Trinidad, wonderful man. And just totally, totally upset about the fact that, you know, they couldn’t treatÑ

Shawn Buckley

I’m going to stop you. I actually don’t have any further questions for you. I’ll ask the commissioners if they have any questions for you.

Dianne Molstad

No. No. Okay, great.

Shawn Buckley

And there being no further questions-

Dianne Molstad

Thank you. Oh, and I just want to say, thank you so much for allowing me to testify. I just am floored. There were so many people that had applied, and thank you so much for allowing me because mine is so minute compared to some of the testimonies I’ve seen online and I’ve listened to, that I just feel I’m in an elite club. Thank you very, very much.

Shawn Buckley

I had to wait for the clapping to die down, Dianne. On behalf of the National Citizens Inquiry, we sincerely thank you for coming and sharing your story with us.

[00:13:08]

Final Review and Approval:  Anna Cairns, August 30, 2023.   

The evidence offered in this transcript is a true and faithful record of witness testimony given during the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) hearings. The transcript was prepared by members of a team of volunteers using an “intelligent verbatim” transcription method.

For further information on the transcription process, method, and team, see the NCI website: https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/about-these-transcripts/

Summary

Dianne Molstad is an Edmonton resident and a retired school counsellor and teacher. She had many difficulties in accessing a physician during the COVID-19 crisis. At 78 years of age, she has health conditions of obesity and hypertension. In May 2021, Dianne went for her annual checkup and told her doctor of 30 years that she was ready to go on hypertension medication. At a follow-up appointment on June 2, Dianne’s doctor said that she could not come back to her clinic again if she did not take the COVID-19 vaccination. She was not vaccinated and refused to get vaccinated. 

 Dianne proceeded to search for a new doctor so that she could get her medication. She ended up being on the phone for four days trying to find doctors that would have an appointment with her (to see if they would take her on as a patient). One prospective doctor bullied Dianne and insulted her intelligence. Other doctors whom she encountered were good but were only temporarily in Edmonton. Eventually she found a sympathetic doctor who has been upset by the fact that many doctors refused to see unvaccinated patients regardless of their need for medical attention.