[00:00:00]

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Hello everyone. My name is Louis Olivier Fontaine, lawyer. I’m acting today as prosecutor for the National Citizens Inquiry. We will now hear from Monsieur Vincent Cantin, who will testify about the consequences of the COVID injections he received.

Good morning, Monsieur Cantin.

Vincent Cantin
Hello.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
To begin with, I would ask you to simply state your first and last name, please.

Vincent Cantin
Vincent Cantin.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Very well. And now I will ask you to solemnly swear to tell the truth. So, do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Say, “I do.”

Vincent Cantin
Yes, I do.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
To begin with, I’d like to ask you, Monsieur Cantin, what do you do for a living?

Vincent Cantin
What did I do for a living? I was a senior civil engineering technician for a consulting engineering firm.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, and can you explain a little more about what you do for a living?

Vincent Cantin
I was a site supervisor, and during the winter, I was a draftsman at the office. That’s what I did: roadwork. I was on Henri IV, here [in Quebec City]. That’s what I did.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, so you say what your occupation “was.” So I understand there’s been a change. What’s going on professionally now?

Vincent Cantin
The pension plan has recognized me as disabled.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, I understand.

Vincent Cantin
So I’m still on workman’s compensation but, I mean, I got my answer recently: I have been recognized as disabled.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
All right. To try to explain this situation, we can perhaps proceed chronologically, if you don’t mind. So we said that you had consequences following the COVID injections. I’d like you to first explain what led you to receive one of these injections.

Vincent Cantin
Well, it was strongly encouraged to protect the vulnerable, the elderly, and then to protect oneself, supposedly. They called it a civic duty, which I did. My first dose was AstraZeneca, and 20 days later, I went into hospital with a stroke.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Just before you go on, do you remember roughly what date, what period of time it was at that point?

Vincent Cantin
My first dose was on April 15, 2021.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
April 15, 2021. And tell me, Monsieur Cantin: Before receiving this first AstraZeneca injection, what was your state of health?

Vincent Cantin
I was super healthy: no drugs, no Tylenol, nothing. I was in great shape.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay.

Vincent Cantin
I had a demanding job in the summer working 50 hours a week. I mean, I was working. I was in good shape.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, so now we’re back to April 15, 2021. So what happened after this intervention?

Vincent Cantin
Well, I got vaccinated. Then 20 days later, I started to experience dizziness and numbness, then headaches and nausea. That’s why I called my brother to come and take me to the hospital. For me to call someone to come and take me to the hospital, I really have to be feeling bad. It seems like I went in on my own, but I don’t remember anything after that. Luckily, I had my stroke in the hospital so they treated me quickly.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Sorry to interrupt but if I understand correctly, what happened was a stroke, right?

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay.

Vincent Cantin
A thrombosis of the basilar [artery], or I don’t know what- An ischemic stroke.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. So now you’re talking about hospitalization. How long did that last?

Vincent Cantin
Well, all in all, I spent 80 days in hospital and at the rehabilitation centre. But after that, I had several [strokes]: I eventually had five strokes, then five TIAs.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Can you explain what this is?

Vincent Cantin
Well, TIA stands for “transient ischemic attack.” Basically, it’s a seed in the carburetor. That means it leaves no after-effects, unlike a stroke.

[00:05:00]

A stroke leaves bruises; it leaves marks. They see them when they do scans. It was 80 days before I could return home. Because there were occupational therapists and all these people who came to see me at home, to see if I was capable of not burning myself and living on my own. Luckily- Otherwise, if they had said I couldn’t go home, well, then I wasn’t going home.

But anyway, it’s been two years since then.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
So you say you spent a total of 80 days either in the hospital or in a rehabilitation centre. Which one was it?

Vincent Cantin
It was the IRDPQ [Institut de réadaptation en déficience physique de Québec] here, not far away.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. So in your file, we see that you received a total of three injections. When did you receive the second and then the third?

Vincent Cantin
The second was at the rehabilitation centre: they vaccinated people at the rehabilitation centre. They told me that in my case-given my state of health-it was preferable not to have COVID, and they strongly advised me to get vaccinated. Then I had my third dose as well; I was back home by then.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Forgive me for interrupting. We’re talking about the second injection. Was it the same product?

Vincent Cantin
No, it was the Moderna because the other one had been withdrawn. AstraZeneca had been discontinued in Europe and then they discontinued it here. The FDA [Food and Drug Administration] in the United States never accepted this vaccine. As a result, they immediately stopped giving it. In fact, I was one of the first to get it here; and after that, they stopped giving it because it was causing too many cases, I imagine.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, so at this point, you’re on your second dose of the product. In fact, your first dose of the Moderna product, but your second dose of COVID products. You’re in a rehabilitation centre and it’s strongly suggested that you receive this-

Vincent Cantin
That I receive it. Then they would go out and vaccinate people, just as they did in RPAs [seniors’ residences]. I was vaccinated the second time at the rehabilitation centre.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And at this point, when it was suggested that you take this second injection, what was your state of mind? I understand that you were in a rehabilitation centre but how did you feel about receiving this other injection?

Vincent Cantin
Well, back then, I wasn’t like I am today. I could hardly eat on my own, and I couldn’t take a shower standing up. I was really- So anyway, I didn’t want to. But like I said, the doctors strongly advised me to get vaccinated given my condition because they thought that if I got COVID, it would be dangerous for me.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
So it was the doctors who told you that?

Vincent Cantin
Yes, doctors. There are several of them. Basically, it’s the same doctors who are at the hospitals all over Quebec City; they also work at the rehabilitation centres. And that’s it.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. And in your file, you mentioned a third injection. Do you remember when that was?

Vincent Cantin
This was when I was at home; that was my family doctor. He didn’t want to see me if I wasn’t vaccinated and I couldn’t see my mother if I wasn’t vaccinated. That’s why I got vaccinated.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
So if I understand correctly, the recommendation to receive this third injection was made by your family doctor based on the fact that-?

Vincent Cantin
That in my condition, it was preferable; that if I had COVID, it would be dangerous for my health. Although I got it anyway, after the third dose.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
So once again, if I understand correctly, you were also sick.

Vincent Cantin
I had COVID.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
All right. So, you returned home. What was daily life like when you got back from the rehabilitation centre?

Vincent Cantin
Well, it was difficult. I was ordering myself ready-made meals because I found it hard to cook and on top of that, I no longer have a driver’s licence-nor will I ever again. So mobility is tougher. And in winter it’s complicated, so I have to walk.

In the end, as I said, I don’t have a driver’s license, but I can’t ride a bike anymore either.

[00:10:00]

Like right now, I can’t see you. I have to do this to see you [turns body to the right side]. Like here [turns body to the left side and indicates the whole right half of the audience], I can’t see that whole part of the room. And this is just one of the things I’ve had, apart from amnesia.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, yes, that might permit us to move on to this subject. You mentioned some consequences. Would you like to share, for example, if you have been medically diagnosed with anything?

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. Would you like to talk about these diagnoses?

Vincent Cantin
Well, I’ve got them here; I can’t remember them all. I have hemianopia: I can’t see on one side. My eyes are fine; it’s in my brain. Then I have anterograde amnesia: I forget events as they happen but my long-term memory is still there.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay.

Vincent Cantin
So when you’re feeling nostalgic, it’s not so bad. But when you want to live in the moment, on the other hand, I would have been better off with the other [kind of amnesia]. But that’s another story.

Apart from that, well, I have hemiplegia: it’s like body-wide paresthesia, from my fingertips to my toes-the entire half of my body. I have dyschromatopsia, that’s a kind of acquired colour blindness. For me, the sky is no longer blue, it’s gray; I can’t see blue in the sky anymore. The colours came back. At first, I spent two months not seeing any colors: it was brown and gray. Now it’s coming back a little: like I’m able to distinguish the lines on the ground [here]-they’re green-but the sky is permanently grey.

I have high blood pressure, which I never had before. I have visuospatial disorders: I have trouble finding my way around places even when they’re places I know. In fact, when they took me home the first time, I went past it three times; I didn’t recognize the place. Then, just like when I came here-I came by paratransit-well, I don’t recognize the place. And since I won’t remember anyone here, I have prosopagnosia: I forget faces; I can’t recognize faces. The faces of people I knew before remain, but new faces, well, that’s it: I meet someone in the morning and in the afternoon, it’s as if I’d never seen them. That’s pretty much it. I don’t have a driver’s licence anymore. I don’t work, and that’s that.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
How did you get here, Monsieur Cantin?

Vincent Cantin
Pardon?

Louis Olivier Fontaine
What means did you use to get here today?

Vincent Cantin
Paratransit; and that’s the Société de transport adapté du Québec [Capital Paratransit Service]. It’s a service they offer to people with mobility problems or people who need it. At least I have that, which is always good.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And you mentioned earlier having a family doctor and you also mentioned [medical] diagnoses. What does your family doctor-or what do the doctors you see or the health personnel you see now-give you as a prognosis? Or what do they tell you about the future?

Vincent Cantin
Well, they don’t want to say too much, but for me personally, my prognosis is life-threatening. There aren’t many studies here, but I’ve read studies-maybe I shouldn’t have but anyway, it doesn’t matter-studies in Switzerland that have followed over time, let’s say, 1,500 people who’ve had strokes like mine. In any case, they’re talking about between 6 and 15 years. That’s about right.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Have you sought a doctor’s opinion on this-

Vincent Cantin
They don’t talk to me about it but they nod yes; you can tell my research was right. In other words, I’m not going to make it to 75 [years old], that’s for sure. But anyway, that’s it.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And how did the doctors react when you- In fact, did you talk to them about a possible link between the injections you received and the consequences on your health? Is this something you talked about?

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
What was their reaction?

Vincent Cantin
Ah, well, nobody wants to wear this one. One of the “gang” told me, “It looks like that.”

Louis Olivier Fontaine
A doctor?

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay, a doctor.

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Is it your family doctor?

Vincent Cantin
No. It’s a doctor who was at the Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And what did he tell you?

Vincent Cantin
“It looks that way.” Without saying anything, basically.

[00:15:00]

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Do you know if this doctor or another doctor would have reported these vaccination consequences?

Vincent Cantin
No. I think they’re obliged to report adverse events, but the doctors didn’t do it during COVID. They’re obliged to: it’s a legal requirement for adverse events following vaccinations. But they didn’t do it.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And how do you know they haven’t?

Vincent Cantin
Because I asked them.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
You raised the question?

Vincent Cantin
Yes.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. Now, I know there’s an injury compensation program in Quebec. Is it a program you’re familiar with?

Vincent Cantin
Yes, yes. I saw it; I’ve applied.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
How did that go?

Vincent Cantin
Well, that’s it, no one wanted to. I asked eight doctors, including my family doctor, the neurologist at Enfant-Jésus [Hospital], all those who have been following me, plus doctors who make inquiries. And then I found one, but I had to talk to eight others first. Nobody wants to go there. It would have been better if I had been a leper.

This injury program is pan-Canadian but it is managed by the provinces. All across Canada, they study your claim on the spot except in Quebec, where they require a medical representative. Then, of course, the doctors don’t want to get involved. Anything to do with COVID and the doctors don’t want to have anything to do with it; they’ll be punished. It’s as simple as that. But in any case, that’s it.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
And do you have people around you-either family or friends-who understand what you’re going through right now?

Vincent Cantin
Yes, yes, I’m well supported.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Monsieur Cantin, is there anything we haven’t yet discussed that you’d like to share with the Inquiry?

Vincent Cantin
No, I don’t think so. It’s okay, we’ve covered everything.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Okay. So if you don’t mind, could we see if the commissioners have any questions for you?

Vincent Cantin
All right.

Commissioner Massie
Thank you, Monsieur Cantin, for your very moving and disturbing testimony. The first thing I’d like to make sure I understand is that, well, you went [to get vaccinated] the first time out of civic duty; we did it to save the vulnerable. And obviously, there may be the fact that you’re thinking at your age, “Well, maybe it will be beneficial to me.” You end up with quite severe medical consequences. And then you were strongly recommended to take a second dose?

Vincent Cantin
A second, then a third.

Commissioner Massie
How capable were you-I would say, emotionally, psychologically, and physically-of questioning that or resisting that on your own?

Vincent Cantin
I didn’t want to have any subsequent doses but it was the doctor. I was at the IRDPQ. I was in bed with an IV. At some point they said that in my case, I’d be better off getting vaccinated. They’re more “knowledgeable” than I am on the subject, so I agreed, that’s all.

Commissioner Massie
And in these discussions, did they even raise the possibility that if you found yourself in this precarious condition-from a medical point of view-it was probably the consequence of the first vaccination you’d had?

Vincent Cantin
No, nobody said that.

Commissioner Massie
But what were you thinking at the time?

Vincent Cantin
Maybe I misunderstood.

Commissioner Massie
For the first vaccination that led to your rather severe medical conditions, did you make the connection in your mind that it could be due to the vaccination?

Vincent Cantin
It’s officially certain. I went back in time to look at the sequence; I asked around. Then one way or another they stopped that vaccine: it was causing thrombosis. Back then, I read the literature on the internet-just about everywhere-that people were having thrombosis in the first few days, in the first month, let’s say.

Commissioner Massie
And when you accepted the dose of Moderna, which isn’t AstraZeneca-so it’s not “adeno” [an adenovirus vaccine]-were you reassured that this time, it wouldn’t be too serious because it wasn’t AstraZeneca?

Vincent Cantin
Not necessarily, but in my condition, I nodded automatically.

[00:20:00]

It was in the first few months, so I wasn’t quite there yet. And then it was recommended by the doctors; there was a whole panoply of them. Three or four of them came to see me and they all advised me to get vaccinated. So that’s it.

Commissioner Massie
And did you observe that the adverse effects were more pronounced or less pronounced following this second vaccination, or did you not really see any difference?

Vincent Cantin
I didn’t see any difference.

Commissioner Massie
So it’s possible that this second vaccination didn’t necessarily make things worse.

Vincent Cantin
No, it didn’t make things worse.

Commissioner Massie
Okay. But the third vaccination surprises me a bit because it looks like your family doctor indicated that if you were not up to date in your vaccination record for COVID, he’d rather not see you?

Vincent Cantin
Yes, exactly: not see me at his office.

Commissioner Massie
Was this a widespread practice for doctors, or was your doctor an exception?

Vincent Cantin
No idea. I think my doctor is about to stop practising because he’s going to be 70. I think he’s retiring soon; he was very scared!

Commissioner Massie
He was afraid.

Vincent Cantin
Hey, he practically raised his voice. So, yeah, he recommended it to me. Also, I was often going to see my mother, and well, the RPA [seniors’ residence]she was staying at was requesting vaccine passports.

Commissioner Massie
And you were no longer up-to-date with your vaccine passport given the date of the second dose?

Vincent Cantin
Yes, I needed a third.
Commissioner Massie
And following this third dose, did you find that your state of health was stable?

Vincent Cantin
It was stable. Yes, the last two doses didn’t make any difference.

Commissioner Massie
It didn’t make a difference, okay. Another question, perhaps, which is a little more personal. I noticed during your testimony that you were constantly making, I’d say, comments that show you have a way of handling this particularly difficult situation with a certain philosophy, or a certain serenity.

Vincent Cantin
Ah, thank you.

Commissioner Massie
How do you feel at the moment about the future?

Vincent Cantin
Well, I don’t really know what to say, in that there are stages of grief. There are five stages of grief, and I haven’t arrived at the first one yet; I haven’t accepted it yet. So that’s it. Like I often say, “When I sleep, I dream; it’s when I get up that the nightmare begins.”

Commissioner Massie
So what you’re going through is very difficult.

Vincent Cantin
Well, I like to say, “I’m like an old oak tree losing my branches one by one but instead of light, it’s darkness that passes through.”

Commissioner Massie
Do you have the support of friends and family or professional help to get you through these difficult times?

Vincent Cantin
Not really. Well, I mean, I have an employee assistance program; they’ve never called me. I put my name on lists to see psychologists-these people, those people, other people. And no, I don’t get any help. Then all the doctors who were treating me, well, they let me go. But I’m good; I’ll get through it.

Commissioner Massie
Thank you very much for your testimonial.

Vincent Cantin
Okay, thank you.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Monsieur Cantin, on behalf of the Inquiry, I’d like to thank you very much for taking the time to come and tell your story.

Vincent Cantin
My pleasure.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
I think this is a story that will be heard. And I salute your courage in coming to testify before us, for which I thank you very much.

Vincent Cantin
My pleasure, thank you.

Louis Olivier Fontaine
Good bye.

Vincent Cantin
Many thanks to all of you.

[00:24:27]

Final Review and Approval: Erin Thiessen, November 21, 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, and further translated from the original French.

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

Summary

Vincent was a senior civil engineer at peak health, who suffered a stroke only 20 days following his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.