The Canadian Government has signalled its intention to hold hostage a large percentage of the approximately 309,485 Jamaicans living in Canada, a group that makes up 30% of Canadians of African descent. The citizens of Jamaica, whether they be international students, permanent residents, temporary workers, or dual citizens are seeking help to lobby the Canadian Government to course correct and end its attack on all residents of Canada.

The Sars-Cov-2 virus and the pandemic response by Governments around the world presented themselves as the greatest disruptor in the lives of persons across the globe. Some countries have certainly been affected more than others and today, most countries have moved on towards rebuilding their economies, addressing the epidemic of mental health, drug overdoses, and crime that spiked during the last 2 and a half years. 

There is a global economic, housing, energy, and food crisis along with the Russian/Ukrainian conflict which today threatens the stability of every country on the planet. But there is one country that is purposely holding itself back and instead of focusing on the looming global crisis, it has instead decided to budget $34.7 Million of taxpayer dollars to hold approximately 4-7 million Canadians hostage within Canada for approximately 3 years. 

The Canadian government “proposes to provide $37.4 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to Transport Canada to support the implementation and oversight of this vaccine mandate for federally regulated air, rail, and marine employees and passengers.” Source: https://budget.gc.ca/efu-meb/2021/report-rapport/EFU-MEB-2021-EN.pdf

Jamaica has long since abandoned COVID-19 mandates with a vaccination rate of 23.7% compared with Canada’s vaccination rate of 82.6%. A large percentage of Jamaican citizens living in Canada have not taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and some have only taken a single dose, but due to adverse reactions, are not comfortable with taking a second dose. The Canadian Government has proceeded to make it extremely difficult to qualify for exemptions to this vaccine, which has adversely affected the lives of millions of Canadians. 

According to the Canadian Government, unvaccinated residents of Canada cannot board domestic or international flights departing from most airports in Canada, including charter and foreign airlines carrying commercial passengers. Source: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/domestic-travel#mandatory The Government however allows those transiting through Canada to reach another country to be excluded from these vaccination mandate requirements. 

The Canadian Government is in essence banning Jamaican-Canadians who have not taken the full doses of a Canadian-approved COVID-19 vaccine from going back to their homeland. The Canadian Charter of Rights guarantees that every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada, and the limits of this mobility right must be reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Has it been proven to be demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society to suspend and propose to suspend the mobility rights of Canadian citizens for 3 or more years? It has not, as the Government has been keeping secret the science that it has been using to maintain these limits on Canadian rights. The science seems to greatly differ from the one practiced in Jamaica and many other nations. 

Jamaicans however who are not Canadian citizens or Jamaicans who do not reveal themselves to be Canadian citizens have found that their only means of escaping Canada, is through a Non-Canadian airline such as Caribbean Airlines. They must however travel with their Jamaican passport to leave Canada. Those who attempt to leave on a Canadian Airline, who attempt to leave with a Canadian passport or who are found to be residents of Canada will be turned away. 

Unfortunately, the loophole for Jamaicans, citizens or not, to leave Canada expires on August 31st. According to Transport Canada, “Foreign nationals who don’t qualify as fully vaccinated and who don’t permanently reside in Canada will be allowed to depart Canada up until August 31, 2022. They must show proof of a valid COVID-19 test result at the time of boarding. After August 31, 2022, foreign nationals will need to be fully vaccinated to board a flight or train to depart Canada.” Source: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/domestic-travel#mandatory

This means that international students, temporary workers, permanent residents, and citizens (regardless of the passport they hold or their nationality) who have not taken their full course of a Canadian approved COVID-19 vaccine will be completely stripped of mobility rights. They will not be able to leave Canada. The Jamaican Government cannot continue to remain apathetic to such human rights abuse in a country that touts itself as a democracy, a country that tries to give totalitarian states like Russia, lessons on how to be a democratic society. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has become increasingly polarized by “left and right” politics, which has resulted in name callings, such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referring to thousands of vaccine-free Jamaicans living in Canada as a misogynist, racist and extremist. The Toronto Star also published an article on its front page that romanticized the deaths of those thousands of vaccine-free Jamaicans. Jamaicans, regardless of their political leanings have united in saying that this is WRONG and that the Canadian Government should provide the scientific evidence that it has been using to restrict the mobility rights of its citizens. 

The Jamaican people have historical reasons for refusing to undergo medical treatment that they do not trust, including the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the USA and the unethical tuberculosis vaccine experiment that took place in Jamaica. The unethical tuberculosis vaccine experiment occurred under the direction of the World Health Organization, which was called the International Health Division at the time, an organization owned by the Rockefeller Foundation. The experiment has been nicknamed the Black Scourge.

The Tuberculosis vaccine was first tested on an unwitting 2,500+ mental health patients at a Jamaican Mental Health Hospital, then 300 children at the Stony Hill Industrial School, Alpha Orphanage, and Maxfield Orphan Asylum. There was no informed consent on the behalf of these patients; what was done then is wrong and it is equally wrong today to repeat the same mistakes of the past. For the very first time, Jamaicans are beginning to feel unsafe in Canada. 

We are asking the Jamaican Government to:

1. Schedule a virtual meeting with concerned Jamaicans about this issue
2. Write an official letter from the Jamaican Government to the Canadian Government
   • Requesting the scientific evidence being used to justify limits on mobility rights
   • Requesting the names and credentials of the scientific experts that have provided recommendations to the Canadian Government to maintain the limits on mobility rights.
   • Request that if strong scientific evidence cannot be provided, the limits placed on your citizens be removed.

We are asking the Jamaican Canadian Association to:

1. Assist us in lobbying the Jamaican Government to contact the Canadian Government about these issues
2. Lobby the Canadian Government to end these limits on mobility rights
3. Write an official letter from the Jamaican Canadian Association to the Canadian Government 
   • Requesting the scientific evidence being used to justify the limits on mobility rights.
   • Requesting the names and credentials of the scientific experts that have provided recommendations to the Canadian Government to maintain the limits on mobility rights.
   • Requesting that if strong scientific evidence cannot be provided, that the limits placed on all Canadian citizens, temporary and permanent residents be removed.

Regardless of our political stance or our support or lack of support for covid-19 vaccines and mandates, we should want to see what science is being used to justify strong government restrictions which limit fundamental human rights and freedoms. I hope this letter is well received and that vaccine-free Jamaicans living in Canada will receive consideration and be treated as the human beings they are.