Witnesses
EN
Allison Inquiry | Michael McNair | Day 1 September 8th, 2026
A 41-year-old army communications specialist with 11 years in the Canadian Armed Forces describes being ordered into two Moderna doses, then developing a blood clot in the veins of his abdomen six weeks after the second. He was misdiagnosed at his base clinic, medically released, and denied Veterans Affairs coverage for the clot.
Michael McNair, 41, served 11 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a communications specialist with 77 Line Regiment of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, climbing towers and deploying for hundreds of days a year. He was in excellent health. He describes 84 days of isolation and quarantine on a 2019 to 2020 deployment, then being ordered into line for his first vaccine dose in April 2021 out of fear of losing his position, with staff telling him only to expect discomfort, headaches and chills. He delayed his second Moderna dose until the November 15, 2021 mandate deadline, and calls his experience a moral injury. Weeks later he developed severe upper left abdominal pain and was misdiagnosed with gastroenteritis at his base clinic, then vomiting bile. An MRI at Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital found a blood clot in his superior mesenteric, splenic and portal veins, and he spent seven days in hospital. He describes being medically released because of his condition and medication, finding out three years later that it had not been reported as an adverse event, and Veterans Affairs Canada acknowledging his PTSD but denying his thrombosis claim as not service-related. Catherine Christensen adds her view that senior military leadership knew the risks and that many injured members and veterans are not counted, and MPs speak to how veterans have been treated.
Michael McNair, 41, served 11 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a communications specialist with 77 Line Regiment of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, climbing towers and deploying for hundreds of days a year. He was in excellent health. He describes 84 days of isolation and quarantine on a 2019 to 2020 deployment, then being ordered into line for his first vaccine dose in April 2021 out of fear of losing his position, with staff telling him only to expect discomfort, headaches and chills. He delayed his second Moderna dose until the November 15, 2021 mandate deadline, and calls his experience a moral injury. Weeks later he developed severe upper left abdominal pain and was misdiagnosed with gastroenteritis at his base clinic, then vomiting bile. An MRI at Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital found a blood clot in his superior mesenteric, splenic and portal veins, and he spent seven days in hospital. He describes being medically released because of his condition and medication, finding out three years later that it had not been reported as an adverse event, and Veterans Affairs Canada acknowledging his PTSD but denying his thrombosis claim as not service-related. Catherine Christensen adds her view that senior military leadership knew the risks and that many injured members and veterans are not counted, and MPs speak to how veterans have been treated.
