Western Standard - WATCH： Unvaxxed Albertan recalls 'horrific' ordeal returning to Canada at land border

00:00:00.000 Hello, I'm Melanie Rizdin with the Western Standard. Thanks for joining me.

00:00:04.140 And also joining me today is Brooke Patterson. She is a holistic therapist and a manual osteopath.

00:00:11.220 And Brooke is a Canadian citizen who recently decided to do some travel.

00:00:17.820 Brooke, thanks for joining us and for sharing with us what your experience was.

00:00:24.080 First of all, are you comfortable with letting us know, you know, why travel would be difficult for you?

00:00:34.760 Yeah, so thanks for having me to share my story.

00:00:38.080 I think there are so many others that would like to share theirs as well,

00:00:42.060 but they don't have a story to tell because they're not allowed to go anywhere.

00:00:45.740 So I am, I have chosen to be unvaccinated.

00:00:48.760 Um, my personal reasons, which I will share, which are really nobody's business,

00:00:54.540 um, is that I did have a brain tumor years ago and I just don't, I, I, I don't feel that this is best for me.

00:01:03.740 And, uh, so yeah, so I, my mental health was declining rapidly over the past little while.

00:01:09.360 And I used to travel quite a bit and I, I am aware that that's a privilege to be able to do that,

00:01:14.360 but I, I was able to, and being told that I couldn't, I, I was kind of going, just feeling so incredibly trapped.

00:01:25.820 As I'm sure, uh, quite a few Canadians, uh, who are in a similar situation, unable to travel feel.

00:01:33.880 Yeah, absolutely.

00:01:35.320 And, and really, uh, you know, so my story, yes, I have made that choice.

00:01:39.980 There are people who might treat, who have been vaccinated either with one vaccine

00:01:45.000 and have had severe reactions and they are also not able to travel.

00:01:49.420 So you decided, uh, you wanted to travel.

00:01:52.260 Why don't you tell us what happened?

00:01:54.160 Sure.

00:01:54.860 So my husband is double coerced.

00:01:57.080 So he was actually in the States for work and I, uh, we had talked about it cause he had wanted me to

00:02:03.260 either join him on a trip or something and was seeing sort of my mental health decline

00:02:07.540 and thinking that getting away would be good.

00:02:09.520 So, um, we talked about it, but I just woke up one morning and decided I'm going.

00:02:14.840 So I packed my bags, put some bathing suits in my bag and beach wear.

00:02:18.400 And I thought I'm going to a beach.

00:02:20.420 And I traveled down to, I drove down to a U S border and handed them my passport.

00:02:26.580 They said, where are you going?

00:02:28.060 How long?

00:02:29.260 Have a great trip.

00:02:30.140 Um, I, I, I was stunned.

00:02:33.700 I, I figured if I got turned around, I would get turned around.

00:02:38.340 But the fact that I had made it through and I was such ease, I was sort of euphoric.

00:02:45.120 I was trying not to pin the, the pedal to the metal and just fly and go, I'm free.

00:02:50.500 So I decided I was just, I was, I phoned him and said, I'm here.

00:02:55.140 I'm in the States.

00:02:56.100 Let's go somewhere.

00:02:57.920 And, uh, so he was, he was pretty shocked, but excited.

00:03:02.160 And, um, man, that, that feeling, I had no idea how trapped I felt until I had experienced

00:03:07.920 some of that freedom.

00:03:09.900 Absolutely.

00:03:10.680 And so you met up with your husband, um, and traveled through different States or did

00:03:15.760 you stay in one place?

00:03:17.180 No, I, I landed in, uh, Montana and then flew to, uh, Florida, spent a week there and

00:03:24.660 you're kind of going as we go and, and just had the most remarkable, remarkable time.

00:03:30.840 I was two nights, uh, in Montana.

00:03:33.220 And I remember even the day that I had sort of arrived, even after a few hours, I felt

00:03:39.460 like I could have gone home and felt, uh, some reprieve, um, of just having to just having

00:03:49.700 experience sort of that freedom, I guess.

00:03:52.840 And it really wasn't, it was just that it's not a constant thing hovering over your head

00:03:57.120 about what you're not allowed to do.

00:03:59.280 Well, I was going to ask, like, so what were you seeing in Montana?

00:04:03.280 What were you seeing in Florida?

00:04:04.300 What was life like?

00:04:06.780 Absolutely normal.

00:04:08.220 Flying on a plane.

00:04:09.280 Some people wore masks.

00:04:10.440 You didn't have to.

00:04:11.880 Um, it was like, it didn't even exist.

00:04:14.980 We actually met a doctor down there who was, uh, met him sort of along the beach and he

00:04:19.000 was actually from Ottawa and, um, you know, got into a little discussion about things.

00:04:24.100 And, you know, my husband and daughter were traveling to Paris for her graduation and I

00:04:28.420 can't go, couldn't go.

00:04:30.400 And he kind of asked why, and I skirted around the issue and finally said, well, I'm, I've

00:04:34.780 chosen not to.

00:04:35.580 And he said, not a big deal, whatever.

00:04:37.400 And, and that was it.

00:04:39.260 And I have literally lost friends of 14 years over that exact discussion.

00:04:47.060 I have lost family over that exact interaction and to have a perfect strangers go, and he's

00:04:53.160 a doctor, right?

00:04:54.360 I, uh, an ER doctor, uh, an anesthesiologist, he just said, oh, whatever.

00:04:58.740 And, you know, welcome.

00:05:00.080 We had dinner at his place a couple of nights.

00:05:01.720 Like it was so bizarre, it was hard for me to make sense in my brain of what one reality

00:05:08.580 is versus a different reality.

00:05:11.280 And it was quite fascinating.

00:05:14.260 And how long were you gone?

00:05:15.780 How long were you in the States for?

00:05:18.040 A full two weeks when I sort of came back across the border.

00:05:20.920 I said, you know, I was about a week.

00:05:22.100 And then I was like, oh no, it was actually two weeks.

00:05:26.240 And so when you came back, uh, what were your thoughts?

00:05:29.720 What were you, you know, were you worried, were you worried that you were going to have

00:05:33.500 trouble at the border returning to Canada?

00:05:35.960 What were your thoughts?

00:05:37.940 I knew they would have to let me back.

00:05:40.340 Um, I, I was prepared, uh, for some of the questioning that would be asked.

00:05:48.900 I, I, and you know, I, I fully admit I could have made my process easier, but there is, I

00:05:56.560 think it was a Dr.

00:05:57.520 and Agassi spoke a few weeks ago, there is what is right and what is legal.

00:06:01.420 And sometimes you need to do what is right.

00:06:04.600 And so I chose for myself to do what is right, to have my integrity intact at the end of the

00:06:10.000 process.

00:06:12.100 And so you got to the border, uh, what happened?

00:06:16.040 Yeah.

00:06:16.540 So I got to the border and, um, you know, they asked sort of the usual questions, where

00:06:21.820 have you been?

00:06:22.360 And, and I, and I was just curious, I said, you know, I'm just curious when other people

00:06:25.980 are coming across the border, do you ask them where they've been for the past few weeks?

00:06:29.740 And he said, well, no.

00:06:31.120 And I said, oh, so I'm just, you know, why, why does that matter to you?

00:06:34.300 And he said, well, I need to decide if I investigate you further.

00:06:36.520 And I said, well, I guess that's a choice.

00:06:38.520 It's just, it's funny to me that you're asking the Canadian citizen where I've been when you're

00:06:43.180 not asking perfect strangers who don't pay taxes in our country.

00:06:46.080 And he, I think at that point he was like, oh no.

00:06:49.800 And, and so I'm assuming at this point you had disclosed and it was known that you were

00:06:54.360 not vaccinated and you had left the country and we're coming back. 0.97

00:06:57.580 So the next question was, am I vaccinated?

00:06:59.580 And I said, yes, because I am against other things.

00:07:02.940 And then I said, I said to him, I said, look, I, I actually, I don't want to play games.

00:07:06.360 I said, I know that your specific question is, am I vaccinated against, uh, COVID-19 and no,

00:07:12.780 I'm not.

00:07:13.320 And he kind of rolled his eyes and he said, okay, well, have you filled in your arrived

00:07:18.600 can?

00:07:18.820 And I said, no, because I don't agree to the terms.

00:07:22.080 And he, he kind of, you know, I could tell he was frustrated.

00:07:26.720 And, um, at that point he said, uh, you know, do I have any alcohol or cigars or tobacco

00:07:33.520 products?

00:07:34.120 And I said, no, I have an airplane bottle.

00:07:36.280 He said, I've got that, but whatever.

00:07:38.160 Um, and then he said, I don't suppose you have a negative test.

00:07:41.500 And, and I said, no, because on the very back of the negative test, it states that it has

00:07:46.040 not been approved for asymptomatic testing.

00:07:48.140 So I said, I, I really don't need to take it.

00:07:50.420 It hasn't been approved for that.

00:07:52.540 And he said, okay, well, you're going to need to pull over.

00:07:55.940 And he, when he kept asking what my address was, and I said, does, do you need that for

00:07:59.180 me to enter my country?

00:08:00.080 He said, nobody would like your address.

00:08:01.520 Since I refused to give it to him, I suppose that would be on the arrive can app.

00:08:06.920 Um, but so anyway, so I, I got pulled over and they, they went through my car, um, found

00:08:15.420 some cigars that, you know, you're allowed 50.

00:08:17.340 I think I had 30 and I, I, it really wasn't my main concern because I was expecting there

00:08:21.940 to be some issues for me coming back into my country.

00:08:25.020 The fact that I was bringing in 30 cigars was really irrelevant to me at that point

00:08:29.380 when, you know, you can travel with 50 and I, yes, I didn't claim them.

00:08:33.100 I should have whatever.

00:08:35.460 So they found those and they were quite excited that they could charge me, uh, for those and,

00:08:41.400 um, put a block on, on, uh, my Nexus card and which in hindsight was actually a good thing

00:08:49.220 because I said to him, I said, I can't apply for Nexus anyways.

00:08:52.120 And he said, well, I don't know about that.

00:08:55.340 And I said, look, I had a brain tumor and I'm choosing not to get vaccinated.

00:08:58.920 So I'm not allowed to apply for Nexus.

00:09:00.680 And he said, he kind of shrugged his shoulders and I said, you know, I think what you would

00:09:04.460 say to somebody like that is I'm really sorry because I can't travel freely now because I

00:09:10.760 have had a personal health issue and now that's affecting my ability to travel.

00:09:15.040 And I said, that's, you would say, I'm sorry to hear that.

00:09:17.540 So if anything, it might've been a, maybe an opportunity for him to, to question that.

00:09:21.940 It's not just doing the right thing all the time.

00:09:24.220 You're doing what you're told to do.

00:09:27.560 So I got, yeah, so I got charged for the cigars.

00:09:30.440 Um, and they said, I don't suppose you'll speak to public health.

00:09:33.880 And I said, sure, I will.

00:09:35.940 And, uh, which I, I didn't have to, but I chose to.

00:09:40.860 And, and, you know, he asked me all the questions and I said, I didn't want to give

00:09:44.680 him my health status.

00:09:45.580 I said, I don't think it's relevant.

00:09:48.460 And he was extremely upset was I got a record.

00:09:52.340 He was yelling at me and, you know, you will be, um, find, you will be, uh, you need to

00:09:57.820 quarantine.

00:09:58.540 And if you don't, you will re it was just threat after threat, after threat, how I'm

00:10:01.820 putting my fellow countrymen at risk.

00:10:04.340 And I said, you know, I 10 minutes ago, I wasn't putting anybody at risk across the border.

00:10:08.380 Like, well, okay.

00:10:08.880 It was an hour and a half actually by this point, but you know, previously I wasn't

00:10:13.000 putting anybody at risk, but now all of a sudden I'm putting people at risk.

00:10:16.260 And I said, I just, how is this even possible?

00:10:20.380 And he just lost it.

00:10:22.720 So he said, you know, you'll receive a test for day one and day eight, you need to leave

00:10:26.380 now, or, you know, you'll receive those and you can go.

00:10:30.060 So I hung up and, um, the border control, I said, am I free to go?

00:10:34.900 They said, yeah, I didn't get any tests.

00:10:36.780 They didn't give them to me.

00:10:38.540 So I left and, uh, I'll be honest.

00:10:41.420 I pulled over and had a cry.

00:10:42.620 Cause I thought that was a lot of work to enter my own country, a lot of stress.

00:10:48.940 And I had a moment where I thought I wished I hadn't had that freedom because coming back

00:10:54.860 was so horrific, so horrific that it's like them opening up the cage for you to go freely.

00:11:02.620 And then you have to come back into the cage and just happily accept it.

00:11:05.900 And it was, yeah, it took me a bit to compose myself.

00:11:14.780 Now, uh, you had, uh, had told me that you have, uh, or, or that you were sort of pulled

00:11:22.460 over again and you have now received some fines.

00:11:25.660 Uh, what happened with that?

00:11:27.340 So I was pulled over.

00:11:29.420 So after I kind of stopped and tried to compose myself, I, um, I got pulled over about 30 minutes

00:11:35.500 later, I saw a car, a police car stopped on the side of the road, uh, RCMP.

00:11:39.980 And I, I kind of knew there were no lights on, it was fully parked.

00:11:44.940 And I thought, uh, here we go.

00:11:46.380 So I looked in the rear view mirror, sure enough, the lights went on.

00:11:49.020 And, uh, the officer came up and, you know, asked for my information.

00:11:53.260 At that point, I was feeling pretty beaten up and frustrated.

00:11:56.620 So I was handed to my stuff and he asked me to come out of the car.

00:12:00.060 And he said, you know, I'm really sorry to have to do this.

00:12:03.100 And he said, I really, I, you know, there was apparently an issue with the border.

00:12:08.380 Um, and I have to give you a fine because it's very expensive.

00:12:13.980 And he said, you know, I hope one day that police officers don't have to worry about public health

00:12:19.100 issues.

00:12:20.540 And so the fine is for $5,750.

00:12:25.100 And that was for not filling an arrive can, I assume it, it just, it says, uh, in contravention

00:12:30.860 of the, uh, quarantine act.

00:12:33.500 And he, he did direct my attention.

00:12:35.980 He said, I don't suppose you want to sign it.

00:12:38.380 I said, Nope, I don't consent to the ticket.

00:12:41.420 And he, uh, he did say, please notice on page two, this is how you fight it.

00:12:45.820 And he said, most of them are, he said all of the ones that he knows have been thrown out.

00:12:50.620 So he was advising of those.

00:12:53.420 Yeah.

00:12:54.220 What a waste of, of their, of resources for them to have to deal with this.

00:12:58.940 Yeah.

00:12:59.340 Yeah.

00:12:59.660 It's, uh, it's definitely putting them, I think in a very compromised position.

00:13:04.540 Um, and so you do plan to, to fight the ticket.

00:13:09.020 Yes.

00:13:09.340 I, I've sent it back.

00:13:10.300 I have registered mail of course, and, um, I've heard nothing.

00:13:14.620 Um, I sort of keep it on my fridge and, and part of that is just, you know,

00:13:19.100 I didn't realize that, that by doing, by taking my trip and, and sort of living my life freely.

00:13:25.500 And, you know, I was posting pictures because, and I sort of thought I might,

00:13:29.980 shouldn't have to, I thought I'm living my life.

00:13:32.620 I'm done not living my life.

00:13:34.540 I did that for three years after my brain sprout.

00:13:37.420 I called it, um, I'm not doing that again.

00:13:39.900 So I posted pictures and I, I was enjoying it.

00:13:43.260 And, um, the, uh,

00:13:49.180 the officer, I wish I would have had the wherewithal to say to the officer at the time

00:13:52.780 that I would like for them to start standing up because me as a citizen, one person,

00:13:59.180 I'm not making a difference.

00:14:01.100 They need to start standing up.

00:14:02.380 If he doesn't believe in it, there is right.

00:14:04.140 And there is what is legal.

00:14:05.820 And I just keep coming back to it.

00:14:07.100 I thought, wow, that's profound.

00:14:09.580 Well, and there have been, uh, quite a few officers, uh, whether RCMP, police, uh, military that have,

00:14:15.580 uh, taken a stand, uh, I think a lot of people are, are torn, uh, needing to provide for their families

00:14:23.100 and, you know, be gainfully employed, uh, versus making that stand.

00:14:28.540 So I think, again, it puts a lot of people into a very compromised position.

00:14:33.500 Have you received any other fines or tickets that you are anticipating or?

00:14:39.420 Um, I haven't, nobody checked up on me during quarantine.

00:14:43.660 So I have no idea, um, if they would assume that I wasn't, or if they would even check.

00:14:48.700 I'm, um, part of the, uh, my concern, when I came back, another friend knows a couple of police

00:14:59.500 officers and he said, who did you, who did you, uh, piss off?

00:15:03.180 And it's probably a lot of people, but, uh, the officers actually felt that six different

00:15:09.660 police officers on six different sort of occasions, felt that somebody that I knew had actually

00:15:14.860 reported me to either public health and, and said that, you know, I would be entering without

00:15:22.300 proper, you know, quarantine, or I, I'm not, I'm not exactly sure, but the fact that there was some doubt

00:15:29.020 as to the fact that it was actually border control phoning public health, I really don't know.

00:15:34.300 Mm-hmm. So you feel like the posts that you shared on, on, um, Facebook or social media would

00:15:41.740 have, uh, sort of exposed that to somebody who might've reported you?

00:15:44.860 Maybe. And, and again, I, I don't know. I have phoned public health. I have phoned the

00:15:50.060 privacy commission to, uh, just let them know that I, if that did happen and I did find out that that

00:15:59.100 had happened, I would be pursuing that further, but what I didn't anticipate was the amount of, um,

00:16:07.820 messages that I got of saying how courageous I was and how thankful people were that I did that

00:16:13.980 because it provided them with some hope and that far outweighs whatever that was. And it was hard for

00:16:22.700 me. I didn't want to make the story of my, my trip about this ticket. Um, it really was,

00:16:29.020 it was about providing hope for people, the psychological effect of being trapped in your

00:16:33.100 own country. People fight for that for China, Korea were horrified at that in other countries

00:16:39.820 and it's happening right here. And people are not standing up and saying, oh yeah, I don't,

00:16:46.060 well, they, they might go, oh yeah, maybe it's not right, but no, it's not right. We, we see it

00:16:51.500 in other countries, but we just can't see it right in front of us. For some reason, we think it's a

00:16:55.260 privilege and, uh, um, and yes, maybe that is, but it's something that we used to have and now we don't

00:17:01.580 have. Well, there are, uh, there are a number of lawsuits that have been brought against the,

00:17:08.460 the mandates, uh, against the federal government. Uh, and you know, those are obviously ongoing and

00:17:14.380 playing out in the courts. Uh, and of course on Monday we had the vote, uh, in parliament where it, uh,

00:17:22.380 it has been extended the, the travel back vaccine mandates have been extended for, uh, at least

00:17:28.700 another month, uh, in Canada and hoping to see change. There are many people that like you are,

00:17:36.780 are prisoners in their own country. Uh, I received an email the other day from, uh, a Canadian citizen

00:17:42.620 who lives in Korea and can't return home because they won't be able to again, leave to return to their 1.00

00:17:49.660 life in Korea and their work and their job and family. So, uh, it is, it's a, it's a devastating

00:17:55.340 situation for many families. And, uh, with the, the ticket you, you received, is there any kind of

00:18:01.260 court date on it? Uh, what's, what's next on this for you? I guess I just sit and wait. Um,

00:18:08.940 I can't remember what they said if I went, um, yeah, just sort of says wait for their instructions.

00:18:15.500 Okay. Uh, so I guess I'll just wait for their instructions, but to your point about people,

00:18:21.100 you know, not understanding, we also, you know, I have many friends who would like to travel and

00:18:26.060 see their families outside of the country and are worried about how to go about doing that. And

00:18:31.980 will they see these people, their family again, whether it's their child who is 20 something living

00:18:37.340 in another country, um, whether it's a parent who is sick, even across our own country. Um, this is no

00:18:43.980 longer about health and 100% about compliance because I, and the vote on Monday was absolutely

00:18:52.860 showed and proved that that is what this is about. This is about politics. This is not about health.

00:18:58.780 The fact that our, uh, healthcare system right now has 82% people fully vaccinated in the, in the ICUs

00:19:06.940 tells me that this is no longer about health because then we shouldn't be, if everybody gets

00:19:13.900 it and can spread it, then clearly this isn't about health. Right. Well, thanks for sharing your

00:19:22.780 experience, Brooke. We'll, we'll hopefully you can let me know what ends up coming with the ticket.

00:19:28.300 And, uh, if you do end up getting a, uh, a court date, uh, let us know and we'll perhaps follow that and,

00:19:35.820 and, uh, see how this ends up playing out for you. Would you do it again?

00:19:39.820 Yeah, I would. I, and, you know, the ticket, I, I do believe that they are, let's say fraudulent,

00:19:47.660 that, that they're actually not, that it's actually not law. It is a mandate and absolutely I'd do it

00:19:55.180 again. That, that break was so incredibly necessary. Absolutely. Yeah. And, uh, I think a lot of people

00:20:02.540 would argue too, part of the reason why they are not holding up in court in many circumstances is,

00:20:08.060 is the fact that they have been found to the unconstitutional. Very challenging times still

00:20:14.060 remain in this country and, uh, and we hope for change soon. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much.

00:20:20.540 Thanks for sharing, Brooke. Thank you, Mel.

Western Standard - June 03, 2022

WATCH： Unvaxxed Albertan recalls 'horrific' ordeal returning to Canada at land border

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