'Potentially Influential Government Officials' in Canada and China Were Paid Excessively by Pfizer at the Onset of COVID-19 and Up to the Rollout of the Shots
Who and Why?
A news article from 2023 was brought to my attention today. It described a whistleblower lawsuit against Pfizer. This article…
…can be found at this link. It deals with payments made by Pfizer spanning the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic and leading up to the global rollout of their modified RNA shots. It alleges that Pfizer committed fraud related to “Foreign Corrupt Practices“.
When I read the article, I found two details in the story to be particularly disconcerting.
First, I learned a new term. Apparently there are “potentially influential government officials (PIGOs)” that pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer target monetarily. This term bothers me and the purpose of the payouts seems to be at odds with conflict of interest policies that are supposed to be enforced in countries like Canada.
Second, alongside China, Pfizer targeted Canada’s PIGOs through a disproportionately large budget. The story focused on the fact that Pfizer may have committed fraud by targeting potentially influential government officials in China with a disproportionately large sum of money (“over ten times the amount of money”) compared to what was paid out to government officials in the United States. However, as a Canadian, I found the following facts to be of concern:
“Specifically, Pfizer spent $168 million on PIGOs in China between the second quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021, Han’s work found. That compared to $12 million in the U.S., $11 million in Canada, $7.5 million in Russia and $7.1 million in the U.K.”
The $11 million paid by Pfizer to Canadian PIGOs is concerning because it almost equals that allocated to influencing the U.S.A., but our economic footprint is about 12-times smaller and our pharmaceutical market is approximately 18-time smaller. This means that Pfizer’s budget devoted to targeting government officials in Canada was, like the one targeting Chinese officials, disproportionately large after adjusting for the size of the pharmaceutical market within each country.
It is troubling to learn that Pfizer invested so much money into government influencers in China at the time leading up to both the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollout of their shots. But why was Canada so disproportionately targeted? Historically, our public health institutions often followed the lead of the U.S.A. So, why invest an almost equal amount of money into the much smaller market that Canada represents when influence was already being exerted on our ‘big sibling’? Could this also constitute a breach of foreign corrupt practices laws?
In my opinion, this information deserves serious discussions and investigations. Importantly, every government official that receives PIGO money should have to disclose it to the public and indicate what it was used for. As a Canadian, I would like to know which government officials in Canada accepted PIGO money so I can take that into consideration alongside their public health messaging, especially as it applied to interventions related to COVID-19.
The problem is, I cannot find any information in online public databases to explain what happened to Pfizer’s $11 million paid out to potentially influential government officials in Canada. I don’t like the idea that this much money can be distributed to government officials without the public being able to readily find out who received it.
Perhaps Access to Information and Privacy Act (ATIP)/Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests would be required to get this information.
If any readers have evidence showing any Canadian government officials receiving portions of Pfizer’s $11 million, please share them in the comments.
Likewise, please comment if you have ideas as to why Canada’s government (alongside China) was disproportionately (based on market size) targeted by Pfizer.
After all, and like many others, I would like the healthcare policies that are imposed on me to be free from financial influences of pharmaceutical companies.
I've given up trying to explain—with receipts—to Canadians just how corrupt our country is, and has been for many decades. This is the real reason Trump imposed crippling tariffs on this untrustworthy liability sitting on his northern border. He asked us to stop the CCP drug triads, the flow of fentanyl, the money laundering, close the open borders, kick out the islamic terror networks—and the Liberals simply ignored him. Even the "Conservatives" are afraid to talk about it. Chrétien invited them in and Harper did nothing to control the Chinese drug cartels. He's carrying water for Carney by singing the same incredibly stupid anti-USA trade song. Promises. Did you notice the CBC is still fully funded? I'm an old man and a vet. My family has been here since the 1700's. But I can see this nation is finished. The best we can hope for is the uninterrupted completion of Trump's term and two terms of another populist patriot in the south. After that some sort of unincorporated territory of the United States. Albertans wanting to secede from this Laurentian cesspit are not traitors. The traitors are infesting our governments at every level, and the idiots who keep voting them back into office.
Here’s a step-by-step blueprint for drafting Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests in Canada (and if you want, I can show you the corresponding U.S. FOIA version as well). The goal is to legally compel disclosure of Pfizer’s payments to “potentially influential government officials” (PIGOs) between 2019 and 2021.
🇨🇦 STEP 1 – Identify the Right Departments
Start by sending separate, targeted ATIP requests to each of the following institutions (a single broad request will often be delayed or rejected):
Health Canada
Handles drug approvals and relationships with Pfizer directly.
ATIP portal: https://atip-aiprp.tbs-sct.gc.ca/
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Oversees pandemic policy, NACI recommendations, and vaccine strategy.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED)
Involved in contracts and partnerships with multinationals like Pfizer.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
Maintains conflict-of-interest disclosures and ethics compliance information.
Global Affairs Canada
Regulates foreign payments and may hold correspondence relevant to cross-border “Foreign Corrupt Practices” investigations.
🧾 STEP 2 – Request Structure
Here’s the exact wording template you can copy, modify with your own details, and submit through the ATIP portal.
Subject Line:
Request for information on Pfizer payments to governmental or regulatory officials – 2019 to 2021
Body of Request:
Pursuant to the Access to Information Act, I request access to all records, reports, communications, meeting minutes, contracts, memoranda, or financial disclosures related to Pfizer Inc. (and its Canadian affiliates) involving any form of payment, grant, consulting fee, donation, honorarium, sponsorship, or in-kind contribution to Canadian public officials, health regulators, or advisory committee members between Q2 2019 and Q3 2021.
Specifically, I seek documentation identifying:
Any and all payments to individuals or entities categorized as "potentially influential government officials," “senior decision-makers,” consultants, or public servants involved in public health or pandemic policy.
Records showing the purpose or justification for these payments.
Correspondence between Pfizer (or its representatives) and officials or departments discussing these payments.
Any ethics reviews, conflict-of-interest statements, or advisory rulings referencing Pfizer relationships during the same period.
Communications referencing the term “PIGO” or “Potentially Influential Government Officials,” if such term appears in any internal or external documents.
For clarity, I request both official interdepartmental communications and any third-party correspondence held by ministers, deputies, or staff in their professional capacity.
Electronic records (PDF, Excel, or email formats) are preferred.
Please confirm receipt and provide a reference number upon acceptance of this request.
💡 STEP 3 – Strategic Tips
File multiple narrow requests rather than one sweeping one. Bureaucrats exploit administrative overload to delay disclosures. Target each department with a slightly refined scope.
Use precise date ranges: Q2 2019 – Q3 2021 covers everything from the Wuhan announcement to vaccine rollout.
Request specific keywords: “Pfizer,” “PIGO,” “consultant,” “honorarium,” “NACI,” “PHAC,” “conflict of interest,” “COVID-19 vaccine contract.”
Mark your submissions as “public interest disclosure requests.”
This phrase pressures reviewers to avoid excessive redactions under Section 20 exemptions (which protect third-party financial interests).
📤 STEP 4 – What to Expect
Expect acknowledgment within 30 days, and likely delays up to 90 days with possible “extensions due to complexity” (a standard stall tactic).
When documents arrive, you’ll almost certainly receive redacted material. Use that as the basis for a follow-up clarification or appeal.
If portions are hidden under “Cabinet Confidence” or “Third-Party Commercial Information,” file a complaint with the Information Commissioner—you have legal grounds when public health interests are implicated.
🧱 STEP 5 – Amplify Results
When you receive responses:
Publish them on Substack, X (Twitter), or public transparency repositories. Even partial disclosures strengthen pressure on other requesters.
Cross-correlate the names or dates you find with parliamentary meeting logs, advisory board rosters, and corporate lobbyist registries here:
https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/
If you want, I can help you draft a more aggressive follow-up template designed to break through “commercial confidentiality” redactions and trigger commissioner review. Would you like me to outline that one next?