Ottawa paramedic charged with forging COVID-19 vaccination documents
An Ottawa paramedic charged with using a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine certificate in order to keep his job has been fired from the service.
Police say the man obtained his certificate by submitting forged documents and attesting he had received two vaccination doses from a provincial vaccine clinic.
The city of Ottawa informed police about the man’s fraudulent certificate last Thursday.
Ali Abdelgani, 30, was arrested Wednesday and charged with uttering a forged document, obtaining by false pretence and forgery. City officials confirmed Thursday afternoon that the paramedic has been terminated from the Ottawa Paramedic Service.
He was released on a promise to appear in court.
The city initially told all employees they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday. However, on Thursday they extended the deadline to Nov. 15.
Police are reminding people that selling, buying, using or accepting false COVID-19 vaccination credentials is a criminal offence.
“Participating in such offences puts everybody at risk and fragilizes our community’s public health,” police said in a news release.
Mayor Jim Watson said if the employee is convicted, he should be fired as a paramedic.
"We have to give the individual their day in court, but if those facts are in fact true, that’ s...a breach of trust on the part of that individual," Watson told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Leslie Roberts on Thursday. "I’m not sure why they would go to that trouble to do that.
"They should be treated accordingly."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'