Cambridge woman outraged after late sister's photos used in Ontario MPP's anti-vaccination posts
CBC
A Cambridge, Ont., woman is outraged after her late sister's photo and personal information were used without permission in anti-vaccination social media posts by an Ontario member of provincial parliament (MPP).
Farisa Navab, 20, died on Sept. 11 from a rare autoimmune disease.
On Tuesday, images of Navab and 10 other people appeared on the social media of Randy Hillier, an Independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston. The posts suggested they died after having a "permanent adverse reaction shortly after receiving their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine."
"It's straight up lies," said Ammarah Navab, noting her sister died of a genetic disorder.
"It's complete fake news."
The post — shared on Hillier's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts — suggested the individuals were "perfectly healthy" and "harmed by a drug they were told was completely safe."
Several individuals who said they knew some of those pictured in Hillier's posts commented that their loved ones' deaths were not related to any vaccinations.
"It's not like regular people making assumptions. It's somebody in power who's posting to thousands of followers, lying about my sister's death and using it as 'proof' ... It's disgusting," Navab said.
"If [Farisa] saw what was happening, she would not be very happy."
The family has chosen not to reveal Farisa's vaccination status for privacy reasons, and for fear of backlash from people on social media.
Navab said her family demands that Hillier remove the posts and issue a public apology — but even that won't be enough.
"He's done so much damage to our families," she said. "I don't even think it should be legally allowed to post information that isn't correct online. He didn't ask us for consent to use her pictures."
Navab said she previously created an online fundraiser to help keep her sister's legacy alive. Information about some others pictured in the posts can also be found online through news articles or affiliated organizations.
Hillier did not directly answer questions by CBC News about the information used in his posts that Navab says are false.
'It's our space': Thunder Bay residents rally to save parkette as city aims to sell land for housing
Residents of a small southside neighbourhood in Thunder Bay, Ont., say they're willing to fight once again to save their parkette from being sold by the city and redeveloped into housing.