Nicolas Smit, an engineer and scientist from Sudbury, Ontario, recently spoke with the World Socialist Web Site about his efforts to warn working people across Canada and beyond about the role that aerosols play in the transmission of COVID-19. From the early stages of the pandemic, Smit has been a tireless advocate for governments and employers to provide workers with high-quality (N95 or higher grade) masks and elastomeric respirators.

The interview is testimony provided to the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The inquest aims to expose the social, economic and political interests that have prevented the implementation of a science-based response to the pandemic that prioritizes saving lives over profits, thereby resulting in the needless deaths of millions worldwide.

In this interview Smit discusses the significance of aerosol transmission and the negligent response of Canada’s governments to the worst health crisis in a century, including their longstanding refusal to admit that COVID-19 spreads primarily through airborne transmission. He also documents the refusal of the trade unions and trade union-supported NDP to fight for the PPE workers need to protect their health and very lives.

He previously provided extensive testimony to the Global Workers’ Inquest on the ruinous masking policies implemented in the US under Trump and now Biden.

Viewers can follow Nicolas Smit on Twitter @PPEtoheros.

If you wish to participate in the work of the Inquest, please fill out the form below.