Gather Your Wits, A One-on-One Interview with the NCI’s Michelle Leduc Catlin

by Dan Fournier, Special Report, published Thursday, July 20, 08:00 EDT on fournier.substack.com

What does ‘Gather Your Wits’ means and what is the NCI?

This exclusive interview covers both and much more.

Michelle Leduc Catlin has been serving as the official spokesperson for the citizen-led National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) in Canada.

In my interview with her, she opens up her soul to unpack challenges in her personal life, how she embarked on a journey of self-healing, and how her role in the NCI helped to cement the movement and part of her legacy.

Who is Michelle Leduc Catlin?

The multi-talented Michelle Leduc Catlin was born in Val d’Or in La Belle Province (Quebec), but left when she was only three years of age.

She grew up on Toronto and is currently “living like a nomad,” she quips; for, her feet and ambitions are not anchored nor restricted to any particular area.

As for her multiple career endeavours, in the late 1980s Leduc initiated her early career in lifestyle television having written and produced stories of all kinds ranging from health to fashion to interior design. 

By the 1990s, Leduc had become a lifestyle reporter, producer, and even a TV host of a ballroom dance show, she reminiscently shares.

Leduc showcased her own personal talents in writing, acting, and directing award-winning short films.

To become an actor, one should study Shakespeare in Oxford, which she did.

She has her own Internet Movie Database (IMDB) page which lists her short films such as Wishful Thinking (2006), The Dirty Truth (2009), Spring Fever, not forgetting her acting performance in the TV series Suits (2011-2019).

Stretching herself thin with all these creative endeavours, she ended up battling through a multi-year period of chronic fatigue and shifted her focus on personal growth & development, in addition to coaching people – which she had been doing since 1995 – as a much-needed healing process.

This led her on a seven-year journey whereby she researched health and well-being sources on a nearly daily basis.

As a self-described perfectionist and driven soul, Leduc affirmed her love of writing and journaling. She started an online journaling club with focus on health research, and then started writing about the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Gather Your Wits

Leduc’s brainchild called Gather Your Wits offers a refreshing approach to enhance and revitalise one’s own self-worth and self-empowerment in this crazed and hectic world.

Portrait of Michelle Leduc Catlin. Photo source: GatherYourWits.com.about.

As Chief Executive Gatherer of the website, Leduc offers many valuable insights and resources which can help foster much-needed rejuvenation of human vitality and consciousness.

Her mission is to empower individuals in multiple ways and to bring awareness about how the Covid-19 Pandemic has deeply affected us all.

“I am here because I have been profoundly concerned about and affected by recent changes in human rights, civil liberties, and access to information - particularly as it pertains to health and well being.

I am not an activist or scientist or health expert…

With the recent censorship of health resources, I feel that I have a citizen's duty to share information as I find it, so that you are empowered to disseminate and decide what the best course of action is for you and your family.”

On her YouTube channel, Leduc offers many interesting short videos on various means through which people can better understand themselves and people around them.

One of these videos, tiled On Listening, is really worth watching.

Listening – I mean really listening is a vital communication skill. Its scarcity is one of the principal culprits for division in society and even in personal relationships, for that matter. Just look at the rise in the number of divorces and how children and teenagers are increasingly becoming estranged with their parents and teachers.

We have been conditioned and socially engineered over the years to focus on our own thoughts, needs, and desires rather than that which contributes to more harmonious family and community relationships.

It is no wonder we can observe the breakdown of the nuclear family as well as an overall state of decay in society.

The lack of spirituality and morality have also contributed to this degradation.

In this short talk, Leduc dissects the act of listening as a way to “focus your mind” and also one of meditation or mindfulness.

Even if we may disagree with the opinions of others, properly listening creates respect and a foundation for better understanding one another.

In the second week of July, Leduc published a post titled What's next for the NCI...and you?

The post begins by responding to criticism that the NCI doesn’t apparently have teeth in the sense that nothing of substance will come of it (such as reforms, reprimands, and the like)

"Yeah, but what are you going to do with the testimony?”
Numerous citizens and journalists

My response has always been, what are you going to do with it?

What’s next for the National Citizens Inquiry is a question we’re grappling with, but it’s also a question for people around the world to answer.”

She then expands on the true purpose of the NCI and how it has turned into a movement.

“It was created as a response to a complete lack of accountability or even interest by the government of Canada into what happened to us over the past 3 years,” she states adding “Governments across the country imposed unprecedented measures and restrictions on its people during an apparent health crisis, and have done nothing to examine the outcomes of those measures or how they actually impacted our health.”

These statements capture the essence of the raison d'être, or purpose of the National Citizens Inquiry. In other words, it is not up to the government or any other so-called authority to “fix” these problems because they won’t. They are the ones who have created them in the first place. Rather, it is up to us to do so individually and collectively.

In the post, Leduc expands on the consequences of the governments’ bullying methods for our medical submission, how they discarded our Charter and human rights, how many have died, and how many continue to die because of their actions.

“But we have the evidence to show people what really happened and continues to happen,” she asserts.

“We also have the power to end the ongoing madness of forced injections and other dangerous policies that are closing the door on our freedoms with breathtaking speed.”

She is right, for the power lies with the people, not corrupt and self-serving governments. We have our God-given freewill which can never be taken away from us.

“But we need more people to see the truth.

And this is where you come in, my fellow Canadians.

With an almost complete mainstream media blackout, most people have no idea about this historical record of what may be the darkest chapter in Canada’s history.”

Leduc then encourages the reader to watch and share even just a few of the testimonies that were collected across eight cities from over 325 witnesses. She also made a video message via Twitter explaining how we can do this.

The main problem with modern society is indifference.

The technique described by Leduc is a powerful one, for it breaks through this barrier and empowers people – both the sender and the receiver.

It is too easy for people to simply move on, turn to the next chapter, or forget about it. If we take this approach of sticking our heads in the sand, the underlying problem of tyranny will not just go away, but will rather metastasise and bite us harder the next time around.

Wisdom is action.

The National Citizens Inquiry (NCI)

Michelle Leduc Catlin is the official spokesperson for the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).

For those unfamiliar, the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) is a citizen-led inquiry into Canada’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic that is completely independent from government. It was spearheaded by Preston Manning, a former Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition, but as a citizen rather than a politician.

The NCI held hearings in eight cities across Canada to collect testimony from over 325 citizens who have been gravely affected by the strict measures imposed by governments and health authorities in addition to very impressive expert witnesses.

The Interview

It was an absolute pleasure for this author to interview Michelle Leduc Catlin, for she proved to be an impassioned individual filled with enlightening perspectives sprinkled with pure wit, not forgetting to mention one with an unswerving empathy and compassion for her fellow humans.

We not only talked about her website and the NCI, but also how art can empower individuals against ceaseless tyranny.

What is your greatest achievement thus far and why?

“The NCI,” she asserted without hesitation.

Being part of something “so profound and so historical” is something she will never forget.

Exposing truth and uniting Canadians figures among the endeavour’s top priorities.

Who do you most admire and why?

“Russel Brand and RFK Jr.,” she answered.

As for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Leduc praised his eloquence and dignity in the face of a barrage of “unbelievable backlash and vitriol” directed towards him.

For Russel Brand, she not only finds his messages of truth refreshing, but mostly his deep spirituality – a principal component he cleverly uses to balance his online rants.

GATHER YOUR WITS

What do you mean by ‘Gather Your Wits’?

She commences to explain the phrase with a quote: “When all those around you have lost theirs…” suggesting that you should not lose your own wits, i.e., straight thinking.

Do you own thinking and use your own judgment.

This is a very fitting inference in this day and age when it seems that many around us seem to have gone mad, having lost their mental faculties or marbles, so to speak.  

“It’s a tool to unleash us from fear,” she adds, which I thought was very pertinent given all the fear mongering the masses have been subjected to during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

It is no secret that under a state of fear, most people lose their ability to think rationally.

And for those, like myself, who espouse the theory that fear was intentionally used to get the masses to readily accept such harsh measures (such as curfews, lockdowns, and experimental “vaccinations”) they wouldn’t have normally accepted, the tactic employed by the powers that be worked well to this effect.

Gathering your wits, then, rebalances the chink in your psychological armor.

Why did you start this website and what can people get from it?

Though previously the website was slightly different with more focus on spiritual content, it is now geared towards offering tools for people to counter challenges which have emanated from the Covid-19 Pandemic such as cognitive dissonance and betrayal of trust (as with the government, news media, and even friends and family). “People will need [this kind of] support,” asserts Leduc.

What do you think ails most Canadians in this day and age and what advice would you give them to fix or alleviate it?

“Lack of personal responsibility,” Leduc answered promptly.

This immediately reminded me of one particular talk which took place at the NCI by their legal counsel Shawn Buckley. He had made a heartfelt, impassioned speech on taking personal responsibility which I had highlighted on my Substack at the time.

People make the mistake of substituting it (personal responsibility) with blame, she observed. This becomes a heavy burden and we all need to “move beyond our fears,” she explained. In the end, responsibility is not a burden, but an opporunity, Leduc added.

“There needs to be a shift in consciousness.”

“We need to rise up to our greatest selves,” offered the NCI spokesperson.

NATIONAL CITIZENS INQUIRY

How did you become involved with the NCI?

Practically on a whim, she admitted, adding that it was Shawn Buckley, the NCI’s legal counsel who had tendered the offer for her to become their official spokesperson.

“We were divinely lead,” she further surmised. 

After the NCI hearings were over, she pressed Buckley with: “Why did you pick me?”

“We had nobody else,” he amusingly replied.

Do you have any idea about how many people have watched videos from the hearings? Any statistics?

She proudly shared that they had over 14 million impressions online by the end of the hearings.

Have any mainstream media outlets been open to cover some of NCI’s hearings and testimony?

“Zero,” she replied, though she added that there was one exception.

While the NCI team was in Winnipeg, they had contacted a CBC reporter who actually did run a fair story, she shared.  

Photo showing Michelle Leduc Catlin from the April 13, 2023 news article by CBC Winnipeg. Photo source and credit: Randall McKenzie/CBC.

Of all the citizen witness testimonies at the NCI, which one shook you the most and why?

I knew this question would pose a problem.

Choosing only one was highly likely out of the question. So, Leduc was permitted to mention three.

The first was Sheila Lewis at the Ottawa hearing.

Lewis has been denied an organ transplant since she refused to take the Covid-19 vaccination, even though she had amassed very high antibodies against Covid-19.

A seemingly highly compromised Canadian Supreme Court simply refused to hear her case.

Sheila Lewis had contributed all her life into the health care system through taxes, but was denied receiving treatment for what she should normally be entitled to.

But as we know, politics entered the Covid-19 ploy a long time ago. Even a lower court issued a publication ban prohibiting Lewis from mentioning which transplant doctors refused to treat her and for which organ she needed the transplant. How utterly appalling and troubling.

Is this Canada? Is this happening in Canada that is known worldwide for its health-care system?

The good news, however, is that Canadians stepped-up and helped to fund Sheila’s trip to the United States where should could begin procedures for the life-saving treatment.

The second witness testimony that shook Leduc was that of Marjaleena Repo in Saskatoon.

“Here was a dignified elderly woman who had a medical mask exemption,” commenced Leduc.

She had been told by doctors that she had stage 4 cancer. To gather her wits, Repo wanted to simply sit down at a nearby coffee shop for a sip of Joe. Instead, she was refused entry because she couldn’t wear the mask. Someone had even posted about her “audacity” on Facebook and over a hundred soulless socially-engineered automatons had basically castigated her for her egregious attempt to enter a coffee shop to sip a cup of comfort.

“How did we lose our humanity?” Leduc questioned.

Canada did go mad during the pandemic and a large chunk of the masses have indeed lost their wits.

Hopefully, lessons will be learned, and people can revert back to being human beings with a sense of empathy and compassion for their fellow citizens.

The third testimony that touched Leduc was that of Marylaine Belair in Quebec. The summary description for her case from the NCI’s Rumble page reads as follows:

“original French: Marylaine Belair raconte l'impact dévastateur des mesures de confinement sur sa famille. Son mari a subi une blessure mortelle en raison des restrictions d'accès aux soins de santé pendant la pandémie. Marylaine décrit le traumatisme et les difficultés auxquelles sa famille a été confrontée suite au décès de son mari. Elle dénonce la gestion gouvernementale de la pandémie et demande une plus grande responsabilité pour les dommages causés par les mesures de confinement.

English: Marylaine Belair recounts the devastating impact of containment measures on her family. Her husband suffered a life-threatening injury due to healthcare access restrictions during the pandemic. Marylaine describes the trauma and hardship her family faced following the death of her husband. She denounces the government's management of the pandemic and calls for greater responsibility for the damage caused by the containment measures”

Hundreds more heart-breaking testimonies from witnesses can be listened to via the NCI’s Rumble site (click here for French).

The reader must keep in mind that these are merely about 325 cases out of what is likely in the hundreds of thousands which have taken place during the dark times of the pandemic.

As mentioned previously, Leduc encourages all Canadians to simply pick a few videos of witness testimony to watch and share them with others. She hopes that it can become a movement.

People can consult the NCI website’s printable resources section to print flyers to distribute to others – even directly in their mailboxes!

A printable flyer from the National Citizens Inquiry website.

Listen. Learn. Recommend. Leduc explains the process on that web page and also via the NCI’s twitter account where she drops off her own printed flyers in Cambridge, Ontario. “We are in a huge transformational period; and it’s gonna require something extra from each of us,” she explains in the video while walking in that neighborhood.

The key is to continue to raise awareness and to empower individuals.

Of all the expert witness testimonies at the NCI, which three do you think were the most revealing (or stunning) and impactful?

“Rodney Palmer,” she immediately responded.

Rodney Palmer was a seasoned Canadian journalist who had worked for various news outlets in Canada, including CTV News, The Globe and Mail, and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) which is arguably the nation’s leading news provider.

At the CBC, Palmer worked as both an investigative reporter and producer. He was a Foreign Correspondent and Bureau Chief for CTV News in India, Israel, and China and in that role had reported on the SARS epidemic.

Palmer testified twice at the NCI – first in Toronto and then in Ottawa.

So powerful were his testimonies that even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had tweeted about one, observed Leduc.

“Everyone needs to watch this devastating dissection by one of Canada’s leading journalists of how global media icons were transformed into slavish government propagandists during Covid crisis. This testimony should be mandatory in every journalism school. – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”

“It’s because of this [media manipulation and propaganda] that so many were duped,” contended Leduc during our talk.

In fact, Palmer’s testimonies were extremely articulate and thoroughly documented with numerous presentation slides and examples to support his thesis.

In his first presentation, Palmer had concluded that from March 2020 to the present, the CBC was essentially a propaganda outlet rather than a news-gathering one. Here is the slide to this effect from his presentation:

Palmer contented that the CBC had collaborated with the Canadian government which then caused confusion amongst the Canadian population who thought they were telling them the truth. Instead, Canadians were not informed that the vaccines had permanent side effects and had caused the deaths of at least hundreds (at that time), he further noted.

He concluded his presentation by stating that we live in “an exceptional time” whereby the CBC has essentially morphed into a state-broadcaster “normally found in dictatorships” such as China:

“Bad journalism is incompetence. But propaganda is a betrayal.”

Those were the closing remarks from the seasoned journalist for his testimony in Toronto.

For his second expert testimony in Ottawa from last month, Palmer focused a lot on how the CBC used an ensemble cast of so-called experts such as Timothy Caulfield to help promote the vaccines on behalf of the Trudeau government.

How would you respond to those who say that the NCI has no teeth?

“It’s having an impact; people are pushing back,” commenced Leduc.

“What are you gonna do?” she posits, shifting part of the onus on citizens themselves.

“This is about personal responsibility,” she added, before asking what ordinary citizens are going to do about the situation.

Has the NCI produced any kind of summary report and/or has communicated its findings with the federal government?

“Yes,” she started before clarifying that the NCI is set up in a twofold manner: as a separate non-profit, and a body of four commissioners – who are currently producing a report which should be presented to the public this Fall.

What’s next for the NCI?

Leduc described the ‘Summer Campaign’ for Canada which essentially involves continuing the movement and to engage Canadians in the process.

She wants to see it go international.

I mentioned to her that there was a somewhat similar effort in Europe called the European Citizens’ Initiative.

A recent push by the citizen-led group with the collaboration of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) such as Germany’s Christine Anderson focuses on opposition to the actions power-grabs of the World Health Organization (WHO).

THE POWER OF ART

As I knew that Michelle Leduc Catlin is an artist, I couldn’t resist asking questions on how art could act as a catalyst for citizen-led movements.

As you seem to come from the artistic field as an actress, writer, and director, with film-making in particular, how can art – films, music, or other forms – inspire and move people to become more aware and empowered to counter tyranny they face?

Leduc answered that art can help to tell the truth even when it is uncomfortable or unfashionable.

“It’s a relay of our values through story,” she added before saying “stories can change people.”

Stories are powerful and all cultures cover the same themes, including in their myths. The Bible is told in story, Leduc emphasises.

Did you see The Sound of Freedom movie?

“Yes,” she said.

Do you see any parallels between Child-Sex Trafficking and the Covid-19 Operation?

“The bizarre mainstream media perspective,” she explained, alluding to how similarly the media has crafted narratives for both Covid-19 and Child-Sex Trafficking.

“Why would they go after this film?” she inquisitively impugned.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU

As I knew that Michelle Leduc Catlin had spent a significant amount of time researching personal healing – a decade or so in fact, I just had to throw her a challenging curve ball with the following question.

What self-help advice would you give to Justin Trudeau if he asked you?

After a quick warning that she normally wouldn’t offer such advice unless asked, for it would be pointless, Leduc obliged anyhow.

“I see someone who is in a performance,” she commenced, setting the stage for her reluctant take on our Prime Minister’s state of mind.

“He is out of touch with his humanity, with his connection to consciousness.”

“Otherwise, he would have empathy,” she continued before adding “until he can heal that, he won’t be able to form compassion or empathy with people,” she concluded.

FINAL QUESTION

The following question came from a friend of this author who had met Michelle Leduc Catlin in Quebec City a while back which I through was a fitting one to conclude the interview.

Has your concept or notion of Good & Evil been revised or otherwise altered as a result of your experiences with the NCI or generally over the last three and a half years?

“Yes, it has,” she responded before getting somewhat choked upon adding that she “didn’t believe in evil before [the Covid-19 Pandemic].”

“I believe in connection to source,” she assuredly asserted, conveying a fundamental conviction of hers.

“You must also face the darkness,” she concluded, which ties in well to her prior discourse on how we must face our fears and take personal responsibility.

Before departing, I asked her what she enjoys doing for fun in her spare time. “Dance,” she answered before adding that she is actually half-Ukrainian and had danced semi-professionally back in 1989.

In concluding, the reader will have observed an exceptional, smart, witty, and charming individual in Michelle Leduc Catlin. Her contributions to the NCI and towards helping so many other Canadians heal and move forward in challenging times makes her a remarkable soul and force to be reckoned with.

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