Ontario Premier Doug Ford says it is “deeply concerning” that the elementary teachers’ union paid consultation fees to an epidemiologist who sits on the province’s COVID-19 science advisory table.
A Toronto Sun article published Tuesday reported on the potential conflict of interest that Dr. David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, helped advise the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario to keep schools closed.
The news triggered Ford’s response later that evening.
“The news about Dr. Fisman is deeply concerning. Unfortunately, we learned about this matter through the media. Neither the Premier nor his cabinet were aware of this potential conflict,” a statement from the premier’s office read.
“Ontarians have put their trust in us to make difficult decisions based on sound, impartial public health advice. Our expectation is that anyone involved in providing advice to the government in this capacity would do so absent of agenda or bias, and therefore this paid relationship raises legitimate concerns.”
Fisman sits on the province’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table which is designed to inform the province’s response to the pandemic. In the summer, ETFO said it retained medical and scientific experts as part of a “legal proceeding,” including Dr. Fisman.
ETFO’s president in a statement came to epidemiologist’s defence, claiming the government “was certainly aware of the experts with whom we were working.”
President Sam Hammond wrote, “The premier should have known of Dr. Fisman’s work with ETFO.”
On social media, doctors are also rallying support behind Dr. Fisman, who has been critical of the province’s handling of the pandemic. The hashtag #ThankYouDavidFisman began trending on Twitter last night, with some people saying the government is choosing to attack medical professionals instead of focusing on wrangling the spread of COVID-19.
“I’m alarmed at the efforts to smear (David Fisman) for doing his job and sharing his expertise to prevent illness and death during a global health crisis,” said Dr. Farah Mawani, who’s a social and psychiatric epidemiologist.”
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