Back at the beginning of April, Doug Ford made a promise to his province.
Faced with a rapidly expanding COVID-19 outbreak and a populace already chafing under shutdowns and restrictions, the Ontario premier agreed to share the scientific modelling of potential illnesses and deaths with the public. And he pledged full transparency going forward.
“You deserve the same information I have. You deserve to see the same data I see when I’m making decisions,” Ford told the camera during his daily Queen’s Park briefing on April 2.
“You deserve to know what I know when you’re making decisions for yourself, your family and community,”
More than two months later, the novel coronavirus remains a pressing crisis, having sickened almost 31,000 people in the province and caused close to 2,500 deaths.
But while Ford continues to invoke “expert advice” to explain his government’s U-turns on things such as testing protocols and the provincial reopening strategy, there has been little disclosure of who is providing it and just what they are saying.
This situation leaves both medical professionals and laypeople struggling to understand why Ontario is making the choices it’s making and where the science might be leading us, critics say.
“I don’t think [Ford] has an expert on speed dial,” said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
“The decision making tells me it is not being driven by expertise.”
Command Table mystery
The premier often says that he is deferring to the advice he is receiving from Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer, and the COVID-19 Command Table, the government’s top advisory body on the disease, which reports directly to Christine Elliott, the minister of health.
Williams counts a joint masters in epidemiology and community health among his four degrees from the University of Toronto. However, it appears that he might be the only person sitting around the table with a specialized background in infectious diseases and outbreaks.
The co-leaders of the command group, Matt Anderson, president and CEO of Ontario Health, and Helen Angus, the deputy minister of health, both have vast experience in health-care administration but no scientific credentials. Anderson studied English at the University of New Brunswick, went on to obtain a masters in health administration before starting his career in information technology. Angus holds a master of science degree in planning from U of T.
The CBC asked both the Ministry of Health and Elliott’s office for the names of the other Command Table members. They weren’t provided, but the government says that representatives from several “relevant” ministries, such as Long-Term Care, Seniors and Accessibility, and the solicitor general also participate in the discussions.
A flow-chart of Ontario’s COVID-19 response, released in early March, suggests that it’s mostly deputy ministers. If so, the Command Table also counts bureaucrats with backgrounds in history, public relations and a former high-ranking Toronto cop among its members.
A flow chart detailing the Ontario government’s complex and multi-faceted response to the COVID-19 crisis. (Government of Ontario)
A ministry spokesperson told the CBC that the Command Table also draws on “external experts who each serve voluntarily” but declined to identify them.
Apart from some colleagues who participated in the early modelling of the disease, Furness said he doesn’t know anyone who has been asked to advise the government. He finds this situation curious given that so much expertise is concentrated in the hospitals and educational institutions in downtown Toronto, a stone’s throw from Queen’s Park.
“You don’t even need bus fare,” he said.
As the crisis drags on, he says, he has been mystified by the Ontario government’s reluctance to embrace random sentinel testing to try and get ahead of the disease and its failure to collect important sign post data, such as race and income, from those who have already fallen ill.
And he says some aspects of the first phase of reopening — such as allowing household cleaners and staff to return to their jobs — made no sense at all.
“I mean who is sitting around the table saying we’ve got to let butlers get back to work?” Furness said
Curious decisions with little explanation
Dr. Dominik Mertz, an associate professor at McMaster University’s medical school and expert on infection control, says he knows some people who have consulted on COVID at the local level, but he remains in the dark about what is going on provincially.
“I would love to know who’s advising them and what that advice was. And what the underlying assumptions are,” said Mertz. “I feel like sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”
He points to choices such as allowing adults to play golf and tennis but keeping playgrounds shut to children. And in particular, he wonders how the government came up with the oft-cited provincial benchmark of fewer than 200 new cases a day for a further loosening of lockdown rules and why this metric suddenly seemed to have been abandoned as Ontario moved toward a regional approach to reopening.
WATCH | Premier Ford announces regional approach to stage two of reopening Ontario:
Twenty-four of Ontario’s 34 public health units will be allowed to move into Phase 2 on Friday. The remaining 10, concentrated primarily in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and near the U.S.-Canada border, will need to wait until new daily case numbers consistently decrease. 3:17
For weeks now, the Hamilton area has been on a “low burn,” says Mertz, averaging fewer than 10 new cases a day. Yet it is being lumped in with areas such as Toronto and Peel, which have much higher case rates, and denied permission to move to Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan.
“I don’t know what the rationale is,” said Mertz. “I doubt that things will be any better locally in a few weeks, or months, from now.”
Mertz says a more scientific approach to reopening might look at things such as local health care and ICU capacity or the per capita rates of infection, rather than just the raw case numbers.
The province does employ its own epidemiologists and infectious disease experts, particularly within Public Health Ontario (PHO), which is mandated to provide scientific and technical advice to the entire health sector.
The government’s COVID response flow chart suggests PHO is playing a lead role in crafting strategy on things such as testing, surveillance and care and treatment. But those plans have never been communicated to the public.
Ford says he has a ‘host’ of unnamed doctors
After the publication of this story Tuesday morning, Elliott tweeted out the names of seven doctors who are sitting on her ministry’s public health measures table.
Today, I’d like to offer special thanks to Dr. Williams and our public health measures table: Dr. McKeown, Dr. Mowat, Dr. Feller, Dr. Gardner, Dr. Mackie, Dr. Roumeliotis and Dr. Spruyt. We are grateful for your input and ongoing expert advice on our <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COVID19</a> recovery planning.
At his COVID19 update later in the day, Ford took umbrage at what he called an “unfair” and “insulting” story. The premier said that there are a “host” of doctors providing expert advice to the province, but again declined address specifics.
“We’ve brought a number of doctors … a lot of doctors. Personally, they don’t want their names out there,” Ford said.
“To say every single doctor involved, I’d give you a list of over a hundred doctors … they don’t want their names out there.”
However, both the Opposition New Democrats and the Liberals are now demanding that his government reveal where its expert advice is coming from.
“Ontarians deserve to know exactly how Premier Doug Ford is justifying his decisions about Ontario’s response to COVID-19. That includes basic information like who is sitting at the ‘Command Table,'” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said in a news release.
“Ontarians have worked hard and sacrificed in the battle against COVID-19 – they deserve all the facts.”
That sentiment was echoed by the new Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca.
“Time and time again Doug Ford has insisted he is getting the best help possible from the experts – but who are the experts? Doug Ford won’t say. How is that open and transparent?” Del Duca said. “If Doug Ford won’t reveal the team of experts he relies on – how can we trust his plans to move forward?”
Part of the problem might be the system that has been set up to fight Ontario’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto’s Sinai Health and University Health Network, said the superstructure that Ontario created to tackle the coronavirus in early March, amid fears of supply shortages and overwhelmed hospitals, no longer seems fit for purpose. It’s far too opaque and bureaucratic, he said, to deal with the stubborn reality of a disease that will only be subdued through exhaustive tracing and testing, and continued social distancing.
“It’s not the right structure because it certainly doesn’t account for the blind spots that we’ve already identified,” said Morris. “We know that there have been challenges around behaviour change and communicating with the public.
“We’re asking a lot of the public. They deserve to have as much access to information as possible.”
Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto’s Sinai Health and University Health Network, says the Ontario government’s COVID-19 response has been far too opaque and bureaucratic. (Turgut Yeter/CBC)
In response to the CBC’s questions about where the premier and the COVID Command Table are getting their expert, technical advice, the Ministry of Health did provide one outside name — Steini Brown, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is chairing a pair of scientific tables on modelling and evidence synthesis.
Brown declined a request for an interview but did respond to a series of emailed questions describing his role as largely administrative, clearing obstacles for the unnamed scientists who are doing “the hard work.”
Brown says the round tables he oversees have provided “numerical estimates and evidence syntheses” that have affected Ontario government policy but that they aren’t making specific recommendations. The reopening benchmark of 200 new cases a day, for example, didn’t come from his experts, he says.
Asked how the Ford government might improve its response to the COVID-19 crisis, Brown suggested greater openness.
“There is so much misinformation on COVID-19 that the more transparency we have around scientific advice and progress of the pandemic, the stronger foundation we’ll have for engaging the public in the fight,” he wrote.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Hearing the familiar sounds of clacking sticks and pucks banging off the boards and glass while watching Columbus Blue Jackets prospects from the stands of a cold rink on a warm late-summer afternoon was not enough to wash away the lingering residuals of grief for Don Waddell on Saturday.
That, the Blue Jackets’ general manager acknowledged, will take more time than anyone can guess — weeks, months, perhaps an entire season and beyond.
What mattered is how spending the weekend attending the Sabres Prospects Challenge represented a start to what Waddell called among the first steps in refocusing on hockey and the future in the aftermath of the deaths of Columbus star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles on Aug 29.
“We got to play hockey,” Waddell said. “We’re not going to forget about Johnny and his family, the Gaudreau family.”
“Everybody knows that Johnny wants them to play hockey,” Waddell said. “And everybody’s rallying around that.”
The resumption of hockey in Columbus began last week, when most Blue Jackets players returned to their facility to be together and lean on each other at the urging of Waddell and team captain Boone Jenner. And it will continue on Thursday, when the team opens training camp, exactly three weeks since the Gaudreaus were killed.
“Tragic. Senseless. But now we got to focus on trying to get our team ready to play hockey this year,” Waddell said. “We all mourn and heal differently, but I think as a team being together like that is going to be critical for them to get moving forward.”
Waddell was general manager of the then-Atlanta Thrashers in 2003 when Dany Heatley lost control of his car and struck a wall, with the crash killing passenger and teammate Dan Snyder. In 2021, Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks died during a July Fourth fireworks accident.
Waddell placed the emphasis on himself and coach Dean Evason — both newcomers to Columbus this offseason — to guide the team through what will be an emotional season.
“Now, do I think there’s going to be some dark days? I won’t be surprised,” Waddell said.
Reminders of the Gaudreaus’ deaths remain apparent, and reflected in Buffalo on Friday night. A moment of silence was held in tribute to the brothers before the opening faceoff of a game between the Blue Jackets and Sabres.
Afterward, Columbus prospect Gavin Brindley recalled the times he spent with Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus and as teammates representing the United States at the world hockey championships in the Czech Republic in May.
“He was one of the biggest mentors for me at the world championships,” Brindley said. “I couldn’t tell you how many times we hung out with Meredith, pictures on my phone. It’s just so hard to look back and see that kind of stuff.”
The NHL and NHL Players’ Association are providing the Blue Jackets help in the form of grief counseling, crowd security at vigils and addressing hockey issues, such as potentially altering the league’s salary cap rules to provide Columbus relief from having to reach the NHL minimum payroll because of the void left by Gaudreau’s contract.
“The Blue Jackets, I don’t think anybody’s focused from an organizational standpoint, from a hockey standpoint as to what comes next, because I think everybody’s still in shock,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press last week. “I don’t think anybody’s focused right now other than on the grieving part, which is understandable.”
Much of the burden has fallen to Waddell, who has been in discussions with the NHL and the NHLPA and dealing with outreach programs with the Blue Jackets’ partner OhioHealth, while also overseeing preparations for training camp and gauging his prospects in Buffalo.
There’s also his roster to attend to, which he said has two openings at forward, one involving Justin Danforth, who may miss the start of the season because of a wrist injury. Waddell didn’t have to mention the second opening.
Tiring and emotional as it’s been, Waddell found comfort being in his element, a rink, and looking ahead to the start of training camp.
“The guys are in really good shape. We’ve done a lot of testing already and they’re eager to get going,” Waddell said. “We have a reason to play for. And we’ll make the best of it.”
The Blue Jackets later Sunday signed veteran winger James van Riemsdyk to a one-year contract worth $900,000.
“James van Riemsdyk has been a very consistent, productive player throughout his career,” Waddell said. “Bringing him to Columbus will not only provide depth to our group up front, but also valuable leadership and another veteran presence in our dressing room.”
___
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain defender Nuno Mendes was the target of abusive and racist comments on social media after a French league game.
The club condemned the abuse and expressed its “full support” Sunday for the Portugal left back, who was targeted following PSG’s 3-1 win against Brest on Saturday.
Mendes, who is Black, shared on his Instagram account a racist message he received.
During the match, Mendes brought down Ludovic Ajorque in the box for a penalty that Romain Del Castillo converted to give Brest the lead.
“Paris Saint-Germain doesn’t tolerate racism, antisemitism or any other form of discrimination,” the club said. “The racial insults directed at Nuno Mendes are totally unacceptable … we are working with the relevant authorities and associations to ensure those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
