Two can play at this game, it seems.
Medical researchers and scientists upset by the "politicization of science" in Canada have decided to turn the tables by interjecting themselves into the political scene as the October 14 federal election draws near.
A petition protesting the "recent mistreatment" of scientific research will be sent to all major federal political party leaders in the coming days, Canadian Medicine has learned.
The petition was drafted by a group of doctors and researchers that has routinely butted heads with Stephen Harper's Conservative government over the last two and a half years: Julio Montaner (above), Thomas Kerr and Evan Wood.
Dr Montaner has become an academic of worldwide renown as the recently appointed president of the International AIDS Society. The three men are all professors of medicine at the University of British Columbia, but they are best known for their roles at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, which under their leadership has produced some of the world's top medical research on supervised-injection sites, focusing largely on the downtown Vancouver facility Insite.
Insite has served as a flashpoint for the conflict between the Conservative government and scientists. Despite overwhelming evidence of Insite's benefits, the government withdrew funding and then fought a battle in court earlier this year to attempt to establish jurisdiction over the project so that it could shut it down. The attempt failed when a BC judge ruled that the federal government was not within its rights. Soon after that, Health Minister Tony Clement -- who asked the attorney general to appeal the BC decision -- went on the offensive, drawing considerable opposition from the medical community when he questioned the ethics of physicians who support supervised-injection.
The conflict over Insite is not the only complaint the petition mentions. Others include:
In a letter dated October 6, addressed to "friends and colleagues," Drs Montaner, Kerr and Wood write:In light of our concerns we have prepared a letter addressed to the leaders of the federal political parties and have asked them to make clear the action they are prepared to take to end the politicization of science in Canada. We are inviting you to become a signatory to this letter. We will send this letter to all major media outlets in the coming days.
The full text of the as-yet-unreleased petition reads as follows:
If you would like to become a signatory to this letter, please notify us at your earliest convenience by emailing us at uhri@cfenet.ubc.ca or by calling 604-806-9142.October 6, 2008
Update, October 9: The petition has been officially released, including the full list of 85 signatories. You can check it out here (PDF).
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, PC, MP
Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition
Mr. Gilles Duceppe, MP
Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Mr. Jack Layton, MP
Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada
Ms. Elizabeth May
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Re: The Politicization of Science in Canada
Dear Sirs and Madam:
We are a group of concerned scientists writing to call for the end to the politicization of science and related due processes in Canada. Below we highlight some recent examples of the mistreatment of science in Canada:
• The closing of the Office of the National Science Advisor 1
• The misrepresentation of climate change science 1, 2
• The muzzling of Environment Canada scientists 3 4
• The cuts to and reorganizing of the Canadian Wildlife Service 5
• The political appointments to the board of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada 6
• The halting of the Prison Tattoo Pilot Study and the suppression of the results of this study 7
• The firing of the Head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 8
• The suppression and misrepresentation of research related to Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Site 9-11
The above represent blatant examples of instances when:
• Systems developed to provide non-partisan scientific advice were undermined, interfered with, or dismantled for political reasons;
• Science was interrupted, suppressed and distorted for political reasons;
• Scientific uncertainty was manufactured in instances where none existed;
• Reputable scientists were attacked because the results of their work were unpopular or inconsistent with the views of political parties;
While science is not the only factor to be considered in political decision-making, ignoring and subverting science and scientific processes is unacceptable. In light of these concerns, we are calling on all political leaders to articulate how they will work to improve Canada’s track record with respect to the treatment of science and related due processes.
Yours truly,
Canadian Scientists Against the Politicization of Science
Encl.: Name List of Signatories
References:
1. Science in retreat. Nature 2008;451(7181):866.
2. Smith C. Climate scientist claims Stephen Harper's government has muzzled experts. The Georgia Straight 2008 September 25th, 2008.
3. Munro M. Environment Canada scientist told to toe the line. National Post 2008 January 31, 2008.
4. CBC News. Minister stops book talk by Environment Canada Scientist. 2006 April 6, 2006.
5. Reuters. Canada slashes spending on wildlife protection: CBC. 2007 September 19th, 2007.
6. Hebert PC, Attaran A. A plea for transparency in Canada's "new government". CMAJ 2007;176(5):601, 603.
7. Kondro W. Prison tattoo program wasn't given enough time. CMAJ 2007;176(3):307-8.
8. Curry B. Fired watchdog quits nuclear board. Globe and Mail 2008 September 23, 2008.
9. Wood E, Kerr T, Tyndall MW, Montaner JS. The Canadian government's treatment of scientific process and evidence: inside the evaluation of North America's first supervised injecting facility. Int J Drug Policy 2008;19(3):220-5.
10. Wodak A. Going soft on evidence and due process: Canada adopts US style harm maximization. Int J Drug Policy 2008;19(3):226-8; discussion 233-4.
11. Kerr T, Wood E. Misrepresentation of science undermines HIV prevention. CMAJ 2008;178(7):964.
FURTHER READING
"Harper's new Anti-Drug Strategy is not anti-HIV," Montaner, Kerr, Wood, and Kora DeBeck, National Review of Medicine opinion, September 15, 2007
"Conservatives still spurning science, say addiction and AIDS researchers," Canadian Medicine blog, February 25, 2008
"'Doctors, get tough on drugs': Tony Clement: Minister's mind made up on safe injection sites, warn experts," National Review of Medicine, September 15, 2007
"Insite decision's aftershocks shake Ottawa," Canadian Medicine blog, May 30, 2008
"Tony Clement takes flak for calling doctors' support of harm reduction 'unethical'," Canadian Medicine blog, August 19, 2008
"Reproduction agency appointments spark controversy: Rising din of political wrangling threatens to drown out medical concerns," National Review of Medicine, January 30, 2007
Also, McGill communications professor Darin Barney, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Technology and Citizenship, is working on an ongoing project to track the "subordination of scientific and technological development to political judgment and interests" by what he calls the government's group of "neo-conservatives."
Photo: BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Latest headlines
Tuesday, 7 October, 2008
Canadian researchers demand end to political interference
What's in the news: October 7 -- Smoggy ailment, Ontario says sorry, campaign stasis, and more
A round-up of Canadian health news, from coast to coast to coast and beyond, for Tuesday, October 7.
Wait times in Canada have dropped, a new Fraser Institute study reveals. [Winnipeg Free Press] But they're still embarrassingly long. [Ottawa Citizen] The full report is available here (PDF). [news release]
There are more hospital admissions for appendicitis on days with high concentrations of air pollution, says new research by Dr Gilaad G Kaplan and others from the University of Calgary, presented yesterday at the American College of Gastroenterology's annual meeting. [news release] [CBC News]
Montreal researchers claim to have proved that antibiotics are not the only cause of C difficile infection. [Canadian Press] [news release]
The Ontario government has thrown its weight behind a private member's bill that will provide legal protection to doctors and other professionals who apologize for making an error. [CBC News] For some background about apology-protection legislation in Canada, read my article from March 2008, and my update from April on the Ontario law.
A new book by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions says that private, for-profit healthcare will not improve the quality of care or reduce costs. [Canwest News Service] Download the full book for free here (PDF).
Toronto physician and health policy analyst Michael Rachlis bemoans the absence of any substantial debate on healthcare in the federal election campaign. [Toronto Star]
The majority of Canadians believe the election candidates haven't addressed healthcare sufficiently, either because they are too afraid to do so or because they lack the vision needed, according to a new poll. [Canadian Medical Association]
Dr Carolyn Bennett, the Toronto MP and former physician, has come under attack in her Toronto riding -- literally. Her chief financial officer had his car's brake lines cut, and Liberal supporters' cars were keyed. Police are investigating. [National Post] [Toronto Sun] For details, you can check Dr Bennett's blog.
Quebec moves ahead with an idea to allow residents to serve as short-term locums. [CMA News]
The pneumonia vaccine may help prevent heart attacks, report a team of researchers from the University of Sherbrooke and McMaster University in this week's Canadian Medical Association Journal. [CMAJ]
Canadian Family Physician features an article on the importance for family physicians of learning "evolutionary medicine." [CFP]
Analysts with Quebec's public healthcare insurance plan have declined to issue a ruling on the legality of MYCA Santé's video doctor consultation business. The government has asked the provincial medical regulatory board its opinion. [Quebec Government] Some readers may recognize Myca's "Chief Imagineer" Dr Jay Parkinson (yes, that is really his title), the officeless Brooklyn, New York, doctor who we profiled last year. [National Review of Medicine]
This week's Grand Rounds medical blog anthology is online today. [M.D.O.D.]
The latest Medicine 2.0 blog anthology is also online now. [Digital Pathology Blog]
Monday, 6 October, 2008
What's in the news: October 6 -- "Meat police," prostate health, the Ig Nobels, and more
A round-up of Canadian health news, from coast to coast to coast and beyond, for Monday, October 6.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency employees claim a policy change was made on April 1 that meant food companies were no longer required to report listeria test results to the inspectors. "Before, you had authority, you were like a cop. We were the meat police. Now, you're just looking at the paperwork," one inspector said. The recent outbreak of listeriosis across Canada as a result of tainted meats caused an argument between the inspectors' union and the agency about what role the inspectors should play. The agency's national inspection director told CBC News that the policy is "going through a revision" and could be reversed. [CBC News]
The Ontario Health Coalition's new report, "Eroding Public Medicare," lists 89 private medical clinics across Canada that it claims violate aspects of the Canada Health Act. The claims are substantiated by short telephone interviews with clinic staff, portions of which are reprinted in the report. Among the clinics accused of breaking the law is Cambie Surgical, the clinic owned by Dr Brian Day, the past-president of the Canadian Medical Association. Ironically, the report's well-documented list of private clinics will likely prove to be a useful resource for patients trying to find such services. ["Eroding Public Medicare" report (PDF)] [news release]
William Mullins-Johnston, the man jailed for 12 years after being wrongfully convicted on the basis of expert witness testimony by pathologist Charles Smith, has decided to sue Dr Smith and five other physicians, including the former chief coroner and deputy chief coroner of Ontario. Mr Mullins-Johnson is seeking $13 million in damages. The lawsuit was officially introduced just one day after the Goudge inquiry's report into the province's pediatric forensic pathology system came out. [Canadian Press] If you missed Canadian Medicine's coverage of the Goudge report last week, read part one and part two.
Being overweight raises the risk of developing prostate cancer, report a team of McGill and Harvard researchers performing analyses of follow-up data from the Physicians' Health Study. For men with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, the rate of prostate cancer was 47% higher than normal-weight men. For men with a BMI of 30 or more, the rate of prostate cancer was 166% higher. [Lancet Oncology abstract] [Globe and Mail]
Jury selection begins today in the trial of the first Canadian to be charged with first-degree murder for failing to inform his sexual partners of his HIV+ status. Two women Johnson Aziga had sex with have since died of AIDS. Mr Aziga is also charged with 13 more counts of aggravated sexual assault. The trial is slated to start on October 20. [CBC News]
The AIDS virus first jumped to humans from chimps up to 50 years earlier than had previously been thought, say researchers who studied tissue samples in Africa. [Nature] According to one theory, the spread of HIV/AIDS occurred at almost precisely the same time European powers created colonial cities in Africa, providing an unprecedented population density in affected areas. [Associated Press] In related news, two French researchers shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for their discovery of HIV. [Associated Press] American researcher Robert Gallo, who has sometimes been credited with being a co-discoverer, was not named to share the prize, to his disappointment. [Wall Street Journal Health Blog]
Another winner of this year's Nobel Prize in medicine, the German scientist Harald zur Hausen, who discovered the causal link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, will present the annual Gairdner Foundation lecture at the University of Western Ontario on October 20. Dr zur Hausen is one of the winners of the 2008 Gairdner Awards. [UWO] He will also speak in Hamilton on October 21 at noon, and in Toronto that evening [Gairdner] and the next day [Gairdner] as part of panel discussions.
Don't miss this great minute-by-minute coverage of the Ig Nobel Prizes, held in Cambridge. [Nature News] An excerpt:7:49 p.m. Former Ig Nobel winners come to the podium to relive their past glory. One brags of terminating intractable hiccups with digital rectal massage; the other goes on about homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck. It seems we're not in Kansas anymore. We're not in Stockholm either.
There's more on the Ig Nobel ceremony, from Marc Abrahams. [Annals of Improbable Research]
Dr Randall F White, of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, has written an excellent and insightful essay on the threat by Arizonan investor Melvin J Howard to use a clause of NAFTA to challenge Canada's reluctance to allow private health clinics to operate. [Canadian Doctors for Medicare]
Claude Castonguay, the former Quebec health minister who chaired a commission on public healthcare insurance funding that reported in February, lashed out last week at the partisanship that he sees as the primary reason his recommendations for reform have been ignored. [La Presse, French only] Read the National Review of Medicine's initial reporting on the report's release in February, and my Q&A with Mr Castonguay.
Rural Alberta physicians and doctors at Calgary's Foothills hospital are using iPhones to transmit medical information, brags the Alberta Medical Association. [news release]
A pair of researchers from the University of Calgary's Department of Community Health Sciences have put together an interesting analysis of research on journalism about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). [BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine]
Residents of Fort Erie, in the Niagara region of Ontario, are protesting the closing of the emergency department and operating rooms at the local hospital. They're concerned the entire facility may be shuttered. [Niagara Falls Review]
The New Brunswick Nurses Union rejected a contract offer from the provincial government by a slim margin. [Canadian Press]
Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc, a former physician and hospital admin, won a provincial by-election in his Quebec City riding in order to gain a seat in the National Assembly. He won the election with 58% support. [Montreal Gazette]
With their fancy new prostheses, two men in Alberta have become Canada's "first bionic men." [Edmonton Journal]
With the promise of a little-known stem-cell treatment for a certain type of blindness, a Calgary family is paying $75,000 to bring their son to China. [Canadian Press]
"One tree by itself is very nice, but when they're all crowded together they block the view." That's according to an Inuit elder named Etuangat, quoted by Dr J in his blog about being a doctor in Canada's far north. Dr J and his wife, also a physician, are now back in BC after spending time in Nunavut. [Adventures in Medicine]
Also, I'm pleased to note that this is Canadian Medicine's 400th entry. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, 2 October, 2008
The Goudge report gets harsh reviews from some
Within 24 hours of the release of the Goudge inquiry's report on pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario, a number of complaints have already surfaced about certain aspects of the commission's work.
THE WRONGFULLY ACCUSED
William Mullins-Johnson, of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, has been the most high-profile of the province's false conviction cases over the past two decades. He was jailed in 1993 for the rape and murder of his niece, until, in 2005, a review of the original investigation by the pathologist on the case, Dr Charles Smith, revealed that the girl had not been murdered or raped, and Mr Mullins-Johnson was released on bail, and acquitted in 2007. Justice Stephen Goudge's report yesterday didn't go for enough, in Mr Mullins-Johnson's opinion. A Canadian Press article reported:While the report found the failings of an "arrogant" forensic pathologist and his bosses were at the heart of the miscarriages of justice, William Mullins-Johnson said those responsible need to be held to further account.
It should be noted that Justice Goudge's report was not mandated to recommend criminal or civil charges, but Mr Mullins-Johnson's frustration points to the fact that the Charles Smith saga is far from over. Victims of his errors and falsehoods must still be compensated, and many cases must still be reexamined before that can be accomplished.
"If they can't, then this whole thing of restoring public confidence goes for naught," said Mullins-Johnson, 38, who spent 12 years in jail for the rape and suffocation of his niece, who actually died of natural causes.
"They invented a crime. They pulled it out of their head and said, 'This guy is guilty of this.'"
Stephen Goudge's findings and 169 recommendations do offer a "little" comfort, said Mullins-Johnson, who added that his horrendous experience still gets "under his skin."
Justice Goudge's report, despite its inability to get into criminal matters, did deal directly with the effect of Dr Smith's errors on Mr Mullins-Johnston. On page 5 of Volume 1 (PDF), the report recounts an exchange between the two men during Dr Smith's appearance to testify at the inquiry:DR. CHARLES SMITH: Could you stand, sir?
Justice Goudge's section on Dr Smith's errors and manipulations of oversight is followed by a fascinating portrait of the doctor's character. Acknowledging Dr Smith's incompetence and deception, Justice Goudge writes:
(BRIEF PAUSE)
DR. CHARLES SMITH: Sir, I don't expect that you would forgive me, but I do want to make it -- I'm sorry. I do want to make it very clear to you that I am profoundly sorry for the role that I played in the ultimate decision that affected you. I am sorry.
MR. WILLIAM MULLINS-JOHNSON: For my healing, I'll forgive you but I'll never forget what you did to me. You put me in an environment where I could have been killed any day for something that never happened. You destroyed my family, my brother's relationship with me and my niece that's still left and my nephew that's still living. They hate me because of what you did to me. I'll never forget that but for my own healing I must forgive you.... his deeply held belief in the evil of child abuse caused him to become too invested in many of these cases...
Despite Justice Goudge's thorough work -- particularly his explanation of the root causes of the justice system's disastrous failures and the commission's success at evoking an apology -- the report does not and could not deal with criminal issues, meaning Mr Mullins-Johnson cannot be entirely satisfied with the inquiry's results. But it remains to be seen if may yet be more fallout in regards to Charles Smith.
Dr. Smith is a complex multi-dimensional person. The terrible irony is that, in some ways, the negative attributes I have described were compounded by positive qualities. He was willing to take on difficult pediatric cases that his colleagues were not anxious to do. He has a sense of responsibility that led him to cooperate with the work of this Inquiry. In his evidence, he admitted many of his shortcomings that the evidence had laid bare. And, albeit much too late, he owned up to a great deal. In addition, the evidence is clear that others found him engaging. Support staff liked working with him, and many people found him a charismatic and effective speaker.
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ADVOCATES
The organization Defence for Children International-Canada, a children's rights nonprofit, yesterday released a statement criticizing the report's omission of an analysis and a plan about what to do with the siblings of children whose deaths were misclassified as murders or otherwise incorrectly investigated, some of whom are now in foster care or have been adopted or otherwise separated from their falsely accused parents.
William Sparks, the organization's president, and Les Horne, its executive director, wrote:There is no process in place to identify some of these children even to let them know that their parent has been exonerated.
Defence for Children International-Canada calls on the Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services to address the moral, ethical and legal obligations to young people whose lives have been devastated as a result of wrongful separation from their families. Specifically, we call for the establishment of a Task Force to deal with the child welfare issues arising from this Inquiry and to develop a process to remedy the harm done to some of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
TORONTO REPORTER HAROLD LEVY
Harold Levy, a retired Toronto Star reporter, has been chronicling the case of Dr Charles Smith and the Goudge inquiry for months online, at the charles smith blog. As part of a series he's written over the last 24 hours on the aftermath of the Goudge report's release, he highlighted an aspect of the report that has so far gone mostly overlooked. Wrote Mr Levy:... we should not allow ourselves to overlook Justice Goudge's finding that the Hospital for Sick Children - Dr. Smith's employer - "impeded the Office of the Chief Coroner's ability to provide meaningful oversight."
Mr Levy is dissatisfied with Justice Goudge's failure, in his view, to take the hospital "much more firmly to task."
Curiously, the censuring of the renowned hospital is buried almost at the very end of the Inquiry's 278 page volume labelled "Systemic Review"and only takes up four pages in the Commission's overall report.
Goudge explains that from at least 1995 to 1997, Dr. Becker and others at Sick Kids had concerns about the timing and the quality of Dr. Smith's pathology work for the hospital.
"Notwithstanding their ongoing concerns about delays and diagnostic discrepancies in Dr. Smith's work, it appears that no one at Sick Kids took any formal disciplinary action against Dr. Smith, nor did they tell the Chief Coroner's Office about their misgivings."
"Instead," writes Mr Levy, "he recommends that the Ontario Forensic Pediatric Pathology Unit should remain at Sick Kids - a responsibility which it has not demonstrated that it deserves."
Update, October 8: Asked for a comment on the Goudge report’s comments on the role of the Hospital for Sick Children, Judith John, the hospital’s VP communications and public affairs, told Canadian Medicine, “Certainly we support the extensive work of the report, of the committee... which we feel was thoughtful and fair. We are definitely reviewing those recommendations, and are making appropriate changes to the processes.” Ms John refused to answer yes or no as to whether the hospital accepted the report’s conclusions about Sick Kids’s role in the failure to identify and report Dr Charles Smith pathology errors.
What's in the news: October 2 -- Another Taser death, insurance laws, and more
A round-up of Canadian health news, from coast to coast to coast and beyond, for Thursday, October 2.
Yet another investigation is launched over a death of someone who was Tasered by police, again in BC. In this case, a man who was seen robbing a bank was followed to his home in Langley, where he subsequently fell out of a second-storey window "naked and bleeding from a chest wound." reports CTV News. He was shot with a Taser as he tried to reenter the house. [CTV News]
The British Columbia Automobile Association's wait-list medical insurance is illegal, says BC Health Minister George Abbott. [Globe and Mail]
As a New York study on out-of-body experiences at death gets underway, a Montreal team is trying to get approval to do the same thing. [Canadian Press]
American economist Paul Krugman's admiration for Canadian healthcare was contradicted by some real, live Canadians during a debate last month. [The Club for Growth] (Thanks to Kevin Pho, of KevinMD, for pointing out this link.)
The October 2 edition of the Heath Wonk Review blog anthology is online now, with health-policy news on the US economy bailout proposal, and more. [Healthcare Economist]
A new article in the New England Journal of Medicine has sparked debate on executive physicals: beneficial or harmful? [Chicago Tribune]
UBC physician and public health expert Erica Frank is the founder and executive director of a new searchable online resource for medical information, called Health Sciences Online. [Medscape]
The mayor of St John's, Newfoundland, gave a Key to the City to 101-year-old GP/surgeon Nigel Rusted. [Memorial University]
Wednesday, 1 October, 2008
Ontario's Goudge inquiry report calls for pediatric forensic pathology overhaul
With public confidence shaken by wrongful convictions and scandal, Ontario’s pediatric forensic pathology system is in need of major reforms, says the public inquiry’s report, issued on Wednesday.
The report produced by the inquiry’s commissioner, Justice Stephen Goudge (right), recommends 169 changes to remodel the province's approach to dealing with child homicide investigations.
"These changes are necessary if public confidence in pediatric forensic pathology and its future use in the criminal justice system is to be restored and enhanced," writes Justice Goudge.
In the 1,170-page report, Justice Goudge dissects how the existing system failed in the 1980s and 90s, ultimately leading to the much-publicized wrongful convictions that relied on the expert witness testimony of Dr Charles Smith, the man at the centre of the controversy over wrongful convictions whose own problems were the impetus for the Goudge inquiry's full-system review. But the report makes clear that the blame is not all Dr Smith’s: Justice Goudge directs a great deal of criticism at the failure on behalf of the government and the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario (OCCO) to establish effective oversight of the provice’s coroners and forensic pathologists.
“The oversight and accountability mechanisms that existed were not only inadequate to the task,” he writes, “but also inadequately employed by those responsible for using them.”
Justice Goudge’s report accuses former chief coroner James Young and deputy chief coroner James Cairns of lying to officials and to the public in an effort to cover-up Dr Smith’s errors and to protect their own reputations. Justice Goudge suggests giving coroner’s-office oversight responsibilities to a Governing Council.
The report applauds the Ontario government’s efforts to reform the system since 2001 but warns the “more must be done.” “In the last few years,” the report says, “new leadership has made a significant start in addressing this challenge. But as they acknowledge, much more must be done. To stop now risks a return to the troubled years [1981 to 2001] examined at the Inquiry.”
The Ontario government’s press release early Wednesday afternoon touted that progress, but highlighted progress counting back only five years, rather than the seven that Justice Goudge counts. The discrepancy may be explained by the fact that five years ago marks the date the Liberal Party, which currently holds a majority in the Legislative Assembly, came to power. In 2001 and 2002 -- the dates during which Justice Goudge says progress was made, but which today’s press release fails to mention -- the Progressive Conservatives, under Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, formed the government.
Justice Goudge points out, however, that the changes since 2001 haven’t solved the system’s problems. “Inadequate resources continue to undermine the laudable efforts of the new leadership of the OCCO to fix the many problems identified by our systematic review. This situation cannot be allowed to continue,” says the report, urging the province to act quickly to rebuild the forensic pathology system. Particularly crucial in the ongoing lack of resources, Justice Goudge writes, is the shortage of forensic pathologists in Ontario. Several recommendations deal with improving the education and credentialing of forensic pathologists.
Other recommendations in the report include changing the complaints process, starting up a police Child Homicide Team, and creating a government plan to compensate victims of the province’s pathology errors and wrongful convictions.
The Ontario government has promised a compensation plan and new legislation to reform how forensic pathology is conducted in the province.
However, the government's press release did not make clear what would that new legislation would comprise. The release did not declare that the government would accept all of the 169 recommendations, only saying that the new legislation would be “guided by Justice Goudge’s recommendations.” Nor did the release say when drafts of the new legislation would be available, nor whether the government intends to introduce the legislation during the current sitting of the Legislative Assembly. The current session is slated to end December 11.
To read all four volumes of the Goudge report in full, download each of these four PDF files: Volume 1: Executive Summary, Volume 2: Systematic Review, Volume 3: Policy and Recommendations, Volume 4: Inquiry Process.
Update, 5:30pm, Wednesday, October 1: We've received a response from Ontario's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the government ministry that includes the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. You can read the questions and their answer, from Stuart J McGetrick, Strategic Communications, Communications Branch, below.
Question 1: Your press release today says the new legislation to overhaul the forensic pathology system will be "guided by" by Justice Goudge's recommendations. Will the government adopt all 169 of Justice Goudge's recommendations or not?
Question 2: When can we expect to see this new proposed legislation? Will it be introduced during the current sitting of the Legislative Assembly?
ANSWER: Since 2003, the government has taken steps to improve the province’s death investigation system. One of those steps was to ask Justice Goudge to conduct this public inquiry. As we've only just received the report, it's important that we take the time to thoroughly review its details with stakeholders and our justice-sector partners before discussing the implementation of its recommendations. I can say, though, that the government intends to move quickly and aggressively to respond to the report.
As part of that response, the government is committed to introducing a bill in the fall session that, if passed, will establish a framework that will build on our efforts to date to strengthen the death investigation system, provide for greater oversight and accountability and improve coroner and forensic pathology services throughout Ontario.
Significant progress has already been made to improve the quality of death investigations in Ontario, something Justice Goudge recognized in his report. Justice Goudge’s recommendations will help us make the necessary further improvements.
Medical bloggers flunk ethics review
A new paper, "Examining the Medical Blogosphere: An Online Survey of Medical Bloggers," published last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research by a pair of Croatian researchers, reveals the following unsettling news about medical bloggers:
59% "often... spend extra time verifying facts"Despite those dismal numbers, the authors of the paper somehow managed to write, "Responding medical bloggers demonstrated a captivating level of adherence to best practices generally associated with journalism."
7% "often... try to obtain permission for copyrighted material
29% "often... post corrections"
Baffling. (And it's not the incorrect usage of "captivating" that's baffling, although that's also strange.)
Those figures about journalistic ethics are downright embarrassing, and the authors interpret them as encouraging. I suppose that when you're comparing that data to data for general-interest bloggers, the medical bloggers' ethics seem admirable -- but that's like saying that because Harry Truman and Richard Nixon were disliked so universally, then George W Bush, because of his slightly higher approval ratings, must a popular president. That's a variation on the logical fallacy of a false dilemma, presenting medical bloggers and general-interest bloggers as the only relevant comparators in terms of journalistic ethics, when that's certainly not the case.
Or perhaps the authors have fallen into the trap of the ad novitatem fallacy in their excitement about the promise of medical blogging, flawed though it may be.
What reasonable excuse could there be for looking at those numbers and concluding that the bloggers are following journalistic ethics's best practices?
NB: Canadian Medicine is the editors' blog of Parkhurst Exchange magazine, written by professional journalists. We verify our facts, respect copyright law and post corrections when they are warranted.
What's in the news: October 1 -- Physical activity, legal review, missing chemicals, and more
A round-up of Canadian health news, from coast to coast to coast and beyond, for Wednesday, October 1.
Health Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living has zero effect on motivation or behaviour, reported two UBC researchers in Psychology, Health & Medicine's latest issue. [Psychology, Health & Medicine]
The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed two class-action suits against Health Canada for injuries caused by jaw and breast implants that were approved by the government regulator. The court's ruling declared that the manufacturers are responsible. [Globe and Mail]
New Brunswick's inquiry into the problems with cancer tests performed by a pathologist in Miramichi has finished hearing testimony. Commissioner Paul Creaghan's final report is due by December 31. [Fredericton Daily Gleaner]
Toronto emergency physician Brian Goldman had scheduled an interview with Health Minister Tony Clement for his CBC radio show White Coat, Black Art. But Mr Clement was a no-show. [White Coat, Black Art]
Mandatory overtime imposed on some Quebec nurses is causing major problems: nurses in Rosemont held a demonstration yesterday. [Montreal Gazette]
New Brunswick's opposition claims $1.3 billion spent by the government's regional health authorities isn't reported transparently. [Moncton Times & Transcript]
Dr Jimmy Poon, a Toronto family physician, has had his practice restricted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario after he pleaded no contest to charges related to his performing surgical procedures that he was not licensed to perform. [Globe and Mail]
A BC judge decided early last month in R v Spratt that although the law preventing protesters from standing too close to abortion clinics is indeed a breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the breach is justified. [Court of Appeal of BC]
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice decided in favour of the government in a case in which the Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Ontario Medical Association wanted to keep certain financial information private. The judge ruled that the information, which was part of a memorandum of understanding with the Health Ministry, fell under the province's freedom of information legislation. [Ontario Superior Court]
A Vancouver Island hospital lost some osmium tetroxide and some low-concentrate uranyl acetate on the weekend, prompting a public alert. Turns out the toxic chemicals had been moved to the lab's new fridge. [Victoria Times-Colonist]
The excellent Canadian physician blogger at Rheumination remembers the day Vioxx got pulled: "Since then, of course, all sorts of dirt has been exposed about the drug, and in particular, the company that produced and marketed it. What made it more disturbing was the fact that I prescribed it a lot, even took it myself. I gave talks to other physicians and undoubtedly convinced them to do the same. All my colleagues did the same. We were all taken in." [Rheumination]
The November issue of everyone's favourite crazy medical journal, Medical Hypotheses, is out. [Medical Hypotheses]
