David Fisman posted a thread yesterday about problems when big money gets involved in public health.
"During Covid, I experienced firsthand how political pressure twisted science—and nearly destroyed reputations. A short thread on conflict-of-interest theatre, redacted emails, and lessons we still haven’t learned.
In January 2021, I was publicly accused by Ontario’s Premier of having a conflict of interest due to paid consulting work I did for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). The suggestion was that I’d influenced school closure advice. What wasn’t shared? Internal emails—later released via FOI—show this was a manufactured controversy. The allegations didn’t reflect what officials knew privately. And that story deserves to be told.
On Jan 26, 2021, Heather Watt (Chief of Staff to Health Minister Christine Elliott) drafted messaging about the “conflict.” She sent it to Steini Brown—my dean at the University of Toronto, and chair of the Science Advisory Table—for input. Steini replied carefully. He pushed back, noting: “There’s no direct line between David working for ETFO, us giving you advice to close schools, and you following it.” His reply was initially redacted in FOI responses. Journalist Jack Hauen appealed the redaction—and won. He sent me the full, unredacted email when requesting comment. It showed that the internal view did not support the public claims being made about me. Steini also wrote: “He is merely one of dozens of scientists working on a volunteer basis and does not speak for the group in his work for ETFO.” That’s a very different story than what was spun publicly.
Despite this, the public messaging took a different route. Premier Ford accused me of unethical conduct. The Toronto Sun ran with it. It was coordinated—and it stuck, for a time. ETFO President Sam Hammond defended me publicly. He said I’d been listed in at least 10 media releases. “There was nothing secret about it,” he said. He also suggested the Premier’s Office had known for some time. Colleagues and students at the University of Toronto also pushed back. They called the accusations a “baseless attack,” emphasizing that I had properly disclosed, and that the Science Table had reviewed and approved the arrangement (The Varsity, Jan 31, 2021).
Steini, to his credit, privately cautioned against politicization. But let’s not ignore the structure: he was both my dean and former Assistant Deputy Minister, coordinating messaging with the Ministry of Health. Again, none of this would have come to light without the efforts of Jack Hauen, who is now at The Trillium. Jack's initial post from Twitter is here. The photos show the redacted version of the email he was initially provided, and the unredacted emails he received on appeal.
But to get back to the key issue: it’s not about individuals—it’s about systems. When the lines between science, government, and political communication blur, public health advice gets distorted. And trust gets broken. What happened to me in 2021 isn’t unique. We’re seeing the cost of politicized public health play out now—in the U.S., where trust in agencies like CDC had cratered even before the current administration took over. And of course under the Trump administration politicization of institutional public health is accelerating to a degree, and in a manner, that will damage public health for decades to come.
We’re not immune to this toxic politicization in Canada either, with the most extreme example being in Alberta. There, a government-commissioned Covid vaccine report misrepresented evidence to undermine vaccination. This is what happens when ideology overrides science. People suffer. Public trust dies. I’ll be reaching out for assistance in adding this information—carefully and neutrally—to my Wikipedia entry. Not for revenge, but to set the record straight. We can’t protect science if we won’t talk about how it’s been attacked. Thanks for reading."
No comments:
Post a Comment