WATCH: Danielle Smith BACKS science with final pandemic report

Premier Danielle Smith says her COVID-19 task force was designed to improve the province’s pandemic response, 'so that we don't make mistakes that hurt people.'

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith uplifted contrarian voices in her government’s final report on the COVID pandemic, earning swift pushback from physicians at the Alberta Medical Association.

"This report is anti-science and anti-evidence," reads their statement. "It advances misinformation. It speaks against the broadest, and most diligent, international scientific collaboration and consensus in history."

Freedom advocate John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, penned a scathing open letter to the Association in response. "Why, specifically, do you see this Final Report as 'anti–science' and 'anti–evidence?'" he writes. "Can you provide an example or two?"

The statement from the Association did not specify which recommendations they opposed from the report. "This report sows distrust," it claims.

On January 24th, a provincial task force compiled several recommendations surrounding Alberta's pandemic response. Notably, it urged the halting of COVID-19 vaccines until their adverse impacts are better understood. 

Smith, in the fall of 2022, ordered her then-health minister to review pandemic data and provide recommendations. She reiterated the task force was designed to improve the pandemic response "so that we don't make mistakes that hurt people."

"I was pleased to see that we had a broad cross section of doctors able to look at our previous COVID response," she said, identifying potential pitfalls with the procedures in place.

The $2 million endeavour affirmed the premier’s skepticism of draconian lockdown measures, as well as safety concerns surrounding vaccines. It propped up ivermectin and and hydroxychloroquine as an alternative form of treatment, though widely rejected by mainstream experts.

The premier took note of their recommendations, especially the efficacy of masks and vaccines for children, but did not detail which recommendations the province would implement and when. "I don't have an agenda yet," she said. 

Smith told reporters the final report encourages doctors to "speak their minds without punishment from their colleges."

"I think that's going to be important too," she added, "otherwise politicians will make bad decisions."

A reporter asked for a response to the Association condemning task force members as "anti-science" quacks who peddle "misinformation." Smith said it's crucial to hear "different viewpoints" as part of the scientific process, "so that you can make solid decisions on what you hear."

In his open letter, Carpay notes that "science is not consensus, and that consensus is not science." He furthers the Association appeals to consensus rather than to science.

Despite facing opposition, Premier Smith did not waiver in her pursuit of "contrarian voices," noting efforts to silence them does not aid and abet trust in our medical professionals.

"I think we always have to make sure that in a world where we care about science that all voices are heard," she said, acknowledging there's been concerted efforts to shut them down.

The Association claims the report advocates "fringe approaches" to "proven preventive public health measures." Whereas Carpay argues that speaking from a position of authority does not lend itself as evidence. He made a subsequent ask for evidence prior to 2020 to "prove" that lockdowns work.

"Your reference to 'fringe approaches' is particularly troubling," he writes, "because it suggests that the majority must be right just because it’s the majority, which is the antithesis of science."

Premier Smith argues that the evidence gathered from the latest pandemic has "changed the information that we've had over time and what we were told at the beginning … so we've got to adjust to that."

That appears consistent with the Association "observing and adjusting to the twists and turns" of COVID’s destructive evolution. "Science and evidence brought us through and saved millions of lives," reads their statement. 

The report, however, identified biases in the process, source, and weight of evidence used in decision-making. "Alberta did not utilize its existing pandemic response plan and lacked transparency in decision-making," it reads.

"The interviewees further recalled that 'when there was a [lack of] formal evidence and expertise, opinion [stood] in the place of robust evidence,'" continues the report. "There was no requirement for communications to be supported by policy grade evidence."


Editor's Note: The copy has been updated to include John Carpay's open letter, which clarifies the distinction between "science" and "consensus."

PETITION: No More Shots!

53,516 signatures
Goal: 75,000 signatures

I demand Canada’s Minister of Health, Mark Holland, remove the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from the market. Health Canada has confirmed the presence of an undisclosed plasmid, raising serious safety concerns and invalidating informed consent. I also support the Government of Alberta’s call to halt the vaccines, especially for healthy populations, including young adults and children.

Will you sign?

Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-01-30 18:47:57 -0500
    /Time after time, contrarians are proved right and the so-called experts are proven wrong. It’s time to start listening to people at the forefront of medical treatment instead of puffed up big shots.
  • David Heinze
    commented 2025-01-30 00:48:13 -0500
    “A reporter asked the premier for her thoughts Wednesday on the Alberta Medical Association issuing a statement, calling members of the task force “anti-science people.””
    “I know there’s been a narrative and the narrative has been enforced by shouting down contrarian voices,” Smith said.

    This is why the Medical associations, and some other professional associations are loosing or have lost their credibility. They have only themselves to blame.