Ontario science table loses another one of its key figures
One of the key voices that helped inform Ontario’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two-and-a-half years is stepping aside.
Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table Co-Chair Dr. Adalsteinn Brown has announced that he will be leaving his post to focus on his work as the dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
He will be replaced by Dr. Upton Allen, who is a longstanding member of the science table as well as the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Hospital for Sick Children.
“We want to express our sincere thanks to Prof. Adalsteinn Brown for his exceptional leadership as of one the inaugural co-chairs of the Science Advisory Table,” Vice President of Public Health Ontario and science table co-chair Dr. Brian Schwartz said in a news release. “Over the past two years, Prof. Brown has been at the forefront of supporting the province’s response to COVID-19 by leading the development and implementation of the Modelling Consensus Table, providing exceptional leadership and communication with experts, stakeholders and the public on behalf of the table, and bringing together academics and front-line practitioners with diverse expertise to provide coordinated, practical scientific advice for decision-makers in Ontario.”
Brown was a regular participant in many of the news conferences held by the table throughout the pandemic, often using the pulpit to urge the government to introduce public health measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, including the stay-at-home order adopted in April, 2021.
During his time with the table he also gained a reputation for giving particularly frank assessments of the situation Ontario was facing.
In one news conference in February, 2021 he was asked whether a modelling presentation was in fact predicting “a disaster” and pulled no punches, telling a reporter “I don’t think you are missing anything.”
During another news conference in December, 2021 he warned that the coming Omicron wave would be the “the hardest wave of the pandemic” and made the case for “circuit breaker” restrictions to reduce contacts.
“Neither public health measures or vaccinations will be enough on their own to blunt the Omicron wave,” he warned at the time.
The announcement that Brown will no longer lead the science table comes just a few months after the departure of the table’s scientific director, Dr. Peter Jüni.
Brown had lead the science table since its formation in July, 2020.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca