Key advisers to Ford government on pandemic response support more transparency

Two members of a key table of experts whose public health advice to senior government officials has been kept confidential are in favour of more transparency, they told the Star.

One of those advisers says the province’s colour-coded response framework should include stronger controls and clearer requirements for lockdown — but said he can’t divulge whether he recommended those measures originally because of the province’s confidentiality requirements.

On Monday, Toronto medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said she and all members of the province’s public health measures table were , requiring them to keep their discussions and advice confidential. The table, a group of public health leaders and experts, provides advice on the province’s response to Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams, who in turn provides advice to Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet.

The news sparked renewed scrutiny after the Star reported last week that the province — members of which sit at the public health measures table — when it released its colour-coded framework for implementing new restrictions.

Dr. Charles Gardner, a member of the table and the medical officer of health for Simcoe-Muskoka, said he believes the group’s advice should be made public.

“The provision of information from that table would help people understand the reason for recommendations, and I think that would help with buy-in from the public as well. So I think in general it would be a good idea,” Gardner said in an interview.

“I believe when people have good information they understand things better, and they’re more likely to abide by restrictions,” he said, adding it is difficult for people to adhere to pandemic-related restrictions for such a long time.

Gardner said the higher levels of the provincial framework “may require” stronger controls than the plan currently recommends, noting local medical officers of health in red-zone regions have already had to implement additional restrictions “to protect their population.” And he said it would be “beneficial” for the framework to spell out what would trigger a full lockdown, thresholds the document currently lacks.

But Gardner said he could not divulge whether he had recommended these measures already.

“I don’t think I will speak further about what I recommended in the past — I should not, in fact … out of respect for the agreement that I signed and what transpired at meetings.”

Dr. Marlene Spruyt, another member of the table and the medical officer of health for Algoma, said the issue was “complex.” Sometimes the group’s advice includes options or considerations that are not meant to be definitive; advice also changes as they get more information, she added.

However, “I favour some additional transparency,” she said, though she does not believe all information discussed at the table should be public.

The Toronto Board of Health on Monday moved a motion to ask the provincial government to “immediately implement a fully transparent process of receiving public health advice,” including making public the advice provided to the chief medical officer of health and cabinet. The motion from board chair Coun. Joe Cressy was adopted unanimously.

Gardner said it was “typical” for the province to ask members of advisory committees to sign nondisclosure agreements, though he couldn’t comment on whether it was typical in other jurisdictions.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said “members have not signed NDAs. Rather, the terms of reference of the public health measures table do include a standard confidentiality clause that supports candid discussions that ultimately lead to guidance and advice being provided to the chief medical officer of health.”

Asked if the ministry will respond to the Toronto Board of Health’s call to increase transparency around the province’s advisory tables in any other way, the spokesperson said: “We respect the work of all our public health experts and the expertise and advice they provide.”

“As we have done throughout this pandemic, we will continue to be transparent with the people of Ontario and provide them with clear and comprehensive information.”

Last week, the Star reported that the from its own public health agency when it created its new colour-coded COVID-19 response framework, setting thresholds for regional restrictions two to four times higher than what experts at Public Health Ontario had recommended. Dr. Shelley Deeks, the agency’s chief health protection officer, said she didn’t see the province’s much-higher thresholds until they were released to the public. The province lowered the thresholds Friday in the wake of the Star’s reporting, and said the controls associated with each threshold would be discussed this week.

Deeks and at least one other member of Public Health Ontario sit at the public health measures table. A spokesperson for the agency referred questions to the table’s lead, Dr. David McKeown, who had not responded to the Star’s inquiries by Tuesday evening.

“Public Health Ontario does believe in the importance of transparency,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. “However, we also recognize that confidentiality may be needed in some cases and contexts.”

Dr. Chris Mackie, another member of the table and the medical officer of health for Middlesex-London, said: “I believe that this is primarily a political matter and not a public health matter, and as such it’s the government’s decision, and not for me to judge.”

Other members of the table had not responded to the Star’s inquiries by Tuesday evening.

Kate Allen is a Toronto-based reporter covering science and technology for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: