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An association representing physicians in Saskatchewan is denouncing a protest staged outside the home of the province’s chief medical health officer while an Alberta man has been charged with making threats against the Northwest Territories top doctor.
Police in Regina say officers responded to a report of a demonstration at Dr. Saqib Shahab’s house on Saturday and stayed until a handful protesters left.
“Bringing a protest to Dr. Shahab’s private residence is absolutely unacceptable, and the SMA condemns these actions,” said Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz, president of the SMA. Dr. Konstantynowicz said she commends Premier Scott Moe for denouncing these kinds of tactics as wrong and misdirected. In his public comments the premier indicated that if protesters have a problem with public health policy they should be directing their concerns to elected officials, not a civil servant. “Since the pandemic, physicians and all health-care providers have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to caring for and putting the safety Saskatchewan citizens first. Everyone’s effort to reduce the spread of this virus is critical,” Dr. Konstantynowicz said. “Measures such as mask wearing, physical distancing, hand-washing and limiting the size of gatherings, remain the best defence against COVID-19 spread.
Dr. Shahab vows not to let protest outside home distract him
Saskatchewan s chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab will continue his work unabated after protests escalated to a new level on Saturday when a group of people stood with signs outside his Regina home.
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The Saskatchewan Medical Association issued a statement Monday calling out those who took part.
Its president said the demonstrators behaviour amounted to harassment and intimidation of theprovince s top doctor, who is a member of the association. Bringing a protest to Dr. Shahab’s private residence is absolutely unacceptable, and the SMA condemns these actions, association president Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz said in the statement.
Premier Scott Moe called those who participated idiots. He directed anyone upset with the Saskatchewan Party government s response to COVID-19 to contact his office or a provincial representative. Dr. Shahab will not let this incident distract him from continuing his important ongoing work and is unavailable for comment today, Moe s executive director of communications, Jim Billington, said in a statement.