PUBLIC, NOT POLITICAL, HEALTH

Dr. David Salisbury has been an excellent medical officer of health.
His tendency to butt heads with some councillors wasn't a liability.
On the contrary, Ottawa needs a chief doctor who'll stand up for science.

Rick Chiarelli, the councillor for College ward, told the Citizen
recently that Dr. Salisbury was "dismissive" of council's concerns
about the crack-pipe program.

The doctor rightly defended the distribution of clean drug kits as a
way to reduce the spread of disease. It was a cost-effective program
with a clear benefit to public health.

Sure, the program bugged the police and made a lot of people
understandably nervous. But none of that was Dr. Salisbury's concern.
His mandate was to protect public health, not to make political
decisions. It wasn't his job to find the money, or to follow public
opinion. It was his job to examine the medical evidence.

It's council's job to listen to all the experts -- medical and
otherwise -- and weigh all the factors.

"Public health is political, but I can't afford to be a politician,"
says Dr. Salisbury. He's right. If experts frame their opinions and
advice based on political concerns, it becomes next to impossible for
citizens to get clear, unbiased information.

Of course, every medical officer of health should work with
councillors and explain medical matters to them patiently, and in
plain terms. But Ottawa doesn't need a sycophant at city hall. It
needs a bulwark of reason against the waves of populism.