Days after Dr. Matt Strauss resigned from his position as interim medical officer of health for Haldimand-Norfolk, ON, the doctor slammed a Toronto Star columnist for reporting "mistruths and misquotes."."I understand that Bruce and the Toronto Star are in an awkward position. They were wrong about vaccine mandates, wrong about mask mandates, wrong about border restrictions, and wrong about school closures," Strauss tweeted on Tuesday.."I wish the Toronto Star would acknowledge its mistakes, rather than double down by misrepresenting the facts of the matter and my views.".On Tuesday, Strauss resigned from his role as Haldimand-Norfolk's interim medical officer, a position he held for 18 months. He will officially exit his position on April 1..Strauss was a controversial medical officer who frequently criticized COVID-19 measures like lockdowns, mandatory masking, and vaccine mandates. Strauss recently wrote that he took the medical officer role in Haldimand-Norfolk because he was concerned about Canada's pandemic policy, particularly mask mandates that were "under evidenced.".Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur's interviewed Strauss for his opinion piece, titled 'Dr. Matt Strauss won’t miss public health — and vice versa." In the article, Arthur claims Strauss was an "activist," attending protests against Western University's vaccine mandate, comparing mask and vaccine mandates to the MeToo movement, and arguing against widespread cloth masking..The article also states that Strauss' arguments against "cruel and coercive measures" such as vaccine mandates, capacity restrictions, school closures, and lockdowns were "libertarian-style bunk.".On Tuesday night, Strauss took to Twitter to say Arthur's article was "full of mistruths and misquotes, starting with the headline.".Strauss went on to claim he did not say he wouldn't "miss public health," never compared prom to a "living death," and never compared mask mandates to the MeToo movement.."Haldimand-Norfolk had 30% less COVID mortality over the pandemic than the provincial average. Their success throws the Toronto Star's mistakes into sharp relief," Strauss added..On Twitter, Arthur claimed Strauss' time as interim medical officer of health was "more like a spasm of the anti-restrictions movement than anything else. Which isn't how public health should work.".Arthur added he received Strauss' feedback on the piece, and the two exchanged views. "Needless to say, I disagree with his interpretations," Arthur said..He added those who agreed with Strauss are mostly distrustful of the media and angry about COVID-19 restrictions.."A lot of anti-vaxxers in there, too. To Matt Strauss' credit, he calls vaccines scientific miracles, which they are.".Arthur has been vocal about his support for vaccinations, while also criticizing those who choose not to get vaccinated. Back in 2019, Strauss tweeted in response to news of celebrity Jessica Biel rallying against a California vaccination bill, "I am all for empathy and understanding and anti-vaxxers belong in goddamn prison re-education camps." [sic] In a Nov. 25, 2021 opinion piece, Arthur openly mused about what should be done with COVID-19 anti-vaxxers. "Truly, [the] anti-vaccine crowd is not just persistently and urgently misinformed; it has a feral element that is antithetical to a civil society," he wrote. "Whether it is mere propagandistic brain poisoning or merely the rage of someone in a world they can’t quite process, it’s there… So what do we do? How do we live with people who are fundamentally anti-society?... Appropriate law enforcement, and more enforcement of public health regulations, should be a start… Unreality is a stubborn virus on its own." "Every anti-vaxxer is a symptom: something broke and they were lost, but they are a part of our society, too. And it’s hard to know what to do about that."
