Ontario specialist physician Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill will appear before the Health Professionals Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) to request cautions ordered against her be overturned. .“It was unreasonable for the CPSO (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario) to insist that doctors’ comments align with the government,” said Libertas Law lawyer Lisa Bildy in a Tuesday press release. .“The college’s duty is not to the government, but rather to the public, and those interests are not necessarily aligned.”.Bildy will be collaborating with the Democracy Fund in representing Gill. .Gill works as a specialist physician in the Greater Toronto Area and has significant training in pediatrics, allergies, and clinical immunology. She supports COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk people with informed consent. .The release said Gill used her large Twitter following to share her opinions about COVID-19 restrictions. It said she has concerns about the harms caused by lockdowns and the lack of ethical and scientific justification for them. .Gill was targeted by an online campaign in 2020, where people were encouraged to file complaints about her tweets to the CPSO. Eight of the complaints were considered by the Inquiries, Complaints, and Reports Committee (ICRC) in 2021. .The ICRC dismissed five complaints, but issued three separate cautions be placed on her public record, despite them being related to two tweets. .The first tweet saw Gill say there is “absolutely no medical or scientific reason for this prolonged, harmful and illogical lockdown.” .The second tweet entailed her saying if people “have not yet figured out that we don't need a vaccine, you are not paying attention.”.There was no COVID-19 vaccine authorized worldwide when these tweets were issued. The second tweet pertained to a press conference where Canadian Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Theresa Tam said COVID-19 vaccines would not be a silver bullet for ending restrictions. .Despite Gill providing evidence to prove her points, the release said the ICRC found her statement did not align with information from public health. The committee said for her “to state otherwise is misinformed and misleading and furthermore an irresponsible statement to make on social media during a pandemic.”.The release said Gill looks forward to having the cautions reviewed by an HPARB panel to determine if the CPSO acted reasonably in issuing its cautions. .“To punish a doctor for raising alarm bells, and to stifle scientific debate, especially on novel measures being imposed on a massive scale, is a dangerous path to be on,” said Bildy. .Gill said she would be appealing her censures in November. .READ MORE: Ontario doc appealing COVID Twitter censure.The Ontario Superior Court of Justice rejected her free speech claim until a regulatory hearing was completed. .“After the hearing and a decision by the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, the unsuccessful party would be able to seek judicial review,” said Ontario Superior Court Justice Sandra Nishikawa.
