Free Speech in Medicine Conference 2022
A belated roundup of a deeply meaningful event
Going All In or “What could possibly go wrong”?
After more than 2 years of feeling isolated, alone, censored, and shut down, we thought that organizing a weekend that would convene a group of interested, interesting, open-minded people - people who were interested in SCIENCE and not The Science™ - would be therapeutic.
Organizing the conference was a leap of faith for Julie and I. Although I had organized several small conferences and events in the past, this event involved renting a whole resort, securing internationally-renowned speakers, organizing AV equipment and internet links, and more. With a budget in the 10’s of thousands of dollars, we were taking a huge personal financial risk. But we are so glad we did, and so grateful to all who supported us and this event.
Speakers
We were very honoured and humbled that such an amazing lineup of speakers agreed to come.
Dr. Martha Fulford was a voice of reason from the beginning of the pandemic. An infectious disease expert based in Hamilton, Ontario whose practice has been focused in paediatrics, she spoke on the risks of COVID to kids (in sum, it’s low). She highlighted some of the science around vaccines, and discussed the impact of things like masks and school closures on the younger generation.
Dr. Matt Strauss, an ICU doctor and the “unlikely” medical officer of health for Haldimand-Norfolk in Ontario, spoke on the historical role of public health and the history of lockdowns in pandemics through the centuries. Matt is trained as a journalist, with a background in literature, and very well read in political science and philosophy. His talk wove together elements of political theory and moral philosophy into the history of the role of the medical officer of health.
Dr. Shawn Whatley is a practicing physician and polymath. He is a fellow of the MacDonald-Laurier institute, author of “When Politics Comes Before Patients” (a must-read for anyone interested in the future of healthcare in Canada!), and former president of the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Whatley spoke on the history of medicare in Canada. What were the fundamental flaws that led us to evolve a broken and dysfunctional healthcare system overwhelmed by bureaucrats and unresponsive to patient need? If anyone understands how we got here, and therefore how we might possibly extricate ourselves, it is Shawn. (check him out at shawnwhatley.com and stay tuned for a new book dropping soon)
Dr. Francis Christian delivered a poetic, moving, and profound speech on the importance of truth in society in general, and in medicine specifically. Dr. Christian is a recently retired surgeon, teacher, and published poet involved with the medical humanities. His speech gave us hope and encouragement to maintain our commitment to pursuing and promoting truth and beauty. His deep knowledge of history and philosophy allowed him to explain why this is essential both for our own lives but also the lives of those we touch. His speech literally brought many to tears (not me, I just got dust in my eye coincidentally).
Trish Wood was one of our star attractions. Trish has a long history as a journalist. Back in the day she was with CBC, but now is “indy” at TrishWoodPodcast.com and on Substack at trishwood.substack.com
Trish has been one of the best sources of independent, unbiased information since the beginning of the pandemic. Listening to her (awesome radio) voice was one of the important things that got me through some very dark times during the pandemic. When I thought the world - and everyone in it - was totally insane, Trish made me realize I was not alone. At the conference, Trish not only gave a wonderful talk about the dissolution of a critical and independent mainstream media, but also helped in many ways with the conference, including introducing speakers and advertising the conference on her podcast. We can’t thank Trish enough for all she has done to support Free Speech in Medicine. Both in general, and for us specifically.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb is the brains and muscle behind the new Do No Harm initiative. Although US-based, it has much relevance to our situation in Canada. Do No Harm recognizes that the push for equity is antithetical to meritocracy, fairness, colourblindness, and ultimately to the optimal practice of medicine and patient care. Although not able to attend in person, Dr. Goldfarb gave a great speech by Zoom, and answered the many questions that were posed to him. Please check out their work at the above link, and consider donating. They are not just jumping up and down and clenching their fists, they are (in many cases successfully) mounting legal challenges to fight back against racial discrimination in medicine. (As an aside, we are pleased to say that Dr. Roy Eappen, an endocrinologist who practices in Quebec, attended the conference and thus met Dr. Goldfarb by asking a question by Zoom. Subsequently, Roy has become part of the Do No Harm team.)
Bruce Pardy is one of the most prominent lawyers in Canada working to preserve individual liberties and the rule of law. He has done notable work through rightsprobe.org but also through many important talks and op-eds in many major publications, and through his teaching as a tenured professor of law at Queen’s University. Bruce uses his incisive analytical mind and his knowledge of the law, political history and philosophy to create a clear picture the importance of preserving free speech and individual liberties if we hope to maintain our functional, free western society. His talk went right to the heart of the matter of Free Speech in Medicine, asking the question of whether the philosophy in which the hippocratic oath is embedded (one of paternalism) actually sowed the seeds for the inevitable tyranny and bureaucracy currently strangling medicine. (As an aside, the video below is one of the best hours you will ever spend. Take the time to listen to Bruce discuss how the push for equity is at cross purposes to the push for TRUE justice.)
Finally, there was this guy you just might have heard of - Dr. Jay Bhattacharya - who spoke on Saturday afternoon. We were so pleased Jay came. What an amazing man. He came to our conference in Cape Breton, sandwiched in between teaching commitments at Stanford where he is a professor, being in at the centre of the Twitter Files debacle, testifying before Congress, and keeping up an exhausting schedule of media appearances, speeches, and travel. I will also note that Jay takes no speaker fees for any COVID work. Although it is absolutely standard that invited speakers are paid an honorarium for giving up what is often days of their time to prepare presentations and then to travel to and attend conferences, Jay explained to us that he has never taken a speaker’s fee to talk about COVID matters. He feels this would somehow change his relationship to the search for truth. Compare this to below. Who do you trust more?
Personal Connections after 2 years of forced Zooming
Zoom and virtual meetings are better than nothing. People like Jay, Trish, Bruce, and our other speakers are very impressive and inspiring virtually. But in person, they are far more awesome. For me, meeting them and the other speakers was like 10-year-old me getting to meet Guy Lafleur and the Montreal Canadiens. I was starstruck and humbled. After 2 years of COVID restrictions it was divine to experience hugs, unmasked smiles, discussions unfettered by audio lag, and all of the other magic that comes with real, old-fashioned face-to-face human contact. It was actually quite emotional at times for many of us who had felt ejected from society to be amongst a group of free thinkers - the “fringe minority with unacceptable views” - to finally feel heard and understood.
Our attendees were as impressive as our speakers. Several spoke on panels (Dr. York Hsaing, RN Sarah Choujounian, Dr. Aris Lavranos). Many in the crowd would have been wonderful speakers in their own right as content experts and standouts in their fields. There was ample Q&A time built into the conference schedule, and the questions and comments were of very high quality and added a lot to the weekend.
A Saturday evening social, with music by Terry Kelly (a childhood musical hero of mine!) rounded out the event. Lots of informal socializing and discussion was had at lunches, suppers, and evening get-togethers (at least one of which, I can testify, involved some down-home Cape Breton guitar strumming, and some alcoholic beverages).
Jordan Peterson has said that he can tell he is on his game when the crowd is silent and attentive as he talks. If that is the best test, then our speakers were all “on their game”. During every speech, one could hear a pin drop. The second the speaker was done, the crowd were engaged with each other in very lively discussion.
Financial Support
A big thanks to my older and wiser brother Doug Milburn and his business partner Steve Lilley, the founders and heads of Protocase (and it’s offshoot 45 Drives), a very successful tech startup in Sydney Nova Scotia. Protocase was a major sponsor of our event this year, and without them it would not have been possible. We so much appreciate Doug and Steve’s commitment to free speech, and their willingness to publicly support an event that, in the unsettling political climate that we currently find ourselves in, is considered very controversial.
Thank you, and come again!
We are so happy that so many of you (over 120) came to FSIM 2022. Stay tuned for Julie’s piece on this Substack, coming very soon, announcing details of the 2023 event which is back again at the end of October. Although 2022 would be hard to top, I think we just might manage it. We sincerely hope to see you there.
A lighthouse of truth in a dark and stormy fight. Thank you!
Hats off to all of you who took this on with such a successful outcome. I have no doubt good friendships were formed with like-minded critical-thinking folks.