I’ve interviewed Dr. Matt Strauss before. He is an ICU doctor, has journalism training, and is a very wise and widely read man. You may recall that he has been the MOH (Medical Officer of Health) for Haldimand-Norfolk in Ontario through a good chunk of the pandemic.
Matt’s “alt-right” views - crazy things like thinking kids should be in school, thinking that vaccine mandates and travel restrictions are unhelpful and unethical - have made him a target of the mainstream press. There was a concerted effort to have him removed.
After about 18 months in his position, Matt is stepping down. But rather than throw a party, Bruce Arthur (a sports-journalist-cum-COVID-commentator who has gone after Matt before) in the notoriously politically-biased Toronto Star couldn’t resist shooting some arrows at Matt on the way out the door. His piece was actually so egregious that he was forced to make corrections, and what you will now find has been toned down and corrected. The original article, before he was forced to edit it, is below.
In this podcast Matt talks about his decision to step down, his experience dealing with Mr. Arthur, and why he thinks his views were misrepresented.
You can read Matt describe this incident in his own piece in the National Post here.
(As an aside, thanks to Mr. Terry Kelly for providing us with our new intro and outro music. I’ve been a longtime fan and am very honoured that he gave us this.)
Matt Strauss moving on