“Good luck with your treatments”: Professor associated with Temerty called out for social media post

 

Community members, MACC call for disciplinary action

On November 10, a social media post from Dr. David Carr — a professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at U of T and an emergency physician and clinical investigator at the University Health Network and Mackenzie Health Hospital — came under scrutiny from the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada (MACC). 

Since then, students and faculty members at U of T have raised concerns over access to healthcare as Palestinian advocates and the university’s ‘double standard’ in disciplining faculty members for social media conduct.

On November 9, Carr uploaded a post on X in response to Toronto Star Columnist Bruce Arthur’s post about the antisemitic and Islamophobic violence that occurred in Amsterdam on November 7. The violence followed a soccer game between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Netherlands’ Ajax FC. 

Tensions began when Israeli fans took down Palestinian flags while chanting anti-Arab slogans before the game. After the game, violence broke out between the Israeli fans and Palestine supporters. The incident was condemned internationally, with many including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling it an instance of “disgusting antisemitism.”

“Antisemitism is a cancer,” wrote Arthur on X in his now-deleted post, “but it feels like calling what happened in Amsterdam antisemitism is either expanding the definition into very uncomfortable places, or deliberate ignorance of who was involved and what they did.” 

In response to Arthur, Carr wrote, “Good luck with your treatments.” 

MACC brought attention to Carr’s response in a post on X, saying that “Dr. David Carr’s comment raises grave concerns about his professionalism, potential biases, and, most importantly, patient safety.”

MACC is a national organization that conducts research to address Islamophobia for Canadian Muslims, provides anti-Islamophobia training in healthcare, education, and public service sectors, and holds community events and services that address issues like mental health, gender-based violence, and cultural identity. 

It also pointed out the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s (CPSO) standards of maintaining professional conduct online. The CPSO regulates the practice of medicine in the province, and all Ontario physicians are required to be registered with the CPSO to practice medicine. 

According to the CPSO’s Advice to the Profession: Document on Social Media Use, which outlines best practices for physicians’ social media use, a physician’s personal social media posts may be considered unprofessional if there is a connection between the post and the physician’s profession.  (more...)

“Good luck with your treatments”: Professor associated with Temerty called out for social media post