Theresa Tam to step down as chief public health officer

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, will be stepping down from her role after eight years of service and controversial oversight of federal COVID-19 pandemic policies.

Source: X

Author: Noah Jarvis

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, will be stepping down from her role after eight years of service and controversial oversight of federal COVID-19 pandemic policies.

Tam became a household name and a controversial figure during the pandemic, where she featured in dozens of public news conferences to update the public on the pandemic on a regular basis.

Tam was at the forefront of the federal government’s messaging during the pandemic and was a central authority figure in making policy recommendations to the government to mitigate the pandemic’s effects.

“I’ve been in this role for over eight years now, so I think it has been an absolute privilege and honour. I never thought at the start of my career that I would end up here,” said Tam in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

“Looking back, I put every ounce of my energy into this job. But I think it’s a purposeful job. It’s serving the public.”

During the pandemic, Tam made a number of controversial public statements and recommended that the government take a top-down, domineering approach to controlling the pandemic with social distancing requirements, mask mandates, and vaccine passports.

At the beginning of Canada’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tam advised Canadians that wearing a mask in public was not necessary for healthy individuals, even warning the masks could lead to a further spreading of the virus.

However, masks would become a central component to the government’s response to the pandemic, mandating the use of masks in every part of the country. So much so that in September 2020, Tam advised Canadians to wear masks while having sex and for couples to avoid kissing.

Tam was a leading voice behind the government’s restrictions on international, enforcing mandatory testing and aggressive quarantine requirements. The requirements resulted in dozens of travellers being hit with fines over a thousand dollars.

Tam was also a champion of recommending and encouraging compliance with the government’s vaccine passport system despite acknowledging that there was no evidence that vaccine passports would work in mitigating the spread of Covid-19.

In her interview with The Globe and Mail, Tam stated that dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was the most challenging and tiring part of her role.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, obviously, was a once-in-a-century event that was extremely impactful not just to Canada, but to everyone in the world. I think that was challenging for a number of reasons, but one of the key aspects of it was that it lasted a long time,” Tam said.

When asked if there was an erosion of trust during the pandemic, Tam attributed declining trust in public health institutions to the influence of social media.

“Those who get health information from social media are at higher risk of being exposed to misinformation and disinformation, which can have a negative health impact. I always want to look at our strengths, which is that the majority of people in Canada still trust public health professionals, and we need to build on that,” Tam said.

During her time as chief public health officer, Tam frequently referred to pregnant women or mothers as “pregnant people” or “breastfeeding people” in an attempt to use progressive and gender-neutral language.

In June 2022, former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet approved a large pay increase for Tam, boosting her annual salary to $324,000.

Tam leaves the role as Canada’s top health official on June 20 having presided over a marked decline in public trust in health institutions.