My Background

Pseudoscience was never a topic I thought I would pursue. I assumed that issues relating to pseudoscientific beliefs afflicted a minority of people and that the natural course of human development and scientific discovery would see these beliefs run their course. As I write this in the midst of a pandemic (COVID-19), we can see distrust and disbelief in science all around us; from anti-maskers to anti-vaxxers, prominent belief systems exist that do not help people make effective, science-based decisions to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.

My activism began after encountering a local chiropractor promoting services to treat and prevent cancer. I knew very little about the profession at the time, but I knew enough to recognize that these services were effectively a scam. As I pursued this issue, I came to shocking revelations about the state of regulated health professionals in Canada. Across the country, all professions are independently self-regulating in each province and virtually none of them have any scientific standards or requirements. As science is the foundation for determining which therapies and diagnostics actually work, this meant there was nothing protecting Canadians from false claims relating to services offered by regulated health professionals. Even worse, some professions harbored endemic pseudoscientific beliefs, which resulted in regulatory colleges acting to protect those beliefs and practices rather than fulfilling their mandate to protect the public.

As an activist, I hope to bring sound scientific standards to Canada’s regulators of health professionals and health products. I do not wish to restrict anyone’s access to their preferred treatment or therapy; rather, I simply want to ensure that those selling a service cannot lie or make false claims to their patients.

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Presentations, Events, Interviews, and Appearances