OTTAWA -- The top health officials co-ordinating Canada鈥檚 COVID-19 response say the majority of public reaction to their work has been positive -- but they鈥檝e also received some abusive feedback that ranges from 鈥渨ell-thought-out insults鈥� to 鈥渄eath threats.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e got a lot of positive responses, but there are many people who don鈥檛 like what I do, or don鈥檛 like the way I say it or don鈥檛 like my shoes and feel quite able to send me nasty notes, to leave phone calls, to harass my office staff,鈥� said Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia鈥檚 top doctor, speaking Tuesday.
鈥淚鈥檝e had to have security in my house, I鈥檝e had death threats,鈥� she added.
Her comment made headlines after she revealed the -- and it prompted reporters to quiz other health officials about how they鈥檝e been treated by the public.
While the other public health officers did not report death threats, they said they had been on the receiving end of some abuse.
Dr. Heather Morrison, who serves as the top doctor in P.E.I., said she鈥檚 received a small amount of feedback that鈥檚 been frightening.
鈥淥verwhelmingly, it鈥檚 been so wonderful,鈥� Morrison told CTV News in an interview.
However, she conceded that 鈥渢here have been threats, at times.鈥�
鈥淚t makes me concerned for my family, and my children, and my staff,鈥� Morrison said.
While some doctors, such as Henry and Morrison, reported outright threats, others said that while they hadn鈥檛 faced any threats, there had been a heaping of criticism levelled towards them.
鈥淒r. Hinshaw has received a wide range of correspondence from Albertans,鈥� said a spokesperson for Alberta鈥檚 Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
鈥淲hile this includes strong personal and professional criticisms, she has not received death threats or hate mail to date.鈥�
Newfoundland and Labrador鈥檚 top doctor, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, said in her Wednesday press conference that it鈥檚 鈥渦nfortunate鈥� people feel public servants 鈥渄eserve to be the target of such harassment.鈥�
鈥淚n the Public Health Division we've had our share of emails that aren't necessarily in agreement with some of the things that we have done, but you know, we have to accept that as part of the job I guess,鈥� she added.
Toronto鈥檚 medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said in her own Wednesday press conference that she has also been on the receiving end of insults -- but no threats.
鈥淚 haven't had any threats. I've had some very-well-thought-out insults sent my way, but for the most part, no, no threats,鈥� she said.
RESEARCH POINTS TO WOMEN FACING MORE CRITICISM ONLINE
At least one study indicates that the numbers reflect what these doctors are describing 鈥� and may point to a gender divide in the negative feedback they face.
Erin Kelly is the CEO of Advanced Symbolics Inc., which uses Artificial Intelligence for human behaviour research. She studied the feedback these public health officer face using a randomized, controlled sample of 270,000 Canadians taken from Twitter.
Kelly said the randomized, controlled sample she studied was taken from Twitter between October 1, 2019 to September 22, 2020. She said her results had a margin of error of +/- 1 per cent, with a 95-per-cent confidence interval 19 times out of 20.
She said they found, overall, discussion about Canada鈥檚 Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Bonnie Henry was 鈥渨ell in excess of 80 per cent positive, so overall Canadians feel they鈥檙e doing a good job.鈥�
鈥淗owever, we have seen for some of them like Bonnie Henry, feelings about her have been on the decline since about April, and especially since July, that contestations questioning her competence have been increasing,鈥� Kelly said.
She added that roughly a quarter of the discussions about Tam were what she would 鈥渃lassify as racist.鈥�
鈥淏ut the bigger picture that we see is a gender bias in how public health officials are being perceived,鈥� Kelley said.
She explained that where there are negative comments directed at public health officials, 鈥渋t comes overwhelmingly from men.鈥�
She said that when this was compared to the comments Ontario鈥檚 Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams faces, 鈥渢he comments from men were overwhelmingly positive.鈥�
鈥淪o it鈥檚 not as though they鈥檙e always negative about public health officials generally, it seems to be splitting along gender lines,鈥� Kelly said.
When asked about this gender difference, Alberta鈥檚 top doctor said it would be 鈥渄ifficult鈥� to compare what she鈥檚 experienced with the feelings among her colleagues.
鈥淚t's not something I've discussed with my male colleagues across the country so that might be something of interest to find out if they're experiencing some similar frustrations,鈥� Hinshaw said.
鈥淚 think it is quite understandable that people do feel angry, it's just really important that, if people are feeling angry, that they frame their concerns in a respectful way鈥hether people in leadership are women or men.鈥�
