EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seems to have made good on a promise this week by firing the province’s pro-lockdown and pro-mandate Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
In a statement Monday, the Alberta government said Dr. Mark Joffe will take Hinshaw’s place in the interim. Joffe serves as the vice president and medical director for Cancer Care Alberta, Clinical Support Services, and Provincial Clinical Excellence for Alberta Health Services (AHS).
“Dr. Joffe’s interim appointment takes effect Nov. 14 and will continue until the minister of health rescinds the appointment. He will continue in his current contract with AHS, with no additional compensation for the chief medical officer of health role,” said the government.
The government noted that Joffe is an experienced health-care leader with a “lifelong passion and interest in the prevention of infectious diseases.”
While Smith has fulfilled her promise to axe Hinshaw, many have raised concerns that Joffe has been selected as her replacement, even temporarily, considering his history of supporting much of Hinshaw’s actions.
For example, during the COVID-19 so-called pandemic, Joffe was an ardent supporter of the experimental vaccines and went along with, and played a significant role in, the province’s response to the virus.
Joffe notably signed his name to a statement last year condemning the use of ivermectin as an effective treatment for COVID. He also made strong statements in favor of the still experimental COVID injections, saying, “Go & get that third booster dose of vaccine as soon as you’re eligible.”
“If you’re an Albertan who is not yet vaccinated, you should run, not walk, to get vaccinated,” he said at the time.
It is unclear how long Joffe will serve in the role as chief medical officer, but Smith has noted previously that she is consulting with her team on revamping AHS from top to bottom.
While Joffe’s appointment does not seem to be a stark departure from Hinshaw, Smith has seemingly made fighting back against the mainstream political COVID narrative a top priority.
She recently made good on a promise to offer legal protections to those who choose not to get the COVID jabs, ordering her province’s minister of justice to draft a law prohibiting “discrimination” based solely on one’s injection status. Smith also banned any future mask mandates from returning to the province’s schools.
A few months ago, it was shown that Hinshaw, who is still being challenged in court due to her role in enacting draconian COVID rules in Alberta, received a large pay bonus in 2021.
Hinshaw, who earned $363,624 per year, was given a whopping $227,911 “cash” bonus last year. Alberta Deputy Medical Officer Jing Hu was also given a large bonus totaling $142,534.
In total, more than $2.4 million in bonuses were paid out to healthcare managers and government bureaucrats in 2021, at the same time many private citizens were struggling financially as a direct result of government-mandated lockdowns.
“‘We’re all in this together’ didn’t mean what we thought it did…Albertans are rightly stunned & outraged they gave Dr. Hinshaw @CMOH_Albertaa $228k Covid bonus,” Smith tweeted at the time.
“We’re all in this together” didn’t mean what we thought it did…
Albertans are rightly stunned & outraged they gave Dr. Hinshaw @CMOH_Alberta a $228k Covid bonus 💰(1/2) #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/hfLmiifGdq
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) August 1, 2022
While Hinshaw’s COVID policies were criticized frequently by Albertans, often considered her biggest blunder was when she was forced to apologize for incorrectly saying a 14-year-old boy died of COVID, when, in fact, he he died as a result of terminal stage four brain cancer.
This prompted the deceased boy’s sister to blast political leaders for using her young brother’s death for political gain.