TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has dropped its disciplinary pursuit against an Ontario doctor for questioning the COVID narrative on social media.
On January 30, the CPSO withdrew all allegations of “disgraceful, dishonorable or unprofessional” behavior against Dr. Jean Marc Benoit over his COVID-19 posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I respect that the CPSO must respond to concerns about physicians’ behavior, especially in a clinical setting,” Benoit said in a press release issued by pro-freedom legal organization The Democracy Fund (TDF).
“During COVID, they went further by curtailing criticism of public health measures, perhaps to contain panic,” he explained. “This approach may have had unintended effects on public trust.”
“I hope that the College finds a smoother approach in the future – one that also respects individual physicians’ rights and responsibilities to advocate for the health of patients and fellow citizens, particularly under emergency situations where the facts and implications are not fully known and should not be assumed,” Benoit added.
Benoit, a family and emergency physician, is well respected in his field, having been given leadership roles including appointments as Acting Chief of Staff and President of the Medical Staff Association at Brantford General Hospital.
He also had an unblemished discipline record prior to the spring of 2021 when he was investigated by the CPSO following complaints by two other physicians who refused to reveal their identity to him.
During the so-called pandemic, Benoit began researching the COVID situation, refusing to blindly follow the mainstream narrative. He used his X account to warn Canadians of his discoveries, including the inadequate data regarding the COVID virus, the dangers of lockdowns, and vaccine injures.
According to TDF, Benoit’s posts were “critical of the public health response and its adverse impacts on patients and the general public,” which was in opposition to the CPSO mandate that physicians “align their opinions with governments’ public health policies.”
Therefore, in its Notice of Hearing, the CPSO alleged that Benoit had made “misleading, incorrect or inflammatory statements about vaccinations, treatments and public health measures for COVID-19.”
While Benoit had initially been assigned a 5-day hearing, the situation was resolved in just one as Benoit pleaded “no contest” to failing to respond to a CPSO communication. As a result, he received a reprimand, and the CPSO formally withdrew the remaining charges.
“While many physicians had concerns about novel and potentially harmful public health measures, few were willing to risk the severe financial and professional consequences of speaking up, which led to an illusion of consensus,” Benoit’s lawyer Lisa Bildly said.
“Some, like Dr. Benoit and Dr. Gill, continued their public advocacy in spite of the risk,” she added. “Thanks to TDF, they were able to present an appropriate defence of their positions with their regulator, which resulted in the withdrawal of some or all of the allegations against them.”
Benoit is hardly the first doctor targeted by the CPSO for exposing the truth of the COVID “pandemic.'”
Just last week, the CPSO ruled to revoke Dr. Mark Trozzi’s medical license as he refuses to stop speaking against the dangers of COVID vaccines and the corruption of the medical system.
The CPSO has cracked down on numerous physicians who have failed to comply with standard protocol during the COVID outbreak, so much so that Dr. Robert Malone recently spoke out against what he described as the “re-education” of dissident Canadian doctors.
The CPSO has thus far initiated legal action against Trozzi and at least five other doctors who are committed to their Hippocratic Oath responsibilities related to COVID: Mary O’Connor, Rochangé Kilian, Celeste Jean Thirlwell, Patrick Phillips, and Crystal Luchkiw.