Toronto Public Health’s vice-chair responds to backlash over Sun column about COVID-19, says her only aim was to ‘promote discourse’
Toronto Public Health’s vice-chair responds to backlash over Sun column about COVID-19, says her only aim was to ‘promote discourse’
TORONTO — In the wake of an interview she gave to a daily newspaper two weeks ago, Toronto Public Health (TPH) vice-chair Lorraine Boffi was forced to defend her comments to Global News about COVID-19.
At a news conference for Monday’s daily briefing, Boffi — who at the time was one of three leaders at Toronto Public Health tasked with managing the response to the COVID-19 outbreak — said she believes the response she oversaw was “the right action to take.”
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“I don’t have any regrets,” Boffi said. “I think we did our best.”
But it’s not all good news. Global News published an editorial on Monday criticizing the response to COVID-19.
“The media isn’t helping,” the Global News editorial said, “as they cover the mayor of Toronto, who says that the public health approach is ‘not working,’ when in fact, it is.”
It urged members of the media to “be more rigorous in the way we cover the public health officials in this city.”
On Tuesday, TPH’s vice-chair said she would continue to defend the public health system she’s been responsible for overseeing, but said she would be leaving the mayor’s office, which was created after the COVID-19 pandemic, to run the TPS.
She said she was prepared to be a “voice of reason,” but now feels the public is better served if she stays within the system she oversees.
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On a conference call, TPS Toronto issued a news release on Monday evening that said Boffi had “stepped down” from her role as vice
