Lord mayor dissents from colleagues supporting reopening of the region
Disero says medical experts, not politicians, should make health-related recommendations
When it comes to the politics of COVID-19 in Niagara, Betty Disero stands alone.
Late Wednesday evening, in an open letter organized by St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, Niagara’s mayors supported moving the region’s economy into a less-restrictive phase of reopening.
Without referring to the fact medical experts across the province, including Niagara acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji, are not recommending such a move, the letter thanks local residents for having “really stepped up to contain COVID-19.”
The letter was signed by every Niagara mayor save for one — Disero, lord mayor of Niagara-on-the-lake.
Disero, saying medical experts, not politicians, should guide health-related decisions in a pandemic, dissented from the view of her colleagues.
“It is not that I am opposed to any reopening. That is not the case,” said Disero in a Thursday interview. “But I am not a medical expert and I don’t think as a mayor I am qualified to make that kind of recommendation. So I was asked to sign, but I declined.
“In a public health crisis, I think those are decisions and recommendations the medical experts should be able to make unfettered.”
Sendzik’s letter comes amid rising expectation that Niagara will be moved from the grey lockdown zone
into the less restrictive, red control zone that will allow more businesses to open in a limited fashion — both by provincial regulations and orders issued by Hirji.
Although Hirji is not recommending a move to red and echoes the warnings of most of Ontario’s medical and public health community, Hirji said his expectation is the provincial government will announce the move to red Friday afternoon.
Hirji has pointed out the colour-coded system failed to stop the second COVID-19 wave — which in Niagara claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
Hirji said there is no evidence to suggest the system will be any more successful in preventing a third wave that would bring another round of intense pressure on the health-care system plus deaths and lockdowns.
He has repeatedly pointed to the U.K. experience of reopening too soon. The country reopened as it emerged from its second wave.
But, within three weeks, the spread of viral variants got out of control and lockdown was reimposed.
Medical experts — including the Ontario Medical Association, the Registered Nurses’ Association, the Ontario Hospital Association and Public Health Ontario — have all cautioned against moving ahead with reopening too quickly because of the spread of the more infectious variants in the province.
These organizations, which include the association of local public health units, have argued Ontario should push the infection rates down further and get more vaccines into more arms before reopening.
The Wednesday night letter does not ignore the variants and said “we must all keep focused on containing the virus — including any new variants.”
Disero said she could not sign the letter because politicians should defer to expert health advice. “Now, if you ask me to advocate for something political, I will. If you ask me to push the federal and provincial governments for more financial supports for our businesses, then yes. If you ask me to push for more vaccines for Niagara, then yes, I will rush to grab my pen,” Disero said. “But not when it comes to expert medical advice.”
Region chair Jim Bradley — who normally sends out joint statements from the mayors — said he was not asked to sign it and would not have if asked.
He also said as a member of the public health committee, it would be inappropriate for him to sign a letter that ran contrary to the advice of Hirji, who is a Region employee.
“Just as the mayors would be cautious about publicly rejecting the advice of their staff, I would not want to do that as a member of the regional health board,” Bradley said.
The chair said there is tension between the advice of medical experts, who are focused on keeping the community safe, and mayors who are being pressured by businesses that have suffered under pandemic lockdowns.
“The mayors are the ones who receive those phone calls and emails more than anyone else,” said Bradley.
That said, Bradley noted that countries with better success in containing COVID-19 than Canada have been more aggressive with their lockdowns, which in turn allowed for a greater reopening of their economies.
A third lockdown, Bradley said, risks more “damage to the economy and to mental health,” than has been wrought by the previous two shutdowns.