Regulator dismisses gun lobby’s complaints against surgeon

College won’t probe over 70 critiques of doctor who was on call for Danforth shooting

Ontario’s physicians’ regulator has dismissed dozens of complaints against a Toronto trauma surgeon who had been targeted by a Canadian gun lobby group for her advocacy on gun control.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) had received more than 70 complaints against Dr. Najma Ahmed, the co-chair of an advocacy group called Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns, a spokesperson confirmed last week.

The complaints stemmed from a campaign led by the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR), which posted a step-by-step guide encouraging members to file complaints against Ahmed on its website in February.

“I hate to say it, but stay in your lane, Doctor,” the post reads.

Ahmed, who was on call at St. Michael’s Hospital following the Danforth mass shooting, confirmed to the Star Tuesday she’s received a letter from the college informing her it will not investigate the complaints and no further action will be taken.

Both parties have 30 days to make written submissions as an appeal.

“I respect the CPSO and the CPSO process,” Ahmed told the Star in an email.

“Physician advocacy remains an important function that doctors fulfil on behalf of the public.”

Rod M. Giltaca, the CEO and executive director of the CCFR said in an email that filing complaints through the college was a “reasonable course of action.”

“Our reading of the CPSO determination shows that the complaints were not dismissed as without foundation, only that they have decided that their organization is ‘not the forum for this issue,’ ” he said, adding it is up to the people who made the individual complaints to decide whether to appeal.

The gun lobby group last month posted a “call to action” urging its members to flood the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario with complaints against Ahmed, even if they have never been her patient.

The post provides a detailed guide on how to do this, complete with a link to the complaint form.

The college has a mandate to focus on complaints about clinical care or professional behaviour, said CPSO registrar and CEO Dr. Nancy Whitmore in a statement last week.

Spokesperson Shae Greenfield said he can’t comment on the case during the appeals period.

He confirmed the college’s standard process for dealing with complaints deemed to be frivolous, vexatious, made in bad faith, moot or an abuse of process is to inform both parties in writing that no further action is being taken.

Ahmed told the Star last week her gun control advocacy is informed by a career treating gunshot victims, saying that in many cases she has seen, “harm, injury and death could have been avoided with stricter legislation governing civilian access to guns.”

She said she sees her role is to inform policy-makers. Physicians, she said, “have had a long tradition of advocating for the public good,” on things like sanitary water conditions, nicotine, and vaccinations.

Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns was formed in February to argue that guns are a public health issue and to push for the passage of Bill C-71, a bill to reform Canada’s gun laws.

In an emailed statement to the Star, the organization said it approved the CPSO’s decision.

“Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns is very pleased to announce that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has decided not to pursue the more than 70 complaints made against Dr. Najma Ahmed related to her advocacy on the public health impacts of guns,” said a spokesperson.

Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns was formed in February to argue that guns are a public health issue.