Cape Breton doctor removed as head of emergency medicine for Eastern zone
Dr. Chris Milburn has been practising medicine for 22 years, over that time he hasn't shied away from controversy.
On a local radio show last week, Milburn questioned some decisions being made by the province.
"I'm not surprised Dr. Strang was angry, because my views were misrepresented to him," says Milburn, a Cape Breton physician.
Social media was abuzz with people targeting Milburn for his views on vaccinations, but the physician says his words were "taken out of context."
"What I'm for is science and what I'm for is personal choice," says Milburn. "Patient autonomy is one of the basic, ethical foundations of our modern health care system."
Milburn also questioned school closures, and whether some in leadership roles were – in his words – enjoying the limelight and "de facto rule over our province."
Some interpreted that comment as being directed at Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. Milburn says it wasn't, but when a reporter asked Strang about the Cape Breton doctor's comments, this was his response.
"I think he's had a strong response from the community in Cape Breton," said Strang. "My only other thing would say he's a trained emergency physician and I'm trained as a public health physician, I don't try to practice emergency medicine, and you shouldn't try to practice public health medicine."
Milburn says "that is symptomatic of the whole issue to me."
Via email late Wednesday afternoon, the Nova Scotia Health Authority said Milburn is not currently department head of emergency medicine for the Eastern zone.
"Where are we going to see that public health impact," says Milburn. "You're not going to see it sitting in an office in Halifax. You're going to see it in an emergency room in Cape Breton, or Canso, or Halifax."
Despite being removed from his leadership role, Milburn continues to work as a physician in the Cape Breton Area.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.