Crisis forces Alberta public health leader out from shadows, even if he doubts 'urgency'

It took 10 months for the Danielle Smith government's replacement for Dr. Deena Hinshaw to speak publicly for the first time. Nearly a year on the job, and nine days into an E. coli outbreak that's sickened dozens of daycare-going children.

Tuesday was chief medical officer of health Dr. Mark Joffe's crisis-time debut, and what moment might Albertans remember from it? How the public health leader said there was no urgency to talk to them up to this point — not the sort of line you'll find in the crisis communications textbook.

This isn't the COVID public health emergency, and for so many reasons Joffe isn't Hinshaw, fired by Smith shortly after she became premier. But Albertans had come to expect a certain level of timeliness, thorough information-sharing and trust-building when it came time for public health leadership.

It's hard to make arguments that the public appetite for answers and context was satisfied in this first effort. 

Joffe and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange had spent a week leaving all communications to those at Alberta Health Services closer to the front lines of the rapidly growing emergency. The outbreak at several daycares which share a common kitchen has infected 264 people (mostly children), hospitalized more than two dozen and required six to go on dialysis, the treatment for kidney failure.

Finally taking to a news conference podium Tuesday, Joffe insisted he'd been engaged up until now getting daily updates from AHS, and had new information to share — a kitchen safety inspection report that found several critical violations, including cockroaches and improper sanitizing.

"At this point we felt it was prudent and appropriate for us to appear here and to speak to Albertans and to answer your questions," said the new CMOH (if he still counts as new after 10 quiet months).

"But we didn't feel there was urgency to do that up until this point."

LaGrange quickly took Joffe's place at the microphone after he said this. 

"Extremely serious case, I'm a mother myself, grandmother," she said. "Anyone who's had to sit at the bedside of a really sick child knows how devastating this is."

Then, she attempted to further blot out Joffe's words.

"I believe what Dr. Joffe meant was that it was urgent from the very very beginning, and it continues to be urgent until every single one of those children are home and safe with their families and progressing well."

Hours later, Alberta Health communicators sent reporters a clarification statement in Joffe's name: "The issue has been addressed with urgency from the very start. As the chief medical officer of health, my priority has been on the health and well-being of the children impacted, and the progress of the investigation."

The clarification concluded: "The priority was first and foremost getting people looked after and then to provide the public with a fulsome update on the situation."