Alberta lawyer accuses Hinshaw of ‘controlling the narrative’ around COVID-19

Dr. Deena Hinshaw of “controlling the narrative” around COVID-19 in court on Tuesday.Hinshaw took the stand at a civil trial on Monday, maintaining that public health restrictions were necessary to protect the province’s health-care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.Several churches and individuals in Alberta filed a constitutional challenge against the province in December 2020, accusing the government of violating Albertans’ rights by imposing public health orders and restrictions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The applicants claim the restrictions were unlawful and violated the province’s bill of rights and Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Alberta’s top doctor takes stand during civil trial regarding response to COVID-19 Grey, who represents the plaintiffs, asked why Hinshaw only referred people to the Alberta Health Services website — along with academic websites and other government websites — for information about COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic when there were other sources available.He then asked if she tried to “win over” people who were not “buying into the government narrative” around COVID-19 at the time.“That was the goal of government: to shape people’s attitudes and behaviour and to control their behaviour so that they would comply with whatever the government is telling them to do… That’s what we’re talking about,” Grey said during cross-examination on Tuesday.In response, Hinshaw said she was afraid of the availability of accurate and reliable information about COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic.She referenced the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic and said she encouraged Albertans to seek out peer-reviewed research and government.