Doctor who gave anti-vaccine speech in front of effigies of officials being hanged faces discipline hearing

A doctor who spread false rumours about vaccines causing stillbirths at a Vancouver-area hospital and made other misleading claims about COVID-19 while standing in front of effigies portraying B.C. politicians being hanged will face a disciplinary hearing with his regulatory college.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. posted a notice on Thursday announcing that a citation has been issued alleging misconduct by family physician Dr. Daniel Nagase.

Nagase, who has resigned his licence to practise in B.C., is accused of violating professional standards by "making public addresses regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues that included his making misleading, incorrect, or inflammatory statements about vaccinations, treatments and measures for COVID-19," the public notice says.

That includes falsely stating, in public, that the vaccines are dangerous, publicly suggesting that the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin is a safe and effective treatment for the virus, and "making at least some of these public statements while appearing in front of effigies of political figures who were [hanged] from nooses."

The latter incident was caught on camera on Dec. 9, 2021, when Nagase spoke outside the B.C. Legislature while dummies labelled as Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth were raised behind him, with ropes tied around their necks.

During that speech, he falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are "the most dangerous injection in the history of vaccination."

Dr. Charles Hoffe of Lytton, B.C., also spoke at the event, and is set to face his own disciplinary hearing with the college.

Just a couple of weeks before that speech, Nagase was filmed participating in an anti-vaccine protest outside the North Vancouver RCMP detachment.

He was shown repeating disinformation suggesting there were more than a dozen stillbirths in 24 hours at Lions Gate Hospital among mothers who had received the COVID-19 vaccine.

That lie spread so widely that hospital operator Vancouver Coastal Health was forced to issue a statement making it clear that there was no truth to the rumours.

The health authority also clarified that Nagase has no connection to Lions Gate, and no hospital privileges anywhere in the region.

Doctor also faced discipline in Alberta

Nagase's claims about COVID-19 previously attracted attention in Alberta, where he has spent recent years working in rural hospitals.

Last fall, Alberta Health Services issued a warning about Nagase's public claims of using ivermectin to cure COVID-19 in elderly patients, stating that neither the veterinary nor human versions of the drug have been proven safe or effective treatments for the virus.

Nagase's medical licence has been cancelled in Alberta for non-renewal and non-payment of fees, and there's a notice next to his name in the College of Physicians of Alberta registry saying he's forbidden from writing mask or vaccine exemption letters, prescribing ivermectin or from treating any COVID-19 patients.

Nagase is the third doctor that the B.C. college has publicly acknowledged investigating for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. Though disciplinary hearings have been announced for both Nagase and Hoffe, dates have yet to be scheduled for those proceedings.

Dr. Stephen Malthouse of Denman Island remains under investigation, but the college announced in March that it was suspending his licence to protect the public while that process is underway.