Two and a half years after taking over as Alberta’s top doctor on an interim basis, Mark Joffe is no longer in his role.
“Dr. Joffe’s contract ended on April 14, and Alberta’s government has now begun the search for a permanent replacement for the chief medical officer of health,” said a statement Tuesday from the Ministry of Health’s office.
At the time of his hiring, the province said Joffe’s interim appointment that took effect Nov. 14, 2022 would continue until the minister of health rescinded the appointment. No end date was ever disclosed prior to Tuesday.
Joffe was appointed Alberta’s interim chief medical officer of health after the then-newly elected Premier Danielle Smith followed through on her pledge to remove his predecessor Dr. Deena Hinshaw from the position.
“Since November 2022, Dr. Mark Joffe has served Albertans as the interim chief medical officer of health with dedication and professionalism, providing public health expertise during a time of significant challenges and transitions,” the province said on Tuesday.
Unlike his predecessor, Joffe rarely appeared at health news conferences to address Albertans or responded to requests for interviews.
Now, the province is looking for another new temporary top doctor.
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“We anticipate announcing an interim chief medical officer of health imminently. In the meantime, we will continue to rely on the advice of the many public health experts and officials at Alberta Health, as well as zone medical officers of health at Alberta Health Services,” the province’s statement read.
The province said it would continue to “work closely with health partners to ensure continuity in public health leadership and responses.”
“We want to reassure Albertans that public health continues to be a top priority during this transition.”
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the announcement raises questions of competence.
“The fact that the province has not even named an interim or an acting chief medical officer of health means either they weren’t expecting Dr. Joffe to step away or that they just don’t know what they’re doing,” Nenshi told reporters.
“Even if you’re not in the middle of a major (measles) outbreak, you really should have some plans in place.
“That’s just basic management.”
Alberta reported three more cases of measles Tuesday, bringing the province’s total to 77 since the beginning of March.
One of the new cases, in Calgary, prompted AHS to issue an alert Tuesday about potential exposures in the city and in the nearby towns of Banff and Canmore.
The health authority warned that residents of the two towns may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease last week as the Calgary resident had visited both while infectious.
Calls from medical experts and the Opposition NDP had been mounting over recent weeks to have Joffe address the public on the measles outbreak, but LaGrange said last week that Joffe didn’t think the situation was dire enough to warrant such a step.
He published a written statement Friday encouraging Albertans to get vaccinated and warning that measles is a much more serious disease than common childhood illnesses.
Government data shows that the majority of cases reported so far have been in children under the age of 18, including 18 cases in those under five.
The same data says that as of April 5, at least eight people have been hospitalized.
Before being appointed as Alberta’s CMOH in 2022, Joffe served as vice-president and medical director of Cancer Care Alberta, clinical support services and provincial clinical excellence.
The Calgary native also worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton as well as at the Edmonton Sexually Transmitted Diseases Centre and the Edmonton Institution for Women.
— With files from Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
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