Dr. Jennifer Russell to answer questions about COVID-19 pandemic response

New Brunswick's outgoing chief medical officer of health will publicly answer questions next month about her role in the province's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Jennifer Russell is scheduled to appear before the legislature's standing committee on public accounts on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m.

Two hours have been set aside.

Russell, who became the face of the province's COVID response, providing daily televised briefings, confirmed last week that she has resigned and is seeking the position of president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association. Her last day on the job is Dec. 8.

A recent report by Auditor General Paul Martin found the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health was at the bottom of New Brunswick's COVID-19 pandemic decision-making hierarchy.

Meanwhile, third from the top — after cabinet and the cabinet committee on COVID-19 — was a group that several MLAs said they knew nothing about. The "COVID Core" kept no records, Martin found.

The legislative committee said it was unsatisfied with the answers it received from senior Executive Council Office officials about Martin's report and voted unanimously last month to "seek further clarification directly from [Russell] on her role in the decision-making process." Public notice of the date of her appearance was issued Friday.

Recruitment for successor to begin 'soon'

The Department of Health will begin recruiting for a new chief medical officer of health "soon," said spokesperson Sean Hatchard.

"If no successor is in place at the time of [Russell's] departure, the Department of Health will seek an acting appointment to cover the position until a replacement is found," he said in an emailed statement.

The position of the deputy chief medical officer of health still hasn't been filled after nearly two years, Hatchard confirmed.

In fact, the recruitment process hasn't even started yet.

"The recruitment process to fill the deputy chief medical officer of health position will begin once the chief medical officer of health position has been finalized," he said. Hatchard declined to explain the delay and didn't say why the two searches can't be done simultaneously.

Dr. Yves Léger has served as the acting deputy chief medical officer of health since Dr. Cristin Muecke left in January 2022 to join Nova Scotia's Department of Health as a regional medical officer of health.

Muecke's departure came just months after she, when speaking at a COVID briefing in August 2021 in the absence of Russell, strongly urged indoor mask use, given a "surge" in COVID-19 cases since the province had moved to the green phase.

Premier Blaine Higgs undercut Muecke's warning the following day, during an interview with CBC's Information Morning Fredericton. "If you feel better wearing a mask, certainly do that," he said. "There's no harm in that."

Russell offered similar advice at a Sept. 1 COVID briefing. "The choice is yours whether you choose to continue to wear a mask in indoor public spaces."

By Sept. 20, 2021, masks were ruled mandatory in all indoor public spaces again "to keep our people healthy and to protect our health-care system," Russell said.

Muecke had worked for the Department of Health for roughly 17 years.

Total of 4 regional medical officers

There are currently no other vacant medical officer of health positions, Hatchard said.

Pressed for more details about Public Health staffing, he said the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health includes the chief medical officer of health, deputy chief medical officer of health and four regional medical officers of health.

He did not respond to questions about how the organizational structure has changed in recent years or what, if any, positions have been eliminated.

Next CMA president will be a New Brunswicker

Russell is one of two candidates for president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association, confirmed association spokesperson Eric Lewis.

The other candidate is Dr. Margot Burnell, Horizon Health Network's chief of staff for the Saint John region, a medical oncologist for more than three decades and an associate professor of medicine at Dalhousie University.

The 2025-26 president must be a New Brunswicker, as the presidency rotates alphabetically between the provinces and territories, Lewis said.

Members of the New Brunswick Medical Society will vote between Nov. 22 and Dec. 6. The results will be announced on Dec. 8, and will be ratified by the Canadian Medical Association's general council at the annual general meeting in May 2024, he said.