Zoom Roundtable Quick Cuts - (Dr. Francis Christian)

January 29, 2022

On the evening of January 10, 2022, Unified Grassroots hosted a live Zoom presentation which was attended by several anonymous MLA’s and MP’s from Saskatchewan as well as other provinces.

This presentation consisted of extensive data and information intended to provide potential alternative strategies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenter included in this second cut of the presentation features Dr. Francis Christian.  We’ve cut the presentation into several parts to make it shorter and will be presenting the third and final one at a future date.

I would first like to take a moment to acknowledge that while I and the board personally invited this speaker, and have respect for his work, his views and interpretations of the data shown in this video, they do not necessarily represent the views of Unified Grassroots as an organization or all it’s members. 

I would also like to state the purpose of Unified Grassroots, for those who do not know about us:

We are a group of approximately 16,000 thousand Saskatchewan citizens dedicated to standing together united as Saskatchewan citizens – both vaccinated and unvaccinated – against all forms of discrimination and division, in particular COVID-19 vaccine mandates and coercion. We seek to find a way through this pandemic that considers the health and safety of citizens, as well as the overall health of our society, and return to what makes Saskatchewan great – our kindness and compassion for others. 

I want to further acknowledge that Unified Grassroots believes in bringing forth ideas to their elected officials in a peaceful manner, and instead of simply complaining or being negative, it is better to offer tangible solutions. 

With this in mind, I recognize that some of the views and/or perceptions of the views of these speakers may be different than what people are used to hearing from the media and public health officials province and nation-wide. This is especially true when they are addressing our vaccination strategy, as well as restrictions and lockdowns. Some of these facts may startle some viewers, and I humbly ask that you take careful time to listen to the evidence presented before making any assertions on the content. 

I also want to note that Unified Grassroots represents over 700 Saskatchewan healthcare workers including over 250 nurses and 25 physicians. One theme that these supporters continually bring up is the importance of the freedom to freely discuss the science behind various policies, and to have open and respectful dialogue - even when medical professionals or other citizens disagree on a path forward. 

We truly believe that conversations like the one held on the evening of Jan. 10th are vital in order for Saskatchewan people, and those elsewhere in Canada and the world, to find the best way forward, both through and beyond COVID-19. 

We do not believe that the current patterns of media and government censorship are beneficial to anyone, whether it be government officials, citizens, or the health care workers trying to do what is best for their patients. Thus, Unified Grassroots continues and will continue to provide as many opportunities as possible for the voices of experts in this area to speak, even if we don’t agree with everything they say. 

Lastly, there have been many disparaging articles written about this group in the mainstream media lately, and I feel it is important to address a few points emphatically as we know many more will come:

1. We are not anti-vaccine. Our members truly do come from all backgrounds, both vaccinated and unvaccinated. We respect your right to choose.

2. We respect our leaders and want what is best for them moving forward, as well as what is best for our citizens. We denounce aggressive methods to get our point across and promise to always try to speak with humility and grace, as we would want to be treated in that way. 

3. We seek not to destroy but to build up – by volunteering of our time and energy to unifying causes, as well as coming up with ideas that we feel best serve the province. 

4. We aim to be a light shining in the darkness. Although not perfect we will strive everyday to be a light.

Please feel free to join us while we strive for unity in this great and beautiful province!

Sincerely, 

Nadine Ness

President of Unified Grassroots

*Presenter Biographies:

1. Dr. Francis Christian, FRCSEd, FRCSC is a surgeon and a poet.  As Professor of Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan, he started and directed the Department of Surgery’s Quality and Patient Safety program and started and implemented the National Surgical Quality Improvement program for Saskatoon. The M&M surgical application that he developed is now being used across the province. He has practiced surgery for more than 20 years and has published in peer-reviewed journals and has given several invited lectures. He is the lead author of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons’ position paper on Professionalism.  Dr. Christian was co-founder and director of the Surgical Humanities Program and Editor of the Journal of the Surgical Humanities.

Dr. Christian’s book of poems, “To a Nurse Friend Weeping” was released to the world by Harp Press in the spring of 2021.

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