Respected professor concerned about informed consent

Dr. Francis Christian is a former Clinical Professor of General Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and a now retired surgeon in Saskatoon. He had been a surgeon for more than 20 years and began working in Saskatoon in 2007. He was appointed Director of the Surgical Humanities Program and Director of Quality and Patient Safety in 2018. He co-founded the Surgical Humanities Program, with a professional responsibility for patient safety. Dr. Christian was also the Editor of the Journal of The Surgical Humanities.  On June 17, 2021, Dr. Christian released a statement to the press and to over 200 doctors, which contained his concerns regarding the administration of Covid vaccines to children. In it he noted that he is pro-vaccine and that he did not represent any group, the SHA, or the U of S. “I speak to you directly as a physician, a surgeon, and a fellow human being,” he stated. Dr. Christian pointed out that the principle of informed consent was sacrosanct and noted that a patient should always be “fully aware of the risks of the medical intervention, the benefits of the intervention, and if any alternatives exist to the intervention.”  “This should apply particularly to a new vaccine that has never before been tried in humans… before the vaccine is rolled out to children, both children and parents must know the risks of m-RNA vaccines,” Dr. Christian stated. He further expressed concern that he had not come across “a single vaccinated child or parent who had, in his view, been adequately informed” about Covid vaccines for children.   Dr. Christian added there is a large, growing “network of ethical, moral physicians and scientists” who are urging caution in recommending vaccines for all children without informed consent. He said, physicians must “always put their patients and humanity first.” 

Dismissal and legal challenge

On June 23, 2021, the Justice Centre reported that Dr, Christian had been called into a meeting where he was suspended from all teaching responsibilities, and terminated from his position with the U of S as of September 2021. A recording of the meeting is available for the public to hear. The same day as that meeting, Dr. Christian was also terminated from his surgical position with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).   The Justice Centre filed a Statement of Claim on June 24, 2022, on behalf of Dr. Christian. He is challenging his suspension and termination, contending that the University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine (the College), and SHA breached his rights of expression and conscience protected under the Charter, and that the College also breached his right to academic freedom. 

Defamation claims and court proceedings

The lawsuit alleges that leading up to Dr. Christian’s suspension and termination, he was publicly defamed by the SHA, by its (then) president and CEO Scott Livingstone, and by the Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Preston Smith. This public defamation contributed towards Dr. Christian’s early retirement in 2022. Dr. Christian has also advanced a separate defamation claim against the SHA, Mr. Livingstone and Dean Smith, with which the Justice Centre has no involvement.   An application to the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench to amend the amended statement of claim has commenced. The Parties will then return to completing their affidavit of documents and will then proceed to questioning. 

Discontinuance of case

On April 14, 2025, Dr. Francis Christian and the defendants reached an agreement to discontinue the legal action without costs. As a result, the case is now closed and no further proceedings will take place.