Kashif Pirzada

Dr. Kashif Pirzada is an emergency doctor and entrepreneur in Ontario, Canada.

Pirzada graduated from the University of Toronto and was given the school’s Arbor Award in 2019.¹⁾

Pirzada is an “Elected Professional Member” of the the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for Electoral District 5, elected in December 2020.^{2) 3)}

Pirzada is associated with Conquer COVID-19, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that sold COVID-related merchandise including t-shirts and hats to raise money for personal protective equipment (PPE) “such as masks, gloves, and gowns, and other supplies that are essential in treating patients and minimizing the spread of the virus.”^{4) 5) 6)}

Pirzada is also a founder of the Critical Drugs Coalition (CDC), a group lobbying for wider access to (and increased funding for) certain pharmaceuticals.⁷⁾ Specifically, the group cites shortages in ketamine, fentanyl, midazolam, propofol and morphine - powerful sedative and painkiller drugs that the group alleges are “desperately needed in critical care settings in the fight against COVID-19”.

This is deeply disturbing on a number of levels. First of all, there is a staggering opioid crisis that the Government of Canada describes as “one of the most serious public health crises in Canada's recent history,” attributed in large part to contamination of the illicit drug supply with fentanyl.⁸⁾ As expected, mortality data from across the country “show a worrying increase in opioid-related harms and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.” This has been observed in Canada as well as the United States.⁹⁾

Additionally, healthcare staff in the United Kingdom have been accused of causing substantial excess deaths through overprescription of midazolam, potentially amounting to medical malpractice.¹⁰⁾ Legal action is underway in the wake of a growing number of whistleblowers and testimonies alleging intentional or negligent death by “misuse of sedatives”, primarily midazolam., The number of prescriptions for the drug doubled in April 2020 compared to the prior months, but its use in COVID-19 is suspect because of its effects; “Midazolam depresses respiration and it hastens death. It changes end-of-life care into euthanasia.”

Pirzada described building a startup called Curadiv.¹¹⁾

Pirzada is the CEO of EasyFit Inc., a “social fitness marketplace and platform for online exercise prescription.” For doctors, it describes itself as “a platform that allows them to prescribe and monitor evidence-based exercises to their patients using our intelligent exercise prescription algorithm, without resorting to opioids and other dangerous therapies.”¹²⁾ EasyFit is a business venture that would benefit from increased interest in at-home activity, which resulted from lockdown measures that closed gyms, for which Pirzada advocates.¹³⁾

Pirzada is Co-Chair of Masks4Canada, an organization that has lobbied Provincial and Federal governments to impose mandatory masking, testing, vaccination, travel restrictions and isolation.^{14) 15)} The group proposes exercising influence “under an order or regulation” or by withholding federal funds for noncompliant groups.¹⁶⁾ The scientific literature cited for their policies is outdated, flimsy and misleading.¹⁷⁾

Pirzada wrote a separate letter to York Region Councillors to lobby for these measures to be implemented as bylaws, where he states that “there is very little controversy over the science of masking in the medical community,” though he acknowledges conflicting advice and disagreements over “the efficacy of cloth masks.” He advocates against waiting for evidence of their effectiveness, and insists the Councillors dismiss any scientific sources that raise concerns about mask wearing as “fringe and mostly discredited sources”.¹⁸⁾

Pirzada is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) in Family Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University.¹⁹⁾

Pirzada is a member of the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board, listed as a Physician Member with a term of January 11, 2017 until January 10, 2019.²⁰⁾

Pirzada also served as an Investigating Coroner at the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

His other business venture is Raven, a news aggregation app “that collects the best of news and social media in one place.”^{21) 22)}

Pirzada is employed as an emergency doctor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.²³⁾ Sunnybrook is funded by such organizations as Toronto Mayor John Tory, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Canadian National Railway (whose primary stakeholder is Bill Gates), Janssen, the University of Toronto, Johnson & Johnson and many others.²⁴⁾

Pirzada was employed by the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine as a Lecturer from July 2009 until at least May 2020.²⁵⁾ He also acted as Governor on the Governing Council of the University of Toronto on the executive committee, planning and budget committee, academic appeals and others.²⁶⁾

Pirzada is employed as an emergency doctor in the William Osler Health System.²⁷⁾

He is frequently featured as an “expert” speaking authoritatively to Canadian news channels including the state-funded CBC News, Business Insider, CTV News, and Zoomer Radio about various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.^{28) 29) 30) 31)}