The NDP launched an attack against the medical credentials of the Langley-Willowbrook B.C. Conservative candidate in the last week of the election campaign.
Adrian Dix, the NDP's Vancouver-Renfew candidate who served as health minister, was at Langley Memorial Hospital on Tuesday Oct. 15 to accuse Jody Toor of calling herself a doctor while not having a medical licence.
"She is not an MD, she is not a health professional, she is not a naturopath," said Dix, who was flanked by a group of about a dozen local doctors for the press conference.
In B.C., titles like "doctor" or a "health practitioner" fall in a protected category, and only people with certain qualifications – including practicing medical doctors, naturopaths, or dentists – can use those descriptors.
Toor's campaign website notes that she is "non-prescribing and is not registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia."
Dr. Reece Schemmer, a hospitalist at Langley Memorial Hospital, also spoke at the press conference, alongside Dix and NDP candidate and former attorney general Niki Sharma.
"I'm deeply concerned about the misrepresentation and deceit by Ms. Jody Toor around her certifications," Schemmer said.
His primary concern was that she become the minister of health in a B.C. Conservative government he said, saying she should not be in charge of the health care budget.
"That is terrifying to me," Schemmer said.
Dix said that Conservative leader John Rustad was allowing Toor to represent the party in spite of knowing that Toor had "embellished" her credentials.
On Wednesday, the Hospital Employees Union filed a complaint with the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC, asking them to investigate Toor's alleged use of the title of doctor.
“When people in B.C. seek a doctor’s care, they want to know that the person treating them has an actual medical doctor degree – that’s why we have asked the College to investigate Jody Toor’s use of this title,” said Lynn Bueckert the HEU's secretary-business manager.
Toor's campaign website for the B.C. Conservatives emphasizes her health care background, calling her an "advocate for holistic health care" who "has been running her own integrative holistic clinic in Langley."
The site says she has "a double PhD in Doctor of Integrative Medicine and Doctor of Humanitarian Services with the Board Of Integrative Medicine."
It does not refer to her elsewhere as a "doctor," however, earlier versions of her campaign site did.
The earliest archived version of the website available, from January 7, when Toor was the candidate for Surrey-Cloverdale, refers to her as "Dr. Jody Toor" or "Dr. Toor" throughout.
"Dr. Jody Toor, IMD, PhD, stands as a dedicated candidate for the Conservative Party of BC in Surrey-Cloverdale, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise as a board-certified Integrative Medicine Doctor in both Canada and the United States," the page originally said.
Even this early version of the site noted that she was "non-prescribing" and was not registered with the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Toor has also referred to attending "medical school" in the United States in more recent interviews.
According to the website of ConsciousMind Labs, which lists Toor as part of their executive team, Toor's degrees came from Quantum University in Hawaii, an online school.
Quantum University is not an accredited medical school, a fact the school makes clear in a lengthy disclaimer on its own website.
"Bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, and/or PhD degrees in Holistic, Alternative, Natural and/or Integrative Medicine issued from Quantum University are NOT equivalent or comparable to a Doctor of Medicine Degree (M.D.) or a Doctor in Naturopathy Degree (ND)," the site says. "Only Medical or Naturopathic Doctor Universities with residential education accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) can issue MD or ND degrees."
The online school's exams are all multiple choice or true-false and are not timed.
The Langley Advance Time reached out to Toor's campaign and the B.C. Conservatives for a response to the NDP's comments, including by phone, email, and social media messaging. If a response is received, this story will be updated.
