Two board members resign after Jewish doctor says he was singled out in Ontario Medical Association election

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“I want to be very clear: I do not endorse or oppose any specific candidate in this election. My resignation is not about the candidates; it is about the process itself,” Hacker wrote in a Facebook group with medical professionals, according to a screenshot shared with the Post.

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“I fundamentally disagree with the approach of publishing third-party commentary on a candidate’s ‘tone’ or ‘style’ as part of the election process,” Hacker continued. “I am resigning because my personal views on fair process and governance oversight are no longer aligned with the current direction of the Board. I cannot in good conscience continue to serve when I fundamentally disagree with these procedural choices.”

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Both Hacker and Conte declined to comment when reached by the Post.

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The OMA told the Post the resignations were “personal decisions” coming from “individuals nearing the end of their terms,” which did not impact “the ability of the Board of Directors to conduct its work or maintain quorum.”

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“We respect the decisions of individual board members and remain committed to continuing effective governance and leadership as part of fulfilling our mandate to represent physicians across the province,” the association said.

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The departure of Hacker and Conte was mourned by Sohail Gandhi, who was OMA president from 2019-2020. He blogged about his frustration with the election’s handling. He cast skepticism on third-party reviews, which, he argued, could open the association “up to potential legal action.”

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“I’m writing to express my extreme displeasure about how the OMA has handled the elections process,” Gandhi wrote in an open letter the day after Berman’s candidate profile was first published by OMA.

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Gandhi went on to describe the resigning directors as members of “extremely high levels of integrity,” adding, “They KNOW when governance is going off the rails, and for them to take this steps (sic) speaks volumes about your leadership,” he continued in a post addressed to OMA chief executive Kim Moran and board chair Cathy Faulds.

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Gandhi does not feel that Berman’s treatment was the result of anti-Jewish bias but rather the ineptitude of the medical association.

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“The OMA as an organization really botched it with how they handled the President-Elect elections,” Gandhi wrote the Post. “In answer to a question I was asked by others, this was not antisemitism at play, however. It was just plain old-fashioned incompetence.”

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The association stood by its handling of the election, explaining it “has a rigorous system in place to ensure that all elections uphold the standards and policies of the Association are applied equally to all candidates.”

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“OMA elections give members the opportunity to meaningfully engage with their association and elect representatives in a process that is open, fair, and transparent. The OMA promotes a consistent nomination and voting process that includes external vetting, clear candidate information, and robust governance guidelines so that all eligible members can participate with confidence,” the association wrote the Post.

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Lisa Salamon, President of the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario (JMAO) and the former co-chair of the OMA’s governance transformation task force, felt that Berman was treated to a different standard because he is Jewish.

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“There was totally a malicious antisemitic undertone,” she alleged of Berman’s treatment during the election. “The only tweets that Hal made were about antisemitism. The rest of his social media is nothing.”