Thank you for the question.
Yes, you correctly point out that when we first started this work, I was personally targeted by members of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights. Seventy of their members, people I had never met or treated as a physician, made complaints to the regulatory body in Ontario, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, alleging that my work in this area, my advocacy in this area, was somehow unprofessional and that my licence to practice medicine should be revoked. After a review of those complaints, the college concluded that those complaints were an abusive process and frivolous, and dismissed each and every one of them out of hand.
To answer the second part of your question, I would like to say I believe these tactics are specifically used to intimidate, harass and quieten the other side. I would say that the majority of physicians and the majority of Canadians are in favour of evidence-informed firearm policy, but there's a very loud, vociferous and constant drumbeat from the other side, the intent of which is simply to harass and intimidate those of us who would come forward with a voice of science and advocate on behalf of the communities and patients that we serve.
I would also note that a key function and role of physicians in society is that of advocate. This has been true if you look at smoking legislation, seat belt legislation, asbestos or safe water. All of those public health advances have in many cases been spearheaded and in all cases supported by physicians who have seen the results of poor legislation at the coalface, which is in our emergency departments, operating rooms and hospitals.