Witness Testimony

Dr. Edward Leyton, a physician with more than 40 years of practice experience, testified that he returned from retirement in 2020 to assist patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, initially providing psychotherapy for pandemic-related stress. In 2021, after researching ivermectin and engaging with other physicians, he began prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 through Canadian COVID TeleHealth, a national telemedicine clinic. He stated that the clinic followed protocols developed by the Front Line COVID Critical Care Alliance and treated patients across multiple provinces, particularly during the Delta variant period.
He testified that following media coverage and regulatory scrutiny, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) accessed clinic records under section 75 of the Regulated Health Professions Act and initiated investigations. According to his testimony, other physicians associated with the clinic lost hospital privileges, faced licence restrictions, or were prevented from treating COVID-19 patients. He stated that he later received his own section 75 investigation notice in October 2022 for prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, despite no patient complaints in over four decades of practice.
Dr. Leyton also described treating patients who he characterized as experiencing vaccine injury, reporting a range of neurological, cardiovascular, and inflammatory symptoms. He stated that some patients showed measurable improvement using ivermectin, nutritional supplementation, antihistamines, and anti-inflammatory protocols. He concluded that COVID-19 had a high survival rate, that vaccine injury was under-recognized, and that physicians prescribing alternative treatments faced regulatory persecution, placing his own medical licence at risk.