Dr. Yipeng Ge, a resident physician in his 4th year of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, was abruptly suspended from his program by the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. The suspension of Dr. Yipeng Ge represents a violation of his rights as a University of Ottawa student and the selective silence of the University of Ottawa on violence in Palestine. Further, it is an affront to the values enshrined in the CanMEDS Framework, particularly the role of Health Advocate in the context of 11,078 Palestinians killed since October 7 and the attack of hospitals, physicians and patients, and of emergency medical service transportation vehicles and personnel.  

By signing this petition, we express solidarity with Dr. Yipeng Ge for advocating for the human rights of Palestinians, including their right to healthcare and the right of physicians in Palestine to practice medicine safely, without threat of violence and with adequate resources. Further to this, we call on the University of Ottawa to reverse the suspension of Dr. Yipeng Ge and to issue an apology for the failure to engage in due process in the investigation of Dr. Yipeng Ge and other students of the University of Ottawa who have been unjustly denied their fundamental right to free expression. We call to seek clarity and thorough investigation into the decision to suspend Dr. Yipeng Ge, and into who was responsible for this action. We demand an effective strategy to prevent bullying and harassment by doctors, especially those in positions like faculty members, professors who are abusing their power. 

Anti-Palestinian discrimination, including racism and censorship, is on the rise. Advocacy by students like Dr. Yipeng Ge is necessary in the face of a rise in Anti-Palestinian racism and censorship and in the silence of Canadian institutions such as our own. The suspension of Dr. Yipeng Ge and the censorship of pro-Palestinian voices at the University of Ottawa represents the university administrations failure to provide a safe learning environment for Palestinian students and their allies. The suspension of Dr. Yipeng Ge and the silencing of other Palestinian advocates on campus is a violation of Policy 121: Statement on Free Expression, Policy 130: Student Rights and Responsible Conduct and Policy 77: Occupational Health and Safety.

University policies compel the University to ensure such fairness and due process. Thus, we demand that Dr. Yipeng Ge be provided with the opportunity to challenge the university’s decision and with the reassessment of the decision with impartial oversight of this process. We also demand that the University of Ottawa take action to protect Dr. Yipeng Ge’s safety as he faces harassment from University of Ottawa faculty member and physician Dr. Yoni Freedhoff that places him at risk of physical and reputational harm, and to take action against Dr. Freedhoff for harassing a medical resident at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Freedhoff has targeted Dr. Yipeng Ge without repercussions from the University of Ottawa on his blog and on his X social media account: https://yonifreedhoffmd.substack.com/p/more-antisemitism-from-the-canadian?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2; https://twitter.com/YoniFreedhoff/status/1719826536075759852?s=20; https://twitter.com/YoniFreedhoff/status/1720137829785723354?s=20 

The NCCM (National Council of Canadian Muslims) has put together a legal fund. This is the fundraising website to support legal fees for the especially vulnerable health workers who have been targeted for their Palestine advocacy work. Please donate. Please share with all your organizations and social contacts. Essential we support people defend Palestine! https://acfrvwzr.donorsupport.co/page/healthcareheroes

Take one step further and send an email to the University of Ottawa faculty leaders to ask for the reinstatement of Dr. Yipeng Ge:

emails to copy: president@uottawa.ca, chancellor@uottawa.ca, Sharon.Whiting@uottawa.ca, shwhiting@toh.ca, stse@uottawa.ca, stse@cheo.on.ca, pgmecom@uottawa.ca, [REDACTED], pgme@uottawa.ca, pgmecoor@uottawa.ca, medmarcom@uottawa.ca, jasmin@uottawa.ca, mforgie@uottawa.ca, l.wiesenfeld@uottawa.ca a.chaput@uottawa.ca, bejasmin@toh.ca, mforgie@toh.ca, lwiesenfeld@toh.ca, achaput@toh.ca