Dr. Matt Strauss is no longer employed with the county.
Friday was the last day for the Acting Medical Officer of Health who drew a lot of attention both locally and around Ontario for his outspoken views on COVID related issues.
He began his role here in Norfolk immediately under scrutiny for his previous tweets regarding the pandemic and rules in place.
Though his online activity would die down, he would ruffle a few more feathers during his tenure here.
He notes a political party asking for him to step down following a press conference.
Strauss believes people have the right to disagree, and have a conversation.
He is hopeful that now that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, more voices can be heard.
While he was met with a fair bit of criticism from media and political parties, Strauss said the same couldn’t be said about his peers and the community.
That is what makes leaving hard for Strauss, his connection to the people he met here.
We also asked what he was most proud of during his time as Acting MOH.
His advice for the incoming MOH would be to move down and live in Norfolk.
He would commute or work remotely, and feels like this community needs someone physically here all the time in order to do the job properly.