Sask. NDP and ALS society calling on province to investigate Moose Jaw health centre

Geoff Leo · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 9:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP and the province's ALS nine are calling connected Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill to motorboat an probe into the Dr. Goodenowe Restorative Health Center successful Moose Jaw. 

Last week, the CBC reported that Dr. Dayan Goodenowe, who runs the centre, tells patients with ALS that his supplements tin halt and reverse the advancement of the disease. On his YouTube account, helium says, "stopping the progression of ALS really isn't that hard."

He backs up his assertion by pointing to immoderate patients who accidental they consciousness amended connected his supplements. He besides told CBC he's moving connected studies to verify their effectiveness.

Goodenowe charges ALS clients $75,000 US for his three-month live-in attraction program.

In CBC's story, immoderate patients who took portion said it did thing to amended their condition.

• Hard to swallow: ALS patients formed uncertainty connected Moose Jaw scientist's assertion to halt illness progression

The NDP and the ALS Society accidental there's nary published technological grounds to backmost up Goodenowe's claims. They accidental each of the subject indicates ALS is simply a decease sentence.

They said businesses should not beryllium allowed to prey connected susceptible people.

"We're talking astir radical with an incurable disease, who are hopeless for hope, being misled with promises that are not backed successful immoderate technological evidence. This is mendacious anticipation being sold for profit," NDP agrarian and distant wellness professional Jared Clarke said astatine a quality league Friday.

"We cannot let unregulated facilities to people susceptible radical with misleading claims without immoderate oversight oregon accountability. So contiguous we are urging Minister Cockrill to act."

Denis Simard, enforcement manager of the ALS Society of Saskatchewan, echoed that telephone astatine the quality conference, saying "we would invitation the ministry to bash a peculiar investigation." 

Simard made a akin petition months ago. In a Feb. 12 letter, helium asked Cockrill to look into Goodenowe's concern and "take due enactment to forestall the dissemination of mendacious aesculapian accusation that could exploit those facing ALS." 

'It is simply a backstage business'

Cockrill refused CBC's petition for an interview. In a written statement, helium indicated there's thing the provincial authorities tin bash due to the fact that Goodenowe's centre, "has nary ties to the Saskatchewan wellness attraction system."

In interviews with CBC, Goodenowe regularly emphasized that helium is not a aesculapian doc and his installation does not connection aesculapian treatments oregon services. He has a Ph.D successful Medical Sciences with an accent successful psychiatry from the University of Alberta.

"It is simply a backstage business, not a provincially regulated wellness centre oregon affiliate," Cockrill wrote. "The idiosyncratic operating it is not a licensed aesculapian doctor, truthful helium does not autumn nether immoderate established wellness regulatory body."

Clarke said that if Cockrill is accurately describing the situation, that's an adjacent stronger crushed for him to bash something.

"To maine that's wherefore an probe is important, to beryllium capable to measure whether determination is simply a spread present [and] whether we request further legislation," Clarke said. 

Simard agreed. 

"OK, we don't person an existent spot successful the instrumentality that allows america to analyse this. Let's make one," helium said. "Let's find a mode that's going to let america to support the astir susceptible successful our province." 

In its research, CBC was directed to conception 80 of Saskatchewan's Medical Profession Act, 1981, which seems to bespeak that it is against the instrumentality successful the state for idiosyncratic who is not a registered aesculapian nonrecreational to connection aesculapian services.  

It says it's an offence successful Saskatchewan if someone, "for hire, summation oregon anticipation of reward (i) engages in, professes to prosecute successful oregon advertises to springiness proposal successful immoderate facet of practice; oregon (ii) furnishes immoderate medicine oregon treats immoderate illness oregon ailment by medicine, drugs oregon immoderate signifier of treatment, power oregon appliance." 

If recovered blameworthy of this offence, "and liable connected summary conviction," the offender would beryllium taxable to a good of up to $5,000.

CBC asked the curate if this instrumentality mightiness use successful this case. He didn't respond to the question.  

Goodenowe expanding operations

In his written statement, the curate added that "we are not alert of immoderate Saskatchewan residents surviving with ALS who person accessed Mr. Goodenowe's services." He didn't explicate wherefore helium made that point. 

Simard noted that successful CBC's story, the ALS patients were each from the United States. 

"These are each radical that are being harmed by this process and I deliberation we person a close to support them," Simard said. 

He said this question is not going to spell distant for the provincial government, due to the fact that Goodenowe is readying to grow his operations successful Moose Jaw.

In April, Goodenowe announced the Moose Jaw Vitality Project, which his website describes arsenic "a $100 cardinal assemblage wellness inaugural providing escaped entree to cutting-edge wellness services and monitoring technologies for each residents of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan."

The task is planned to impact 5 facilities, including the restorative wellness centre, a cafe and a installation that volition manufacture Goodenowe's supplements, which helium has manufactured successful the United States until now. 

Simard said Moose Jaw metropolis assembly should beryllium paying attraction to this arsenic well.

"Let's marque definite that this idiosyncratic has nary approvals moving forward, truthful that until this is afloat investigated, until we tin afloat validate what is being done by this individual, thing should hap astatine immoderate different level," helium said. 

For his part, Simard said helium has warned Saskatchewan's 73 ALS patients that they should person thing to bash with Goodenowe oregon his facility.