Dr. Goodenowe's response to CBC's June 13, 2025 article on ALS
The CBC article, and Dr. Goodenowe's community ALS Ask Me Anything session in Moose Jaw, recorded July 30, 2025.
the documented facts surrounding Susie Silvestri's stay at the centreThe article
What the article reported
The article, "Hard to Swallow: ALS patients cast doubt on Moose Jaw scientist's claim to halt disease progression," was written by senior investigative reporter Geoff Leo and published on June 13, 2025. It was the first article in CBC Saskatchewan's coverage of Dr. Goodenowe and the Moose Jaw centre.
The feature centred on the experiences of three American ALS patients who travelled to Moose Jaw, Geoff Sando, Michael Gieselman, and Corey Mitchell, along with statements from members of their families. It reported that Dr. Goodenowe describes the program as able to halt the progression of ALS symptoms and support patient recovery, and that participants spent tens of thousands of dollars over a period of months. It included commentary from Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta and David Taylor, chief scientific officer of the ALS Society of Canada, and described the centre as a private facility operating outside the publicly funded health system in a converted former rehabilitation building.
The article also introduced the Moose Jaw Vitality Project, the $100 million community health initiative Dr. Goodenowe announced in April 2025.
The response
The community ALS AMA, July 30, 2025
On July 30, 2025, Dr. Goodenowe convened a community Ask Me Anything session at the Moose Jaw Vitality Project, attended in person and online. The session ran one hour and fifty-three minutes. Approximately twenty-eight minutes of the session are devoted to a direct response to the "Hard to Swallow" coverage, including the playback of unedited interview footage CBC recorded at the Moose Jaw centre and an interview Geoff Leo conducted with Dr. Goodenowe. The remainder of the session covers the underlying science of ALS, the structure of the program offered in Moose Jaw, and a Q&A with community attendees.
The full session is provided below. Readers can use the chapter guide to skip to specific sections; each timestamp jumps the embedded video to that point.
Chapter guide
The substantive response to the CBC coverage begins at 22:53, where Dr. Goodenowe introduces the interview footage. The discussion of case series and clinical evidence runs from 28:21, and the exchange in which Geoff Leo declines to give his assessment of the credibility of the ALS clients he interviewed plays at 28:53. The Scott Myers interview footage appears at 34:36, and Dr. Goodenowe's response to David Taylor's statements about ALS progression begins at 49:33. The June 20 NDP and ALS Society of Saskatchewan press conference is addressed at 50:43.
The biographical and credentials section begins at 55:12. The science presentation on ALS, including peroxisomal function and D-serine, begins at 57:46. The community Q&A begins at 1:27:38.
What the response addresses
Four elements of the CBC coverage
The response engages four specific aspects of the article.
The first is the scope of access CBC was granted before publication. Dr. Goodenowe describes three separate interviews with Geoff Leo, a tour of the Moose Jaw centre by CBC reporter Bonnie Allen, the recording of interviews with clients Scott Myers (Akron, Ohio), Howard, Bryson, and Alex, and the recording of a Parkinson's lecture by visiting physician Dr. Sakuda. He notes that Ananth, an ALS client who travelled from Australia to share his account at the Restorative Health Summit in California, was also made available to CBC.
The second is the Scott Myers segment. The CBC article quotes Myers in a single sentence describing early-program changes he attributes to either the program or possibly a psychosomatic effect. Dr. Goodenowe plays the longer recorded interview, in which Myers describes the pre-program deterioration that brought him to Moose Jaw and the physical changes he observed over a longer time frame. Readers can compare what was recorded to what was published.
The third is the unedited footage of Geoff Leo interviewing Dr. Goodenowe. In the segment shown, Dr. Goodenowe asks Leo whether, having personally interviewed four named ALS clients, Leo finds them credible. Leo responds, "what I think is not super relevant."
The fourth is the methodological framing around case studies. The article presents the accounts CBC recorded as anecdotes, contrasted against the absence of randomized trial evidence. Dr. Goodenowe argues that what are described as anecdotes are what clinical researchers term case series, that case series are routinely published and discussed at hospital grand rounds, and that randomized trial evidence serves a regulatory function for new drug approvals rather than informing clinical decisions for an individual patient.
This page documents Dr. Goodenowe's response to one article in CBC Saskatchewan's twelve-article series.
Read the full review of CBC's coverage →