After being accused by a magazine of promoting “disproven and discredited therapy systems” at their conference, the organizers of the Northwest Territories Wellness Conference (taking place this weekend) used the old “complementary” trope to excuse their choices.

Indeed, a cursory look at their schedule reveals workshops with the following descriptive phrases: “how to use local plants to make your own ointments”, “the opportunity to heal and feel the collective Qi”, and my personal favourite, “Science is finally catching up with what a minority of people from many different cultures around the world has known since the beginning of time: that there exists an energy within all of us that can heal.”

These offerings are woven into panels involving actual MDs and focusing on cancer treatment and maternal infant health.

But the organizers reassured skeptics by revealing their thorough vetting process.

“The cold laser therapy guy – the first time he came to the conference, we said, ‘Whoa’. We hadn’t heard about it.

“We did a little research and looked into him and interviewed him, and said, ‘No, this guy’s legit’. He’s bringing something that some people have benefited from.”

You can read the whole piece here.