Medical Specialist

Dr. Karl Kabasele, Toronto’s former Associate Medical Officer of Health, joined CP24 in September 2009 as the resident Medical Specialist and host of program ON CALL WITH DR. KARL, airing Mondays at 5:15 p.m.

ON CALL WITH DR. KARL is the go-to destination for the latest health and medical news that matter to Torontonians, with top medical experts weighing in. Each week viewers from across the GTA are invited to call in with questions and pertaining to everything from everyday health concerns affecting families to major breaking health news. Viewers can also email questions to oncall@cp24.com. As CP24’s medical specialist, Dr. Karl will also provide regular reports throughout the week on medical and health issues facing the people of Toronto. 

As the former Associate Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto from 2001 to 2004, Dr. Karl was the lead physician for Toronto's West Nile Virus program from 2002 to 2004 and worked with the medical team charged with controlling the SARS outbreak in 2003.

In his off-screen practice, Dr. Karl is a Clinical Consultant with the Nicotine Dependence Clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He attended medical school at McGill University and holds a Master's degree in Public Health from Harvard University. His work has been published in medical journals including “Canadian Family Physician” and “Emerging Infectious Diseases.”

An active member in the community, Dr. Karl volunteers as a consultant for the New Heights Community Health Centre, headquartered in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood of Toronto. A social activist, he has travelled internationally to assist with relief activities after disasters including Grenada’s Hurricane Ivan (2004). He went to Thailand and Sri Lanka in 2005 to assist with relief after the tsunami and in the same year also visited Cambodia and Honduras on separate aid missions.