Administrative Law

The licensee brought a motion for a publication ban prior to the commencement of a professional discipline hearing, arguing that publication of the decision would cause unjust harm to his employment and professional opportunities.

The Discipline Committee applied the Dagenais/Mentuck/Sherman Estate test and found that the licensee failed to establish a serious risk to an important public interest.

The motion was dismissed, as the public interest in transparency and the open court principle outweighed the licensee's private interests in avoiding discomfort or embarrassment.

On an appeal concerning judicial appointment eligibility under s. 98 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the appellants challenged the interpretation adopted by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court held that the appellants failed to demonstrate any interpretive error in the lower court's analysis of s. 98.

Arguments relying on the prior reference regarding ss. 5 and 6 of the Supreme Court Act were rejected as inapplicable because the constitutional and statutory contexts differed.

The appeal was dismissed for essentially the reasons given by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

The appeal addressed the test for substantive equivalence under s. 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in minority language education.

The court held equivalence must be assessed holistically from the perspective of rights holders, including facilities, programming, and travel burdens, rather than formal cost parity.

The court restored a declaration that the minority-language educational experience was not equivalent to nearby majority-language alternatives, while leaving responsibility and remedy issues to later phases.

The court also upheld phased proceedings and restored special costs for the successful public interest litigants.

The member, a registered nurse, was found guilty of professional misconduct for failing to report multiple criminal convictions to the College of Nurses of Ontario.

The convictions included mischief over $5,000, criminal harassment, and breaches of undertaking and recognizance, arising from his conduct towards two former partners.

The Discipline Committee accepted an agreed statement of facts and a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a five-month suspension, and strict conditions on his certificate of registration, including mandatory counselling for stress and anger management.

The member, a registered practical nurse, admitted to professional misconduct for misappropriating a prescription pad from her workplace and forging multiple prescriptions for Percocet.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty.

The member was reprimanded, her certificate of registration was suspended for three months, and conditions were imposed on her practice for two years, alongside an undertaking to continue medical monitoring for her health conditions.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to assess a resident at a long-term care facility during her shift.

The resident's condition deteriorated and she subsequently died in hospital.

The Member admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a three-week suspension, and conditions on her certificate of registration.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for physically and verbally abusing a combative client by slapping his thigh and swearing at him.

The Member admitted to the allegations through an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a Joint Submission on Penalty, ordering a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and remedial conditions.

The Committee also ordered the Member to pay $100 in costs for late notification of the case settlement under Rule 6 of the Discipline Committee Rules.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct including boundary violations with clients, inappropriate behaviour with a colleague, and falsifying billing records.

The Member admitted to the allegations and an Agreed Statement of Facts was presented.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by violating the therapeutic nurse-client relationship, misappropriating property, and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission as to Penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and conditions on the Member's practice including sensitivity training and supervised practice.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct relating to her treatment of an agitated psychiatric client.

The Member admitted to yelling at the client, unintentionally slapping the client on the face and arm, and roughly removing the client's clothing while assisting in placing the client in restraints.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an 8-week suspension, a reprimand, and remedial conditions on the Member's certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the member, a registered nurse, based on multiple criminal convictions including fraudulent impersonation, theft, fraud, and breach of probation, as well as misappropriation of property from her workplace.

The member admitted to the allegations and the parties submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission as to Penalty.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct and, accepting the joint submission, ordered that the member be reprimanded and her Certificate of Registration be revoked.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct relating to the care of an elderly patient.

The Member admitted to failing to respond to the patient's requests for assistance, placing the patient in a darkened room without a call bell, restraining the patient without consent or a physician's order, failing to document the restraint, and verbally abusing the patient.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission as to Penalty, ordering an oral reprimand and, should the Member ever re-register, a three-month suspension and practice conditions.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse for alleged sexual abuse and boundary violations involving a vulnerable patient at an addiction treatment facility.

The panel found the patient's evidence clear and convincing, while the member's testimony was evasive and inconsistent.

The panel concluded the member committed professional misconduct by sexually abusing the client and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

The member's certificate of registration was revoked and an oral reprimand was ordered.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to appropriately document client contacts, failing to return and maintain client charts, and improperly billing for visits not made.

The Member admitted to the allegations through an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a Joint Submission as to Penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a one-month suspension, a $450 fine, and imposed conditions on the Member's certificate of registration requiring education and monitoring.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the member based on findings made by the Quebec Nursing Board.

The member had been found guilty in Quebec of sexual abuse and boundary violations with clients.

The member admitted the allegations and the panel accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The panel found the member committed professional misconduct and accepted a Joint Submission on Penalty, ordering a reprimand and imposing monitoring conditions on the member's certificate of registration.

The member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for accessing, downloading, and storing pornographic materials on hospital computers over several years.

The member admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct.

The panel accepted the College's penalty submission, ordering a reprimand, a 30-day suspension, and conditions on the member's certificate of registration, while denying the member's request to withhold publication of his name.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse for allegedly slapping and verbally abusing a resident at a nursing home.

The Member did not attend the hearing.

Based on the clear and convincing testimony of an eyewitness personal care worker, the Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension, and imposed remedial conditions on the Member's certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for claiming sick leave from a nursing home while continuing to work at a hospital, and for promoting her private sitter agency to patients and staff at the nursing home.

The Member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct by failing to maintain the standard of practice and practicing in a conflict of interest.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a 30-day suspension, and terms requiring the Member to meet with a Practice Consultant to discuss professional ethics.

The Member, a registered nurse, provided home care to a client and developed an inappropriate personal relationship with him, breaching the boundaries of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship.

The Member disclosed personal and financial difficulties, accepted gifts and assistance, wore unprofessional clothing, and eventually moved in with the client after his discharge from home care.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and conditions on the Member's certificate of registration.

The member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for claiming sick leave and benefits from one hospital while continuing to work at another, and for submitting falsified return-to-work status reports.

The member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee accepted an agreed statement of facts and a joint submission on penalty, finding the member committed professional misconduct.

The member was reprimanded, suspended for 60 days, fined $2,500, and subjected to employer notification conditions for 24 months.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for bathing one patient in cold water and preparing to bathe another in cold water out of anger.

The Member admitted to the allegations and agreed to a statement of facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to meet the standards of practice and engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and the completion of remedial courses on patient-focused care and abuse prevention.