Brenda Doig

The applicant physician brought an appeal and an application for judicial review challenging an interlocutory decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The Committee had ruled it had jurisdiction to hear allegations regarding patients not specifically named in the Notice of Hearing.

The Divisional Court quashed the application for judicial review for prematurity, finding no exceptional circumstances to intervene in the ongoing disciplinary process, as the Committee reasonably concluded it had jurisdiction.

The Court also quashed the appeal, holding that it lacked jurisdiction under the Health Professions Procedural Code to hear an appeal from an interlocutory decision.

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Discipline Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which ordered costs as a condition of an interim decision to adjourn a hearing.

The Divisional Court granted the application and set aside the decision, holding that the Discipline Committee lacks the express statutory authority required to order costs on an adjournment.

The appellant physician appealed a decision of the Discipline Committee finding him guilty of professional misconduct for falsifying a record and contravening a condition of his certificate of registration.

The Committee had imposed a penalty that included a reprimand, an ethics course, and a requirement to appoint an independent quality advisor for his diagnostic imaging clinics.

The Divisional Court upheld the finding of professional misconduct, concluding it was reasonable based on the evidence that the appellant attached another physician's electronic signature to a quality advisor agreement without authorization.

However, the Court found the penalty requiring an independent quality advisor was unreasonable as it was not rationally connected to the misconduct found, and varied the penalty to remove that condition.