Denise M. Cooney

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought professional misconduct allegations against the member for providing false and misleading information regarding her education and employment history to multiple prospective employers between 2016 and 2019.

The member also failed to report complete employment information to the College on her annual renewal forms.

The member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration.

The applicant, a former audit partner, sought judicial review of a decision by the Appeal Committee of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, which upheld a finding of professional misconduct against him.

The misconduct related to his failure to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence regarding assets held by a service organization involved in the Madoff fraud.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that the disciplinary committees reasonably applied the codified auditing standards (U.S. GAAS) and did not reverse the onus of proof or apply an incorrect standard of practice.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought discipline proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse for professional misconduct involving two vulnerable patients in a geriatric psychiatry unit.

The Member applied unauthorized mechanical restraints to a patient, failed to monitor him, and subsequently found him deceased in the restraint.

The Member then moved the body to a bed to cover up the circumstances of death and falsified records.

The Member also neglected another patient, leaving her in distress for hours while falsifying her chart.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct, including physical and emotional abuse.

Accepting a joint submission, the Committee ordered a reprimand and noted the Member's undertaking to permanently resign her certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered nurse for professional misconduct relating to the unauthorized restraint and subsequent death of a patient, as well as falsifying records and misleading the employer's investigation.

The member admitted to the allegations, including failing to monitor the restrained patient, moving the deceased patient to make it appear he died in bed, and conspiring with colleagues to provide inaccurate information.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, noting the member had already permanently resigned and undertaken never to reapply for registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct relating to her care of an elderly patient who died while physically restrained.

The Member admitted to failing to intervene when colleagues applied restraints, failing to monitor the patient, failing to initiate appropriate interventions upon finding the patient deceased, and falsifying records.

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

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a four-month suspension, and terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered nurse for professional misconduct.

The nurse admitted to failing to maintain the boundaries of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship by engaging in a personal relationship with a patient, which included communicating outside the therapeutic relationship, socializing in person, and accepting gifts and loans.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order, finding the nurse committed professional misconduct.

The nurse was reprimanded, suspended for four months, and subjected to terms and conditions on her certificate of registration.

The member was previously found to have committed professional misconduct involving time theft and practice issues.

At the penalty hearing, the College sought a 12-month suspension and a mandatory nursing course, while the member argued for a lesser penalty.

The Discipline Committee ordered a 4-month suspension, an oral reprimand, and terms including an 18-month employer notification and meetings with a regulatory expert.

The Committee found the College's proposed penalty excessive, noting the member did not falsify documents or cause direct patient harm, and had no prior performance issues.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered nurse for professional misconduct, alleging verbal, physical, and emotional abuse of vulnerable patients at a long-term care facility, as well as inappropriate comments about a colleague.

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

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by contravening standards of practice, abusing patients, and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

Accepting a Joint Submission on Order, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a 5-month suspension, and various terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought discipline proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse for professional misconduct involving the physical and emotional abuse of two vulnerable patients in a long-term care facility.

The Member did not attend the hearing but had previously signed an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by removing a patient's call bell and handling another patient roughly after a fall.

The Committee accepted the joint submission, ordering an oral reprimand based on the Member's undertaking to permanently resign from the College.

The moving party brought a motion for leave to appeal from the order of Henderson J. dated November 12, 2020.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal.

As no costs were requested, no costs were ordered.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct including sexual abuse, boundary violations, and inappropriate communication with a vulnerable patient.

The Member admitted to engaging in a personal relationship, sending inappropriate text messages, and meeting the patient outside the therapeutic relationship.

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

Accepting a Joint Submission on Order, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, an 18-month suspension, and imposed terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's certificate of registration.

In a professional discipline hearing, the member admitted misconduct arising from criminal convictions for impaired operation causing death, dangerous operation causing death, and breach of recognizance.

The panel held that the criminal conduct, although outside a clinical setting, was relevant to the provision of dental care to the public because it demonstrated a serious disregard for public safety and undermined fundamental public expectations of regulated health professionals.

The panel accepted a joint penalty submission imposing a reprimand, a six-month suspension, practice monitoring and treatment-related conditions, and costs.

A publication ban was made permanent over certain personal information in the member’s affidavit.

The Member faced allegations of professional misconduct including medication errors, falsifying patient records, failing to document the use of restraints, and collecting short-term disability benefits while working for another employer.

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 7-month suspension, an oral reprimand, and various terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for soliciting and misappropriating funds from a vulnerable patient and implying that medication would be withheld if the funds were not provided.

The Member admitted to the allegations, which included accepting a $1,500 cheque and removing $100 from the patient's purse.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct, including verbal, physical, and emotional abuse.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a six-month suspension, and various terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's certificate of registration.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to participate in the College's Quality Assurance program after being randomly selected.

The Member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by failing to cooperate with the Quality Assurance Committee and engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms including meetings with a regulatory expert and mandatory participation in the next Quality Assurance cycle.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered practical nurse for failing to participate in the mandatory Quality Assurance Program.

Despite multiple notifications and opportunities to complete the 2015 and 2017 practice assessments, the member did not comply or respond.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct by failing to cooperate with the Quality Assurance Committee and engaging in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The member's certificate of registration was suspended for four months, and she was ordered to attend meetings with a regulatory expert and complete the next available Quality Assurance program cycle.

The Member, a registered practical nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to cooperate with the College's Quality Assurance Committee.

Despite multiple notices, the Member failed to complete required practice assessment activities.

The Member admitted to the allegations, citing personal issues including displacement by a fire, but acknowledged her failure to update her address and respond to correspondence.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order, finding the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms including meetings with a regulatory expert and mandatory participation in the next Quality Assurance cycle.

The defendant brought a motion to stay or dismiss the action on the basis that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice lacked jurisdiction simpliciter.

The plaintiff, a UK national residing in Bahrain, had entered into an oral loan agreement with the defendant, who claimed to reside in Pakistan.

The plaintiff argued that the defendant was domiciled or resident in Ontario, or carried on business in Ontario.

The court found that while the defendant carried on business in Ontario, the presumption of jurisdiction was rebutted because there was no real and substantial connection between the loan agreement and the defendant's business activities in Ontario.

The action was stayed for lack of jurisdiction simpliciter.

The Member brought a motion to defer his disciplinary hearing until in-person hearings could resume, arguing that proceeding by videoconference would prejudice his right to a fair hearing by impairing the assessment of credibility and cross-examination.

The College opposed the motion.

The Discipline Committee denied the motion, finding that the Member failed to demonstrate significant prejudice under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act.

The Committee noted the availability of the CaseLines platform for document sharing and the panel's ability to assess credibility via Zoom, emphasizing the public interest in proceeding without indefinite delay.

Following an order striking out the plaintiff's statement of claim, the successful defendant sought costs of $500.

The self-represented plaintiff opposed the costs request, citing an inability to pay and disagreeing with the underlying decision.

The court found the defendant's request for a token costs award of $500 to be very reasonable, noting that a lack of resources does not provide a license to bring unsuccessful proceedings without consequence.

The plaintiff was ordered to pay $500 in costs on a partial indemnity basis.