Court File and Parties
Citation: Watt v. Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, 2024 ONSC 5980 Divisional Court File No.: 074/24 JR Date: 2024-10-29 Superior Court of Justice – Ontario Divisional Court
Re: Andrew Watt, Appellant And: Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, Respondent
Before: D.L. Corbett J.
Counsel: Andrew Watt, Self-Represented David Jacobs and Steven Bosnick, for the Respondent
Heard: In writing, in Chambers
Endorsement
D.L. Corbett J.
[1] On February 28, 2024, this court gave notice that it was considering dismissing this proceeding pursuant to r. 2.1 as a result of the following concerns:
The Registrar is directed to issue a notice pursuant to r. 2.1 that the court is considering dismissing this application as frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process. In this regard, the court has the following concerns:
The underlying complaints appear to be the same complaints, concerning the same issues, that were dismissed previously as frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process (Watt v. HPARB, 2020 ONSC 7386 (Div. Ct.). Thus, this application appears to be re-litigation of matters already decided.
As reflected in the decision of this court at 2020 ONSC 7386, the applicant's complaints do not appear to be grounded in objective reality and cannot possibly succeed.
Further, the applicant's persistence respecting his complaints, which have been decided and which are in any event without merit, should lead this court to make an order restricting the applicant's unsupervised access to the justice system, either by requiring that he be represented by counsel, or by requiring him to obtain permission from a judge before commencing any legal proceedings in future. The applicant should also address this concern as part of his submissions respecting the r. 2.1 notice.
Given the scope of the concerns raised by the court, the time to respond to the r. 2.1 notice shall be thirty days, and the page length of submissions shall be a maximum of twenty pages, plus no more than fifty pages in attachments.
[2] On April 17, 2024, this court dismissed this proceeding pursuant to r. 2.1, and required Dr Watt to obtain written permission from a job before commencing or continuing proceedings in the Superior Court of Justice (including the Small Claims Court and the Divisional Court). The decision was transmitted by email, as follows:
This proceeding is dismissed pursuant to r.2.1 as frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process. An order shall issue that Dr Watt may not commence or continue any legal proceedings in the Superior Court of Justice (including the Divisional Court and the Small Claims Court) without prior written permission from a judge. Permission may be sought by letter of no longer than five pages in length, directed to the Regional Senior Justice of the Region in which the proceeding is to be commenced or (in the case of the Divisional Court) to an administrative judge of the Divisional Court.
Reasons
This proceeding is substantially identical to a proceeding dismissed by this court pursuant to r. 2.1 (2020 ONSC 7386). Dr Watt argues that it is not identical because it includes additional respondents and additional allegations: the reasoning in the prior dismissal decision applies to these "additional allegations". Dr Watt argues that the prior decision should not preclude the current proceeding because he is still pursuing appeal rights from the prior decision. That argument is without merit. The Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal from the prior decision on March 23, 2021. No appeal is pending before the Supreme Court of Canada. The prior decision authoritatively decides the prior proceeding and is binding on Dr Watt. Dr Watt argues that "2020 ONSC 7386 remains before the Lieutenant Governor’s Office for consideration of granting an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada." The Lieutenant Governor has no jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Dr Watt argues that circumstances have changed:
"The Divisional Court Registrar will be aware that war has broken out in multiple locations worldwide since the commencement of this litigation, and bald endorsements of Nazi and Jewish Mafiosi lawlessness in Ontario by corrupt officials are much less acceptable than they were in 2020.... As previously mentioned, the public appetite for the decadent lawlessness of Ontario’s Nazis and Jewish Mafia has diminished considerably since the issuing of 2020 ONSC 7386."
There was also an unseasonably mild winter in southern Ontario this past year, another "change in circumstances" that has no bearing on Dr Watt's allegations, which are obviously not grounded in objective reality.
It is apparent from the prior proceeding and the current proceeding that Dr Watt's vexatious litigation is the product of mental illness, and there is no reason to believe that he will cease his vexatious conduct if not restrained from doing so. Multiple courts and tribunals should not be put to the time and trouble of getting to the bottom of Dr Watt's situation, and multiple respondents should not be put to the expense of defending proceedings.
The Registrar is directed to provide a copy of this endorsement and order to the office of the Attorney General of Ontario.
This decision is released by email on the date the email is sent to the parties; a formal endorsement will also be released in due course for publication on legal databases.
“D.L. Corbett, J.”
Released by Email: April 17, 2024
Written Endorsement Released: October 29, 2024