Main Menu
Twitter Linkedin

Sentencing Considerations for Contempt of Court for Holding Out and Use of Title

In College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia v Ezzati, 2020 BCSC 339, http://canlii.ca/t/j5s7k the Court had to decide what sentence to impose on an unregistered person who held themselves out as able to practise medicine and used protected titles such as “physician” and “Doctor”. The Court identified the following factors as relevant to that decision:

  1. the gravity of the offence (in this case disregarding a court order);
  2. the need to deter the offender;
  3. the past record and character of the offender (e.g., is this a first finding);
  4. the need to protect the public from the offender’s conduct;
  5. the ability of the offender to pay a fine; and
  6. the “extent to which the breach was flagrant and wilful and intended to defy the court’s authority”.

In applying those considerations to the conduct of this individual, the Court imposed a fine of $5,000.

More Posts

Don’t Ask for the World

It is a delicate task to word an investigative summons to produce documents. On the one hand, the investigator wants to ensure that all helpful

Challenging a Referral to Discipline

Courts strongly discourage registrants from judicially challenging the validity of a referral of allegations of professional misconduct to discipline. The latest court decision on the

Costs Must be Proportionate

Courts are reflecting on how costs should be assessed in discipline hearings where findings have been made against registrants. Alberta’s highest court has shifted from