Welcome to the Regulation Pro Blog. SML’s blog contains brief discussions of court decisions and other developments in professional regulation, with one or two new posts per week. Explore our catalogue below or on CanLII.
Please note that the information contained in Regulation Pro is not intended to be legal advice and is not intended to be acted upon. The information contained herein is intended for general information and educational purposes only.
Limits to the Freedom of Expression
NB This decision was reversed by the Ontario Court of Appeal at Lauzon v Ontario (Justices of the Peace Review Council), 2023 ONCA 425 (CanLII),
Adding Allegations Mid-Hearing
It is a fundamental principle that a practitioner should know the allegations (and case) they will meet before their discipline hearing starts. Some exceptions exist
Rare Example of a Court Permitting the Rejection of a Joint Submission
Discipline panels should generally accept joint submissions unless doing so would bring the administration of justice into disrepute or would be contrary to the public
Raising Abuse of Process Concerns
The Divisional Court has again confirmed that abuse of process concerns should first be raised with the discipline panel rather than by an application for
Bad Faith Investigations
It is difficult to sue a regulator for their investigations even if the resulting discipline hearing is resolved in the practitioner’s favour. The practitioner needs
Practical Constraints on Clinical Examination Appeals
Appealing a clinical assessment or examination is challenging. Even in the internal appeal stage, where there are experts present, it is often impossible for the
Focus on the Allegations!
It is trite to say that a discipline panel can only make findings in respect of the allegations contained in the notice of hearing document.
Rudeness towards Colleagues
It is professional misconduct to be significantly rude to one’s colleagues. In the legal profession such rudeness is often called “incivility”. It is more challenging
Withdrawing an Undertaking to a Regulator
Can a practitioner withdraw a formal undertaking made to a regulator? That issue arose in Al-Naami v College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, 2021