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.
Advising the Profession
Can regulators advise the profession about new developments that appear to be unethical or unprofessional? One New Brunswick court suggests that this is a proper
No Hard Caps on Parity of Sanctions
Courts tend to require discipline panels to ensure that any sanctions imposed are consistent with previous orders in similar cases. This is often referred to
The Civil Standard of Proof at Discipline is Affirmed Again
In an unusual case, a four-person discipline panel issued two sets of concurring reasons each signed by two members of the panel. The panel found
Is the Standard of Review of Discipline Decisions Becoming Clearer?
Ever since the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 (CanLII), http://canlii.ca/t/j46kb there
No Contest Pleas at Discipline Hearings May Have Unintended Consequences
A number of regulators have developed rules of procedure that permit a practitioner to decline to admit allegations against them (i.e., making a plea of
Interim Order Upheld
It almost seems to be a rare event for an interim order limiting a practitioner’s practice to be upheld by the courts. However, in Kadri
Relying on Out-of-Province Disciplinary Findings
Where a practitioner is disciplined in another jurisdiction, a Canadian regulator typically also wants to act. If the conduct relates to incompetence or unprofessionalism, the
Easy to Say, Hard to Do
Canadian regulators are increasingly moving from dual mandates to single mandate organizations: https://nurses.ab.ca/docs/default-source/latestnews/governance-review-findings-report.pdf?sfvrsn=867323df_2. However, distinguishing which activities fall within the public interest regulatory mandate and
Suing for Discrimination
A breach of the Human Rights Code should be addressed through the human rights process. A Saskatchewan court said it should not be pursued through