Province ‘open’ to more transparency in MD oversight: health minister Regulator points to ‘legislated process’ for keeping public out of medical profession’s disciplinary hearings By: Katrina Clarke Posted: 6:45 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024

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The provincial government says it is “open” to making changes to legislation governing doctor oversight, something critics of the self-regulating College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba have long called for.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara shared the news with the Free Press late Thursday after the newspaper learned a Manitoba doctor convicted of sexual assault will have his medical licence cancellation hearing held behind closed doors.

“We stand on the side of victims and we believe that transparency is important,” Asagwara said in an interview.

“Exploring opportunities to support transparency through the legislation is something that we will be taking a look at, while also working with the college to ensure that they make decisions that foster public trust and take an approach that is as transparent as can be, when appropriate.”

The previous Progressive Conservative government long refused to change to the Regulated Health Professions Act, despite persistent calls to act from critics and victims.

In November, a judge convicted Ste. Anne physician Dr. Arcel Bissonnette of five counts of sexual assault for offences involving female patients that took place between 2001 and 2017.

At the time, the college said in a statement it was “taking immediate steps toward the permanent cancellation of Dr. Bissonnette’s registration based on the convictions.”

The college maintains its process is in line with provincial law and that the eventual decision and reasons for the decision will be made public. But critics argue the law needs to change, citing what they regard as a pattern of secrecy from the regulator.

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“It’s clear the system is not working in the public interest,” said Paul Harte, a Toronto-based medical malpractice lawyer.

Harte, who has long been critical of the self-regulating bodies such as the CPSM, questions why the college would want to hold the hearing in secret. Bissonnette breached the “fundamental trust” the public puts in doctors, and the college could take steps to restore that trust by inviting the public to observe how it responds, he said.

In a statement to the Free Press, the college said it is following “the legislated process for the cancellation of a registrant’s licence” as well as the college’s own “practice direction.” The college pointed to Sec. 48 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, which outlines the process for cancelling a licence but does not say the hearing must be held in private.

The college went on to say its practice direction states cancellation hearings are to be scheduled during executive committee meetings, which are not open to the public.

However, college spokesperson Wendy Elias-Gagnon said exceptions can be made at the discretion of the committee, and the women who testified in court or filed complaints against Bissonnette have been invited to attend.

“It’s clear the system is not working in the public interest.”–Medical malpractice lawyer Paul Harte

Brandon Trask, an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba, said it is “misleading” for the college to point to legislation when explaining why the hearing is not public, since there is no requirement to hold it behind closed doors.

Trask said it’s appropriate for victims to be allowed to attend the hearing, but the broader public also deserves to observe the process, especially since the case may have caused “systemic harm.”

He said the college should strive to be as transparent as possible in order to dispel any notion that the self-regulating body has doctors protecting doctors.

“If members of the public are left with that impression, that does a disservice to the profession and to the health-care system more generally,” he said.

He is calling for “significant” changes be made to the legislation, compelling the college to be more transparent.

Harte, too, notes past action from the college, including quietly halting investigations about members when a parallel police investigation is ongoing — a practice the Free Press revealed in 2022 — signals a need for legislative change.

Bissonnette remains out on bail until his sentencing date, scheduled for June 27, court records show. He has not been able to practise medicine since November 2020, when charges were first laid and he voluntarily surrendered his licence.

He previously faced a trial involving six alleged victims in 2022, though all charges were stayed after prosecutors said late disclosure left them with no reasonable likelihood of a conviction.

In a third trial, scheduled to begin Feb. 5, he faces 10 additional counts of alleged sexual assault.

— with files from Erik Pindera

Katrina Clarke
Investigative reporter

Katrina Clarke is an investigative reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press. Katrina holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. She has worked at newspapers across Canada, including the National Post and the Toronto Star. She joined the Free Press in 2022. Read more about Katrina.

Every piece of reporting Katrina produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.