Jump To:The Discipline Committee is made up of Public and Elected Board Directors, Professional Committee Appointees and Lay Committee Appointees. Panels of the Discipline Committee hear allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence against registrants. Upon finding a registrant guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence, the panel has the authority to revoke, suspend or limit a registrant’s registration, impose a fine, or reprimand the registrant.
Jump To:The Discipline Committee receives referrals from the:
As per section 51(1) of the Health Professions Procedural Code being Schedule 2 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, a panel of the Discipline Committee shall find the registrant has committed an act of professional misconduct if:
(a) the member (registrant) has been found guilty of an offence that is relevant to the member’s suitability to practise;
(b) the governing body of a health profession in a jurisdiction other than Ontario has found that the member (registrant) committed an act of professional misconduct that would, in the opinion of the panel, be an act of professional misconduct as defined in the regulations;
(b.0.1) the member (registrant) has failed to cooperate with the Quality Assurance Committee or any assessor appointed by that committee;
(b.1) the member (registrant) has sexually abused a patient; or
(c) the member (registrant) has committed an act of professional misconduct as defined in the regulations.
The “regulations” referred to in s.51(1) (section c) are regulations under the Pharmacy Act, 1991, Regulation 130/17.
The Public Register
The College publishes edited summaries of the decisions of the Discipline Committee in its digital magazine Pharmacy Connection. The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, requires that these summaries be published.
Full case decisions are provided via the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) dating back to October 2009.
We are currently experiencing a temporary delay in posting decisions to CanLII. If there is a specific discipline decision that you would like to access that is not currently available on CanLII, please reach out to our Hearings Team at hearingsoffice@ocpinfo.com for assistance.
To view the terms, conditions, limitations and any other public information on a registrant’s certificate, visit Find a Pharmacy or Pharmacy Professional. Information about any current allegations or previous findings of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity which relate to the registrant are also specified.
Rules of Procedure
The Statutory Powers and Procedure Act (SPPA) mandates the minimum standards of procedural fairness applicable to all administrative hearings in Ontario.
The SPPA also gives the Discipline Committee of the College the jurisdiction to create Rules of Procedure.
Under the authority of the SPPA, the Discipline Committee has adopted the Rules of Procedure, which apply to all discipline hearings at the College.
The following forms are part of the Rules of Procedure and can be downloaded by clicking on the following links:
The Discipline Committee has issued a Practice Direction to provide additional information on Setting Pre-Hearing Conference and Hearing Dates (in effect as of February 1, 2015), as well as a Direction on Electronic and Written Proceedings (in effect as of May 6, 2020).
Reinstatement After Revocation
Reinstatement of a former registrant’s certificate of registration (“certificate”) can only be ordered by a panel of the Discipline Committee as it is the only committee that can revoke a registrant’s certificate.
A penalty of revocation of a registrant’s certificate may be ordered by the Discipline Committee following a finding of professional misconduct of a significant nature. Indeed, this penalty is reserved only for the most serious cases of misconduct where, given all other considerations, no other penalty can adequately protect the public from unsafe or unethical practice.
A revoked “registrant” may apply, in writing, to the Registrar for the reinstatement of his or her certificate, one year after the revocation. (In cases where revocation resulted from a finding of sexual abuse of a patient, the revoked registrant can only apply for reinstatement after five years.)
Applications for reinstatement are made formally in a hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee. Unlike other proceedings before this Committee where the burden of proof lies with the College, the onus is on the former registrant to present evidence that will convince the Committee that the original reasons for the revocation have been appropriately addressed. Specifically, the Committee seeks information that indicates that the individual is governable, understands the significance of his or her past conduct, and evidence that suggests the past conduct is unlikely to recur if the former registrant is reinstated. The College may either support or oppose the application before the Committee.
After hearing the evidence and submissions, the Discipline Committee issues its decision and reasons in writing to the Registrar and the applicant. The Committee may either refuse the request for reinstatement or direct the Registrar to issue a new certificate. Where the Committee decides to reinstate the certificate, it may also order the Registrar to impose terms, conditions or limitations on the registrant’s certificate.
Unlike other disciplinary proceedings, an applicant seeking reinstatement has no right to appeal the Discipline Committee’s decision to the Divisional Court. Every applicant has the right to reapply for reinstatement within six months of the Committee’s decision to deny his or her application.
Reinstatement proceedings are infrequent, due primarily to the relatively rare incidence of revocation orders being made by the Discipline Committee. And, as with discipline hearings, reinstatement hearings are open to the public and are recorded formally by a court reporter.
