Modernizing
the Practice
of Veterinary
Medicine
INVESTIGATIONS
& RESOLUTIONS
•Interim
Suspensions•
Existing Provisions
The Veterinarians Act currently includes interim suspension provisions
related to matters of incapacity or wellness. More specifically, under the Act,
a Board of Inquiry (appointed by the Executive Committee) may require
a licensed member to submit to physical and mental examinations by
a qualified person, and if the licensed member refuses or fails to submit
to such examinations, the Board of Inquiry may order that the licensed
member’s licence be suspended until he or she complies.
In addition, when a Board of Inquiry reports its findings to the Executive
Committee and if the Executive Committee refers the matter to the
Registration Committee to hold a hearing, the Executive Committee may
suspend the licensed member’s licence until the determination of whether
or not the licensed member is impaired becomes final.
There are currently, however, no parallel provisions in the Veterinarians
Act related to interim suspensions when a case is referred to the Discipline
Committee.
What Change is Proposed?
It is proposed that within the authorities of a newly constituted Investigations
and Resolutions Committee, the committee be permitted to make an interim
order directing the Registrar to suspend or impose terms, conditions or
limitations on a member’s licence if:
(a) it is of the opinion that the conduct of the member exposes or is likely to
expose any animal(s) or his or her client(s) to serious harm or injury; and
(b) an allegation has been referred to the Discipline Committee.
If such an order is made, the College must prosecute the matter
expeditiously and the Discipline Committee must give precedence to the
matter.
It is also proposed that an interim suspension may not be made unless the
member has been given notice of the Committee’s intention to make the
order and provided time to make written submissions to the Committee. In
extraordinary circumstances an interim suspension may be made without
notice to the licensed member, if there are reasonable and probable
grounds to believe that urgent intervention is needed.
32 Achieving a Modern Approach to the Regulation of Veterinary Medicine in Ontario