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assist with this work and this College has expressed its willingness to work with an expert advisor.
b) Mandatory Revocation Bill 87 expands the list of acts of sexual abuse specified in the Code that will result in mandatory revocation. The added acts include: touching of the patient’ s genitals, anus, breasts or buttocks( subject to the clinically appropriate exception). These acts will be subject to the corresponding inability to apply for reinstatement for at least five years. The Bill specifies that mandatory revocation will be imposed in an additional instance: where a member has been found guilty of professional misconduct by a health profession regulator outside of Ontario and the professional misconduct relates to a sexual act that has been specified as resulting in mandatory revocation. The Bill contains provisions that would enable the list of acts resulting in mandatory revocation to be augmented in the future through regulation. If enacted, the Bill would enable the Minister to make regulations, o Specifying further acts of sexual abuse that will result in mandatory revocation. o Designating certain offences( e. g., sexual assault or others) as also resulting in mandatory revocation.
c) Definition of Patient for the Purposes of Sexual Abuse While“ sexual abuse” of a patient is currently defined in the Code, the meaning of“ patient” is not. Bill 87 proposes to define as“ patient”, in relation to an act of sexual abuse, any individual who was treated by the health-care practitioner within the last year. Health regulatory colleges will be authorized to make a regulation that would make the period longer than one year. This amendment is intended to provide a time period during which sexual contact between a regulated health professional and a former patient would constitute sexual abuse. The Bill also provides the Minister with the authority to make regulations establishing additional criteria that would be used to determine who is a patient for the purposes of the sexual abuse provisions of the Code.
d) Orders in Sexual Abuse Cases The Bill includes a provision that would prevent a panel of the Discipline Committee of colleges from ordering gender-based restrictions. These restrictions have been
Bill 87 used to prevent the physician from treating patients of a particular gender or only being allowed to treat patients of a particular gender in the presence of a chaperone. This provision would prevent gender-based restrictions from being made in all cases, including sexual abuse cases. Provisions in the Bill also specify that when a panel of the Discipline Committee makes a finding of sexual abuse that requires mandatory revocation and the penalty portion of the hearing is deferred, the panel must immediately suspend the member’ s certificate of registration until the mandatory revocation is ordered. The Bill further specifies that where a finding of sexual abuse is made and mandatory revocation is not ordered, there must be at least some suspension ordered.
The Bill strengthens the authority for panels of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee to impose interim orders( including suspensions) prior to a referral to discipline under certain conditions. Interim orders cannot include gender-based restrictions.
e) Patient Relations Program Changes have been proposed to the funding for therapy and counselling program, which forms part of the Patient Relations Program, administered by colleges.
The Bill repeals specific criterion for eligibility and instead states that funding will be available to an individual who makes a complaint or is the subject of a mandatory report alleging sexual abuse.
The Bill includes new regulation-making authority for the Minister. This authority would enable the Minister to expand the types of expenses for which funding must be provided. Currently, funding can only be used to cover the costs of therapy or counselling. Through regulation, the Minister could enable funding to be used for related expenses such as costs of medication, or child care, should that be required for the individual to access therapy.
f) Mandatory Reports for Sexual Abuse The Bill includes amendments that would increase fines for those who have failed to make a mandatory report regarding sexual abuse. The maximum fine on a first offence for an individual who fails to make a mandatory report relating to sexual abuse will be doubled to $ 50,000. For corporations, it will be quadrupled to $ 200,000. MD
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Dialogue Issue 1, 2017