Registration & Criminal Charges

In Chauhan v. Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario 2013 ONSC 1621 (CanLii), the Court considered the effect of outstanding criminal charges on an applicant for registration. In this case, a physician applied for registration in the College. He was in the first year of a residency in plastic surgery and had been charged with several criminal offences arising out inapprpriate drug use and sexual violence against women. These charges had not gone to trial at the time his application for registration was considered and denied. He took the position he was entitled to be registered because of the presumption of innocence. The Registration Committee was careful to say when it denied his application, that he could apply for registration again at a future date. The applicant did not present any evidence to rebutt the charges or otherwise deal with his character or conduct. He simply denied the criminal charges. The Court held the decision to reject the application for registration was reasonable in the circumstances. It noted the seriousness of the charges and the fact the allegations included drug sue and acts of a violent sexual nature involving more than one complainant. It said "the existence of such charges is surely a relevant consideration in an application for membership in a professional organization governed by legislation which requires the College to consider the public interest"(paragraph 45). Further the Court noted "Given the College's public interest mandate, the Registration Committee must consider all the information it has before it. This may even include unproven complaints, for example, because they may be relevant to the protection of the public interest." (paragraph 46.)Finally, the Court said "it is an overstatement of the presumption of innocence to suggest that it means that criminal charges must always be treated as irrelevant to any legal determination involving the accused person". (paragraph 48). Registration Committees must be careful not to take the effect of this decision too far, but at a minimum it recognizes that outstanding criminal charges may be a legitimate consideration when evaluating applications for registration.