Sexual abuse of patients by health professionals is a serious and pressing concern, but the Ontario government’s latest effort to address this problem represents an unfortunate limitation on a College Discipline Committee’s ability to mete out penalties that fit the circumstances of the case.
The province recently introduced Bill 87, the Protecting Patients Act, 2016, which included changes to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA). These changes were, among other things, aimed at combating sexual abuse by health professionals.
Bill 87 is the government’s response to the Report of the Minister’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Patients, which called for legislative amendments to modernize and reinforce Ontario’s commitment to zero tolerance of sexual abuse of patients by regulated health professionals.
The legislation comes on the heels of criticism levied against the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for the failure of its discipline committee to revoke the licences of physicians who were found to have engaged in sexual abuse.