Alberta doctors accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation face unannounced inspections
CBC
The regulator of Alberta's doctors is performing unannounced inspections at medical clinics in a bid to crack down on doctors who spread COVID-19 misinformation or prescribe unproven remedies for the disease.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) said it has conducted five inspections related to COVID-19 complaints since targeted enforcement began three weeks ago.
In a statement to CBC News on Thursday, the regulator said the five cases are at various stages in the investigative process, but it declined to provide further details on the allegations.
The CPSA announced its plan to increase enforcement in a memo issued on Oct. 14.
As opponents of vaccinations, vaccine passports, masking and physical distancing became more vocal, regulatory bodies in other provinces started investigating complaints about doctors providing misinformation on COVID-19, but Alberta's use of unannounced inspections is unusual, one expert says.
The statement detailed how inspectors would arrive, without warning, at medical practices where doctors have been subject to COVID-related complaints.
If doctors refuse an inspection, the college has the authority to apply to the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench for a court order.
"We have not encountered the need to seek a court order to force a physician to co-operate with an inspection at this point," the statement said.
The college said it is "very concerned" about the increasing number of doctors reportedly violating the CPSA's standards of practice and pandemic-related public health orders.
"An on-site inspection may occur when — but is not limited to — allegations arise of inappropriate issuance of COVID-19 vaccine and/or mask-exemption letters, prescribing inappropriate interventions such as ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and spreading of misinformation related to COVID-19," the college said.
The province's Health Professions Act gives the college the authority to conduct unannounced site inspections to investigate possible breaches of CPSA's standards of practice.
Inspectors can question witnesses under oath and gain access to documents, including medical charts, as well as substances such as medical samples.
Formal investigations that find standards are breached are turned over to a discipline tribunal to determine guilt and penalty. Penalties include restrictions on a doctor's ability to practise, suspension or loss of a physician's practice permit, a fine or a mandate for additional training.
In some cases, an inspection may not be necessary to trigger disciplinary action.
Kamloops Coun. Bill Sarai has apologized after admitting he secretly recorded his argument with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson in January 2023, then sent a snippet of the conversation to the mayor, suggesting someone else had recorded it.
Yellowknife city council removed $550,000, intended to operate its own dog pound, from the city's draft budget on Monday.
The RCMP says it's considering deploying Mounties-in-training to help police the Canada-U.S. border as political anxiety over border control mounts in the face of tariff threats from the incoming Trump administration.
The death and destruction in the Crosschild family didn't stop at the domestic murder of Autumn, a 25-year-old Indigenous woman killed by Brandon Yellowfly, the man she once wanted to marry.
Josh Smee imagines a future in which food banks no longer exist in Canada, because people don't need them.
The Toronto Transit Commission board has voted to ban electric bikes with lithium-ion batteries from TTC vehicles and stations from November 15 to April 15 each year due to safety concerns.
Prince Edward Island now has a law on the books to regulate service dogs, but it could be two more years before it comes into effect.
The partner of a man who went missing near Chetwynd, B.C. more than six weeks ago says she believes their dog, which disappeared at the same time, has been found alive.
WARNING: This story contains details of sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Multinational food corporation Cargill said on Tuesday it plans to cut roughly five per cent of its staff, or about 8,000 jobs.
The season's first blast of winter weather continued Tuesday in the region and north of the city with some schools and school purpose vehicles cancelled and plows out in force on the roads.