Case information
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41572
Kulvinder Kaur Gill, et al. v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee), et al.
(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-02 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2025-05-02 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2025-05-02 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2025-05-01 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number COA-24-OM-0152, dated October 3, 2024, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2025-03-24 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-01-23 |
Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Missing: - Proof of service (Rec'd 01-30-2025), Completed on: 2025-01-30, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-23) |
Kulvinder Kaur Gill |
| 2025-01-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23B | College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee) |
| 2025-01-13 |
Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A Amended version rec'd 01-16-2025, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) |
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee) |
| 2025-01-13 | Notice of name, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) | College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee) |
| 2025-01-13 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-01-13, (Printed version filed on 2025-01-13) | College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee) |
| 2024-12-02 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED | |
| 2024-11-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23B, (Printed version filed on 2024-12-02) | Kulvinder Kaur Gill |
| 2024-11-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2024-12-02) | Kulvinder Kaur Gill |
| 2024-11-29 | Notice of name, (Printed version filed on 2024-12-02) | Kulvinder Kaur Gill |
| 2024-11-29 |
Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Missing: - Proof of service (Rec'd 12-02-2024), Completed on: 2024-12-02, (Printed version filed on 2024-12-02) |
Kulvinder Kaur Gill |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Kulvinder Kaur Gill | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee) | Respondent | Active |
And Between
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Kulvinder Kaur Gill | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Health Professions Appeal and Review Board | Respondent | Active |
| College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Mark Brown, Suzanne Karrer, Sarah Bezanson, Alexander Nataros, Michael Sarai, Maria Hauschel and Terry Polevoy | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Kulvinder Kaur Gill
Counsel
341 Talbot Street
London, Ontario
N6A 2R5
Telephone: (519) 852-6967
Email: bildy@libertaslaw.ca
Party: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Inquiries complaints and reports committee)
Counsel
80 College Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2E2
Telephone: (416) 967-2600 Ext: 744
Email: ewidner@cpso.on.ca
Party: Health Professions Appeal and Review Board
Counsel
Steven Bosnick
509-4711 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6K8
Telephone: (416) 226-0055 Ext: 36
FAX: (416) 226-0910
Email: djacobs@wjm-law.ca
Party: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Mark Brown, Suzanne Karrer, Sarah Bezanson, Alexander Nataros, Michael Sarai, Maria Hauschel and Terry Polevoy
This party is not represented by counsel.
Summary
Keywords
Administrative law — Judicial review — Standard of review — Whether reviewing court erred in selecting standard of review — Whether additional justification required to caution health professional in relation to social media use
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
The applicant is a physician. In 2020, during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the applicant made many social media posts expressing opinions on how the pandemic should be handled. Several members of the public complained to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (“CPSO”) about some of these posts. The complaints also prompted the CPSO to undertake its own investigation of the applicant’s social media posts. The complaints and the investigative report were considered by the CPSO’s Inquiries, Complaints, and Reports Committee (“ICRC”).
The ICRC considered three of the social media posts identified by the complaints and the investigative report to be false or misleading and ordered her to appear before the ICRC to be cautioned about social media use. The Health Professions Appeal and Review Board confirmed the ICRC’s decision with respect to the complaints.
The Divisional Court dismissed an application for judicial review, holding that the administrative decision makers had appropriately balanced the CPSO’s statutory mandate to regulate doctors in the public interest with the applicant’s Charter-protected right to free expression, and that their decision to issue a remedial caution was sufficiently justified. The Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal.
Lower court rulings
Superior Court of Justice - Ontario Divisional Court
221/21, 243/23
Application for judicial review dismissed with costs.
Court of Appeal for Ontario
COA-24-OM-0152
Motion for leave to appeal dismissed with costs.
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
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