The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia from a decision of a chambers judge on an application for judicial review. The Appeal Court found that the chambers judge erred in remitting a matter back to the College’s Discipline Committee for rehearing solely on the issue of penalty and not on the merits in circumstances where the judge found the respondent pharmacist’s admissions to be equivocal. Having found that the admissions of professional misconduct were equivocal and therefore could not be relied upon, the chambers judge ought to have considered whether a new hearing or admission of further evidence was necessary in the interest of justice. As a result, the appeal was allowed and the question of liability on the two counts of professional misconduct was remitted back to the Disciplinary Committee of the College of Pharmacists.
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Pharmacists – Pharmacists – Professional misconduct or condut unbecoming – Disciplinary proceedings – Penalties – Public interest – Judicial review – Hearings – Conduct of hearings – Evidence Farbeh v. College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, [2013] B.C.J. No. 483, 2013 BCCA 59, British Columbia ...