BC Pharmacists: Survive CPBC Disciplinary Action With Legal Guidance

If you are a BC pharmacist or pharmacy technician facing a complaint filed with the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia (the “CPBC” or the “College”), it is essential to act promptly to protect your professional standing and reputation while remaining legally informed.

This article provides some essential information on the potential risks, procedures, and your administrative law rights when facing CPBC disciplinary action. However, it is not a substitute for legal advice tailored to your case or situation.

As you read on, please keep in mind that Taylor Janis strongly recommends seeking legal advice and representation as early as possible if you are under disciplinary scrutiny of the CPBC.

The Regulatory Powers of the CPBC

The CPBC’s Regulatory Role

Under the BC Health Professions Act (the “HPA”), the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia is the regulatory college for all BC pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and student pharmacists, who will be collectively referred to as its “registrants” throughout this article for brevity.

Under the HPA, one of the CPBC’s primary objectives is to serve and protect the public. To advance this goal, the College is responsible for establishing, maintaining and enforcing standards of qualification, ethics, professionalism, practice and competence for the pharmacy professions.

The CPBC’s Disciplinary Powers

Under the current Health Professions Act (the “HPA”), the CPBC has broad statutory disciplinary powers and discretion over its registrants.

The Health Professions and Occupations Act (the “HPOA”), which is expected to come into full force on April 1, 2026, was introduced to reform some aspects of the regulatory framework governing health professions in BC. The HPOA, even when it is in full force, will not take away the CPBC’s standing as a regulatory college.

Both the HPA and the HPOA confer broad bylaw-making powers to the CPBC to govern its internal procedures and the pharmacy professions. Under the HPOA, the College will retain and continue to exercise much of its current regulatory powers in licensing, complaint processing and investigating disciplinary matters.

To conclude, the CPBC is the regulatory body for the self-regulated pharmacy professions, and its decisions have legally binding effects on its registrants.

*The information provided in the article is descriptive and applicable to the current regulatory regime under the HPA and the parts of HPOA already in force, except where it is otherwise specified.

What Are the Consequences of Being Disciplined?

Under the current framework, if the CPBC makes an adverse disciplinary decision, it might do one or a few of the following to the disciplined registrant:

• Reprimand the disciplined registrant;
• Impose limits or conditions on the registrant’s practice;
• Suspend the registrant’s registration;
  • The College may impose limits or conditions on their eligibility to apply for reinstatement or on the management of their practice during a suspension.
• Cancel the registrant’s registration;
• Issue a fine up to $100,000; and
• Recover certain costs associated with the disciplinary process from the disciplined registrant.

Hence, being disciplined by the CPBC can have severe financial and career consequences. A suspension or cancellation of your registration can be career-threatening, and even a seemingly “lesser” discipline measure, such as a condition placed on your practice, can be highly disruptive to your career and even personal life.

Furthermore, being disciplined can result in widespread and irrecoverable reputational damage. Under the HPA, final and adverse disciplinary orders must be put on public notice. Moreover, under the CPBC Bylaws, such orders must also be notified to all CPBC registrants and all Canadian regulatory bodies governing the pharmacy professions.

Act Promptly to Assess and Mitigate Risks

The legal rules governing the practice of pharmacy are intricate, and perspectives often diverge when it comes to a disciplinary matter. Hence, when you are under the CPBC’s disciplinary scrutiny, you should act promptly to obtain legal advice so that you have legal guidance to assess and mitigate potential risks, even if the allegations are seemingly unfounded or trivial.

Taylor Janis Workplace Law offers transparent legal advice to all professionals facing regulatory actions in all areas of BC. If you are exposed to the risk of a CPBC discipline, contact us at our Vancouver or Kamloops office today to schedule an initial consultation.

legal advice and representation are also instrumental in navigating the complex and stressful disciplinary procedures of the CPBC. Please read on if you would like to know more about the CPBC’s disciplinary process.

The Disciplinary Process of CPBC

Complaints

Under the HPA, any person can file a complaint with the CPBC against its registrants. The college’s registrants also have a positive duty to report their peers for sexual misconduct or conduct endangering the public. Moreover, the Inquiry Committee of the College can initiate an investigation on its own motion for a variety of concerns regarding a registrant’s conduct.

Hence, a complaint does not necessarily need to come from a patient, and it is not the only way to trigger a CPBC disciplinary process.

Once the College’s Registrar receives a complaint, they must refer it to the Inquiry Committee of the College, unless they have determined that the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith, or the matter lacks the gravity to trigger an investigation.

The Investigation by Inquiry Committee

Under the HPA, The Inquiry Committee must investigate a matter referred to it as soon as possible.

An investigation can be highly disruptive to your practice or even personal life. The Inquiry Committee has broad investigatory powers and can direct an inspector to:

• Require and retain information, records and/or certain physical evidence from the investigated registrant;
• Require the investigated registrant to answer questions and/or to be interviewed; and
• Inspect the investigated registrant’s premises for practice.

Under certain circumstances, the Inquiry Committee may also:

• Authorize a person to apply for a court order, thus to expand the investigatory power to search other premises and/or to seize other evidence; and/or
• Place restrictions on /suspend the investigated registrant’s practice during an investigation for the protection of the public.
  • A restriction, condition or suspension imposed on a registrant’s practice will be put on public notice, thus resulting in severe reputational damage even before a final disciplinary decision is reached.

When under investigation, you have to be careful not to inadvertently jeopardize your own case. Moreover, an effective and robust response may lead to an early and favourable resolution. Hence, legal advice and representation are highly recommended if you are expecting or undergoing a CPBC investigation.

Discipline Committee Hearings

After an investigation, an unresolved complaint will be referred to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. A hearing is a quasi-judicial process that can be highly challenging and intimidating to navigate. This is for a few reasons:

• A hearing is quasi-judicial and adversarial procedure:
  • The parties (CPBC vs. the respondent registrant) both have a statutory right to legal representation, and a complainant may be represented by counsel if they are also presenting evidence.
  • A hearing is an adversarial procedure, meaning that decisions are made on the relative strength of the parties’ legal and factual submissions. Given that both the facts and legal issues are often intensely contentious, successfully defending against an allegation often requires extensive preparation and strategic planning.
• The timeline for preparation is limited:
  • Under the HPA, a hearing citation may be delivered to you as late as 30 days before the date of the hearing, and the date, time and place of the hearing may be provided with as little as 14 days’ notice.
• At the hearing, you may be compelled to testify under oath or disclose records:
  • A respondent may be compelled (ordered) to testify and be subjected to examination (being scrutinized with questions). Failure to cooperate may result in severe legal consequences.
  • Preparedness and awareness of common pitfalls are essential to avoid prejudicing yourself.
• The procedures have profound reputational implications:
  • Hearings are presumptively open to the public. Therefore, severe reputational harm may occur even before a decision is made, especially if you are underprepared for the hearing or act in ways that prejudice yourself.

A hearing is not only highly challenging but also consequential. A hearing decision by the Discipline Committee cannot be internally appealed within the CPBC, and the only way to overturn it is to appeal it to the BC Supreme Court.

Our strongest recommendation is that you exercise your statutory right to counsel if you are expecting a hearing.

Alternative Resolution Processes

There are alternative ways to resolve a disciplinary matter without going through an entire hearing process. After the commencement of an investigation:

• The Inquiry Committee may assist the complainant and the investigated registrant in resolving a matter voluntarily.
• The Inquiry Committee may also request the registrant to consent to a reprimand or undertake certain actions (known as a reprimand or remedial action by consent).
• An investigated registrant can also propose to the Inquiry Committee for a consent order by admitting to certain alleged facts and proposing discipline orders against them. Such proposals may or may not be accepted.

However, these alternatives should be approached carefully and strategically under legal advice. This is because:

• A settlement or resolution by consent is normally legally binding. Hence, you should only agree to what is fair and reasonable, considering all the relevant legal and factual factors.
• A consent order requires admission to at least some of alleged facts, which will substantially foreclose an appeal on grounds of erroneous fact-finding.
• An alternative resolution can result in severe reputational damage:
  • A consent order must be published, as it is considered equivalent to a discipline order.
  • A remedial action by consent related to a serious matter will be published. (A serious matter includes any matter that would normally attract sanctions more than just a reprimand or fine. )

Therefore, although alternative resolutions can be advantageous in the right circumstances, you should not make a hasty decision. Instead, you should retain a lawyer to comprehensively review your case and then make legally informed and strategically sound decisions.

Seek Legal Advice Promptly

When undergoing a CPBC disciplinary process, you should act promptly in obtaining legal advice, which is instrumental in navigating the procedural complexities and challenges, and streamlining the procedures where possible and reasonable.

For any questions and concerns about an impending or ongoing CPBC disciplinary procedure, do not hesitate to contact Taylor Janis today to schedule a consultation.

Formulating a robust response or defence is not an easy task. Please read on if you would like to know more about this.

Defending Against an Allegation

Facing a disciplinary action by the CPBC is highly consequential, and it is essential that you have a robust and effective defence. However, it is not simple to have an effective defence, as this often requires legal expertise, strong evidence and skillful advocacy.

The Legal Expertise

The legislative and regulatory framework governing the pharmacy professions is complex and necessarily so. The rules applicable to a CPBC registrant are multi-sourced, complex and often nuanced. When preparing a legal argument, it is necessary to bear in mind that:

• There is a broad range of disciplinable conduct, and there are multiple sources of rules specifically applicable to CPBC registrants.
  • Under the HPA, disciplinable conduct includes non-compliance with the HPA, its accompanying regulations, the CPBC Bylaws and the standards established by the College, including the CPBC Code of Ethics. Moreover, a contravention of the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act or its accompanying regulations can result in CPBC regulatory action. Thus, legal expertise in interpreting and applying all these sources of rules is often essential for an effective defence.
  • Disciplinable conduct also includes incompetent practice, professional misconduct and unprofessional conduct. Moreover, significant impairments to a registrant’s ability to practice can also affect their professional standing. Issues related to these can be highly nuanced, and correctly interpreting the applicable standards often requires a broad legal understanding.
    • For example, competence does not equate to perfection. Whether a pharmacist has acted competently can be assessed with references to not only the published standards but also other legal authorities, such as common law precedents.
• A pharmacist or pharmacy technician has to observe all the laws at all times, just like everyone else.
  • When making a disciplinary decision, the College can consider legal authorities such as common law cases and prior regulatory decisions, not just the legal rules specifically applicable to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
  • Correspondingly, persuasive legal and regulatory action precedents can be the basis of a strong defence. However, to appropriately cite and apply such precedents may require a high degree of legal acumen.

A lawyer can leverage their legal expertise to identify and apply a wealth of appropriate legal authorities and conduct in-depth analysis, and these abilities can sometimes be indispensable for formulating strong legal defences.

The Evidence

A disciplinary decision can only be based on facts substantiated with evidence. During a disciplinary procedure, the perspectives of the parties involved often diverge, and facts are often intensely disputed. When preparing a factual argument, it is important to know that:

• The strength of your evidence is assessed relative to the competing evidence, especially at a hearing.
  • This means that evidence needs to be well-organized and presented so that its factual relevance and legal materiality are properly highlighted.
• Evidence has to conform to certain requirements to be admissible, and pieces of evidence are not equal in their strength and relevance.
  • Having your lawyer emphasize the strength of your evidence and the weaknesses of problematic competing evidence can be instrumental in advancing your factual positions and achieving a favourable outcome.

We Advocate for You

An experienced lawyer at Taylor Janis can not only assist you in preparing strong legal and factual arguments but also advocate for you and assist the adjudicator in making fair decisions. This can be crucial for safeguarding your legal rights when facing a regulatory challenge.

Contact us today for an initial consultation, which is the first step in securing a tailored legal plan and defence strategy.

If you have concerns or questions about your rights when undergoing a regulatory action, you will find the next section informative.

Understand Your Rights when Facing Regulatory Action

When undergoing a CPBC regulatory action, it is crucial that you are informed about your common law and administrative law rights, as safeguarding your rights is integeral to a fair outcome.

Knowing Your Rights

Your rights are ultimately about fairness, and they can be put into three broad but distinct categories. Below is a short summary of these rights.

• Right to substantive fairness:
  • This means the decision must meet certain standards in its legal and factual reasoning.
  • Under the HPA, a registrant can appeal a decision by the CPBC Discipline Committee to the BC Supreme Court. At an appeal, the impugned decision is assessed by the appellate standards as if it were made by a lower court.
  • Hence, the standards of substantive fairness are that a decision must not contain “palpable and overriding error” in fact-finding, and its legal reasoning must be correct. These standards are iterated in the Supreme Court of Canada decision Housen.
• Right to procedural fairness:
  • Broadly speaking, you have a right to “know the case against you and make full answer and defence”.
  • This right is infringed if there is a lack of due process or when due process is conducted unfairly. Thus, procedural fairness issues must be assessed through a detailed analysis of how a procedure was conducted, together with an understanding of the due process requirements under the HPA and the CPBC Bylaws.
• Right to an unbiased decision maker:
  • This right is infringed if a decision or decision-making process raises a reasonable apprehension of bias to an informed third person observing the entire circumstance.
  • Alleged bias must be substantiated with evidence to meet the high legal and factual thresholds: remember, reasonable apprehension of bias is not “any apprehension of bias”.

The preferred approach to safeguarding your rights is to have legal counsel engaged with the entire disciplinary process, so that they can spot, flag and object to potential infringements as they arise. This is not only because a claim of infringement must be substantiated with strong legal and factual arguments, but also because it is a monumental challenge to overturn an unfair decision.

Appealing an Unfair Decision

If a registrant has concerns about the fairness of a decision by the Discipline Committee, they can appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of British Columbia within 30 days of receiving it. However, an appeal is monumentally challenging because:

• An appeal procedure is complex and likely lengthy, and the appellate standards for an appeal to be successful are very high (as discussed above).
  • Adding to the difficulty, courts are, at common law, required to pay deference to regulatory decision makers out of respect for legislators’ intent following the Supreme Court of Canada decision Vavilov.
• The damaging effects of a disciplinary order may continue to take place during the likely lengthy appeal procedure.
  • This is because an appeal does not automatically pause the enforcement of a discipline order. Moreover, even if an appeal is successful, the matter may be sent back to the College to be re-determined, rather than being quashed outright.
• An appeal can be highly technical and are ideally approached under legal guidance
  • An appeal is normally not a “rehearing” of the alleged conduct. This means normally only rights-related issues will be considered, and you cannot submit additional evidence regarding the alleged conduct.

Hence, although you have a statutory right to appeal a CPBC disciplinary decision, an appeal should be seen as a last resort attempt to seek judicial remedies after the damage has started to take place.

Safeguarding Your Rights with Early and Ongoing Legal Representation

Our strongest recommendation is that you engage legal representation early and throughout the entire disciplinary process, so that your rights are protected every step of the way.

However, if an appeal becomes necessary, you can rely on Taylor Janis to provide you with skilled legal guidance when navigating the challenging waters of an appellate action.

Secure a Tailored Legal Plan

Taylor Janis Workplace Law appreciates the intricacies of regulatory action. We also understand that every case is different, and so are the needs of each client. This is why we are committed to providing legal services tailored to your specific situation.

Whether you are facing the risk of CPBC discipline or seeking to appeal a decision, you can contact Taylor Janis Workplace Law to schedule an initial consultation, which is the first step to securing a fully-tailored legal plan.

Taylor Janis offers legal services to professionals facing regulatory actions in all areas of BC, and we are looking forward to assisting you through any regulatory challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does a CPBC Disciplinary Process Typically Take?

This can vary greatly depending on various factors, such as the factual and legal merit of the allegation, as well as how you respond in a given situation. A vexatious or frivolous matter is likely dismissed fairly quickly, but if a matter progresses into a full investigation or hearing, the process can take a few months, if not over a year, to conclude. Your response can critically affect how fast a matter is resolved, as a robust response early on can discourage meritless matters from being processed further, thus leading to an expedited resolution. You should discuss your concerns about the disruptive effects of the disciplinary process with a lawyer.

Can I Continue Working While Being Investigated by the CPBC?

If your registration is not suspended or has conditions or restrictions placed thereon, you can continue working while undergoing a CPBC disciplinary process. However, if any of these have been imposed on your license, you should strictly follow the College’s directions, as non-compliance can attract severe disciplinary or legal consequences. You can contact Taylor Janis Workplace Law if you have any concerns or questions about your ability to work during a disciplinary process.

I Am no Longer Registered with The CPBC. Should I Still Be Concerned About an Impending Disciplinary Action?

For disciplinary purposes, the HPA‘s definition of registrants includes former registrants. Hence, you can be disciplined by the CPBC long after the cessation of your registration. Moreover, being disciplined by the CPBC may affect your future career, as many professional regulators take into consideration of disciplinary record when you are applying for their membership, and the CPBC does notify out-of-province regulators about disciplinary orders. Even if you are no longer a CPBC registrant, you should consult a lawyer if you are under its disciplinary scrutiny.

Can My Union Lawyer Represent Me in a CPBC Regulatory Action?

Your union is the exclusive bargaining agent with your employer and has the exclusive right to settle most workplace grievances with them. In other words, your union counsel’s main duty is to represent the union in matters related to the collective agreement. Hence, if your legal matter does not concern your employer or is not captured under your collective agreement, your union lawyer may not provide you with adequate legal support. If you need a lawyer who pays undivided loyalty to you, you can contact Taylor Janis Workplace Law to schedule a consultation.

Conclusion

Under the current regulatory regime, the CPBC has statutory regulatory powers to make legally binding disciplinary decisions against BC pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. A CPBC regulatory action can result in severe financial, career and reputational consequences. The disciplinary procedures of the CPBC can be highly complex, consequential and disruptive, and they engage the administrative law rights of the pharmacist or pharmacy technicians being subjected to them. If you are expecting or facing a CPBC regulatory action, effective legal representation can have indispensable value in navigating the procedural complexity, preparing a robust defence and upholding your rights.

References:

• Health Professions Act [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 183
• Health Professions and Occupations Act [SBC 2022] CHAPTER 43
• Health Professions Act Pharmacists Regulation, B.C. Reg. 417/2008
• Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 (CanLII), [2019] 4 SCR 653
• Housen v. Nikolaisen, 2002 SCC 33 (CanLII), [2002] 2 SCR 235
• CPBC Bylaws

Resources for Readers:

• CPBC complaints process
• Past discipline decisions published by the CPBC

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