The Agreement Between a Professional Order and the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions: an Underused Tool to Protect the Public

Section 55.1 of the Professional Code (“Prof. C.”) provides that the board of directors of a professional order may, after giving the professional an opportunity to submit observations, provisionally strike the professional off the roll or provisionally restrict or suspend his or her right to engage in professional activities if the professional has been found guilty of an offence referred to in section 45 Prof. C. This includes a criminal offence committed in Canada or abroad, or a penal offence committed in or outside Quebec, which, in the reasoned opinion of the board of directors, is related to the practice of the profession, unless the professional has obtained a pardon. This also includes offences under section 188 Prof. C. or to a provision of a Quebec or federal Act expressly identified in the order’s code of ethics (section 45, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1 to 6 Prof. C.).

To apply this provision, section 55.5 Prof. C. provides that the board of directors of a professional order may send the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (“DCPP”) a list of criminal or penal offences that may be related to the practice of the profession and for which the order wishes to be informed of any charge brought against a member. The professional order and the DCPP may enter into an agreement to determine the manner in which this information is to be sent.

This provision aims to remedy situations where a professional fails or refuses to inform his or her order of a conviction, as required by section 59.3 Prof. C. Thus, the orders can proactively monitor relevant judicial decisions, even in the absence of a voluntary declaration from the member concerned.

Such information from the DCPP also allows a professional order to intervene, as soon as charges are laid, under the conditions set out in section 122.1 Prof. C. This mechanism allows the syndic, when of the opinion that proceedings instituted against a professional for an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of five years or more are related to the practice of the profession, request that a disciplinary council immediately impose on the professional either (1) a suspension or provisional restriction of the right to engage in professional activities or to use a title reserved to the members of the order, or (2) conditions the professional must meet in order to be allowed to continue to practise the profession or to use the title reserved to the members of the order.

As of December 11, 2024, only 17 of the 46 professional orders had reached an agreement with the DCPP.[1]

Such an agreement ensures rigorous monitoring of members’ activities, thereby enabling swift intervention in the event of a breach. It also helps maintain public trust in the ability of professional orders to fulfill their mission of protecting the public.

Do not hesitate to contact our disciplinary and professional law team for more information.