Professional Conduct reports – April 2025

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Recent hearing outcomes

Dr. Monica Cavanagh sanctioned by CPSA Hearing Tribunal

After admitting to unprofessional conduct, Dr. Monica Cavanagh, a psychiatrist from Canmore, was sanctioned by a CPSA Hearing Tribunal.

After she began providing care for a child, Dr. Cavanagh also took on the child’s parent as a patient and eventually, the parent’s younger child. During this time, Dr. Cavanagh failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with the parent in several ways, including providing a personal email address, engaging in casual conversations, disclosing personal information, exchanging gifts and providing medical care without billing for it. Dr. Cavanagh also took unconventional approaches to treatment with both the parent and one of the children, without following the standards required for practising outside of established conventional medicine. When Dr. Cavanagh became uncomfortable with the situation, she abruptly terminated care for all three patients without transitioning their care to another provider.

The Tribunal’s decision can be reviewed in full on CPSA’s website. Dr. Cavanagh admitted that her conduct was unprofessional and the Tribunal accepted a joint submission on sanction, which includes:

• Cavanagh will receive a reprimand.
• At her own cost, Dr. Cavanagh must fully participate in CPSA’s Individual Practice Review program and complete a course on ethics and boundaries.
• Cavanagh is responsible for a portion of the costs of the hearing and investigation, totalling $10,000.

Dr. Jay Quan found guilty of failing to respond to CPSA

A CPSA Hearing Tribunal found Dr. Jay Quan, a diagnostic radiologist from Calgary, guilty of unprofessional conduct for failing to respond to communications from CPSA.

Under the Health Professions Act, health professionals have a responsibility to cooperate with their regulators and respond to correspondence as required. From March 2022 to August 2023, CPSA made several attempts to communicate with Dr. Quan about a complaint filed against him through multiple emails, letters and phone messages, and did not receive a response. CPSA was able to connect with Dr. Quan by phone on one occasion, during which he confirmed he had received CPSA’s correspondence but did not realize he was obligated to reply. In a follow-up letter, Dr. Quan was asked to submit a written response to CPSA regarding his complaint. Dr. Quan did not respond to this request.

Dr. Quan did not attend the hearing and did not send a representative to attend on his behalf. After considering testimony and the evidence presented, the Hearing Tribunal determined the allegations were proven and found Dr. Quan guilty of unprofessional conduct.

The Tribunal’s full, written decision can be viewed on CPSA’s website. A hearing to consider submissions on sanction will be held at a later date.

Dr. Victor Taye Fadayomi sanctioned for touching office assistant without consent

Dr. Victor Taye Fadayomi, a family physician from Calgary, has been sanctioned by a CPSA Hearing Tribunal.

After a hearing in October 2023, the Tribunal found Dr. Fadayomi guilty of unprofessional conduct for an incident which occurred in September 2021, when he inappropriately touched the breast of one of his medical office assistants without her consent.

As the complainant in this case was not a patient, mandatory sanctions for sexual abuse under the Health Professions Act do not apply.

At sanction hearings held in July and September 2024, Dr. Fadayomi and CPSA’s Complaints Director presented a joint agreement on sanction to the Hearing Tribunal, recommending a reprimand, education, costs and a three-month suspension, with two months to be served and one month held in abeyance pending fulfillment of the other orders. However, the Tribunal did not accept the suspension proposed in the joint agreement and ordered the following:

• Fadayomi will receive a reprimand.
• Fadayomi’s practice permit is suspended for four months, with three months to be served and one month held in abeyance pending completion of the Tribunal’s remaining orders.
• At his own cost, Dr. Fadayomi must complete a program on ethics and boundaries.
• Fadayomi is responsible for 60 per cent of the costs of the investigation and hearing.

The Tribunal’s full, written decision on sanction can be viewed on CPSA’s website.

Dr. Roger Hodkinson sanctioned by CPSA Hearing Tribunal

Edmonton pathologist Dr. Roger Hodkinson admitted to charges of unprofessional conduct and was sanctioned by a CPSA Hearing Tribunal.

On several occasions in 2020 and 2021, Dr. Hodkinson made public statements (at an Edmonton City Council meeting, in a media interview and on social media) about public health measures in place at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The comments offered by Dr. Hodkinson fell outside the scope of practice of a pathologist and were inconsistent with accepted public health medicine guidelines. This is contrary to expectations outlined in the Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics and Professionalism, which states that physicians must clearly indicate when they are offering an opinion that is contrary to the accepted view of the profession, and be cautious not to overstep the limits of their knowledge and skills.

At a hearing held in November 2024, Dr. Hodkinson admitted to the allegations against him and acknowledged that his conduct breached the Code of Ethics and Professionalism. Additional details are available in the Tribunal’s full, written decision on CPSA’s website.

The Hearing Tribunal recognized Dr. Hodkinson’s admission of unprofessional conduct and accepted a joint submission on sanction, ordering the following:

• Hodkinson will receive a caution.
• At his own cost, Dr. Hodkinson must complete an online course from the Canadian Medical Association on influence and advocacy.
• Hodkinson is responsible for a portion of the costs of the investigation and hearing, totalling $5,000.

Learnings for the profession

Due to the inherent power imbalance between physicians and their patients, CPSA’s Boundary Violations: Personal standard of practice captures the importance of maintaining boundaries with patients to ensure there is no risk of conflict of interest and the physician-patient relationship remains professional. Physicians can terminate the physician-patient relationship for any number of reasons but when they do, they must abide by the requirements set out in the standard on Terminating The Physician-Patient Relationship In Office-Based Settings. This includes ensuring continuity of care for patients with serious medical conditions or arranging transfer of care to another provider.

Physicians are taught the value of advocacy early in their careers. CPSA supports freedom of expression and encourages regulated members to voice their opinions—sharing thoughts and new ideas is an important part of the scientific method. That said, it is important to remember that physicians hold a position of trust with members of the public, which comes with a responsibility to maintain that trust so all physicians can continue to practise effectively. The Code of Ethics and Professionalism does not limit regulated members from speaking out and sharing opposing opinions, but does specify that physicians must clearly state when they are speaking outside of their scope of practice and when their perspectives differ from current, accepted medical guidelines.