Ontario doctors have been forced to hand over their patients’ records, breaching their patients’ privacy

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

A trip to the doctor’s office can be filled with anxiety, but our doctor’s do their best to make sure that we are comfortable. One way they do this is by promising that whatever information is disclosed to them, they will keep it private, so we disclose deeply personal information about ourselves to them so they can help us.

Our private information is then recorded in our patient chart by our doctor for our benefit. We trust that the information divulged to our doctor is safe in his or her hands. We also know that this information remains private unless we ask for it to be disclosed, again for our benefit. The disclosure of our private medical information requires our permission, which usually is given by written or verbal consent, or if we have a complaint against our doctor, we must provide written consent for the agency that is responsible for regulating a doctor’s conduct to pursue it.

Using the declaration of a pandemic as an excuse, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has started a new and unprecedented attack on Canadian citizens and their privacy. They are targeting Ontario doctors who provided patients with information about exemptions, or treatment and prevention of illness related to mask mandates or COVID19 shots. The CPSO began its own investigation – without the patients’ knowledge or consent – even though there was NO patient complaint.

Some Ontario doctors have been forced to hand over their patients’ records, breaching their patients’ privacy. A few, very brave doctors have defended the rights and requests of their patients to keep their reports private. One of those doctors is Dr. Kustka. In a hotly contested legal battle, the CPSO has rejected Dr. Kustka’s request to protect the privacy of her patients’ personal information by redacting information that has nothing to do with COVID. Due to this they have threatened to suspend her medical license.

The CPSO claims the doctor is “harming” and “injuring” her own patients and demands the release of all patient records for “investigation.” The investigation is not to protect any patient, otherwise there would be a patient complaint and there would be some form of patient harm or injury. There has been neither harm nor injury reported!

Some of her patients have spoken out, concerned about the abuse of power, and the lack of CPSO transparency and accountability. In November 2022, they filed a case against the CPSO, and asked the Court to review the lawfulness and constitutionality of the CPSO demands. Instead of trying to get their consent, or giving them an opportunity to be heard, the CPSO brought a motion to quash (remove) patients, saying they have no “interest” in their own medical records, and no legal rights, including the right to be heard in Court! The CPSO also claims that the doctor must abide by the demand, even if it is unlawful and unconstitutional, because the Charter does not apply!

The right to be secure from government intrusion on individual privacy is a hallmark of a free and democratic society. This right is under threat in Canada and few Canadians know about it.

One of the eight predictions by the WEF for 2030 is that we will not have privacy! Unless we defend our right to privacy, our privacy will disappear much earlier than 2030. It will vanish within this year!

You can join the patients on March 30^th, 2023, at 10:00 A.M. as they argue the right to be heard in court regarding the invasion of their privacy, and the unlawful seizure of their own information. Court location: Divisional Court – Osgoode Hall 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N5 Courtroom: TBA