Changes have been made to Canada’s first interprovincial physician licensing program after a doctor who had lost his licence in Quebec was able to continue practising in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where he was later charged with sexually assaulting patients.
But Gus Grant, the chief executive officer and registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, won’t say what those changes are, citing a continuing investigation in New Brunswick and criminal cases before the courts.
The Globe and Mail reported last month that sexual-assault charges against the doctor, Sanjeev Sirpal, had prompted regulators to review the Atlantic Registry, the first interprovincial licensing agreement in the country, which enables physicians to work throughout the region under one licence.
The Quebec College of Physicians revoked Dr. Sanjeev Sirpal’s licence in 2022.NB Lung Website
As a member of the Atlantic Registry, Dr. Sirpal, 39, who lives in Terrebonne, Que., had been permitted to practise in Nova Scotia since 2023 under his New Brunswick medical licence.
Dr. Sirpal now stands accused of sexually assaulting five patients in hospitals in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 2024 and 2025.
“I’m very confident that the disturbing incident with Dr. Sirpal won’t be repeated,” Dr. Grant said at a media availability on Wednesday to discuss improving access to care for Nova Scotians.
Dr. Grant pointed to the criminal cases and an investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick as reasons he couldn’t provide specifics.
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“What I can say is we are confident this won’t happen again,” he said. “We’re confident that the shared approaches of the four provinces are now similar and consistent.”
Laurie Potter, the registrar and CEO of the New Brunswick college, declined to say whether any changes had been made to the Atlantic Registry in response to Dr. Sirpal’s case.
“We can advise that the Atlantic Colleges recently met to discuss potential improvements to the Atlantic Registry,” she wrote in an e-mail. “As these discussions are ongoing, we are unable to share additional details at this time.”
Dr. Sirpal has since been removed from the registry and his licence is suspended.
He has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault, arising from an alleged incident at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre in Amherst, N.S. A three-day trial before a judge has been set for next year in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
Dr. Sirpal also faces a separate sexual-assault charge at the same hospital, as well as two more at New Brunswick’s Sackville Memorial Hospital and one count at Edmundston Regional Hospital.
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None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Dr. Sirpal’s lawyer, Stan MacDonald, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Quebec College of Physicians revoked Dr. Sirpal’s licence in 2022 because it found he had failed to disclose that he had once been dismissed from medical school for unethical conduct.
The New Brunswick college, which had already provided licensure to Dr. Sirpal months earlier, reviewed the Quebec decision and determined those same concerns were not present in his licensure application in that province, Dr. Potter has previously said.
It’s unclear, however, why the New Brunswick college, knowing of the revocation, signed off on Dr. Sirpal’s application to join the Atlantic Registry. In order to be eligible for the registry, physicians must hold a regular licence and not be subject to a licensing sanction, which includes the revocation of a physician’s registration or licence.
Dr. Potter declined to explain, saying that disclosing more information would compromise the integrity of the college’s continuing disciplinary investigation into Dr. Sirpal.
The Atlantic Registry has been held up by the Canadian Medical Association as a model for pan-Canadian licensure, and as a way to alleviate pressure on doctors serving patients in rural communities.
Dr. Grant said the effect of multijurisdictional licensure shouldn’t be overstated – a review found the registry’s impact was positive, but that impact was relatively small.
Launched in 2023 in response to a call from the Council of Atlantic Premiers to enhance physician mobility, the Atlantic Registry continues to grow. A total of 526 physicians were enrolled last year, up 136 over the previous year.
Dr. Grant said that the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada also considers the Atlantic Registry a viable model for multijurisdictional or national licensure.
He added that any program would need to be supported by a live nationalized bank of physicians’ employment and disciplinary data, which is currently being built by the Medical Council of Canada on the regulators’ behalf.