A Winnipeg man who continued to provide chiropractic services after he was stripped of his licence has been prohibited by a court from practising until 2029.
Former chiropractor Peter Rutherford had agreed to stop practising and retire after admitting to the Manitoba Chiropractors Association in October 2024 that he was guilty of misconduct related to improper record-keeping.
An order issued by Court of King’s Bench Justice Theodor Bock on March 5 prohibits Rutherford from practising as a chiropractor and “falsely pretending to be a chiropractic practitioner” until Oct. 23, 2029.
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Rutherford had practised in Manitoba since 1992 and over the years “has been involved in a slew of professional misconduct incidents,” association executive director Dana Forster said in a Feb. 19 affidavit. That includes practising without a licence, failing to maintain liability insurance, fraudulent billing, and claiming to be able to treat eye diseases, including macular degeneration.
In 2019, Rutherford was suspended for six months after he admitted to taking financial advantage of an elderly female patient.
“The foregoing pattern of professional misconduct demonstrates that Mr. Rutherford has a history of blatant disregard for his regulatory body,” Forster wrote in her affidavit. “Mr. Rutherford’s continued practice without a licence puts the public at risk.”
Rutherford did not attend court to receive Bock’s order. A court affidavit says Rutherford told an association staffer in a Feb. 27 phone call he was “over this and (do) not care, you can do what you want.”
Rutherford said he was in hospital after suffering a stroke and would not be practising.
The chiropractic association filed court action against Rutherford on Feb. 19. Court documents show insurance provider Blue Cross notified the association on Jan. 23 that Rutherford had provided chiropractic services to two patients for $50 each.
Association staff conducted an online search and discovered Rutherford was operating a clinic on Court Avenue.
A staff member, who was posing as a patient, called the clinic Jan. 29 and was told by a man who identified himself as Rutherford that he was taking new patients.
The association delivered a letter to Rutherford that same day telling him to “desist” from practising and holding himself out as a chiropractor.
Rutherford responded the following day, claiming he was not holding himself out as a chiropractor, was referring chiropractic patients elsewhere and was complying with the restrictions that had been placed on him.
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“Despite Mr. Rutherford’s assertions, he continues to hold himself out to be a chiropractor, and he continues to provide chiropractic services,” Sami Fitur, the association’s regulatory administrator, wrote in an affidavit.
The association hired a private investigator who visited the clinic Feb. 11 posing as a new patient. In an affidavit, the investigator said Rutherford told him he had “just retired” but agreed to take him as a new patient.
The investigator said Rutherford told him he saw patients from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. most days, provided services to Hutterites from 10 colonies who visited the clinic and that he only billed private patients, not insurance companies.
The investigator said Rutherford told him “he doesn’t like his regulatory association and that they are made up of board people who don’t know what they are doing.”
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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