B.C. massage therapists accused of sexual misconduct say they don't need chaperones

Three years ago, Trevor Scott of Prince George was the subject of a precedent-setting ruling from B.C.'s highest court when he challenged his professional college over how it handled allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

The Court of Appeal found that the College of Massage Therapists of B.C. was within its rights when it ordered Scott to have a chaperone in the room during all appointments with female patients while the complaint against him was under investigation.

That complaint was eventually dismissed, but now Scott once again stands accused of masturbating while massaging a patient. Once again, the college has ordered Scott to employ a chaperone, and once again, he's challenging that requirement in court, suggesting it's an unfair burden that might leave him unable to start a family.

That news is disappointing to Raji Mangat, director of litigation for West Coast LEAF, a women's legal advocacy group that intervened in Scott's original court case.

"The allegations that are being made in these cases are serious allegations of sexual misconduct, and we have to recognize that there is a particular vulnerability in the relationship between the person receiving massage therapy and the person giving the massage," she told CBC.

"Those are considerations that the colleges weigh … and they've decided that their role is to ensure that there is protection for the public."

College registrar Eric Wredenhagen declined to comment on the petitions while they are before the courts.

The 2016 appeal court ruling in Scott's case now acts as a guidebook for professional health regulators when they decide whether to take "extraordinary action" and limit someone's practice during an investigation. The decision makes it clear that a college can impose interim conditions when there is evidence to support a complaint as well as a credible risk to the public.

'Harm at a personal level'

Scott was one of three registered massage therapists (RMTs) in B.C. who were the subject of these extraordinary actions in April because of allegations of inappropriate behaviour with female patients. None of those allegations have been proven and they're currently under investigation.

Another of the three is Leonard Krekic of Penticton, who is also accused of sexual misconduct, and has also been ordered to use a chaperone. Like Scott, he has filed a court challenge on the limits to his practice, and like Scott, this is his second time petitioning the court about those limits.

According to the college, the outcome of the earlier complaint against Krekic is confidential.

Lawyer Scott Nicoll is representing both men in the latest actions, and he told CBC neither he nor his clients would comment on the matter.

But their petitions allege the college had insufficient evidence of wrongdoing to impose such onerous conditions on the two men. Both say the vast majority of their clients are women, and the cost of paying for a chaperone will significantly reduce their income.

Scott's petition says that hiring a chaperone means he and his wife will likely have to forgo expensive fertility treatments and abandon their plans to pursue higher education.

"The adverse impact of the limitations … extends to harm at a personal level with respect to damaging his mental health, his wife and marriage as well as their efforts to conceive and have a family," the petition states.

But Mangat argues there are more pressing concerns. The alternative, she suggests, would be to restrict the two RMTs from practising at all.

"It really is about protecting the public. That's why we allow professions to regulate themselves. That has to be the prevailing consideration," she said.

A blistering review of B.C.'s regulatory system released this spring suggests that many colleges have other priorities and place too much emphasis on protecting the wellbeing of health professionals.

"There is a lack of relentless focus on the safety of patients in many but not all of the current colleges," Harry Cayton wrote in the report, commissioned by the provincial government.

The report suggests the current system for regulating health professionals needs to be ripped up and rebuilt from scratch.