Ontario's medical regulator seeks court order against Eve Stewart
College of Physicians and Surgeons applies for order to stop Stewart from performing controlled acts
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has applied for a court order to prevent an Ottawa woman from practising medicine without a license.
Eve Stewart runs Eve’s Laser Clinic out of her Nepean home, where she has been doing laser treatments for seven years and other kinds of procedures, like facelifts and Botox, for two years. She once performed a rhinoplasty surgery to repair the tip of a client’s nose.
She is not a licensed physician, but says she has been delegated to perform these procedures by a doctor, so it’s legal.
But court documents filed by the college in Toronto on Friday said it knew of no doctor working with Stewart at her clinic on Viewmount Drive.
The college issued an application with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeking a court order directing Stewart to refrain from performing controlled acts, including:
- Communicating to an individual or his or her representative a diagnosis identifying a disease or disorder as the cause of symptoms.
- Performing a procedure below the dermis, such as performing surgery.
- Administering a substance by injection.
- Putting an instrument, hand or finger beyond the labia majora and beyond the point in the nasal passages where they normally narrow.
The college is also requesting the earliest possible hearing date.
"In the interest of public safety, we are commencing this legal proceeding against a non-member," said a media release issued by the college.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care warned against buying services from an unregulated individual.
"Unregulated individuals do not have the qualifications or the formal training to perform surgical procedures, nor are they knowledgeable or equipped for dealing with unexpected outcomes such as bleeding, infections and increased risks of these procedures from some medications and medical conditions," spokesperson Joanne Woodward Fraser told CBC in an email.
Anyone with a complaint about an unregulated person performing cosmetic procedures can contact Ottawa police.
Ottawa Public Health does not have jurisdiction over credentials but it is also investigating Eve’s Laser Clinic to determine if the clinic is following sterilization procedures to prevent infection.