Cochrane family physician Dr. Habeeb Tunde Ali unsuccessfully appealed the cancellation of his Alberta practice permit on March 20.
The permit was cancelled by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) because Ali failed to pay the $70,241 fee from his unprofessional conduct conviction in 2014.
A stay of cancellation was granted to Ali by the Alberta Court of Appeal in spring of 2018 to allow him to appeal the costs to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ali’s appeal was turned down by the court on March 14 and the cancellation of his practice permit was announced on March 18.
Ali contested that he was not given adequate time to make payment as the last request for payment was sent to him by email on March 17.
The CPSA claimed their lawyer had sent Ali a letter before that date but Ali claimed he had not received it.
“I have not received any communication from the college aside from email,” said Ali
Ali came to court with a proposed payment plan for the college but the plan could not be addressed due to its late submission.
Furthermore, CPSA now claims that payment of the fees would not be enough to reinstate Ali’s permit according to section 28 of Alberta’s Health Professions.
Ali asked, “if section 43 was the reason [for cancellation], why does section 28 apply now?”
He added that section 28 specifically applies to the registration process for new physicians.
Section 43 denotes that practice permits may be cancelled due to failure of payment for practice permit fees or any other fees and penalties relevant to the Act. Subsection 3 further clarifies that a cancelled permit may be reinstated by the registrar after payment is received.
Ali has been advised by the court to enter further communications with the registrar before seeking further appeals.
“The courts do not regulate the medical profession,” said Judge Peter Martin.
“Contact the registrar and find out exactly what you need to do.”
Ali contacted the registrar after the hearing and is waiting to hear back from them.
“They’re going to tell me what to do,” said Ali.
He’s determined to settle matters as soon as he can.
“I can tell you I will make this payment, if not this afternoon, then by Monday,” said Ali.
