Overview of Uncontested Hearings

When There’s Agreement

At the start of an uncontested hearing, you will be asked whether you admit, deny, or plead no contest to the allegations. For the hearing to proceed as an uncontested hearing, your response, called a “plea”, must match what you and the College agreed to in advance.

As described earlier, uncontested hearings are usually based on an Agreed Statement of Facts (ASF) or a Statement of Uncontested Facts (SUF). This document sets out the facts and will be entered as an exhibit. Because all the evidence is contained in the ASF or SUF, no witnesses are usually called and no oral evidence is required in uncontested hearings.

College counsel will present the ASF or SUF to the panel and explain why the College believes the facts demonstrate that you committed the misconduct you've agreed to. You will be given an opportunity to make submissions if you wish, but you do not have to say anything. Once the panel has heard from the parties, they will move to an electronic breakout room so that the panel members can discuss the case in private. They will then return and tell the parties whether they have made the findings requested based on the ASF or SUF.

If the panel finds that you have committed an act (or acts) of professional misconduct, or are incompetent, the hearing will move to the penalty phase. In most uncontested hearings, the parties jointly propose a penalty in a Joint Submission on Penalty.

College counsel will take the panel through the joint submission and explain why the proposed penalty fits the misconduct. Again, you will be asked whether you wish to make any submissions, but you do not have to say anything.

The panel will deliberate in private and return to announce their decision on penalty and any costs order. As mentioned above, joint submissions are usually accepted unless it would be contrary to the public interest. This is a high threshold. If the panel is considering rejecting the joint submission, they must notify the parties and give them a chance to make submissions.

If the penalty includes a reprimand, a member of the panel will speak to you directly about your conduct before concluding the hearing.

More information about the types of penalties the panel can order and how costs are determined is provided later in this guide.

In an uncontested case, the panel will usually make its order on the day of the hearing. You will receive a copy by email. The order takes effect as soon as the panel reads it at the hearing. You will receive written reasons for the decision several weeks after the hearing.