Complaints

The College protects the public by receiving and investigating complaints about naturopathic doctors in British Columbia under Part 3 of the Health Professions Act. When you make a complaint about a naturopathic doctor, the Registrar will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, and review it to determine whether the College has jurisdiction to resolve the complaint and whether the complaint poses immediate public safety concerns. The Registrar will consider whether the complaint concerns a registrant of the College (that is, a naturopathic doctor licensed to practice in British Columbia), and whether the allegations in the complaint, if proven, would constitute violations of the Health Professions Act, Naturopathic Physicians Regulation, and/or the College’s Bylaws or Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics.

If the College has jurisdiction to deal with the complaint, the complaint discloses allegations that, if proven, would constitute professional misconduct, and the complaint is not trivial or vexatious, the Registrar will generally refer the matter to the Inquiry Committee for review and investigation. Please be aware that by making a complaint, you give the College permission to disclose your complaint and related documents to the naturopathic doctor named in the complaint.

The Inquiry Committee may dispose of a complaint by a variety of means, including:

  1. dismissal of the complaint, if there is insufficient evidence of violation of the Health Professions Act, Naturopathic Physicians Regulation, and/or the College’s bylaws or Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics upon further investigation of the matter;
  2. resolution by consent order, if the naturopathic doctor is willing to admit to their misconduct and accept the corrective action in respect of their practice; and
  3. if necessary, the issuance of a Citation, which will require the naturopathic doctor to participate in formal disciplinary proceedings.

The Inquiry Committee does not have the jurisdiction to order a monetary award – that is, it cannot order a naturopathic doctor to issue a refund of fees or monies to compensate you for an injury.