Saskatchewan · Saskatchewan College of Physical Therapists

What Happens During a SCPT Investigation?

A SCPT investigation is not the same as a hearing — and The Physical Therapists Act, 1998 keeps the two apart. The investigation belongs to the Professional Conduct Committee; any hearing is held by the separate Discipline Committee. Knowing which stage you are at, and which committee you are dealing with, tells you exactly where you stand.

How an investigation starts

Under The Physical Therapists Act, 1998, the Saskatchewan College of Physical Therapists must investigate every signed, written complaint. Once the Executive Director and Registrar has confirmed the named person is a member and notified both parties, the matter goes to the Professional Conduct Committee, which runs the investigation. You are given 30 days to submit a written response and your physical therapy chart, and the investigation begins once those are received. So the investigation is a statutory step, not a discretionary one — but its purpose is to establish the facts, not to assume the worst.

Two committees, two different jobs

The single most useful thing to understand about the Saskatchewan process is that investigation and discipline are handled by two separate committees, and the Act keeps them apart.

The Professional Conduct Committee

This committee owns the investigation. It is a team of three or more, most of them practising physiotherapists. It gathers the evidence and then decides whether your conduct could constitute professional incompetence or professional misconduct — and what to do about it. An investigation being opened does not mean a hearing is coming; it means the facts are being tested.

The Discipline Committee

This is the separate body that holds a formal hearing if the matter is referred to it. It has at least five members, a majority of them practising physiotherapists, plus a public appointee. The Act expressly bars any member of the Professional Conduct Committee from also sitting on the Discipline Committee, so the people who investigated your case are not the people who judge it. You reach this stage only if the matter is referred — and much of how you conduct yourself during the investigation is aimed at making that unnecessary.

What the investigators do — and what you must provide

The Committee assigns one or two investigators to the case. They review the documents, including your chart, interview you and the complainant separately, and request any further records they need to establish the facts. They then take their findings back to the full Committee, which may consult legal counsel, to decide whether the conduct could meet one of the Act’s two definitions. Your obligation is to cooperate and to produce the records requested, released in a way consistent with The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA). This is where the quality of your day-to-day record-keeping is exposed: contemporaneous, legible, complete notes make an investigation shorter and support your account, while thin or reconstructed notes do the opposite. Do not create or amend records now to fill gaps — that is a separate and more serious matter.

Temporary suspension during an investigation

Where the public may be at risk while a matter is under investigation, the Act allows for a temporary suspension or prohibition, which the Professional Conduct Committee can ask the court to extend. If any such restriction is placed on you, comply with it strictly, because breaching it is a serious matter in its own right, and take legal advice at once.

What the Committee decides after investigating

At the end of the investigation the Committee provides a written report of its findings to both you and the complainant, and chooses among three outcomes. It can dismiss the matter, in which case nothing goes into your file and the case information is confidentially destroyed, though a de-identified summary may be published. It can offer a Resolution by Mutual Consent — a remedial agreement, where the conduct could amount to a disciplinable offence and both you and the complainant accept that route. Or it can refer the matter to the Discipline Committee for a hearing.

If the matter goes to a hearing

A referral to the Discipline Committee moves the matter from investigation to adjudication. The hearing is conducted much like a court of law; you are entitled to be represented by a lawyer, and there is a period for each side’s counsel to agree facts before the hearing is booked. If the Committee finds professional incompetence or misconduct, it may order remedial education, treatment or counselling, a reprimand, a fine payable to the College, restricted or supervised practice, or suspension or expulsion. It cannot order you to pay the complainant compensation. Discipline outcomes are published: case summaries are posted, and a member’s discipline history and any current conditions appear on the public register.

Review, appeal and how to conduct yourself

The Act provides defined routes to challenge a decision, each with a strict deadline: a member may seek a review by council within 30 days, and may appeal to the Court of King’s Bench within 30 days. Because those windows are short, take legal advice promptly if a decision goes against you. Throughout, cooperate fully, meet every deadline, keep your responses factual and referenced to the chart, and answer the concern actually raised. Measured candour about anything that fell short reads as the mark of a safe practitioner — not as an admission that decides the case against you.

This guide concerns the Saskatchewan College of Physical Therapists (SCPT) and is general information about regulatory process in Saskatchewan under The Physical Therapists Act, 1998, not legal advice. Every complaint turns on its own facts, and review and appeal routes carry strict 30-day deadlines. For advice on your situation, contact your professional liability insurer and a lawyer experienced with SCPT and Saskatchewan health-profession regulation before you respond. Last updated July 15, 2026.