Manitoba · Manitoba Association of Optometrists (MAO)

How to respond to a Manitoba Association of Optometrists (MAO) complaint

In Manitoba, optometrists are regulated by the Manitoba Association of Optometrists (MAO) under The Optometry Act, which is both regulator and professional association. A complaint runs through the Association’s Complaints Committee, and how you engage from the first letter usually matters more to the outcome than the complaint itself. If you are an optician rather than an optometrist, your regulator is different — see the note below.

Who regulates you — optometrist or optician

This distinction matters before you do anything else. If you are an optometrist, the Manitoba Association of Optometrists is your regulator; it enforces The Optometry Act and Regulation, and you hold a certificate of registration rather than a “licence” in the loose sense. If you are an optician, you are regulated by the separate Opticians of Manitoba (OOM) under The Opticians Act, with its own council, standards and complaints process.

The rest of this guide describes the MAO process for optometrists. Opticians should follow the OOM Complaints Resolution process instead — the general principles below (respond promptly, engage honestly, take advice, never alter records) apply equally, but the committees and statutory references differ. Note too that OOM does not act on anonymous complaints and has no authority over optical stores or non-optician owners, only over its licensed members.

How an MAO complaint starts

A complaint about an optometrist must be made in writing to the Complaints Committee through the MAO office. Once received, it is immediately forwarded three ways: to the Complaints Committee for review, to the optometrist concerned for a response, and to the Registrar for information. The Complaints Committee then conducts a preliminary investigation.

Complaints commonly concern the standard of an eye examination, a missed or delayed diagnosis, prescribing or dispensing accuracy, consent and communication, billing, or record-keeping. You will normally be told the substance of the concern and asked to respond, so the response you provide is the most important document you will produce in the whole process.

Interim suspension where the public is at risk

Where the Complaints Committee believes a complaint raises a question of serious risk to the public, it may suspend the optometrist’s certificate of registration pending the outcome of its investigation and any discipline hearing. This is an early protective step, not a finding against you.

Importantly, the Act gives you a route to challenge it: a member may appeal such a suspension to the Court of King’s Bench. If your registration is suspended, take advice at once, because that appeal is where the case for allowing you to keep practising during the investigation is made.

Writing your response

Answer the specific concern in plain language, grounded in your clinical records rather than later recollection. Set out what you did, your reasoning, and what your records show. Where something went wrong, say so clearly and describe what you have already changed — the Complaints Committee is reading not only for the facts but for whether you understand your professional obligations.

Never alter, back-date or “tidy” a chart after a complaint arrives; the integrity of your documentation will be examined, and an edited record turns a defensible clinical issue into an indefensible honesty one. Failing to respond, or responding late, can itself count against you. Have your professional liability insurer or a regulatory lawyer review the letter before it is sent.

What the Complaints Committee can do

After its preliminary investigation, the Complaints Committee has a defined menu of outcomes. It may resolve the matter informally, direct that no further action be taken, issue a formal caution (a written reprimand placed on the member’s file), or refer the matter to the Discipline Committee for a formal hearing. It may also recommend that the optometrist refund part or all of a patient’s fees, though it cannot order repayment.

One procedural point is worth knowing: if the Committee decides a formal caution is warranted, the optometrist is consulted first. If you disagree with the caution, the matter is instead referred to the Discipline Committee for a formal hearing — so declining a caution is a decision to take advice on, not one to make lightly.

If the complainant appeals

The process is not one-directional. Where the Complaints Committee directs that no further action be taken, the complainant has 30 days from notification to appeal that direction. An Appeals Committee is then struck to review the matter, including everything the Complaints Committee considered plus any further submissions the optometrist and complainant wish to add.

The Appeals Committee has the same decision-making power as the Complaints Committee: it can confirm the decision, refer the matter back for further consideration, or make its own directive — including referral to the Discipline Committee. Its decision is final. If you are notified of an appeal, treat it as seriously as the original complaint and put your further submissions in properly.

Getting the right support

Do not manage a formal complaint alone. Contact your professional liability insurer early — optometry and opticianry liability programmes typically support members facing a regulatory complaint, not only civil claims — and consider a regulatory lawyer for anything beyond a minor administrative issue. Keep every record and item of correspondence, and meet every deadline the Association sets.

If you are an optician, contact the Opticians of Manitoba and follow its Complaints Resolution Policy; the same discipline of prompt, honest, well-evidenced engagement applies. Whichever regulator is involved, the quality of your first response tends to shape everything that follows.

This guide explains how the Manitoba Association of Optometrists regulates optometrists under The Optometry Act, and how the Opticians of Manitoba regulates opticians under The Opticians Act. It is provided for general information only, is not legal advice, and does not create a professional relationship. For advice on your own situation, contact your professional liability insurer and a regulatory lawyer before you respond. Last updated July 15, 2026.