Saskatchewan · College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
Remediation and reflection for Saskatchewan doctors
Here is what changes your position: by the time Council sets penalty, the conduct is settled — what is still open is you. Council routinely pairs a reprimand and a suspension with a requirement to complete an ethics course, which tells you exactly what it is looking for: evidence that the physician has understood the failing and fixed it.
Start the work now, not after the finding: remediation carries weight in proportion to how early and how voluntarily it was undertaken. Remediation begun after a penalty is imposed is compliance; remediation begun before the hearing is insight. Do it with CMPA and counsel aware of it.
How penalty is decided in Saskatchewan
Where a charge is proved before a discipline hearing committee, or admitted, the matter goes to a penalty hearing before Council, which imposes penalty under s.54 of The Medical Profession Act, 1981. Both the Registrar’s Office and the physician may be represented and make submissions, and Council considers the case law placed before it.
What Council actually imposes
Published CPSS Council decisions show a consistent pattern. Penalties are typically layered, not singular, and commonly combine:
- a written reprimand;
- a suspension (under s.54(1)(b)) — sometimes for a defined period, sometimes suspended on condition;
- successful completion of an ethics or professionalism course to the satisfaction of the Registrar, within a set time;
- the payment of costs; and
- a fine.
Note the significance of the third item. Council does not merely punish — it prescribes education, and it has in past decisions named the programmes it will accept. That is a plain statement of what the College is trying to achieve: not retribution, but a physician who will not do it again.
The remediation gap, and how to close it
This creates an obvious opportunity, and most physicians miss it. If Council’s instinct at penalty is to order education, then a physician who arrives at the penalty hearing having already done the work is in a materially different position from one who has not. The question shifts from “what must we require of this doctor?” to “what remains to be required?”
Credible remediation has four components:
Insight
Understanding what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what it says about your practice. Insight is not an apology, and it is not agreeing with the College to be agreeable. Regulators discount both. It is a specific, unflinching account of the failure and its causes.
Reflection
A written, dated record of that thinking, produced contemporaneously rather than assembled the week before the hearing. Reflection that post-dates the charge is worth something; reflection that pre-dates it is worth far more.
Remediation
The actual change: courses completed, supervision or mentorship arranged, systems altered, audits run, practice narrowed where appropriate. Evidence, with dates and certificates — not intentions.
Assurance against repetition
The safeguard that means the same failure cannot recur. Council is protecting the public; give it a reason to believe the risk has been engineered out.
Honesty, again
One warning bears repeating in this context. CPSS Council has treated providing false or misleading information to the College — whether in a complaint response or to a preliminary inquiry committee — as a distinct and serious charge, and has explicitly questioned whether such a physician should practise again. No amount of remediation repairs a probity finding as easily as it repairs a clinical one. If you have made an error, the remediable path runs through candour, not around it.
A realistic note on courses
Be clear-eyed about what CPD can and cannot do. Where Council orders an ethics course, it will specify or approve the programme, and independent CPD does not substitute for that. What structured CPD can do is give you something to put before the College now: a documented, dated body of work showing you identified the failing, understood it, and acted on it without being compelled. That is the evidence Council does not otherwise have.
After the order
Council and discipline decisions are published on your profile on the CPSS website, and regulatory findings are shared between Canadian medical regulators. The record cannot be undone. What can be shaped — and it is worth shaping — is what that record says about how you responded.
Key takeaways
- Penalty is imposed by Council under s.54 after a finding by a discipline hearing committee or an admission.
- CPSS penalties are typically layered: written reprimand + suspension + a required ethics course + costs + a fine.
- Because Council’s instinct is to order education, arriving having already done the work materially changes the question before it.
- Credible remediation has four parts: insight, reflection, remediation and assurance against repetition — all evidenced and dated.
- Reflection that pre-dates the charge is worth far more than reflection assembled for the hearing.
- Probity findings are the hardest to remediate. Council has questioned whether a physician who misled it should practise again.
Related CPD courses
Structured CPD you can complete and evidence while your matter is live.
Remediation for Fitness to Practise Building a remediation plan a regulator will accept — what to do, and how to evidence that you did it. Reflection for Fitness to Practise Writing reflective statements that demonstrate genuine understanding rather than rehearsed contrition. Insight for Fitness to Practise The difference between apology and insight, and why regulators can tell them apart immediately. Ensuring No Repeat of Misconduct or Mistake in Future Practice Designing the safeguards that show the same failure cannot happen again.These are independent CPD courses. They are not approved or accredited by the CPSS, they do not satisfy any course the Council may order (Council typically names or must approve the programme), and no course can guarantee an outcome.
Continue reading
How to respond to a CPSS complaint→ What happens during a CPSS investigation?→Frequently asked questions
Who decides my penalty?
Council. After a discipline hearing committee finds a charge proved, or you admit it, Council holds a penalty hearing and imposes penalty under s.54 of The Medical Profession Act, 1981.
What penalties does CPSS Council typically impose?
Published decisions commonly combine a written reprimand, a suspension, successful completion of an ethics or professionalism course to the Registrar’s satisfaction, the payment of costs, and a fine.
Will completing a course on my own help?
It cannot guarantee an outcome, and it does not substitute for any course Council orders, since Council specifies or approves those. What it can do is evidence insight and remediation undertaken voluntarily, before you were compelled — which is precisely what Council otherwise lacks.
Is it too late to start remediation once I am charged?
No, but earlier is materially better. Remediation begun before the hearing reads as insight; remediation begun after an order reads as compliance. Start now, and keep it dated and documented.
Can a probity finding be remediated?
It is the hardest category. CPSS Council has treated misleading the College as a distinct and grave charge and has questioned whether such a physician should practise again. Candour at the outset is far safer than any later repair.
Will the outcome be public?
Yes. Council and discipline decisions are published on the physician’s profile on the CPSS website, and findings are shared between Canadian medical regulators.
This guide concerns the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS) and is general information only — it is not legal advice and does not create any relationship of advice or representation. If you have received a complaint, a request from the Registrar’s Office, or notice of a preliminary inquiry committee, contact the CMPA immediately and take advice from a lawyer experienced in Saskatchewan medical regulatory matters before you respond. Healthcare Ethics Courses is an independent CPD provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the CPSS. Last updated 14 July 2026.