Criminal charges against paramedics shows need for regulatory college, says advocate

Paramedics in Ontario accused of malpractice should be judged by their peers first, notby a criminalcourtssystem that doesn'tfully understand their specialized training, says the Paramedic Association of Canada's executive director.

Pierre Poirier's comments come after criminal charges were laid against twoparamedics for failing to provide the necessaries of life whenYosif Al-Hasnawi was shot Dec. 2, 2017. A union officialhas described the charges asprecedent-setting and a potential "game changer" that could cause more paramedics to be brought to court.

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Poirier said he believes the case is the first time paramedics in Canada have faced criminal charges for "doing their duty."

Al-Hasnawi was reportedly trying to help an older man being accosted by two men outside a mosque when he was shot.Bystanders claimparamedics toldthe Hamilton teen he was faking his injuries, and that he'd been shot by a pellet gun.

Niagara Regional Police launched an investigation and announced last weekthatSteven Snively, 53, of HamiltonandChristopher Marchant, 29, of Whitby had been charged.

He says paramedics should have their own professional college, similar to those for nurses orteachers.

"If Ontario had a college I could see that these individuals would first be assessed in terms of their performance and their competence by their peers," said Poirier.

Five other provinces across the country already have colleges and advocates here have applied to set one up as recently as2013.

Poirier said they're still waiting for the province's minister of health to make a decision on whether or not it will be allowed.

The director addedparamedics have special training and specific skills that go beyond what the public and legal system can be expected to understand, so the only people fit to properly judge their actions are other paramedics.

"Paramedics do specific interventions that are done by very, very few practitioners," he said."There's a unique body of knowledge that paramedics have and the way that we practice, I think, should be evaluated first and foremost by your peers."

If this goes all the way to trial and results in a finding of guilt, I would be surprised if it stays at a trial level. It will probably make its way up to the appeal courts to figure out.- Daniel Lerner,senior counsel at Lerner Law

The charges against the paramedics might be unique at this point, butDaniel Lerner, a former Crown prosecutor and current senior counsel at Lerner Law, said if they're found guilty it could cause charges to come up "a bit more often."

A charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life is typically used in cases involving a parent-child relationship, spouses or someone who is in charge of caring for another person, according to Lerner.

"If this meets the requirement for being under somebody's charge, you may see it come up a bit more often," he said. "Honestly if this goes all the way to trial and results in a finding of guilt, I would be surprised if it stays at a trial level. It will probably make its way up to the appeal courts to figure out."

Union says paramedics will be cleared

MarioPosteraro, president ofOPSEULocal 256, which repesents Hamilton paramedics said last weekthat bothparamedics"are intent on vigorously defending against these criminal charges" and that the union is confident the pair will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

"These precedent-setting criminal charges are game-changers for our paramedic profession and we are confident that when the totality of the evidence is provided, they will be vindicated."

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Officials with the HamiltonParamedic Service are doing their own investigation intoAl-Hasnawi'sdeath and said the results of that review should be available soon.

Judging the performance of a paramedic is difficult because they make "life and death decisions" in "sometimes traumatizing"situations every day, saidStephanieRoss,an associate professor at McMasterUniversity's School of Labour Studies.

Colleges don't stop ethical breeches

Ross said she believes the creation of a college could help paramedics regulate their profession, but noted existing colleges for other occupations such as nurses or surgeons show that simply creating a college doesn't prevent ethical breeches from happening.

She added another negative side effect could be the fact that some people may lose their certification, meaning they can't continue with their profession in the future. Pierre Poirier

"It would layer on both the processes as well as sanctions someone might be subject to," Ross explained.

Poirier said it's true that is some "egregious" cases a college could rule that a paramedic shouldlose their ability to continue working.

But, he added, they would have a chance to call witnesses and plead their case. And, if need be, the option of turning to the criminal courts would still be there.

"This doesn't replace the judicial system, but it very much mirrors the judicial system in a good, positive manner."