Veterinary college apologizes for dispute
The regulatory agency for veterinarians in B.C. has dropped a legal challenge to a finding that an investigation of Indo-Canadian vets associated with discount clinics was racially motivated and has issued an apology to all of the complainants involved in the rancorous dispute.
On Monday, the College of Veterinarians of B.C. announced that it would not pursue a judicial review of an October 2015 decision of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal that found that the then-B.C. Veterinary Medical Association had engaged in discrimination against 13 Indo-Canadian vets, including Hakam Bhullar of Vancouver.
The college, which was formed after the association was phased out in 2010 and represents about 1,200 members, said that in “the spirit of moving forward and acknowledging the findings of discrimination,” it wished to apologize to all of the complainants for the “loss of dignity, pain and suffering” it had caused.
In particular, it cited Bhullar and his family, who the college said had suffered professional and personal distress since Bhullar’s licence to practice was removed in December 2009. Bhullar has since been reinstated.
“The college acknowledges its past mistakes in the standards, inspection and discipline arenas,” says a statement on the college’s website.
“The college is now working to improve its processes and foster positive, constructive and forward-looking relationships with the complainants and all registrants.”
Bhullar, who estimates the vets spent $1.7 million fighting the case, said he’d suffered “a lot” over the years, but was happy that justice had finally been served.
“Publicly they are apologizing, which is a big healing for me, for my family and other Indo-Canadian vets also.”