Ontario addiction centre sites searched

Police served search warrants Wednesday at several locations connected to Addiction Canada, which bills itself as this country’s largest private drug and alcohol treatment organization.

Investigators said the searches were part of a continuing probe into accusations that some employees of the Ontario- based company were passing themselves off as doctors without proper licences.

Company spokesman Brian Abela told the National Post staff were co- operating with authorities and doing their best to ensure clients were continuing to receive proper care.

“I stand behind the quality of the staff at Addiction Canada,” he said. “Our staff saves lives.”

Last month, the Ontario Provincial Police said two employees at Addiction Canada’s facility in Caledon, Ont., were being investigated for allegedly identifying themselves as medical doctors when they were not licensed to practice medicine in the province.

One employee was charged with personation and fraud under the Criminal Code. The other was charged under the Health Professions Act for using the title “doctor.”

Wednesday, the investigation widened as police served search warrants at all three of the company’s Ontario facilities, including its head office in Aurora, and the home of John Haines, its chief executive officer and founder.

“This is a continuation of the ongoing investigation,” OPP Detective Staff Sgt. Dorian Dwyer said in an email.

“We are doing our best to accommodate regular operations so as not to disrupt clients’ needs.”