Ibbott, who retired in 2019 after 30 years’ service, suggested that he knew there was a larger web of offenders, but his resources were limited. “If I had enough time, I could have taken out all the other potential doctors and traffickers,” he says. “But resources are always limited, and cases pile up. I don’t want to spiderweb an investigation where I have 1,000 people before the courts, because the courts are going to say, ‘Well, we’re going to deal with seven of them. So pick your favourite seven.’ ”
Until recently, the college was also limited in its disciplinary powers. Among the five doctors linked to El-Azrak’s practice, one was temporarily suspended and two have been verbally cautioned by the college; all three continue to practise in the GTA. One of the three—a professor emeritus with the University of Toronto—remains licensed, but is no longer allowed to prescribe narcotics. The other two doctors are no longer licensed, though not as a result of their opioid prescription practices. One source, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, explains, “By and large, the college just wants to get bad doctors out in the fastest way possible. They’re less concerned with getting a scarlet letter onto the doctor’s profile.”
Ibbott, who retired in 2019 after 30 years’ service, suggested that he knew there was a larger web of offenders, but his resources were limited. “If I had enough time, I could have taken out all the other potential doctors and traffickers,” he says. “But resources are always limited, and cases pile up. I don’t want to spiderweb an investigation where I have 1,000 people before the courts, because the courts are going to say, ‘Well, we’re going to deal with seven of them. So pick your favourite seven.’ ”
Until recently, the college was also limited in its disciplinary powers. Among the five doctors linked to El-Azrak’s practice, one was temporarily suspended and two have been verbally cautioned by the college; all three continue to practise in the GTA. One of the three—a professor emeritus with the University of Toronto—remains licensed, but is no longer allowed to prescribe narcotics. The other two doctors are no longer licensed, though not as a result of their opioid prescription practices. One source, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, explains, “By and large, the college just wants to get bad doctors out in the fastest way possible. They’re less concerned with getting a scarlet letter onto the doctor’s profile.”