VANCOUVER SUN
Latest News

Indo-Canadian veterinarians sue leader for 'hatred'

Jonathan Fowlie
Vancouver Sun

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Fifteen Indo-Canadian veterinarians are suing the head of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association for slander, saying he promoted "hatred and contempt" against them on the basis of colour, race, religion or ethnic origin.

In a statement of claim filed Friday in B.C. Supreme Court, the 15 vets allege Dr. Robert Ashburner, who is also the chair of the conduct review committee for the B.C. Veterinary Medical Association, made slanderous comments about low-cost clinics run predominantly by Indo-Canadian veterinarians.

"They are innocent until proven guilty. And what can you do? You have to let the system do it," Ashburner is quoted as saying in the statement of claim.

"Gone are the days when we could go there with a torch and burn it down, a quicker way."

Reached on his cellphone Friday night, Ashburner said he did not recall making those comments and added they are "not something I would have said."

He added he was unaware of the lawsuit, and did not want to comment further until he had read it in full.

The lawsuit also names 10 people other than Ashburner, as well as the BCVMA, all in connection with another set of allegedly defamatory comments the 15 vets say were posted on the Internet. Those comments were not included in the statement of claim but are said to be related to "alleged complaints" against the plaintiffs.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Ashburner's comments included in the suit were allegedly recorded in September by a woman who says she took a hidden camera into Ashburner's office to get treatment for her cat.

While there, the woman complained about the care her cat received at a low-cost clinic run by Dr. Hakam Bhullar, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, which led to Ashburner's comments about the clinics.

"I am very upset and mad [at] my husband because he went to one of those low-cost clinics," the woman is quoted as telling Ashburner in a transcript of the recording provided to The Vancouver Sun by Bhullar.

The lawsuit, and the hidden-camera recording, are the the latest developments in a dispute between the BCVMA and the low-cost clinics.

In June, Bhullar and some other Indo-Canadian veterinarians complained that the BCVMA was requiring veterinarians to take an English proficiency test.

Some Indo-Canadian vets said the test was established because several of their clinics charge significantly lower fees than those recommended by the B.C. Veterinary Medical Association.

At that time, BCVMA registrar Val Osborne -- who was also named in the civil suit filed Friday -- said the English requirement was not intended to keep anyone from practising veterinary medicine in the province.

Instead, he said, it necessary to remain in compliance with the provincial Veterinary Act, which requires all B.C. veterinarians to have a competent command of English

Nineteen veterinarians, including Bhullar, have lodged a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal complaint against the BCVMA demanding the English proficiency requirement be repealed. A decision by the tribunal is expected next year.

Bhullar and several other Indo-Canadian veterinarians have also launched a case in B.C. Supreme Court calling for Osborne's resignation.

Many low-cost veterinary clinics charge fees far below those recommended by the BCVMA. For example, Bhullar said, at the clinic he has run since 1995, he charges $45 for spaying a cat, while the BCVMA's recommended fee is about $140. He charges $22 to vaccinate a cat, while the recommended fee is $85.

On Friday, Bhullar said hidden-camera recordings have been made of several other veterinarians.

In the transcript included in the statement of claim, Ashburner is quoted as saying people should go into these clinics with their "eyes open."

"People they do not know who they are dealing with, when the animal goes there [to Bhullar's low-cost clinic]," he is quoted as saying.

"Over the years, he [Bhullar] had a whole different bunch of people working for him, nothing consistent . . . I even do not know whether they are licensed," the transcript adds.

"The association tried to deal with that," it continues, "but then again the harder you push with some of these people they start, they claim prejudice . . . They claim they are doing it because they are East Indian, not because they are incompetent."

jfowlie@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2005