Former Nunavut nurse Debbie McKeown fights new complaints from nursing association

Former Nunavut nurse Debbie McKeown is fighting to quash new complaints brought against her by the Registered Nurses Association of Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

In an Iqaluit courtroom Tuesday, McKeown's lawyer told Justice Paul Bychok the association has brought 19 more complaints against her from her time in Cape Dorset.

McKeown has already been disciplined for a string of complaints dating back to 2012. In April that year she refused to see three-month-old infant Makibi Timilak, who later died. Nunavut's coroner has called an inquest into the circumstances of the infant's death but a date has not yet been set. 

• Report into baby Makibi Timilak's death calls for coroner's inquest

McKeown subsequently had her licence suspended — which she's fighting to get back in a separate judicial review application.

In court, Bychok read a letter by Donna Stanley-­Young, executive director of the nurses association, from May 3 in which she wrote: "I have evidence to indicate the conduct of Deborah McKeown is likely to pose a significant risk to the health and safety of the public."

It's unclear what the nature of the latest complaints are — which were submitted by Stanley-Young under Nunavut's Nursing Profession Act – but her lawyer said it's from the same time period as the first string of complaints.

"What we say is the [association] disciplined Ms. McKeown on those allegations," said Austin Marshall, McKeown's lawyer, who accused the nursing association of abuse of process. 

"Ms. McKeown agreed on a certain outcome, did what was required of her, and now at the end of the end of it they've started it up all over again. Our concern is they've had their crack at Ms. McKeown. And now they're back for the third and fourth time disciplining her over problems that have been around for a number of years."

Marshall is asking the court to quash these latest complaints, or at least let them argue against them in court, rather than go directly to a hearing within the legal framework set out in the Nursing Profession Act.

Adrian Wright, the lawyer representing the nursing association, argued the nursing profession is self-regulated in dealing with complaints and allegations of misconduct by nurses, and that the court shouldn't insert itself into the process.

"The process is set out to deal with this," Wright said. 

"It's a self-­governing profession. It has the expertise and experience of dealing with these things. It can make any order the court can make. And it's the proper forum for this. The legislature has set up this process to deal with this in this way."

Bychok said the issue of whether or not Stanley-­Young submitted complaints in bad faith is serious and "should be aired in a special chambers sitting."