On August 17, 2021, the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Christopher Fortuno to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. 

The hearing took place on April 13, 2022. This matter was resolved by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty.

Finding

The panel of the Discipline Committee issued a decision on the finding on April 13, 2022, on the penalty on April 13, 2022 and on costs on April 13, 2022.

After having considered all of the evidence, the panel found Christopher Fortuno to have committed the following acts of professional misconduct:

• Paragraph 1 (Failed to maintain the standards of the profession);
• Paragraph 18 (Engaged in conduct or performed an act relevant to the practice of the profession that having regard to all circumstances would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonorable or unprofessional); and
• Paragraph 19 (Engaged in conduct unbecoming a physiotherapist)

Penalty

The panel ordered the following penalty, Christopher Fortuno will:

• Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on April 13, 2022)
• Serve a suspension for a period of six months, beginning April 14, 2022 up to and including October 13, 2022
• Complete a review of tools, standards and resources
• Receive boundaries and ethics counselling

While Christopher Fortuno is serving the suspension, he cannot use the title Physiotherapist, PT or any abbreviation thereof. Christopher Fortuno’s name, PT title and/or registration number cannot be use for billing purposes while the suspension is being served.

While Christopher Fortuno is serving the suspension, they can only practice as a physiotherapist assistant (PTA) if certain requirements are met.

The panel also ordered Christopher Fortuno to pay costs to the College in the amount of $5,000 to offset some of the costs associated with investigating and prosecuting this case.

As a part of the penalty, the Committee also issued a reprimand which read as follows:

Mr. Fortuno, the panel has found that you engaged in significant professional misconduct, and by doing so, you have adversely affected the reputation of the physiotherapy profession.

Your misconduct and your interactions with a co-worker were egregious, especially when it was made clear to you that this was unwelcome. You have taken advantage of a position of power and an element of exploitation to pursue a relationship. Your actions harmed an individual, and actions such as those undermine the public confidence in physiotherapists.

Mr. Fortuno, while we acknowledge your admissions today, the findings of professional misconduct are very serious. This matter was so shameful and reprehensible that it might have led to the end of your professional career. It is the panel’s hope that your stated commitment to remediation is followed through with and will result in a positive change to your practise. Further, we expect that you will never appear before a Discipline Committee panel again.

You can read the full decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario at: www.canlii.ca