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Legal Updates

GREAT GLASSES UPDATE - October 1, 2010
(Toronto, Ontario; October 1, 2011): The College of Opticians of Ontario (COO) is pleased with today's decision by Justice James Turnbull to sentence Mr. Bruce Bergez to one year in jail without parole.

Click here to read the Media Release [PDF]

GREAT GLASSES UPDATE – August 24, 2010
On August 23, 2010, the College of Opticians of Ontario attended before Justice
Turnbull in Hamilton to listen to the Sentencing Submissions of Mr. Bruce Bergez. Also
in attendance were the College of Optometrists of Ontario, the Attorney General,
counsel for the individual store operators, and counsel for Eyelogic.

Click here to read the complete update [PDF]

GREAT GLASSES UPDATE – July 21, 2010
On Friday July 2nd, 2010 Justice Turnbull released his 94 page decision (plus appendices and schedules) in the court case against SHS Optical Ltd. et al., including “Great Glasses” franchises, Mr. Bruce Bergez and Mrs. Joanne Bergez, referred to collectively as the Respondents.

[Click Here To Expand Summary +]

Click here to read the media release (PDF)

GREAT GLASSES UPDATE
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed applications for leave to appeal by Bruce Bergez and Joanne Bergez and associated companies from two decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal, which upheld findings of contempt of court against them. They were found in contempt of court for operating Great Glasses optical stores in violation of the Judgment of Justice Harris of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice who had ordered them to comply with the Regulated Health Professions Act. (Justice Crane dated November 24, 2006 and Justice Fedak, dated December 14, 2007). Substantial fines were ordered to be paid by them as a result of the findings of contempt. With the dismissal of their applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, they have exhausted all of their appeal rights. Enforcement of the Court Orders is now in the hands of the Attorney General of Ontario, with the support of the College of Opticians and the College of Optometrists. Click here to read the Judgments of the Courts (PDF).

BRUCE BERGEZ DISCIPLINE HEARING UPDATE
On February 12, 2010, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Opticians of Ontario revoked Bruce Bergezs certificate of registration as an optician in Ontario, following a finding of professional misconduct against him. Bruce Bergez had been under an interim suspension order by the Executive Committee of the College before that date. Click here to read the decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Opticians of Ontario.

Hamilton Spectator Article – January 14, 2009
Still in contempt - Appeal by Great Glasses founder denied, court upholds $50,000-aday fine

Click here to read the full article.

Hamilton Spectator Article – January 12, 2009
Bid to shut down Great Glasses starts this week - College of Opticians wants stores closed

Click here to read the full article.

Hamilton Spectator Article – January 9, 2009
Optician's fate hangs in balance - Allegations of misconduct

Click here to read the full article.

Decision Re: Bergez Appeal – Jan 6, 2009

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by Bruce Bergez and the other appellants (Joanne Bergez and their companies) from the Judgment of Justice Fedak. All of the arguments made were dismissed by the Court of Appeal, and the fine of $16 million was upheld.

Click here to read the decision.

Burlington Post Article – October 22, 2008
Great Glasses owner loses appeal of court-imposed $1-M penalty

Click here to read the full article.

Justice Fedak - October 2007
Decision Re: Great Glasses

Click here to read the decision (PDF)

Justice Crane - November 24, 2006
Decision Re: Great Glasses

Click here to read the full article.

Decision Re: Injunction Application

In 2003 the College of Optometrists of Ontario sought and was granted an injunction against SHS Optical Ltd., Dundurn Optical Ltd. and John Doe, all carrying on business as Great Glasses; Joanne Marie Bergez, and Bruce Bergez. Please click here for a copy of Justice Harris' decision and reasons.

The College of Optometrists of Ontario has applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an order of contempt alleging that the above named respondents are in violation of the Court Order. The College of Opticians supports the College of Optometrists in their application.

After a court hearing on March 30, 2006, the Honourable Mr. Justice Festeryga found Bruce Bergez in contempt of Court for failing to answer certain questions that on February 7, 2006, he had been ordered by the Court to answer. Justice Festeryga ordered that Bruce Bergez be immediately imprisoned until such time as he has purged his contempt by attending before an Official Examiner in Toronto, at his own expense to answer his outstanding undertakings and his refusals. Mr. Bergez undertook to the Court that he would answer the questions put to him, and enforcement of the Order was suspended for 30 days to allow this to happen.

The College was informed on October 24, 2006 that the matter against Great Glasses was being heard October 25 and October 26, 2006 in Hamilton at the John Sopinka Courthouse.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice reached a decision in the Contempt of Court proceedings against Mr. Bruce Bergez. Bruce Bergez was found in contempt of court and ordered, among other things, to pay a fine of 1 million dollars. You can read the decision here.

The College of Optometrists and the College of Opticians brought a motion requesting the Court to order compliance with the non-monetary portions of Justice Crane's November 2006 order. The matter was heard during the week of August 27th 2007 at the Hamilton Courthouse. On October 10, 2007 Justice Fedak released his judgment. Justice Fedak ordered a fine of $50,000 per day since the date of Justice Crane's. Bruce Bergez has filed a motion requesting leave to appeal.

On February 6, 2008, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard the appeal brought by Great Glasses, appealing the contempt order of Justice Crane. The College of Optometrists were the responding party and as we have been throughout this particular matter we were there as intervenors.

Hamilton Spectator Article - Page A5 - February 6, 2008

The College of Opticians and College of Optometrists were successful before the Court of Appeal in a case ordering the largest known fine for contempt in Canada. The Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the judgment of Justice Crane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, finding Bruce Bergez, his wife Joanne Bergez, and corporations controlled by them in contempt of Court for violating a 2003 Court Order requiring them to comply with the Regulated Health Professions Act. In its complete dismissal of the appeal, the Court found that the evidence proved contempt beyond a reasonable doubt: “There were no controverted facts relating to matters essential to a finding of liability on the part of any appellant, corporate or individual.”

The liability of Joanne Bergez was rooted in her role as sole shareholder and director of one of the corporate respondents. The Court noted that Mrs. Bergez “plainly benefits from the financial rewards associated with the business” of Great Glasses. The Court also upheld the penalty including the fine of $1,000,000 ordered to be paid by Bruce Bergez and the corporate defendants and concluded, “In this case, there is a singular need for punishment. It is essential that any monetary penalty imposed not be or appear to be a licence fee for further disobedience of a public health care statute”. The penalty imposed emphasized the “denunciation of the appellants’ intransigent and unremitting refusal to obey the law. We cannot suffer the sacrifice of the rule of law to the lure of lucre.”

The decision contained a reminder that the RHPA was enacted to ensure that the people of Ontario only “receive health care from health care professionals within the boundaries of the providers’ accredited expertise”. The Court found that Bruce Bergez “ignored the restrictions imposed upon his own competence in the public interest and redrew the boundaries to suit his own crass commercial purposes.” The Court also stated that just because a person disagrees with a law, it does not mean that that person is entitled to break the law.

Finally, the Court concluded that this “is a case of flagrant, protracted and deliberate disobedience of a court order to comply with a statute regulating the conduct of a health profession.” The Court found that none of the appellants, especially Bruce Bergez, had any intention of complying with the RHPA or the 2003 Court Order.

READ THE ENTIRE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION HERE [PDF]