Complaints against Manitoba veterinarians rose in 2021, new data shows

The number of complaints against veterinarians in Manitoba rose significantly last year, the profession's regulatory body revealed in its first published report on that data.

There were 39 formal complaints in 2021 — an increase from 27 in 2020 and a nearly eight-fold increase from the five complaints in 2016, according to the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association report, which was published in May.

The association's registrar, Corey Wilson, says the regulator was spurred to start publishing annual disciplinary and complaint data on its website after an October 2021 CBC News report about a veterinarian whose licence was suspended over alleged misuse of narcotics. That story noted data about complaints in Manitoba wasn't made public at the time.

The decision to make that data public, which brings the Manitoba association in line with neighbouring Ontario and Saskatchewan, was welcome news for some.

Manitoba's veterinary regulator was "just a little behind on the times, and I think that they're just catching up," said Kim Gibson, the president of the not-for-profit Professional Pet Groomers Association of Manitoba.

"I think transparency in any field is the way to go," she said. "Pet owners are becoming more educated. They are becoming more demanding. They want to know what's going on, and this is a way to make that happen."

Wilson says the rise in complaints may in part be due to the public becoming better aware of the veterinary regulator and its complaint process. 

Other veterinary regulators across Canada saw a similar rise in complaints and believe the pandemic may be the reason, he said.

Gibson said during pandemic restrictions, pet owners often weren't allowed to be present for veterinary visits — so she's not surprised by the rise in complaints.

"I don't think that they trusted what was happening behind closed doors as much as they normally would," said Gibson, who is also president of the Canadian Professional Pet Stylists Association, which certifies dog groomers.

"When you give your animals to someone, even though it's a professional, you always wonder what's going on."

Wilson was not able to provide a breakdown of the subject areas of complaints, such as quality of care, or billing and financial issues.

That's an issue the pet groomers' association president would like to see addressed. 

"The main complaint that I hear when I deal with pet owners is that everything's so expensive and they're just trying to get more money out of you," Gibson said.