A Montreal doctor has been suspended for three months for “breach of trust” after misgendering a biological female patient who self-identified as a man.
After receiving a complaint from the patient, the Disciplinary Council from Quebec’s Office of the Syndic of the College of Physicians ruled that doctors must affirm a patient’s stated gender identity.
The Council stated that if a patient “feels that their gender identity does not match the sex on their birth certificate, they may request to be referred to by the identity they express. The medical encounter must then take place in a way that respects this gender identity.”
Dr. Raymond Brière was suspended for “an inappropriate and disrespectful attitude” towards the patient, as reported by La Presse.
The patient secretly recorded their interaction. At one point, the patient told the doctor they were a man. The doctor told the patient “if a chromosomal analysis is performed, it will be shown that his chromosomes carry the XX genes and not XY.”
Dr. Brière further told the patient that their belief to the contrary was merely “in your brain.”
Eventually, Dr. Brière told the patient to leave his office and said he “doesn’t need to be lectured by a patient.”
Although he didn’t prescribe testosterone to the patient, Dr. Brière referred the patient to the Local Community Services Centre which handles potential gender transformation patients. The patient accepted the referral.
Dr. Brière eventually pleaded guilty to being both discriminatory and aggressive. The Council suspended him for both counts, one punishment consisting of medical license suspension for two months, and the other three months. The suspensions can be served concurrently.
