Sanjeev Sirpal, the doctor behind a controversy about Atlantic Canada’s physician licensing registry, has been found guilty by a Quebec court of having assaulted his then-girlfriend and counselling her to forge a diary entry that falsely portrayed a patient as a Nazi sympathizer.
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that → find → sympathizer
In rendering his verdict Monday, Quebec Court Justice Frédéric Bénard, however, acquitted Dr. Sirpal of two other charges: dangerous driving and obstruction of justice.
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Bénard → render → justice
Taking the stand in his defence in April, Dr. Sirpal had denied that he assaulted his then-girlfriend, a nurse named Mélina Harrisson, and that he had asked her to write a fake document.
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he → take → document
Justice Bénard said he didn’t find the doctor’s testimony credible.
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testimony → say → ?
“He’s not sincere … the court does not believe the accused,” the judge said, reading his decision in court.
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judge → ’ → court
Dr. Sirpal’s defence lawyer, Charles Levasseur, told The Globe and Mail that he was assessing a potential appeal of the ruling.
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he → tell → ruling
Dr. Sirpal is still awaiting trial on five counts of sexual assaults on patients in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
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Sirpal → await → Brunswick
He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
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He → plead → charges
His case has raised questions about the screening process for physicians in Atlantic Canada.
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case → raise → Canada
Dr. Sirpal obtained the right to practise medicine in New Brunswick in 2022, at the time when the Quebec College of Physicians was in the process of revoking his licence for failing to disclose that he had been dismissed from a U.S. medical school before eventually obtaining his degree in St. Lucia.
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he → obtain → Lucia
New Brunswick’s College of Physicians and Surgeons wasn’t aware that Quebec regulators initially opened their investigation because of a complaint of sexual assault by one of his patients.
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regulators → open → patients
At his trial, held in Laval, Que., Ms. Harrisson described him to the court as a volatile, ill-tempered partner who shoved her violently while she was at his home, and on another occasion punched her, bent her index finger and bruised her arm.
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she → hold → arm
Ms. Harrisson also testified that in early 2021, Dr. Sirpal disclosed to her that he was facing a complaint for sexual misconduct.
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he → testify → misconduct
According to documents filed in the probe by the Quebec College of Physicians, a female patient reported that Dr. Sirpal examined her vagina and breasts when she consulted him for a concussion at the Westmount Square medical clinic in February, 2020.
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she → accord → February
Ms. Harrisson said that Dr. Sirpal asked her to write a bogus diary entry where she claimed to have dropped by the clinic that day and noticed that the female patient was in the waiting room, wearing a bandana with a Nazi insignia and uttering racist slurs.
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patient → say → slurs
The six-page false diary entry was entered into the trial evidence.
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entry → enter → evidence
“The accused’s objective was to undermine the credibility of the said person in the event of a case before the College …
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objective → accuse → College
What is found in this document is pure invention,” Justice Bénard said in convicting the doctor of counselling a criminal offence that was not committed.
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that → find → offence
However, Justice Bénard acquitted Dr. Sirpal of a count of obstruction of justice.
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Bénard → acquit → justice
He noted that ultimately, the fake diary was not sent to anyone.
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diary → note → anyone
The judge noted, however, that Ms. Harrisson’s account of the two assaults was supported by a Snapchat messaging exchange between her and the 39-year-old doctor in which she described the two incidents.
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she → note → incidents
The judge said the messages undermined Dr. Sirpal’s denials.
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messages → say → denials
“The complainant’s testimony is not perfect, does not have to be, but the court considers it to be trustworthy in accordance with the truth.
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it → consider → truth
During the second incident, which took place in her car while she drove Dr. Sirpal to work, Ms. Harrisson said that, while he hit her, he also grabbed the steering wheel, making the car veer out of its lane.
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car → take → lane
Justice Bénard acquitted Dr. Sirpal of a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle.
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Bénard → acquit → vehicle
“It has not been established that the accused driving style was objectively dangerous to the public,” he said.
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he → establish → public
The New Brunswick College said it could not comment specifically about Dr. Sirpal’s case.
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it → say → case
In a written statement sent to The Globe, the college said that criminal convictions don’t automatically result in the revocation of a physician’s licence, but the regulating body could consider a range of disciplinary measures.
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body → write → measures
The college suspended Dr. Sirpal’s license in August, 2025, a day after the RCMP charged him with sexual assault in Nova Scotia.
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RCMP → suspend → Scotia
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