Banned clinician performing injections again, college alleges

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario alleges that an Ottawa woman is violating a 2014 court order barring her from injecting people with Botox and other fillers.

In May 2014, Eve Stewart was ordered in Ontario Superior Court to stop performing a number of medical procedures, including Botox injections, Silhouette facelifts and rhinoplasties.

• Eve Stewart to stop performing surgeries, injections

But in an application filed Friday with the Ontario Superior Court, the college launched new legal proceedings against Stewart after an investigation prompted by information received from the public.

The college alleges Stewart, who is not licensed to practise medicine, has broken the terms of the 2014 court order by once again offering medical procedures at Eve's Laser Clinic.

This time the college will ask a court to imprison Stewart, issue a fine, and force her to post signs in her clinic about the 2014 court order, as well as run ads in a newspaper. The college also wants the court to order Stewart to hand over all her financial records and tax returns since May 2014.

None of the newest allegations against Stewart has been tested in court. A court date has been set for April 13 at the Elgin Street courthouse.

Reached by telephone at her clinic Tuesday, Stewart denied she's been performing medical procedures as alleged by the college. 

Stewart told CBC she had nothing further to say until her court appearance on April 13.

Investigators posed as patients

In its application to the court, the college includes affidavits from private investigators hired to pose as prospective patients.

In September 2016 two undercover investigators visited Stewart at her Eve's Laser Clinic on Viewmount Drive. One of the investigators had arranged for a Botox injection, while the other tagged along posing as a friend interested in the procedure.

As she prepared the injection, Stewart is alleged to have told the investigators she has clients who come in for Botox treatments every month.

According to the affidavits, Stewart then brought the filled needle up to the investigator's forehead. At that point the investigator pretended to become nervous and told Stewart she had changed her mind about the procedure.

The investigators returned the next day to collect the contents of a garbage bag and recycling bin placed at the curb of Stewart's clinic.

Among the items found, according to the application, were an intravenous drip bag, syringes and needles. According to the college the needles are the kind typically used for Botox injections.

Former patient 'traumatized'

​The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario regulates medical practice in the province and can launch legal proceedings against individuals thought to be practising without a licence. 

In 2014, a patient who spoke to an investigator with the college said she was "traumatized" by her procedure, while another said Stewart gave her several beers while she performed a procedure.

• Eve Stewart not a doctor, but says surgeries at clinic are legal
• Eve's Laser Clinic investigation reveals enforcement gaps: Dr. Isra Levy
• Eve's Laser Clinic clients' allegations detailed in affidavit

CBC News also spoke to several former clients who said Stewart's treatments left them with scars and burn marks.

At the time, Stewart told CBC News she had suffered a brain injury and has had problems with short-term memory, but that her recovery gave her an "aptitude for medicine."

She said she doesn't recognize the college's authority, likening it to a company like McDonald's or K-Mart that has control over a large part of the market but wants more.

"That's what they are. I'm not licensed through them," she said at the time.