Eve Stewart ordered to stop performing surgeries, injections

An Ottawa woman who performed surgeries at her laser clinic without a medical licence has been ordered to stop performing all medical procedures, but was granted an adjournment in court proceedings to allow her to get legal counsel.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is pushing to permanently bar Eve Stewart of Eve's Laser Clinic from performing all medical procedures, including Botox injections, Silhouette facelifts and rhinoplasties.

Stewart is under investigation by the college — as well as Ottawa Public Health and Health Canada — but maintains she is capable of performing the work she has done despite the lack of a medical licence or medical insurance.

• Eve Stewart not a doctor, but says surgeries at clinic are legal
• Eve's Laser Clinic investigation reveals enforcement gaps: Dr. Isra Levy
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She was in Toronto Thursday to face the potential of a court order from the college directing her to refrain from performing controlled acts, including:

• Communicating to an individual or his or her representative a diagnosis identifying a disease or disorder as the cause of symptoms.
• Performing a procedure below the dermis, such as performing surgery.
• Administering a substance by injection.
• Putting an instrument, hand or finger beyond the labia majora and beyond the point in the nasal passages where they normally narrow.

A judge granted Stewart's request for an adjournment in the proceedings so she can retain legal counsel on the condition the parties meet Friday morning to schedule an urgent date for the application. The CPSO's lawyer had argued Stewart had already had enough time. In the meantime, she is banned from performing all controlled acts.

Clinic has had many cancellations

Outside of court, Stewart blamed the media for creating fear around her clinic, saying she's had 32 cancellations as of Wednesday.

Earlier, she had said the investigations weren't causing her concern.

"If I weren't sure, 100 per cent, what I was doing is right and good, I would be worried. But I'm not worried because what I'm doing is so good," she said on Wednesday.

She told CBC News she had suffered a brain injury and has had problems with short term memory, but said that her recovery has given her an "aptitude for medicine."

Patients who spoke to an investigator with the college gave a different version of the clinic, with one saying she was "traumatized" by her procedure while another said Stewart gave her several beers while she performed her procedure. CBC News has also spoken to several former clients who said Stewart's treatments left them with scars and burn marks.

Stewart said she plans to show the court affidavits of her own, including letters from satisfied customers.

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.