Naturopath who practiced medicine illegally hit with $120,000 court-imposed fine

A Québec naturopath who practised medicine illegally for more than two decades has been ordered by a provincial superior court to pay $120,000 in fines.The penalty decision against Ken Montizambert, who owns a naturopathic and osteopathic clinic in the Montreal-area municipality of Pointe-Claire, was intended to send a clear message to a repeat offender described by the presiding Quebec Superior Court judge as a “recidivist” and “recalcitrant.”"The defendant cannot hide behind the existence of other rules and legislation elsewhere in the country in an attempt to mitigate his liability,” wrote Québec Superior Court judge Mylène Grégoire in her penalty decision, which came about eight months after the court found Montizambert guilty of illegally practising medicine. “No one is supposed to be ignorant of the law, and the tribunal applies those in force in its jurisdiction.”In her written decision the judge noted that the Collège des médecins du Québec had tried, for more than a decade, to end Montizambert’s illegal practice, which included diagnosing illnesses and writing prescriptions.In 2014, the college successfully pursued a court-ordered to limit Montizambert’s practice after a college investigator went undercover to his clinic and found he was using metal probes—connected to a laptop—to diagnose illnesses such as prostate cancer and liver disease.Read: Practitioners oppose new proposed natural health product regulationsThe investigator also reported that Montizambert had prescribed homeopathic solutions to address these conditions. Osteopathy Quebec, the province’s largest association for osteopathic professionals, voiced disapproval of Montizambert’s methods.According to Montizambert, the tool—called Avatar—uses various acupuncture points to provide an overview of a client’s health status by gauging the level of conductivity and resistance of the organs being tested. The readings from Avatar reveal each organ’s strengths and weaknesses.This is not the first time Montizambert has been fined for his illegal practice of medicine. In 2002, he was ordered to pay three fines totalling $1,800. In 2018, he paid $20,000 for four fines.Yet Montizambert continued to see clients, and did not stop his practice of diagnosing illnesses and prescribing treatments. Read: Doctor found guilty after ex-husband reports 'hundreds and hundreds' of pieces patient information uploaded to iCloud

Naturopath who practiced medicine illegally hit with $120,000 court-imposed fine

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