James Hanley said he wants to consult and teach. CBC

An Atlantic Canadian doctor who lost his licence for having sex with a patient poses a high risk of re-offending and should not be reinstated, says the head of New Brunswick’s licensing authority for physicians.

James Hanley used to practice psychiatry at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick. In 2007, he admitted having sex with a patient at his St. John's practice in Newfoundland and Labrador and he lost his licence for both provinces.

The 69-year-old’s name was also struck from Newfoundland and Labrador's medical register.

But a Newfoundland medical board tribunal recently agreed to let Hanley practice again in that province.

Ed Schollenberg, the registrar of the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons, said it was a bad decision.

"Based on what we've known, we were dealing with a physician whose risk of reoffence would have seemed very, very high,” he said.

"There may be something new that has happened since we dealt with him, but certainly the facts that we had in 2007 suggested significant breaches of professional ethics. Taking advantage of a mentally ill patient is as low as it gets, we would think. And it wasn't just an accident — it happened four times and he clearly planned it to set himself up so he could be alone with her."

He wondered why Hanley needs a licence if he is not planning on seeing patients.

Schollenberg said he did not know why the panel made the decision it did. He said the lack of information added to the problem.

"The fact that nothing's come out on that doesn't help much. It's just not clear," he said. "If they do publish a report on that, maybe it will be enlightening and we might be able to figure out why they took the action they did."

Hanley unlikely to work in N.B.

Last Thursday a tribunal established by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador decided that Hanley’s name can be returned to the province's medical register, beginning the process of restoring his licence.

It was done on the condition he agrees not to see patients in private. Hanley said he plans to teach and consult. He was also ordered to pay more than $20,000 towards the college's costs for hearings related to his case.

Schollenberg said Hanley hasn't applied to have his New Brunswick licence reinstated and would not likely be successful if he did try.

“I think it's also worth noting that Dr. Hanley had promised the college in Newfoundland when he was first investigated that he wouldn't practice anywhere else and he continued to practice in New Brunswick for a full year after that. So we do have some real question regarding his ethical compass,” Schollenberg said.

Hanley apologized Thursday to his patients and said he has struggled emotionally and financially since he lost his professional identity. After the tribunal made its decision Thursday, both Hanley and his lawyer told CBC News that they had no comment to make about the ruling.

Victim 'threw up' at news

The woman whose 2005 complaint sparked the sanctions said the tribunal had made a mistake in letting him practice again.

“It’s infuriating…when I saw the tribunal’s decision…so help me God…I literally threw up,” Kathleen Wiseman told CBC News Monday.

“Isn’t the tribunal supposed to protect people like me against someone like him? Are they not supposed to ensure that the doctors we see mean no harm? …Because I’m disgusted with the tribunal's decision. He destroyed a human being’s life.”

Wiseman complained that Hanley had sex with her repeatedly while she was his patient. She began treatment years earlier to deal with depression and the consequences of abuse she had suffered. She said she was his patient for 17 years.