You are invited to join our webinar, Understanding regulatory investigations and discipline, co-presented by Benson Cowan, Director of Discipline at the Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office (HPOROO), and Chris Hacker, CEO/Registrar of BCCOHP.
The transition to the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) earlier this year brought some changes to how regulatory complaints are handled in BC. This webinar will cover:
- BCCOHP’s approach to resolving complaints, with a focus on recent changes made to investigations and resolutions processes.
- The role of the independent Health Professions Discipline Tribunal, which oversees the discipline process for regulated health professions in BC.
Date & time: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 4:30-5:45 p.m. (PT)
Format: This meeting is being hosted online to allow the broadest opportunity for attendees across BC, via Zoom webinar
Attendees: This webinar is open to all oral health professionals and other interested parties such as regulatory staff and peers, or association representatives
Q&A: Following the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions
Join on Zoom: All oral health professionals and invitees will receive the join link directly via email closer to the date. Other interested parties may email communications@oralhealthbc.ca for more information.
About the speakers
Benson Cowan, Director of Discipline
Benson Cowan was appointed the Director of Discipline under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) in September 2024. He is responsible for the management of the BC Health Professions Discipline Tribunal and makes decisions on some matters under the HPOA. Prior to this, he was a constitutional and administrative lawyer with the BC Ministry of Attorney General. Previously, he served as the CEO of Nunavut Legal Aid, Legal Director with Safety, Licensing and Standards Tribunals Ontario, and Director of Social Policy with the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. He has also worked on war crimes prosecutions in Kosovo, and justice sector reform in Liberia and the Solomon Islands. Benson is a settler of Irish and French-Canadian heritage and was born and raised in Northern Ontario and Manitoba. He lives in the traditional territory of the Lekwungen peoples, which include the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
Chris Hacker, Registrar and CEO of the BC College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP)
After three decades as a practising dentist, Chris transitioned to regulation in 2011, where he took on a series of progressively senior roles until his appointment to lead the oral health amalgamation project in 2021. His regulatory leadership and capacity for change were instrumental in bringing the province’s oral health colleges together to form BCCOHP in 2022.
Appointed to the permanent leadership position at BCCOHP in December 2022, he is proud to support an amazing staff team in their regulatory oversight role of the almost 16,000 oral health professionals – and their journey to modernize health professions regulation, ensuring safe care for the public and patients in BC.
Contact us
Please email any questions about this event to communications@oralhealthbc.ca.