On Oct. 10, the Court of Appeal of Ontario upheld a previous decision made by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that Bruce Bergez was operating the Great Glasses chain unlawfully and in contempt of court.

Great Glasses has multiple locations in southern Ontario including two stores in Burlington and two in Oakville.

In rejecting Bergez’s appeal, the court upheld the $1-million fine payable by Bergez, his wife Joanne Bergez and their companies, the largest-known contempt fine in Canadian history.

The legal action against Bergez was initiated by the College of Optometrists and supported by the College of Opticians.

A June 2003 court decision found that Bergez and Great Glasses employees were illegally dispensing eyewear without a prescription from a physician or optometrist, contravening the Regulated Health Professions Act.

Opticians registered by the College of Opticians may dispense corrective lenses, but only with the prescription of a physician or optometrist.

“One of the obligations each regulated health care professional in Ontario has is to abide by the letter and spirit of the law and do no harm to patients,” Caroline MacIsaac- Power, the Registrar of the College of Opticians of Ontario, said in a press release.

“Our assertion that Mr. Bergez’s business model for Great Glasses clearly contravened those laws and exposed his patrons to a risk of harm was upheld by the courts.”

In November 2006, Great Glasses was hit with the whopping $1-million fine.

A separate fine of $50,000 per day was levied for each day the Bergezes are not in compliance with the original order. That fine currently exceeds $34 million.

The Court of Appeal also ordered Bergez and the other appellants to pay the College of Optometrists $40,000 in legal costs.

Great Glasses appealed the hefty fines separately.

Lawyer Robert Cosman, representing Ontario’s College of Opticians, which joined forces with the College of Optometrists to pursue the case against Great Glasses, told The Oakville Beaver an appeal of the $50,000-a-day-fine will be heard on Jan. 6, 2009 in the Ontario Court of Appeal.

As for the $1-million fine, Cosman said Bergez has 60 days to file an application asking the Supreme Court of Canada to consider granting him the right to appeal the decision by the Ontario appeal court.

If Bergez seeks to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, he can also apply to have the fines put on hold until the Supreme Court rules, said Cosman.

Bergez has been suspended from practicing as an optician since November 2006 by the College of Opticians. A discipline hearing for Bergez is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Great Glasses has multiple locations in southern Ontario including two stores in Burlington and two in Oakville.