Doctor investigated for false accusations against parents found dead

CTV Montreal: Doctor killed himself Ste-Justine Hospital Dr. Alain Sirois, who was under investigation by the College of Physicians, was found dead Tuesday morning.

A doctor at Ste-Justine Hospital who was under investigation by the College of Physicians was found dead Tuesday morning.

The body of Dr. Alain Sirard was discovered in his office, in what appears to be the result of suicide.

Sirard was an advocate against child abuse and was the subject of several investigative reports by La Presse and Radio Canada's investigative program Enquete three years ago.

Enquete revealed claims from parents that Sirard falsely accused them of abusing their children. In some cases, youth protection services were called in to take their child away.

Those parents were eventually cleared of wrongdoing.

Soon after the televised report aired, Sirard was stabbed while walking on the street. Police were never able to determine if it was random or if the man had been targeted.

Ste-Justine's Hospital has apparently wrapped up a lengthy investigation into Sirard's practice, and parents who had lodged complaints were being informed that a decision had been rendered.

They were not, however, being told exactly what decision was being made.

The College of Physicians had been working on an investigation into Sirard that it began more than three years ago.

"Usually we don't give out this kind of information but considering his case was so heavily in the media since 2013, we can confirm that an investigation was ongoing," said Quebec College of Physicians spokesperson Caroline Langis in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"It was about patients Dr. Sirard had seen at Sainte-Justine Hospital and the parents he had accused of abusing their children."

She added that the case has now been closed now that Sirard is dead.

Ste-Justine wasn't providing any interviews Tuesday but issued a statement saying that it is “with great sadness” that they announced his death and that they have lost “a great defender of children's rights who worked with Ste-Justine for decades.”

The hospital said their thoughts are with his family and support has been set up to help staff members cope.

With files from the Canadian Press