81-year-old dentist to face assault trial before Halifax judge rules on Charter challenge

A Halifax judge has refused to rule on whether to throw out assault charges against an 81-year-old pediatric dentist, saying she wants to hear all the evidence at trial before deciding if his Charter rights have been violated.

Last week, a lawyer for Dr. Errol Gaum argued his client couldn’t receive a fair trial because patient records from the time of the alleged offences, in the 1970s and 1980s, were long ago destroyed.

The court was also told the dentist can’t remember any of the complainants or even the names of assistants and hygienists who worked for him at the time, witnessed how he dealt with child patients, and who might help in his defence.

On Friday, Halifax provincial court Judge Elizabeth Buckle said she wasn’t yet willing to rule on an application by Gaum to have the charges stayed, which would end the prosecution against him.

Gaum has pleaded not guilty to eight charges that he physically assaulted six complainants who were allegedly his patients when they were children. He is accused of slapping them, and in one case hitting the face of a girl against a sink. He is scheduled to go on trial next month.

Gaum’s dentistry licence was suspended in November 2020 when former patients and their parents began posting accusations against him on Facebook, including that he told children to shut up, or plugged their noses and covered their mouths to stop them crying.

The Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia has been tight-lipped about the investigation that began more than three years ago, but this week revealed that a complaints committee reviewed three cases this summer and has sent them to a disciplinary committee. A disciplinary hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Dental board registrar Doug Mackey said in an email that a number of other complaints are also still being investigated. He did not say why the process has taken so long.

Sedative use

Crown prosecutor Laura Lindsay had argued Gaum shouldn’t be granted a stay of proceedings in his criminal case, saying it’s common for trials to go ahead when documents or witnesses can’t be found.

Buckle said Friday there are important pieces of information she doesn’t have yet, and which might come out at trial, including the possibility of expert testimony on a sedative Gaum frequently administered to children.

Gaum testified last week that he often used the sedative Mellaril, and said it would cause some children to hallucinate. However, patient records that would detail whether any of the complainants were given Mellaril, and how much, no longer exist.