A Winnipeg dermatologist has been ordered to limit his practice after admitting to misconduct involving female patients. Dr. Earl Minuk pleaded guilty to professional misconduct, contravening the code of ethics and displaying a lack of skill, knowledge or judgment in the practice of medicine following a hearing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) in May 2026. The decision was released June 30. As a result, he has been reprimanded and ordered to cease practicing medicine. He is permitted to practice dermatology only for laser treatment of vascular lesions and treatment of skin cancer moles. The complaints stemmed from incidents that took place between 2021 and 2022. According to the decision, Minuk contravened the code of ethics by violating a requirement that he have a female chaperone with him whenever he was treating female patients. It said in November 2022, Minuk saw a patient, identified as Patient A, during a time when his clinic was normally closed and no chaperone was present. Minuk also admitted to not keeping professional boundaries with another patient, identified as Patient B, between September 2021 and February 2022. The decision said Minuk offered gifts and trips to the patient to try and start a relationship with her and sent inappropriate text messages to her asking her out on dates multiple times, including after she rejected his requests. “Dr. Minuk’s misconduct is serious and concerning,” the decision reads. “As noted in the submissions of CPSM, Dr. Minuk’s misconduct involved professional boundary violations with patients, which strike at the core of the trust that is expected in the physician-patient relationship.” The decision noted Patient B provided images of the text messages sent to her by Minuk, which he had not previously provided to CPSM when responding to the allegation. In the decision, Minuk said the decision to not provide the text messages to the college was inadvertent. $10K fine Minuk has been licensed to practice dermatology and internal medicine in Manitoba since 1989. The decision noted he had previously been reported to the CPSM dating back to 2009 for concerns regarding inappropriate comments, violating professional boundaries and respectful communication. Since 2022, he has been required to have a female chaperone when interacting with female patients. In addition to the restrictions, Minuk has been fined $10,000 for the costs of the CPSM investigation and will never request permission to increase the scope of his practice. CTV News has reached out to Minuk for response.
