ManitobaA pharmacist has been punished after admitting to two inappropriate relationships with vulnerable patients in Winnipeg.Michael Watts fined $7.5K, pharmacy licence suspended 8 monthsOzten Shebahkeget · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 2:26 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Michael Watts is seen at Brothers Pharmacy in Winnipeg in a 2017 file image. He admitted to having two inappropriate relationships with past or current patients at that pharmacy between 2021 and 2022, says a decision from Manitoba’s pharmacist regulator. (Lyzaville Sale/CBC)A pharmacist has been punished after admitting to two inappropriate relationships with vulnerable patients in Winnipeg.Michael Watts, who’s been a registered pharmacist in Manitoba since 2006, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in a College of Pharmacists of Manitoba disciplinary hearing in June, the college said in a disciplinary decision dated July 11 and recently published online.Watts admitted to having a relationship with a vulnerable patient at a North End pharmacy between February and June 2022, the disciplinary decision says.He also admitted to another inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable patient, or former patient, between 2021 and 2022, the decision says.The college fined Watts $7,500 and imposed a restriction on his pharmacist’s licence that prohibits him from being a pharmacy manager or teacher for two years, starting in late August.He was ordered to pay $15,000 toward the costs of the college’s investigation and hearing.The college also suspended Watts from working as a pharmacist in the province for over eight months, but he was credited nearly seven months, as his licence was suspended during the investigation.The decision does not provide details of Watt’s inappropriate relationships, but identified his workplace at the time as Northway Pharmacy Brothers, near Selkirk Avenue and Andrews Street.The building that houses that pharmacy is also home to an addictions program that helps people recovering from opiate addictions.The college’s online registry says Watts is currently working at a Thompson pharmacy in northern Manitoba.It’s not the first time that he’s faced penalties for misconduct.In January 2019, Watts was censured after a complaint alleged he’d been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a female employee and had “displayed other inappropriate behaviour with staff and patients,” the decision says.He was given a warning letter by the college in April 2020, after another complaint involving non-pharmacist staff dispensing and witnessing methadone doses.Watts received another letter in February 2023, after a complaint alleged that he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a patient in 2016.That letter told Watts that he was expected to maintain a professional relationship with patients and outlined his responsibilities and obligations to “respect boundaries,” the decision says.
Pharmacist punished after admitting to inappropriate relations with 2 vulnerable patients in Winnipeg
