Nature of Action: A section 39(2) order by consent under section 37.1 of the Health Professions Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183. The Inquiry Committee directed the issuance of three citations for a discipline hearing to Glenn Kukkee, which were later consolidated into a single joint citation. Following the direction for a consolidated citation giving notice of a formal discipline hearing, Mr. Kukkee made a proposal to enter a consent order with the Inquiry Committee.

Mr. Kukkee consented to an order by the Inquiry Committee that may be summarized as follows:

• Mr. Kukkee’s registration with CMTBC will be suspended for a total of 17 months, terminating on:
  • April 1, 2021, provided that Mr. Kukkee has provided the College, prior to that date, with a psychological evaluation  indicating that he is fit to return to massage therapy practice and that his return to massage therapy practice would not pose an ongoing risk to female patients (the “Psychological Evaluation”); or
  • the date after April 1, 2021 on which the College receives the Psychological Evaluation.
• Mr. Kukkee must complete extensive coursework on professional boundaries, ethics and record-keeping.
• Mr. Kukkee must undertake to comply with sections 1 through 7 of CMTBC’s standard of practice on boundaries.

Given this resolution, a formal discipline hearing will not proceed.

Read Mr. Kukkee’s proposal (PDF). 

Read the Consent Order (PDF). 

Reasons: Mr. Kukkee made the following admissions in his proposal:

1. In or about May 2014, he entered into a romantic and sexual relationship with patient A.A. during the therapeutic relationship.
2. In or about July 2016, he entered into a romantic and sexual relationship with patient B.B. either during the therapeutic relationship or shortly after the therapeutic relationship ended, without allowing a sufficient “cooling off” period to elapse.
3. On or about February 25, 2017, during a treatment of patient C.C., he sexualized the treatment environment by engaging in inappropriate communications and/or failed to maintain appropriate patient-therapist boundaries, by flirting with the patient and asking her once in the treatment room and once by text within about 24 hours for a massage trade when Mr. Kukkee knew that C.C. performed erotic massages.
4. In or about May or June 2019, Mr. Kukkee created patient record entries relating to patient A.A. in response to a request from CMTBC. These entries were not created contemporaneously with the dates indicated.
5. In or about January or February 2020, Mr. Kukkee re-created entries from his records for B.B. in order to provide them in response to a request from CMTBC. He misrepresented to CMTBC in writing that these record entries had been created within 48 hours of the sessions in question (he had dated the entries January 4, 2016 through May 10, 2018).
6. Mr. Kukkee admitted that the conduct listed in items 1 through 5, above, amount to separate acts of professional misconduct and/or sexual misconduct.

The Inquiry Committee considered that Mr. Kukkee’s conduct required both a punitive component and a remedial component, as well as an assurance of Mr. Kukkee’s fitness to practice before he may return to the practice of massage therapy, in order to protect patient safety.

Mr. Kukkee’s prior conduct history and admitted conduct warranted a significant suspension for the purposes of general and specific deterrence. The Inquiry Committee was prepared to accept that approximately eleven months of the suspension be served retroactively, given that Mr. Kukkee has totally abstained from the practice of massage therapy for approximately the past eleven months due to his inability to obtain professional liability insurance, a requirement for practicing registration with the College, and has been subject to conditions on his practice of massage therapy since October 3, 2018 pursuant to section 35(1) of the Health Professions Act.

The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the consent order in this matter appropriately reflects the seriousness of the registrant’s conduct and will protect patient safety.