The B.C. government is suing a family doctor for more than $525,000, alleging she breached a “return of service” contract when she failed to work off her provincially funded residency—instead choosing to practice medicine in Ontario. 

Filed Tuesday, April 21 in B.C. Supreme Court, the notice of civil claim names Dr. Laxsanna Sivananthan, a family doctor who now practices medicine at a clinic near Toronto.

In 2020, records show Sivananthan graduated from an Irish medical school that is not recognized by medical accreditation bodies in Canada.

After finishing school, the defendant “chose” to complete her medical residency in B.C., and in May 2021, entered into a “return of service” agreement that would allow her to practice medicine in Canada, the petition claims.

That agreement stipulated that B.C.’s Ministry of Health would pay for the cost of Sivananthan’s residency at the University of British Columbia. In return, the defendant would obtain a placement with a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority recruiter in her last year of residency.

The idea, according to the contract, would be that the family doctor would be placed for two to three years in an “area in need of physicians.”

While at UBC, Sivananthan co-authored an op-ed in The Toronto Star, looking at the effect of B.C.’s new doctor payment model designed to reduce paperwork for family practitioners.

“Since the introduction of this new payment model, B.C. saw more than a 20 per cent increase in family doctors starting practices, amounting to nearly 700 doctors,” she wrote.

The opinion piece concluded with a call for Canada’s largest province to follow B.C.’s lead.

“Ontario must act fast to replicate this success. The need to attract and retain family doctors is urgent, and B.C. has demonstrated that compensating for unpaid labour is a key step toward ensuring patients receive the care they need.”

The petition alleges Sivananthan completed her UBC residency in family medicine June 6, 2025. But over the coming months, she never reached out to a recruiter and never completed her high-need doctor placement, alleges the province.

Contrary to their contract, the suit claims Sivananthan told the B.C. government she had “no intention” of securing a doctor placement in the province.

On Nov. 4, 2025, she received a certificate of registration to practice medicine from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The lawsuit claims that Sivananthan acknowledged receipt of B.C.’s demand for repayment for the cost of her residency. But according to the province, she has not repaid any of the owed money.

The B.C. government is seeking a judgment from the court to enforce the contract and order Sivananthan to repay $525,725, plus interest. The province is also seeking a long list of damages.

The petition identifies Sivananthan’s last known address at a home in a suburban residential neighbourhood of Scarborough, Ont. 

Business in Vancouver spoke to one of her colleagues at a Toronto-area clinic. A request for comment passed on to Sivananthan had not been returned by the time of publication.

None of the claims have been tested in court.