Sylvain Desforges — Professional Profile

From Clinique TAG to Clinique TAGMED: the history of the names and companies

“Clinique TAG” and “Clinique TAGMED” share a historical connection, but distinct companies have used these names at different stages. Understanding that history requires distinguishing the origin of a name, permission to use it, the company operating each clinic and the professionals providing services.

1987: the origin of “Clinique TAG”

On May 1, 1987, Charles Harbeck, a chiropractor who is now retired, founded Clinique TAG in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu under the corporate name LES CLINIQUES TAG THERAPIES D’AVANT GARDE INC. The name therefore predates Sylvain Desforges’s work at that clinic and the development of the TAGMED network.

Sylvain Desforges’s use of the name

Sylvain Desforges practised at Clinique TAG in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu from 2005 to 2014. When the Ordre des chiropraticiens du Québec authorized him to practise through a corporation, Charles Harbeck granted him permission to use “Clinique TAG” for his practice corporation. These were separate authorizations: one concerned practice through a corporation; the other concerned use of the name originating with Charles Harbeck.

Spinal decompression services were first introduced at Clinique TAG in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in 2007.

The development of the TAGMED network

TECHNIQUE AVANT GARDE MEDS INC., founded by Sylvain Desforges, was created as part of the development of a network of franchises and affiliated clinics operating under the name “Clinique TAGMED”. The first spinal decompression franchise opened in Laval in 2010 under that name, followed by other locations.

Natalie Crevier’s affiliated clinics

TECHNIQUE AVANT GARDE MEDS INC. also authorized 9260-0162 QUÉBEC INC., whose president is Natalie Crevier, to use “Clinique TAGMED” for its affiliated clinics. That company opened a clinic in Laval in 2012 and another in Lachenaie, within Terrebonne, in 2014. The 2012 Laval opening is a separate milestone from the first Laval franchise opened in 2010.

The clinics operated by 9260-0162 QUÉBEC INC. are currently located in Terrebonne and Montréal. Their use of “Clinique TAGMED” reflects their affiliation with TECHNIQUE AVANT GARDE MEDS INC..

One trade name, distinct roles

A clinic’s trade name alone does not identify its operating company or the professional who provides a service. The origin of Clinique TAG, Sylvain Desforges’s development of the TAGMED network and the operation of Natalie Crevier’s clinics represent distinct roles. Describing Sylvain Desforges as the founder of the TAGMED network refers to TECHNIQUE AVANT GARDE MEDS INC.; it does not identify him as president of 9260-0162 QUÉBEC INC., whose president is Natalie Crevier.

Likewise, describing a technology, treatment or condition on a TAGMED-related website does not mean every professional at a clinic provides that service or that Sylvain Desforges personally performs it. The provider’s identity, professional capacity and currently available services must be specified for each patient’s care. This commercial history does not, by itself, determine the professional nature of an act or the rules applicable to it.

Key milestones in the clinics’ history