“Regulatory and Registration Oversight and the Impact on Internationally Trained Professionals: An Ontario Perspective” Nuzhat Jafri, Executive Director Office of the Fairness Commissioner Toronto March 2, 2012

Office of the fairness commissioner2 Agenda Fair access law Context Continuous Improvement and Assessments Conclusion

Office of the fairness commissioner3 Fair access law Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, regulatory bodies Transparent, objective, impartial and fair licensing Hon. Jean Augustine, Commissioner Everyone deserves fair treatment when applying to practise a profession, regardless of where he or she was educated.

Office of the fairness commissioner4 Ontario Context Ontario population: 13.3 million Membership in regulated professions –Largest: College of Teachers 230,000 –Smallest: College of Dental Technologists 500 Proportion of internationally educated members ranges from zero to 39 %. In , most applicants came from South Asia, U.S., South East Asia, East Asia

Office of the fairness commissioner5 Progress Regulatory bodies’ changes: –Reduced requirements for Canadian work experience –Speeded up procedures –Posted more information online –Ensured that qualifications assessment agencies do their work fairly Office of the Fairness Commissioner identifies problems that demand vigilance and action

Office of the fairness commissioner6 Continuous Improvement Assessments of regulators’ licensing practices Required practices, e.g., –Information for applicants –Clear, reliable assessment of qualifications –Appeal processes Additional good practices, e.g., –Registration policies are well documented (transparent) –Decisions are free from bias (impartial) –Canadian experience requirements are justifiable (fair)

Office of the fairness commissioner7 Continuous Improvement: Activity Two-year cycle Activity to February 29, 2012 –30 assessment meetings held –28 assessments completed and summaries published –Action plans received from 12 regulatory bodies

Office of the fairness commissioner8 Continuous Improvement: Top Issues Recommendations Commendable practices Top recommendations to regulatory bodies: –Provide better information for applicants –Use clear criteria to decide whether applicants are qualified Assessment summaries on fairnesscommissioner.ca

Office of the fairness commissioner9 Conclusion Commissioner pinpoints where regulators must improve. Regulatory bodies are implementing our recommendations. The Office of the Fairness Commissioner gets results. In Ontario, qualified people will have faster, fairer access to their professions.

Office of the fairness commissioner10 Newsletter

Office of the fairness commissioner11 Contact Office of the Fairness Commissioner 595 Bay Street, Suite 1201 Toronto, Ontario M7A 2B4 Canada