1. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Ensuring Fair Registration Practices: A Unique Approach Part 1 Hon. Jean Augustine Fairness Commissioner Province of Ontario

2. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Today’s Presentation Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 Ontario The Office of the Fairness Commissioner Mandate Activities Next Steps

3. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 Three parts –Fair Registration Practices Code –Office of the Fairness Commissioner –Access and referral centre Covers 14 non-health professions directly Covers 21 health professions indirectly

4. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Ontario Population 12 million More than half of newcomers to Canada choose Ontario Close to one third of immigrants are university educated By 2011, immigrants will account for 100% of net labour force growth Competition for skilled professionals is intense

5. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska The Office of the Fairness Commissioner Arm’s length agency of the Ontario government Independent of the regulated professions First of its kind in Canada

6. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Mandate Ensure that regulated professions have registration practices that are –Transparent –Objective –Impartial –Fair Require regulated professions to –Review registration/licensing practices –Submit reports about them –Conduct audits Report to the public

7. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Mandate Precludes –Advocacy for individuals –Assessment of credentials

8. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Activities: Study First comprehensive study in Ontario Published –34 individual studies –summary report, Ontario’s Regulated Professions Measure future progress

9. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Activities: Study Regulatory bodies making progress Applications up, but those from internationally trained individuals down Decisions often made by third parties Canadian experience difficult to get More Canadians go overseas

10. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Activities: Regulators’ reports Released Guidelines for Fair Registration Practices Reports –Information –Fees –Decision-making –Access to records –Appeals –Assessment of qualifications –Mutual recognition agreements

11. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Activities: Audits Released Framework for Audits of Registration Practices –Standards –Roster of auditors –Three-year cycle

12. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Next Steps Analysis of regulatory bodies’ yearly reports and audits Study of qualification assessment agencies Research about barriers faced by internationally trained individuals Guidance for analysis of registration requirements

13. CLEAR 2008 Annual Conference Anchorage, Alaska Contact Office of the Fairness Commissioner 595 Bay Street, Suite 1201 Toronto, Ontario M7A 2B4 Canada ofc@ontario.ca www.fairnesscommissioner.ca 416-325-9380