Newsletter - January 2021
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I am pleased to share with you the first installment of the 2021 Newsletter authored by the Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC). Our plan is to disseminate a copy of this publication each month.
The object of the newsletter is to provide stakeholders interested in fair registration practices with access to publications that offer new ideas and/or canvass current developments in the field. We hope that you will find these publications to be useful. Below, please find information on five topics of interest to stakeholders in this sphere.
Irwin Glasberg, Fairness Commissioner
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The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Registration Practices
During 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic materially impacted Ontario’s professional regulators. For the most part, regulators were able to pivot quickly to address novel and unprecedented challenges. In many cases, however, regulators were required to cancel knowledge-based and/or clinical examinations, in some cases with serious implications for registrants.
In November 2020, the OFC disseminated a survey to all regulators to better understand the impacts of the pandemic on them. We specifically asked about the role that the OFC could play to assist regulators to deal with this new reality. We will disseminate the survey results in early 2021 and develop an appropriate action plan.
Despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, professional regulators continue to make progress in instituting fair registration practices. For example, we are seeing rapid improvements to on-line testing protocols and enhanced data collection and management capacities. In addition, many regulators are actively developing policies and procedures to address diversity and anti-racism issues. This work is critical to underpin progressive fair registration practices.
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Canada’s Compliance with the Lisbon Recognition Convention
Recently, the Canadian Information for International Credentials (CICIC) released an independent report titled Substantial Agreement - Academic Credential Assessment in Canada: Implementation of the Lisbon Recognition Convention and Preparation for the UNESCO Global Convention.
The report explores how well Canadian jurisdictions have implemented the 1997 Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) on Academic Credential Recognition in Canada. Its goal is to inform government decision-making regarding the 2019 UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education.
The report concludes that Canada has achieved a high level of compliance with the convention, especially when compared to that of other countries. It comments specifically on improvements that have benefited internationally trained professionals and increased the number of international students admitted into postsecondary institutions and the labour market. The report cautions, however, that because of the decentralized approaches to assessments in Canada, more work needs to be done to ensure that the goals of the convention are achieved.
This report will be of special interest to readers interested in understanding the impact of conventions on the registration of internationally trained professionals.
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The Collection and Analysis of Race-based Data
Increasingly, organizations in the public and private sectors have recognized the collection of race-based data as foundational to their diversity and anti-racism policies. For the professions and compulsory trades, the analysis of this data is especially useful in assessing whether regulators are treating internationally trained individuals in a manner similar to domestic candidates.
Based on the OFC’s annual meetings with regulators, many either have, or will shortly, embark on this important data collection and analysis exercise. A few, however, have expressed concerns that such a practice may be viewed as interventionist or at odds with privacy principles.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has taken the position that the collection of race-based data is permitted for purposes consistent with the Human Rights Code, such as identifying and removing systemic barriers, monitoring discrimination, addressing historical disadvantage and promoting substantive equality.
The OHRC has developed a very useful resource titled Count Me In! for use in the public, private and non-profit sectors. This document provides helpful guidance on how to approach data collection and analysis work. The OFC will continue to identify useful resources on this topic which we can share with regulators and other stakeholders.
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Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA) -- Indigenous Jurisdiction Competencies Standards
The OPFA is the regulator of professional forestry in Ontario. In reviewing the scope of its work, the organization recognized that Indigenous and treaty rights could be infringed when forest operations are undertaken. In conjunction with several of its Indigenous members, the OPFA developed the Indigenous Jurisdiction Competencies Standards. The standards acknowledge that Canada is the home of Indigenous Peoples and that professional foresters must conduct their forest management activities in the spirit of reconciliation with First nations in the province.
Following approval in 2019, the OPFA shared the standard broadly with Canadian universities, related forestry programs and with regulators of forest professionals throughout Canada. The standards explore (1) the history of Crown-Indigenous agreements in Canada, (2) the benefits and limitations of agreements with the Crown, the private sector and other third parties, (3) the distribution of economic benefits with Indigenous Peoples and (4) new forms of agreements. As a complement to the standards, the OPFA is in the developing associated training and testing resources.
The Indigenous Competencies Standards can be found here.
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Modernizing Manitoba’s Fair-access Legislation
On November 2, 2020, Bill 41, the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Amendment Act. was introduced in the Manitoba legislature. The bill is currently at the First Reading stage.
The bill is designed to update and modernize the current version of Manitoba’s legislation and contains several novel provisions. For example, section 6(2) of the bill provides that “If a regulated profession is subject to a time period prescribed by regulation, the regulated profession must make its registration decisions or provide its written responses or reasons within the time period prescribedâ€. Section 8(4) goes on to stipulate that “the criteria used in an assessment of qualifications must be necessary to assess competence in the practice of the professionâ€.
As well, section 8.1(1) specifies that a regulated profession must take reasonable steps to collaborate with education providers and employers to identify opportunities to develop programs that may assist internationally educated individuals and unsuccessful applicants in obtaining registration in the regulated profession and develop such programs.
The full text of the Manitoba bill may be found here.
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