HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UMBRELLA) PROFESSIONS LEGISLATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Proposed Legislation
Q.
What is the Health and Social Services (Umbrella) Professions Legislation?
A.
Health and Social Services Professions Legislation will license a number of
health and social services professions under one Act (often referred to as
„umbrella‟ legislation).
Q.
Where else is there Health and Social Services Umbrella Professions
Legislation?
Currently, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and
Labrador, and the Yukon have enacted or are in the process of enacting umbrella
health professions legislation.
Q.
What would this proposed legislation look like?
A.
The legislation would consist of two parts: the Act and the Regulations.
The Act will provide general requirements on a complaints and discipline
process, as well as criteria for determining when to update an existing Act or add
a new profession under the legislation.
The Regulations will be specific to each profession (one regulation per
profession) and will provide the requirements for that profession‟s qualifications
and continuing competency, among other details.
Once the Act comes into force, additional professional Regulations can be
developed at any time.
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HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UMBRELLA) PROFESSIONS LEGISLATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Timeline
Q.
What is the expected timeline of this project?
A.
Developing a new piece of legislation can often take three to four years to
complete. This process includes research and drafting, internal review,
Legislative Assembly review, and extensive consultation through various parts of
development, including the development and implementation of professionspecific regulations. With this in mind, we would expect to have a Health and
Social Services Professions Act passed in the Legislative Assembly in 2014,
depending on the Legislative Assembly Session schedule. Specific professional
regulations can be developed and added anytime after the Act comes into force.
For more information on the proposed timeline, please see the “Legislative
Process and Proposed Timeline” document on the Discussion Paper webpage.
What this means for Health and Social Services Professions
Q.
My health or social services profession is not currently licensed, will this
legislation affect me?
A.
The primary purpose of the proposed Health and Social Services Professions Act
is to modernize existing and outdated health and social services professional
legislation. However, at some point in the future, the legislation may affect you
and your profession. The legislation will serve as an umbrella Act so that many
other health and social services professions can be licensed in the future.
For those wishing to be licensed in the future, it is worth paying particular
attention to the provisions that will be addressed in the Act, such as the criteria
for adding a profession and the complaints and discipline processes. Provisions
in the Act will apply to any profession that is licensed under the Act. As for
specific qualifications or continuing competency requirements, these are unique
to each profession and would only be detailed in the regulations of your
profession after considerable research and consultation.
Q.
My health or social services profession is currently licensed, will this
legislation affect me?
A.
In general, the proposed Act will only affect professions that have outdated
legislation that requires significant amending such as the Licensed Practical
Nurses Act or the Psychologists Act. Regulations under the proposed legislation
would provide these professionals with updated standards and requirements that
are consistent with other jurisdictions in the country.
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HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UMBRELLA) PROFESSIONS LEGISLATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q.
Why isn’t our profession included as one of the first to be addressed under
the proposed legislation?
A.
The three professions identified as the first to be addressed under the proposed
legislation are Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Psychologists, and Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) Providers. They were carefully chosen by the
Department of Health and Social Services for a number of reasons.
These professions represent a combination of both health and social services
disciplines, as well as currently licensed and unlicensed professions.
LPNs and Psychologists have considerably outdated Acts that require significant
amendments.
EMS Providers pose several licensing challenges such as complex registration
requirements in other jurisdictions and public safety.
It was concluded that by finding a framework that works for these professions,
the Department would be better able to research and draft additional professional
regulations when the Act came into force.
Q.
Why haven’t I or my professional association been consulted?
A.
The Department of Health and Social Services is working with a small advisory
group. This advisory group helped the Department develop the Health and
Social Services Professions Discussion Paper that is currently available on our
website for feedback.
Since this legislation will affect other health and social services professionals, we
encourage everyone (members of a profession or the general public) to provide
comments and suggestions.
Q.
How is this Act supposed to apply to our profession if we haven’t been
included in the initial consultation?
A.
The initial consultation with the three identified professions was to help identify
the options available to the Department if we were to move forward with the
development of a Health and Social Services Professions Act. For example, the
initial consultation helped the Department determine what this type of Act could
look like and if such an Act would even be feasible in the NWT. The Discussion
Paper presenting these options is now available for feedback from the public,
including health and social services professionals.
It is also worth noting that it is the different Regulations that would provide the
specific requirements for such things as qualifications and continuing
competency for each particular profession. These Regulations would not be
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HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UMBRELLA) PROFESSIONS LEGISLATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
developed by the Department without detailed and extensive research and
consultation.
Q.
When can I expect my profession to be included under the Regulations in
this Act?
A.
Regulations under a Health and Social Services Professions Act could be
developed and implemented anytime after the Act comes into force. This means
that if professions meet the criteria established in the legislation for updating
existing legislation or adding a new profession under the Act, we could begin
licensing professions after a few months or, for professions that aren‟t ready to
be included for some time, after a few years.
Health and Social Services Professions Legislation Discussion Paper
Q.
What if I have comments or questions on the Health and Social Services
Professions Act or discussion paper?
A.
Please feel free to send your comments to us at the provided contact information
at any time. As with all proposed legislation, the Department of Health and
Social Services will ensure that consultation takes place and that feedback
provided by the public is considered through all stages of development.
Q.
Can anyone provide feedback on the discussion paper?
A.
Yes. The Department of Health and Social Services encourages everyone to
provide comments on the Discussion Paper. This includes affected
professionals, other jurisdictions, members of the Advisory Committee,
professionals that are interested in being licensed in the future, professional
associations, and the general public. Feedback from everyone will help ensure
the Department creates an Act that is functional and beneficial to health and
social services professionals and the public.
Q.
What happens to feedback provided on the discussion paper?
A.
The discussion paper, as well as the comments provided through public
consultation, will be used as a framework to develop the proposed elements of a
Health and Social Services Professions Act. This is the first of many steps in the
development of a law.
For more information on the legislative process, please see the “Legislative
Process and Proposed Timeline” document on the main Discussion Paper
webpage.
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HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES (UMBRELLA) PROFESSIONS LEGISLATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q.
What happens if you don’t agree with my comments on the Discussion
Paper?
A.
The Department of Health and Social Services is not in a position to agree or
disagree with comments on the Discussion Paper. Instead, the Department will
compile all the feedback provided into a document and assess how each
comment would affect the proposed project. The Department may also consult
with the Advisory Committee to determine the members‟ assessment of the
feedback received. While not all feedback can be applied to the legislative
project since we must work with certain constraints (such as small professional
numbers, limited resources, and Agreement in Internal Trade requirements), it is
important to remember that public consultation often provides an opportunity for
the Department to improve their legislative project, as suggestions or concerns
may be provided that weren‟t previously considered.
Agreement on Internal Trade
Q.
What is the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)?
A.
The Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) is an intergovernmental trade agreement
signed by all the provinces and territories in Canada, except for Nunavut. Its
purpose is to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free movement of persons,
goods, services, and investment within Canada and to establish an open,
efficient, and stable domestic market.
Chapter 7 of the AIT focuses specifically on labour mobility, and it is this chapter
that the Department of Health and Social Services must adhere to when creating
or amending legislation that deals with professional licensing.
Chapter 7 states that workers in regulated occupations can apply to be certified
in the same occupation in another province/territory without having to undergo
significant additional training, examination or assessment. This means that the
Department must create licensing requirements that meet the standards of other
Canadian jurisdictions, but that are also functional for the Northwest Territories.
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