The Fair Access to the Regulated Professions Act, 2006 - How it Affects the APGO

The Fair Access to the Regulated Professions Act, 2006 (FARPA) came into effect on March 1, 2007

(http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06f31_e.htm). The Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC) (http://www.fairnesscommissioner.ca/en/), an arm's-length agency of the government of Ontario, was established in April 2007 under FARPA. The OFC ensures that Ontario's regulated professions have registration practices that are transparent, objective, impartial and fair by assessing the registration practices of regulated professions.

The Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, as a regulated profession in Ontario, falls under the jurisdiction of the OFC. The OFC requires the bodies that regulate the professions, to submit a review of their own registration process annually, submit an annual report and undergo compliance audits every three years (at the expense of the regulator). The APGO has been consulting with the OFC throughout most of 2007 and all of 2008, providing presentations, documentation and statistics concerning registration practises of the APGO. As well, APGO has participated in consultations with the OFC on procedures for the registration process audit, registration process review and report requirements.

The APGO has already submitted a document on the registration practises of the Association (available at: http://www.fairnesscommissioner.ca/en/publications.asp under 2007 Study of Registration Practices). APGO is also the first Ontario-regulated profession to undergo the registration process audit, which is currently underway in the APGO offices. APGO is fortunate to have a relatively recent Act and Regulations, as well as a Council and Committees with the foresight to document processes, which has helped to ensure transparent, objective, impartial and fair registration practises. The audit, conducted by SF Partnership, LLP Chartered Accountants, will be submitted to the OFC by the end of the year. The annual report will be submitted early in 2009. A date has yet to be determined for the submission of the review of registration practises.

The APGO respects the mandate of the OFC and the purpose of FARPA. The Association will continue to collaborate with the OFC to maintain and improve the registration practises to ensure that the practises are transparent, objective, impartial and fair to all professional geoscience applicants seeking registration in Ontario.

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Field Notes is published by APGO and is edited by Wendy Diaz, P.Geo. If you have comments or wish to contribute material to this newsletter, please contact Wendy Diaz, P.Geo., or Andrea Waldie, P.Geo., Executive Director/Registar.

Copyright 2008, Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO)