College Council is now seeking feedback from registrants, stakeholders and members of the public on proposed amendments to the College’s By-Law No. 5 to enable changes to the governance structure of the College as well as put into place annual cost of living fee increases.
Governance
In December 2018, College Council approved the decision to review the governance structure of the College. In the subsequent June 2019 and September 2019 meetings, Council considered and approved changes related to Council composition, competencies, and selection, as well as the composition of statutory committees. The required by-law changes were presented to Council in December 2019 and are currently out for public consultation.
The changes to governance reflect Council’s recognition that the College must do all it can to build and strengthen public confidence in its work, including a growing commitment to ensure that the College’s and Council’s activities reflect the diversity of issues and needs of the patient population that we serve. The proposed changes reflect the emerging best practices in health regulatory governance and also align with ongoing work at other regulators across Ontario and the country. For more information on the changes to governance, please visit the Governance Renewal Key Initiative page.
Annual Cost of Living Fee Adjustments
In 2018, College Council proposed a 25% increase in all fees; however, the required increase for registrant renewal fees would be phased in over two years (2019 annual renewal and 2020 annual renewal fees would each increase by 12.5%). Previous to this increase, registrant fees had not increased for nine years.
To help prevent the need for future large increases over a single year, Council has proposed by-law amendments that would see the fees prescribed in Schedule D of the By-Law (for registrants, applicants and pharmacies) increased each year by the percentage increase, if any, in the consumer price index (CPI) for goods and services in Canada as published by Statistics Canada. This change would take effect for 2021 renewal fees.
As discussed at the September 2019 Council meeting, the proposal to switch to an annual cost of living fee increase is a result of reflection on the feedback received from the consultation on the 2018 fee increases.
Decisions to raise fees are never taken lightly, but are guided by our obligations as a regulator to serve and protect the public. The College has and will continue to identify and act on efficiencies and new processes to streamline our work.
Submit Your Feedback Now
Please visit the consultation webpage to review all of the proposed revisions to the By-Law as well as supporting materials. The consultation will be open for 60 days, until February 15, 2020. Council will receive a report on the input received through the consultation for consideration at the next Council meeting.