Legislation, Regulations and By-Laws

The College is the governing body for physiotherapists/physical therapists in Ontario. The College receives its regulatory authority from the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) and the Physiotherapy Act. Under that authority, the College develops regulations and by-laws that serve as registrant rules.

Professional regulation defines the practice of the profession, establishes entry-to-practice requirements and sets the limits of that practice. Regulation is designed to protect the public from incompetent or unqualified practitioners. Self-regulation is a privilege granted to professions that meet established criteria. This privilege allows professions to set their own standards, evaluate the conduct of registrants and develop programs to advance the practice of the profession while still focusing on protecting the public interest.

The College exists to protect the public interest. This is quite different from the role of a professional association, which acts to promote the interests of its members. The role, responsibilities and powers of any regulatory body are established in legislation. In Ontario all the health colleges fall under the RHPA, and they have the same key objectives:

• to regulate the practice of the profession and govern the registrant;
• to determine entry-to-practice requirements;
• to assure the quality of professional practice;
• to promote continuing competence; and
• to determine ethical standards.

Under the RHPA, the College is accountable to:

1. The public, by providing information through the public register; publications including the annual report and the College website; open Council meetings; and open hearings of the Discipline Committee.
2. The government, through the appointment of public members to Council.
3. The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, through the requirement for the Council to file an annual report on its activities to the Minister. The Minister also has the power to do anything that the Council has the authority to do and to require the Council to produce information upon request.
4. The Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC), an independent government agency that considers changes to the legislation governing health professions, monitors and reports on the colleges’ patient relations programs and their handling of sexual abuse cases, and their practice enhancement programs.
5. The Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB), an independent administrative tribunal that has the authority to review decisions of colleges’ Registration and Complaints Committees upon request of the parties involved.
6. The courts, which have the right to hear appeals of the decisions of colleges’ Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees upon petition from the parties involved.
7. The registrants of the profession, through the democratic election process that elects physiotherapists to the Council and the obligation to circulate regulations and bylaws.

The College has a number of different forms of authority to regulate the physiotherapy profession and guide physiotherapy practice. These are published as:

• Regulations
• By-laws
• Standards
• Guides
• Position Statements
• Briefing Notes
• Information Bulletins

Regulations

Any regulation that is developed by the College must be circulated to every physiotherapist for their feedback. A proposed regulation must also be approved by the Ministry of Health, the provincial government cabinet committee, and finally it must be signed into law by the Lieutenant-Governor. This means that a regulation, once approved, has the force of law and as a result, all registrants are expected to comply with College regulations.

The College currently has two regulations in force. These regulations have been drafted, circulated to the registrants for review and input, and approved by Council, the Ontario Cabinet and the Lieutenant-Governor. They are:

• Professional Misconduct – Ontario Regulation 861/93
• General – Ontario Regulation 68/06, which includes three sub-components:
• Quality Assurance;
• Funding for Therapy and Counselling
• Registration

By-Laws

The Physiotherapy Act also gives the College the authority to develop numerous by-laws. The by-law making authorities are broad, however they are generally concerned with administrative matters within the College such as the way the College’s committees are composed, the duties of elected officers, or the rules for electing College registrants to the Council. The by-law making authorities also enable the College to make rules that establish registrant obligations. These obligations include the type of information that registrants must provide to the College, the fees that registrants must pay to the College, and the need for registrants’ conduct to adhere to the College’s Code of Ethics.

While not all by-laws must be circulated to registrants for feedback, those that establish obligations of College registrants do require consultation before they can be approved by Council. Once a by-law is approved, all registrants are expected to comply with it.