Office of the Fairness Commissioner’s Continuous Improvement Strategy Nuzhat Jafri, Executive Director Sixth National Conference for Educators, Provincial Regulators and Employers of IENs Winnipeg, Manitoba April 26, 2012

Office of the fairness commissioner2 Agenda Context Activity of the Office of the Fairness Commissioner Continuous Improvement Nursing in Ontario Conclusion

Office of the fairness commissioner3 Ontario Context Ontario population: 13.3 million Membership in regulated professions –Largest: College of Teachers 230,000 –Smallest: College of Dental Technologists 500 Proportion of internationally educated members ranges from zero to 40 per cent

Office of the fairness commissioner4 Office of the Fairness Commissioner Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 Transparent, objective, impartial and fair licensing 40 regulatory bodies Hon. Jean Augustine, Commissioner

Office of the fairness commissioner5 Office of the Fairness Commissioner Video

Office of the fairness commissioner6 Continuous Improvement Assessments of regulators’ licensing practices Specific duties, e.g., –Information for applicants –Clear, reliable assessment of qualifications –Appeal processes General duty to be transparent, objective, impartial and fair, e.g., –Registration policies are well documented (transparent) –Decisions are free from bias (impartial) –Canadian experience requirements are justifiable (fair)

Office of the fairness commissioner7 Continuous Improvement: Activity Activity to April 26, 2012 –33 assessments completed and summaries published –258 recommendations –304 commendable practices –Action plans received from 19 regulatory bodies

Office of the fairness commissioner8 Continuous Improvement: Top Issues Top recommendations to regulatory bodies: –Provide better information for applicants –Use clear criteria to decide whether applicants are qualified Assessment summaries on fairnesscommissioner.ca

Office of the fairness commissioner9 College of Nurses of Ontario Membership in 2011: 155,817 –Internationally trained: 10.7 % Applications in 2011: 16,214 –Internationally trained: 31.1 % Top source countries: Philippines, India

Office of the fairness commissioner10 College of Nurses of Ontario College registration improvements in progress, e.g.: –Faster registration –Fairer assessments for internationally educated nurses –Clearer information for applicants OFC assessment: publication in July 2012

Office of the fairness commissioner11 Progress Regulatory bodies’ changes: –Reduced requirements for Canadian work experience –Speeded up procedures –Posted more information online –Ensured that qualifications assessment agencies do their work fairly Office of the Fairness Commissioner identifies problems that demand vigilance and action

Office of the fairness commissioner12 Conclusion Commissioner pinpoints where regulators must improve. Regulatory bodies are implementing our recommendations. Assessment of College of Nurses of Ontario is in progress. Stay tuned! The Office of the Fairness Commissioner gets results. In Ontario, qualified people will have faster, fairer access to their professions.

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Office of the fairness commissioner14 Contact Office of the Fairness Commissioner 595 Bay Street, Suite 1201 Toronto, Ontario M7A 2B4 Canada