Message From the Registrar & CEO
We anticipate that the provincial government will bring the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) into force some time in 2025. The new legislation means BC’s health regulatory colleges must prepare bylaws that reflect the requirements of the HPOA. Here is an overview of what you can expect when CHCPBC posts our draft bylaws for public consultation in the coming weeks.
Governance and committee structure
Modernized governance is one of the objectives of the HPOA, including competency-based appointed boards – in lieu of elections – and a 50/50 split between appointed licensee members and appointed non-licensee public members.
Although the CHCPBC Board already meets these requirements, we do not yet know if there will be changes to the current board membership when the HPOA is brought into force.
There will also be a change to CHCPBC’s committee structure. Under the HPOA, we will have three statutory committees: Licensure, Investigation (complaints), and a new Permit committee that will oversee Health Professions Corporations*.
There is no Discipline Committee under the HPOA because the discipline function for all regulatory colleges will be transferred to the Director of Discipline within the new Office of the Superintendent of Health Profession and Occupation Oversight.
The HPOA does not require regulatory colleges to have a Quality Assurance Committee. Rather, each college can decide whether the quality assurance program will be administered by a committee or by the Registrar.
Professional standards and statutory roles
The HPOA introduces new statutory roles. We will have Professional Standards and Ethics Advisors the Board must consult with before approving standards. Profession-specific standards will be embedded within bylaws rather than standing alone.
Other new regulatory roles include the capacity officer, quality assurance officer and assessors. They will support specific processes, such as capacity evaluation and quality assurance assessment.
Support programs to create a safer complaints process
The HPOA requires regulatory colleges to have three types of support programs:
- Information services to help complainants understand the complaint process, timelines and outcomes.
- Support services to be funded by the college for people who have experienced sexual misconduct, sexual abuse or discrimination.
- Support workers to help complainants navigate the complaints process and mitigate additional trauma or harm that can result from the process.
Bylaws parts to be posted for public consultation
CHCPBC’s draft bylaws will be made up of parts, which are in different stages of completion. We will group and publish the bylaws parts for between 30 to 45 days each. The consultation schedule for the draft bylaw parts, which includes dates that are subject to change, is available in the HPOA section of our website.
Our intent is to provide clear information about the draft bylaws to all interested parties. We plan to use an online form or survey, allowing readers to comment on the parts that are most of interest of them.
All interested parties will be invited to participate in the public consultation, including registrants (licensees), members of the public, and staff members. We are especially interested in hearing comments and questions about the operational impacts, unintended consequences on the public, professions, applicants, and the College – or anything that may be missing or unclear in the draft bylaws.
It will be important to keep in mind that CHCPBC’s proposed bylaws must be compliant with the HPOA, which means that foundational elements – such as the governance structure with respect to the Board as outlined above – cannot be changed.
The new CHCPBC Bylaws will become effective on the day that HPOA is brought into force. Until then, current CHCPBC Bylaws and requirements continue to apply to all registrants and applicants.
Less than one year after the amalgamation to create the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC, we are in the midst of yet another major change in BC’s regulatory landscape. As we move forward, we will take every opportunity to improve our processes and provide consistency in our regulatory approach – while being guided by a spirit of progress rather than perfection.
Dianne Millette
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer
College of Health and Care Professionals of BC
This is the second Registrar Message about the change in governing legislation from the Health Professions Act to the incoming Health Professions and Occupations Act. In the first one, Dianne Millette provided an overview of the HPOA and described what it will mean for the health professionals we regulate.
*Currently applies only to physical therapists and optometrists.
