O. Reg. 378/23: GENERAL, Filed December 7, 2023 under Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 31

ontario regulation 378/23

made under the

Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act, 2006

Made: December 7, 2023
Filed: December 7, 2023
Published on e-Laws: December 7, 2023
Published in The Ontario Gazette: December 23, 2023

Amending O. Reg. 261/22

(GENERAL)

1. Ontario Regulation 261/22 is amended by adding the following section:

Alternatives to Canadian experience

1.2 (1) A regulated profession may accept Canadian experience in satisfaction of a qualification for registration only if it also accepts alternatives to Canadian experience that meet the following criteria:

1. The alternative must involve international work experience or experiential training that enables a person to acquire competencies that,

i. are clearly defined by the regulated profession,

ii. are necessary to the practice of the regulated profession,

iii. are the same as or substantially similar to those that would be acquired through Canadian experience that satisfies the qualification requirement,

iv. would qualify the person for the same type of membership in the regulated profession that would be granted to an applicant whose Canadian experience satisfies the qualification requirement, and

v. can be obtained in at least one country other than Canada.

2. The work experience or experiential training may be obtained in any jurisdiction outside of Canada in which a person can acquire the competencies described in paragraph 1.

3. If the alternative includes an individual assessment, the assessment must be available to applicants with work experience or experiential training obtained in any jurisdiction outside of Canada, and must be available to such applicants,

i. on a regular basis, and

ii. for a reasonable fee, if any fee is charged.

(2) For greater certainty, subparagraph 3 ii of subsection (1) does not authorize any regulated profession or other body to charge fees for an assessment.

(3) A description of an alternative, including the requirements for obtaining the work experience or experiential training, the competencies to be acquired through the work experience or experiential training, and any individual assessment, must be published on a publicly accessible website maintained by the regulated profession.

2. Section 2 of the Regulation is revoked.

3. Subsection 4 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Language proficiency testing requirements

(1) An applicant for registration satisfies a regulated profession’s English or French language proficiency testing requirement if the applicant demonstrates, within two years before the date of making the application, English or French language proficiency at a level satisfactory to the regulated profession on a test that is approved under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) for use in assessing language proficiency.

Commencement

4. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this Regulation comes into force on the day it is filed.

(2) Section 3 comes into force on the later of January 1, 2024 and the day this Regulation is filed.

(3) Sections 1 and 2 come into force on the later of the day section 4 of Schedule 3 to the Working for Workers Act, 2023 comes into force and the day this Regulation is filed.