Regulated and self regulated professions a need to review

 Regulated and self regulated
professions a need to review

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East
Regulated and self regulated professions a need to review

A regulated or self regulated profession is controlled more or less stringently by provincial and territorial (and sometimes federal) law, and governed by a regulatory body. About 20 per cent of jobs are in regulated occupations. In general, two main types of occupations are regulated in Canada; regulated, self regulated professions (for example, doctors, nurses, engineers and lawyers); and apprenticeable (Skilled) trades (for example, plumbers and electricians).

There are close to 100 regulated and self regulated professions in Canada. Each province and territory has its input in the regulation and self regulation. In order to practice engineering everywhere in Canada for example, you need to have a licence in every province and territory; so 13 licences.

This obviously creates and economic and bureaucratic barrier to developing a healthy economy in Canada. Interprovincial barriers in trade professions as well as in other areas of economic activity do not serve the interests of Canadians. The rules for regulating or self regulating the professions and trades in Canada are antiquated, belonging to the last century and must be fundamentally revised in order to keep up with modern times and eliminate such covert and masked inequalities between Canadians.

Canada, as a country which receives many immigrants, most of whom have valuable foreign qualifications that are sorely needed in this country, is not living up to their expectations. There is an obvious disconnect between the federal government responsible for immigration and the provincial governments responsible for professional licensing. It can be challenging for newcomers to Canada to get the professional designations they need to work in the same position they worked in before immigrating. Many workers in healthcare for example face these hurdles, as do some professionals in non-healthcare fields such as accounting, law, and engineering, among others.

Difficulties and delays in securing the correct credentials to practice your profession in Canada can result in financial, emotional strain and loss of qualifications if they are not working in their profession and also a loss for the country which might have a need in that profession.

It is cause for concern, therefore, that labour productivity in this important sector of the Canadian economy is quite at the bottom for labour productivity among Canadian industries.

Several studies have been made, such as the Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario in 1989 and the Competition Bureau of Canada: Self-Regulated professions- Balancing Competition and Regulation in 2007.  They pointed out the problems in the field and made recommendations, but essentially very little has been done.
Research conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) confirmed the worrisome state of Canada's professional services sector. The OECD stated that Canada's best opportunity for growth in labour productivity is reducing regulation in professional services. OECD has shown that countries such as Australia that have streamlined and improved their regulatory regimes have seen significant payoffs in terms of productivity.

Much of the productivity problem that plagues Canada's professions may be due to regulators not considering competition issues, or considering them inadequately amounting to protectionism. This approach must be reconsidered and revised when  considering regulatory schemes, in the new context of the very different Canadian and World economy that exists today. There is also an increasing issue in enforcement and prosecution of malpractice in protecting the public safety due to a lack of dedicated resources.

Normally, competition in a free market system protects both consumers and service providers better than any other alternative. The regulation will be most effective when it imposes minimal restraints on competition but effectively protects the public. Regulatory bodies and governments must identify opportunities for improving necessary regulations and eliminating unnecessary ones so that Canadians can benefit from the best combination of regulation and competition.
The professions, especially the self-regulated ones, (meaning that they have been given some powers that normally only governments hold), may put in place restrictions that have the force of law. At the same time, these organizations have potentially conflicting concerns and interests; their own and those of the public. This is all the more reason to ensure that competition, from which both professionals and consumers benefit, is protected.

Regulators-comprising provincial and territorial governments, and self-regulating organizations-must evaluate regulatory decisions through a balanced, evidence-based assessment, taking into account the numerous channels through which regulation can be beneficial or harmful to consumers of professional services. To this end, the governance structure of each profession must ensure broad representation.

Most professions maintain substantial entry qualifications, coupled with continuing education requirements. However, these qualifications are noticeably uneven across the country.  The education qualifications are a particular point of contest.

One sour point is the restrictions on entering the profession, mostly for foreign trained individuals, which are based on very restrictive and sometimes irrationally narrow educational requirements. This can be the role of the federal government which in collaboration with competent academic authorities would be able to negotiate and sign an agreement for the mutual recognition of educational degrees with foreign countries. This will eliminate a barrier and a claim that the Canadian degrees are always superior to any other foreign degree.

The regulated and self regulated professions will still maintain the right to establish examinations specific for licensing purposes applied equally to all, Canadian and foreign trained. This will bring equity to the licensing system and eliminate any suspicion of discrimination.

There is an opportunity now, for both federal and provincial governments to act; to review and promote strong, effective and modern regulation and self regulation by applying competition, productivity and human resources analysis to this vitally important sector of the economy and eliminate any restrictive barriers which might undermine the Canadian economy and recovery after the pandemic.

 It is time to act. What do you think?