O. Reg. 296/23: GENERAL

 

ontario regulation 296/23

made under the

Physiotherapy Act, 1991

Made: July 28, 2023
Approved: August 17, 2023
Filed: August 21, 2023
Published on e-Laws: August 21, 2023
Published in The Ontario Gazette: September 9, 2023

Amending O. Reg. 532/98

(GENERAL)

1. Section 12 of Ontario Regulation 532/98 is amended by adding the following paragraph:

4. Emergency.

2. Section 25 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Emergency

25. (1) The following are the standards and qualifications for the issuance of an emergency class certificate of registration:

1. The Minister must have requested that the College initiate registrations under this class based on the Minister’s opinion that emergency circumstances call for it or the Council must have determined, after taking into account all of the relevant circumstances that impact the ability of applicants to meet the ordinary registration requirements, that there are emergency circumstances, and that it is in the public interest that the College issue emergency certificates.

2. The applicant must satisfy the Registrar that the applicant meets at least one of the following requirements:

i. The applicant has a degree in physiotherapy.

ii. The applicant is enrolled in a program in physiotherapy described in clause (a) of the definition of “degree in physiotherapy” in section 11, and has completed at least 820 clinical practice hours associated with that program.

iii. The applicant was, within the five years immediately preceding the application, registered to practise physiotherapy in Ontario with a certificate of registration authorizing independent practice or is, or was, within the five years immediately preceding the application, registered or licensed to practise physiotherapy in another province or territory in Canada with a certificate or license which the Registrar is satisfied is equivalent to a certificate of registration authorizing independent practice in Ontario.

iv. The applicant is, or was, within the five years immediately preceding the application, registered or licenced to practise physiotherapy in a jurisdiction outside of Canada that has been approved by the Council for the purposes of this section.

3. The applicant, other than an applicant referred to in subparagraph 2 ii, must satisfy the Registrar that the applicant has completed at least 1200 clinical practice hours in the five years immediately preceding the application.

4. The applicant must have successfully completed the College Jurisprudence Program.

5. Where an applicant has sat an examination, they must not have failed the written component of the examination on any occasion or have failed the practical component of the examination on two or more occasions.

(2) The requirements set out in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of subsection (1) are non-exemptible.

(3) Every emergency certificate of registration is subject to the following terms, conditions, and limitations:

1. The member must only hold themselves out as a “physiotherapist (emergency class)” or under the abbreviation “PT (emergency class)” or their equivalents in French.

2. The member may only practise physiotherapy under the direct supervision of a Supervisor unless the member can satisfy the Registrar that the member is able to practise safely and competently without supervision.

3. The member is not entitled to perform a controlled act authorized to a physiotherapist under subsection 4 (1) of the Act unless the member has been delegated the performance of the controlled act by a member who holds a certificate of registration authorizing independent practice or the member performs the act pursuant to an order under subsection 4 (3) of the Act.

4. The member must adhere to any other terms, conditions and limitations that Council has identified as necessary in order for holders of emergency certificates of registration to be able to assist in addressing the determined emergency circumstances.

(4) An emergency class certificate of registration is automatically revoked on the earliest of the following:

1. Ninety days after issuance by the Council of its determination that the emergency circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 of subsection (1) have ended.

2. The expiry of 12 months from the date the certificate was issued, unless the Registrar extends the certificate under subsection (5).

3. The date to which the Registrar extends the certificate under subsection (5).

4. The date on which the Registrar revokes the certificate under subsection (6).

5. Fifteen days after the member receives notification that the member failed the written component of the examination.

6. Fifteen days after the member receives notification that the member failed the practical component of the examination for the second time.

(5) The Registrar may extend an emergency class certificate of registration for one or more periods, each of which is not to exceed 12 months, if, in the opinion of the Registrar, it is advisable or necessary to do so, as long as the Council has not determined that the emergency circumstances have ended.

(6) The Registrar may revoke an emergency class certificate of registration if, in the opinion of the Registrar, it is in the public interest to do so.

(7) A member who holds an emergency class certificate of registration or a former member who held an emergency class certificate of registration within two years of applying for a certificate of registration authorizing provisional practice and who practised physiotherapy for at least 1200 hours while in the emergency class is exempt from any examination fees which would otherwise be payable to the College for the practical component of the examination.

(8) In this section,

“Supervisor” means a member who,

(a) holds a certificate of registration authorizing independent practice, and

(b) has been approved by the Registrar to supervise a member who holds an emergency class certificate of registration.

Commencement

3. This Regulation comes into force on the later of the day subsection 3 (3) of Schedule 6 to the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022 comes into force and the day this Regulation is filed.

Made by:

Council of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario:

Nitin Madhvani

Council President

Craig Roxborough

Registrar & CEO

Date made: July 28, 2023