Alas, paramedics aren't defined as 'health professionals' in Ontario because they aren't regulated by a 'college'.
After I retired, the members of our department overwelming voted NO to a regulatory college for five reasons.
1. Regulatory colleges are not teaching colleges. Rather they set the criteria for professional certification and investigate complaints from the public and discipline college members regarding issues such as professional incompetence, professional misconduct, and sexual impropriety.
2. Certification under a college model often shifts the blame for systemic problems in the workplace to the individual worker and removes government accountability for policies and funding decisions that have direct bearing on issues, incidences and the investigation of a worker.
3. The disciplinary functions of regulatory colleges impose an additional and unnecessary level of oversight and discipline above what is already in place under employer policy, legislation and freely negotiated collective agreements.
4. Mandatory fees to a college pose a financial burden and create a barrier for workers who are required to pay fees out-of-pocket to maintain their license/certification to practice. In Alberta paramedics pay $600 a year to the regulatory college.
5. Because colleges are designed to “protect the public”, workers who fall under a regulated profession or college model often pay out-of-pocket for malpractice insurance to protect themselves against liability.
vicpd.ca
