We Welcome Your Feedback

(Consultation Feedback Requested by May 26, 2017)

March 28, 2017

The College is seeking your feedback on proposed changes to various fees. These changes will affect the fees paid by Applicants, Initial members, Academic members, General members and Non-Practising members.

Summary

The proposed fee adjustments and changes to fees reflect the rising costs of meeting the College's regulatory mandate and strategic goals while addressing increased pressures from the external environment.  The College Council noted the following relevant factors before approving the proposal for circulation:

• The College Council wishes to pursue a more incremental approach to fee adjustments, tied to ongoing inflationary costs
• The rate of membership growth in CASLPO has slowed over the last two years due to increased resignations, static number of applications and deferred registrations due to a rise in casual and part-time employment for speech-language pathologists   
• Costs for discipline cases, hearings and court costs have increased by 215% over the last two years
• Costs for complaints, reports and appeals involving members and cease and desist orders against unauthorized practitioners have risen by 75% over the last two years
• The College Council has committed increased funds to raise the public's awareness of the benefits of using a regulated health professional and to comply with government directions concerning transparency and accountability
• The College is in the process of rebuilding adequate reserves that comply with the requirements of the Canada Revenue Agency

In summary, the College Council recognizes the challenges associated with increasing members' fees and chose to address specific fees where a large or increasing gap existed between the fee and the actual cost.  Where possible, an incremental increase is proposed to reduce the burden on members of a large one-time fee increase.

How Do I Provide My Feedback?

To view the proposed changes, and to provide any comments via anonymous survey please click here.

Consultation with you the members, the public, hearing and speech organizations and other Colleges is an important part of the College's by-law and regulation development process.

Please ensure your response is received by the College on or before May 26, 2017.

(Consultation Feedback requested by November 16, 2016)

In order to help guide the development of by-laws, regulations and other documents, the College requests input from members of the public, members of the professions and other stakeholders.  You now have an opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the By-Laws that will enhance respect in the College workplace and the governance of the College Council.

A key value of the College is respect for all individuals. Such respect for behaviour and attitude is also an expectation that the College has for all members of CASLPO. The College strives to demonstrate respect within all of its activities both internally and externally. Maintaining a culture of respect by and within the College requires a periodic review of the College's policies, procedures and by-laws. In addition, recent amendments to the Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act require all organizations to treat harassment, particularly on a protected human rights ground, not just as unacceptable discrimination, but also as a workplace safety issue. Demonstrating a lack of respect, particularly in an area protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code or in the form of harassment, can cause significant harm to individuals and to the College itself.

Our Objective

While the College has always had policies and by-laws relating to respect, this year the College has done a review of those documents and has prepared an updated, comprehensive package to address the need for respect in all of the College's activities.

The College invites any comments or questions about the proposed changes to the by-Laws in the following areas. A draft of these documents are accessible below for comment by the members of the public, members of the professions and stakeholders:

1. Three policy documents, for CASLPO use for internal purposes concerning:

a. A general statement of College values related to respecting diversity and human rights click here;

b. A workplace respect policy for staff click here; and

c. A corresponding respect policy for Council and Committee members click here.

2.   To ensure that serious cases can be addressed formally in those rare instances where informal action is insufficient, by-law amendments are proposed as follows:

a.  A "Code of Conduct" for Council and Committee Members summarizing the obligations of Council and Committee members. The Code of Conduct would form a Schedule to the by-laws click here; and

b.  Various by-law amendments related to setting out a fair process for dealing with serious governance concerns by Council and Committee members, particularly those involving discrimination, harassment or some other form of disrespect. There is also one housekeeping amendment relating to committee composition should there be procedural delays click here.

Please note that these documents work together as a package and many of the documents refer to other documents within the package. So, the documents should be read together as a unified consistent whole. The documents provide for the following:

• A more clear definition of terms used, with examples to illustrate key points;
• A process for informal and, if that does not succeed, enforceable formal action that can be taken, up to, and including, removal from office;
• Consideration of fairness to all perspectives in a dispute; and
• Addressing concerns between College staff and Council/Committee members 

Members of the profession may wish to use this consultation as an opportunity to review their own organization's respect, human rights, occupational health and safety and diversity documents.

How Do I Provide My Feedback?

Feedback can be provided up until November 16, 2016 by the following methods:

Anonymous, electronic survey* (Click here)

Email: boriordan@caslpo.com

Fax: (416) 975-8394

Mail:

College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario

3080 Yonge St. Suite 5060, Box 71, Toronto, ON M4N 3N1

*The College is pleased to respond to questions or comments submitted separately from the electronic survey.

How Long Is The Consultation Period?

Before these changes are considered for final approval by Council, at its December Council meeting, the College is seeking your feedback within the next 30 days; before November 16, 2016.

Next Steps

The College’s Executive Committee and Council will carefully consider aggregated comments before making any decisions about the proposed changes.

(Consultation Feedback Requested by September 12, 2015)

In order to help guide the development of by-laws, regulations and other documents, the College requests input from members of the professions, the public and other stakeholders.  You now have an opportunity to comment on proposed changes to by-laws that will enhance information on the Public Register.

As a result of a request to all Colleges from the Honourable Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long Term Care in a letter October 4, 2014, to enhance transparency, (click here) CASLPO developed a comprehensive plan covering many facets of information that the College would consider making public. (click here)

Our Objective

CASLPO’s approach is focused on facilitating accessibility of information in the public interest.

The following proposed changes are consistent with the goals of improving access to information and public protection.

The Member Information Under Consideration In This Consultation Includes:

Registration-related information regarding:

1. Charges, convictions and bail conditions; and
2. Information from other regulators.

Complaint-related information regarding the following types of College orders:

3. Oral (in-person) cautions; and
4. Specified continuing education or remediation programs (“SCERPS”).

Discipline-related information:

5. Notice of Hearing; and
6. Status of hearing.

In order to make this information publically available, CASLPO needs to change its By-Laws. (Click to view the current By-Law 2011-6, Public Register)

What Is The Benefit Of Making This Information Public?

Making more information available allows members of the public to make more informed decisions about who provides their care, and gives employers more information about who they are hiring.

Changes That Will Affect Members

These amendments do have the potential to affect CASLPO members by making more information about them available to the public.

You are encouraged to take a few minutes to read the proposed amendments and provide your feedback.  Access the proposed changes to the By-Laws

How Do I Provide My Feedback?

Feedback can be provided up until September 12 2015, by the following methods:

Anonymous, electronic survey* (click here)

Email:  transparency@caslpo.com

Fax: 416-975-8394

Mail:
College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario
3080 Yonge St. Suite 5060, Box 71 
Toronto, ON M4N 3N1