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President’s Message

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Chartered Chemists News
Spring 2009, vol. 9, no. 1

The Council of the ACPO continues to work on behalf of its members and our profession. One of the issues with which we are faced is the implementation of the labour mobility chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). The AIT provides that any worker certified for an occupation by a regulatory authority of one province or territory shall be recognized as qualified to practice that occupation by all other provinces and territories.

It is expected that none of the parties (provincial governments, regulatory authorities, and/or other stakeholders) will place unreasonable barriers to this recognition of workers as qualified to practice in all provinces and territories. If any party does not want to certify workers from other provinces or territories to work in their province or territory, an exception to full labour mobility will have to be filed. This exception will have to be clearly identified and justified as necessary to achieve a legitimate objective. Governments will have to share this information and post it on the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities website.

At the July 2008 Council of Federation meeting, the Premiers committed to full labour mobility by August 2009. All parties are required to reach agreement on labour mobility by that date.

The government of Ontario has been working on this issue. The AIT-Implementation Project Team (AIT-IPT) is lead by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) and is supported by ministries responsible for regulated occupations. Ontario appears to be a little ahead (its own assessment) of other provinces in working on this issue and towards the August 2009 date. We have been told that they have just about completed meetings with regulatory authorities in the province.

Our professional occupation has been identified as being subject to the labour mobility chapter of the AIT, and the ACPO is identified as a regulatory authority for chemists in the province of Ontario. The AIT creates new obligations for regulatory authorities across Canada. Representatives of the ACPO were invited to an Implementation Project Orientation Session to be briefed on the government’s plans and on how regulatory authorities will be affected by the implementation of these plans.

For chemists, it is important that the various professional organizations that represent them in provinces and territories across Canada reach agreement on equivalencies in several areas, but particularly in the areas of qualifications and requirements for membership, assessment of foreign credentials, and currency of members. It may be best to do as much work on the relevant issues prior to the implementation of the AIT, since it may be difficult to effect changes after August 2009.

Professional Associations for Chemists from across Canada have started this work through the National Advisory Committee on the Profession of Chemistry in Canada (NACPCC). We will be working to get as much as possible in place and approved by our various associations before the end of July.

Regulatory authorities were asked to complete a survey to identify key certification requirements. The AIT-IPT will use this information to help regulatory authorities (including the ACPO) to develop strategies to achieve full labour mobility and to identify potential exceptions to labour mobility. In addition to working with regulatory authorities to assess our readiness under the amended AIT, Ontario will provide support in our discussions with other jurisdictions. The ACPO has already sought information and clarification on what this assessment and support entail, and we will access the province’s help in this area.

We will be keeping you informed regarding developments in this matter. Additionally, we welcome the input and help of members who are interested in working on the AIT project and/or who are knowledgeable about the AIT and the issues relevant to its implementation.

Dr. David Naranjit, C. Chem.
President