Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario

• Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario

The Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario was formed on October 22, 1987. It was chaired by Peter A. Cumming, and was conducted in a similar fashion to a Royal Commission in that it held public forums, received submissions from the public and a wide variety of associations, hired consultants, and commissioned a wide variety of background studies. The staff of the Task Force consisted of the Chairman, two Commissioners, three Executive Coordinators, thirteen research staff, and secretarial and clerical staff.

The basic principle upheld by the Task Force was that occupational licensing bodies exist to protect the public's health, safety and welfare and that in carrying out this duty the bodies must respect the general and individual good.

The recommendations of the Task Force were far reaching and varied. It called for changes to the Ontario Human Rights Code, licensing of professionals, training, language assessment and training, and upgrading of skills. The most far reaching recommendation was for the creation of a body to assess the experience and education of professionals coming to Ontario, called the Prior Learning Assesment Network (PLAN). This was envisaged as a government funded body which would assess education and experience equivalency of professionals new to the province, establish standards for assessment, educate the public and provide translation services and counselling.

Following the report of the Task Force, an office known simply as "Access to Professions and Trades" was established in the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship.

The Task Force was dissolved in 1989.

The Task Force on Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario reviewed the rules and practices affecting entry to professions and trades to determine whether or not they have an actual or potential discriminatory effect on persons with training or experience from outside of Canada. This included occupations in Ontario which were regulated under public statute (eg. law, medicine, engineering), those regulated under private statute (eg. chartered accountancy), those regulated directly by government (eg. real estate brokerage), and trades as a whole.

Order-in-Council 2359/87

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12- 24

Archives of Ontario, Series RG18-545

Ontario Government Telephone Directory, 1989

Archivist(s):
B. Krawczyk, R. Anger