Health workers from across Canada could soon be flooding into Ontario.
Next week, the province will introduce legislation to support greater worker mobility across the country.
The proposed legislation is aimed at expanding “as of right” provisions for Canadian workers licensed and credentialed in other provinces and territories, particularly health-care workers, to gain automatic recognition of credentials in Ontario.
Currently, “as of right” rules allow nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and medical laboratory technologists from other provinces and territories to work in Ontario for up to six months while they seek registration with their profession’s Ontario regulator.
With the Ontario government’s proposed changes, that list would expand to 16 additional professions, improving access to care for Ontario patients and meeting urgent labour market demands across the province.
Among the professions listed are dentists, dental technologists and hygienists, dieticians, midwives, occupational therapists, optometrists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, chiropodists and more.
“Our government is continuing to break down barriers and remove red tape so that physicians, nurses and other regulated health professionals from other provinces can begin practicing in Ontario,” said Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones in a release.
“By taking a first-in-Canada approach to streamline the labour mobility process, we are making it faster and easier for both our health system partners and clinicians to provide the world-class care Ontarians need, when and where they need it.”
