Canadian Safety Reporter

5 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2019 News |Canadian Safety Reporter The road to regulation Associations across Canada are seeking self-regulation for the profession, but how will this impact OHS professionals themselves? BY AMANDA SILLIKER AN ONTARIO If an accountant is asked to tamper with a com- pany's finances, they can refuse. If a social worker is asked to hide evidence of abuse, they can point to their professional duty to re- port. If an architect is asked to sign off on a blueprint that they just don't think is quite right, they can walk away. But if a safety professional were put in a less than desirable situation, what recourse do they have? Regulating the profession would allow safety professionals to fall back on their legally bind- ing professional code of conduct, similar to the aforementioned professions, teachers, lawyers, engineers and many others. "It's going to give practitioners a consistent approach and also a reference point," says Peter Sturm, principal of Sturm Consulting in Toronto and occupational health and safety instructor at the Uni- versity of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. "If you're an engineer or a nurse, you can say, 'Well my profession requires me to do ABC not XYZ.' It gives the messaging back to whoever you're working for that you have a certain standard to adhere to." Having this backing is just one benefit of becoming a regulated profession, something various industry groups are working towards across the country. Be- ing a regulated profession (also referred to as self-regulation) means that an occupational group enters into an agreement with the government to formally regulate the activities of its mem- bers. A statute is entrenched into law, which outlines various requirements for the profession. Given the nature of the juris- dictional model in Canada, the regulation of a profession takes place separately for each of the 14 jurisdictions — it cannot be done nationally. Becoming a regulated profes- sion must be guided by the pub- lic interest. "You've got a set of standards — there's a bar that everybody had to meet — so (the public has) confidence in that anybody who carries a particular profes- sional title has demonstrated the knowledge and competen- cies required to provide a cer- tain defined, minimal level of safe, quality, ethical service," says Kevin Taylor, chair of the Otta- wa-based Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation. When the application is made to the government for becoming a regulated profession, it is go- ing to first and foremost look at if doing so is in the public inter- est. While you might get there in a roundabout way, the work that safety professionals do certainly protects the public, says Kevin Dawson, Halifax-based chair of the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). The Alberta Society of Health and Safety Profession- als (ASHSP) was established in November 2017 with the goal of regulating the profession in Al- berta. According to the society, public interest includes: worker health and safety; future workers' health and safety; workers' fami- lies and loved ones who are also impacted by workplace injuries and illnesses; the societal costs of workplace injuries and illnesses (such as health care, insurance, etc.); and the economic costs of workplace injuries and illnesses. "There's a vetting process and generally there is some criteria that has to be met and then the government decides if it is in the public interest," says Taylor. "And part of making that pitch is making a convincing argument that there is a need for it — that public safety will be enhanced and the public interest will be served by having that profession regulated." Becoming a regulated profes- sion would provide title protec- tion for safety professionals. This means that only registered members in good standing would be able to use certain pro- fessional titles that the regulato- ry body deems to be protected. For example, Safety and Health Professional or Industrial Hy- gienist could be protected titles. "Under the current state, re- ally anybody can call themselves a health and safety professional," says Mike Fedun, president of the ASHSP and an OHS advi- sor to the Alberta government's wildfire management branch. "People can claim to have a des- ignation that they don't, people can make up a designation, people can say, 'I am a health and safety professional' even though they have no formal training, not a lot of experience." The ASHSP is currently deter- mining what titles would be pro- tected when they apply for self- regulation, which could include something like Alberta Health and Safety Professional. Unauthorized use of the titles would have legal consequences under the professional regula- tion, such as fines or jail time. It's important to note that there are two ways to go about regulation. The first is full li- censure, like doctors and law- yers, where an individual can- not practise without receiving a specific license. What safety professionals would most likely achieve is similar to accountants: Only Chartered Professional Ac- countants are subject to the re- quirements laid out in the statue and it does not interfere with the right of any individual who is not a member of the regulatory body to practise as an accountant. Many professions are self-regu- lated in this manner. Regulation also provides scope of practice protection, meaning only registered mem- bers in good standing are able to perform certain types of work as outlined in legislation. For the safety profession, the regulatory body in each prov- ince would be responsible for determining what that scope of practice entails. The ASHSP is currently coming up with a list, but it will likely protect occu- pational exposure and chemical exposure work for occupational hygienist and high-risk work, such as confined space entry, hot work and working at heights, for health and safety professionals. Ultimately, protecting both ti- tle and scope of practice will help protect the public from incom- petent, incapable and unethical safety professionals. "This is something that we see often in the health and safety pro- fession," says Fedun. "I can go out there and I can see people provid- ing health and safety advice, peo- ple building health and safety pro- grams, people providing on-site advice and also strategic advice that don't necessarily have the ed- ucation and the background. And right now, unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done." A key element in becom- ing regulated is to establish a consensus on the competency, educational and experiential re- quirements required to join the regulatory body. In terms of competency, the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organ- isations (INSHPO) released a document a few years ago that provides clarity on the role of the safety professional. The Global Capability Framework for Occu- pational Health and Safety Pro- fessionals is the result of three years of consultations across 11 countries — including Canada — with occupational health and safety professionals, OHS edu- cators and certifying bodies. In 2017, the Singapore Accord was signed, which signalled a commitment from organiza- tions around the globe to adopt the framework. To test the competency of individuals, many professional regulators require prospective members to pass an entrance exam. This helps ensure all members have a minimum level of competency and acts to keep out unqualified individuals. For example, engineers are required Higher > pg. 7

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