Manitoba legislation seeks to expand health minister’s regulatory powers

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This article was published 06/03/2023 (917 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government wants to expand its power to issue orders to more regulated health-care professions.

On Monday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon introduced Bill 17 (Regulated Health Professions Amendment Act).

The legislation extends the minister’s powers relating to inquiries, directives and orders to the regulatory colleges and associations of health professions that are not yet governed under the act.

“Manitobans would benefit by having an additional outlet to solve administrative issues that may be preventing professionals from getting licensed in a health profession,” Gordon said in a news release.

“Our government looks forward to working with all health profession regulatory colleges to ensure the health system has the professionals it needs to provide care for Manitobans.”

The amendment would give the Manitoba minister of health more power to address concerns regarding the administration or operation of a health profession regulatory body.

On July 26, Gordon ordered the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba to drop its requirement for testing internationally educated nurses who failed Manitoba’s clinical competence assessment then went to another province to get licensed.

The order said the college was violating labour mobility legislation by making those nurses who’ve been licensed in other provinces undergo further testing to be accredited in Manitoba.

Currently, five colleges have transitioned to the Regulated Health Professions Act, the news release said.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals has concerns about the the legislation and was trying to get more details about it before commenting, its spokesperson said Monday.

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said the Progressive Conservative government waited too long to act.

“For years, the PCs refused to remove barriers to health-care accreditation, even during the height of the (COVID-19) pandemic. No one trusts them to fix health care now,” Asagwara said.

The Regulated Health Professions Act, which came into force in 2014, is umbrella legislation that replaces existing profession-specific statutes that govern regulated health professions and brings all regulated health professions under one act.

The transition is being completed in stages and each profession-specific statute will be repealed when individual professions transition to the Regulated Health Professions Act.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca