New Obstacle
Dear Colleagues, ,
The Office des Professions du Quebec recently transmitted a letter dated May 30, 2018 in which the new president confirmed their intention to see Athletic Therapy integrated into the professional system in Quebec. But, in the same letter, they informed us that the new administration was reflecting on the best way to do this. It goes without saying that we are deeply disappointed by this news.
This surprising new position statement is a complete turnabout from what we were told by the outgoing administration of the OPQ in Fall 2017. Let’s remember that in October 2017, the prior administration of the OPQ informed the CTSQ that it would be moving forward with the creation of a professional order for athletic therapists. The OPQ also decided to name one of their jurists to our dossier, and formally requested the CTSQ to create a transitional Board of Directors. As a result the OPQ recognized that the CTSQ had met their two requirements they had imposed on us; to demonstrate the financial viability of an order for athletic therapists as well as to demonstrate that a sufficient number of our current members intended to join the order year 1.
The prior administration had also taken note of the future Athletic Therapy Order being open to eventually including other similar health care professionals, who are currently working on their own status for professional recognition, into the order once it was up and running. The prior administration did not want to delay the natural progression of our dossier.
In the letter dated May 30, 2018, the new administration of the OPQ, outline their motive for the change in position towards the creation of the Athletic Therapy Order as a need to reflect on the state of the current professional system and ways to optimize its function. This concern is not a new one, nor a recent one. The same concerns were brought up and considered on numerous occasions by the prior administration before moving forward with our dossier.
Although we are disappointed, we are not being passive;
We will continue our dialogue with the OPQ to better understand their motives and thought process, with the goal of having them reconsider their recent position. We will demonstrate an openness to continue working and collaborating with them to help move things forward as quickly as possible.
We will continue our dialogue with the Collège des Médecins, which oversees our current regulation, and who is also affected by the recent developments and delays.
We are currently working hard to ensure that we have all professional resources necessary to ensure a positive outcome to our dossier.
During the last Board meeting of the CTSQ in early June 2018, the Board renewed their confidence in the current team leading this file: Heather McCoy, Fayez Abdulrahmman and Pierre Lizotte, who will be joined by the incoming president of the CTSQ, Etienne Fallu.
Pierre and Fayez have been mandated by the Board of the CTSQ to act as lobbyists for the CTSQ as needed.
The current transition Board, which was created to work on the creation of the order, will not be dismantled. Their work will just slow down while the current situation is clarified.
With the arrival of summer and vacation season upon us, as well as a provincial election coming up in Fall 2018, it is unlikely that the current situation will be resolved quickly. But concrete actions are planned in the coming weeks and months.
We wish we had better news to share with you at this moment. We will take the next few weeks to recharge our batteries to be able to come back in the Fall refreshed and with a positive outlook ready to take on the challenges, which lie ahead. We will keep you up to date with any new developments.
Please take the time to enjoy the summer months.
Sincerely,
Heather McCoy, CAT (C)
Chair of the transitional board
