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Laws and Legislation

Ontario laws administered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) set the legal framework for regulated health professions. The regulatory Colleges, such as the CMLTO, are governed by this legislation.

The role of the various Colleges in self-regulation, and their authority and powers, are set out in the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA), and the Health Professions Procedural Code, which is Schedule 2 to the RHPA.

This legislation forms the basic framework for self-regulation of health professions. Each profession also has its own statute, which for medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) is the Medical Laboratory Technology Act, 1991 (MLT Act). The profession-specific statute defines a profession’s scope of practice and the controlled acts that are authorized to the profession.

In addition, there are regulations made under both the RHPA and the MLT Act.

The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the health regulatory Colleges each have authority to create regulations under the profession-specific act on designated subjects. This includes the requirements for entry to practice, professional misconduct and quality assurance. In this way, health professions can ensure their profession’s unique needs and circumstances are addressed, while being regulated under the same statutory framework as all other regulated health professions.

Controlled Acts and Scopes of Practice

The RHPA health regulatory structure is based on a set of controlled acts that are authorized to professions. Professional scopes of practice may overlap, so no profession has a monopoly over any controlled act.

This regulatory structure allows professional scopes of practice to evolve, ensuring that the health care system can benefit from professionals practising to the full extent of their professions’ scope. Other provinces in Canada, and other jurisdictions around the world, follow this highly regarded regulatory system.

Laws and legislation:

CMLTO By-Law (PDF)  (accéder à une copie française du les règlements administratifs ici