Protecting the public from the politicization of Saskatchewan’s regulatory bodies

To jus.minister@gov.sk.ca,

The Honourable Tim McLeod, K.C.
Room 355, Legislative Building
2405 Legislative Drive
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4S 0B3

Dear Minister McLeod,

RE: Protecting the public from the politicization of Saskatchewan’s regulatory bodies 

Professional regulatory bodies in Saskatchewan, such as those governing medical staff under the Regulated Health Professions Act (once in force), engineers under the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act, and lawyers under the Legal Professions Act, play a vital role in creating and maintaining standards of technical proficiency. 

These regulatory bodies were never intended to adopt a political agenda of any kind, or to regulate the personal beliefs or political expression of the members of the profession. To the contrary, “professionals” are supposed to exercise independent judgment and provide independent advice to Canadians. 

Unfortunately, in recent years, most of these same regulatory bodies have expanded their authority far beyond their original mandate. Instead of simply upholding professional standards, many of these regulatory bodies are now advancing political causes, advocating for ideology, and disciplining members who express disagreement.

Regulated professionals now find themselves compelled to say or endorse things they do not believe, which violates their freedoms of expression, conscience and religion – protected by sections 2(b) and 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If this trend continues, the professions will be increasingly populated only by members who are ideologically compliant and hostile to client-centred decision-making.

When regulators directly or indirectly compel speech, or otherwise pursue political objectives by embedding ideology into mandatory courses or codes of ethics, they undermine both public trust and the critical independence of the professionals who are required to be members of the regulator.

I therefore urge you and all Members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan to support the introduction of legislation that will: 
1. Expressly prohibit all regulatory bodies in Saskatchewan from adopting or pursuing any political objectives;
2. Expressly prohibit all regulatory bodies in Saskatchewan from monitoring and controlling the speech of their members, such that members will be free to express their opinions privately and publicly;
3. Expressly prohibit all regulatory bodies in Saskatchewan from including political and ideological content in their regulation, including in definitions of competence and ethics.

This legislation, as outlined above, will make it abundantly clear that regulatory bodies in Saskatchewan can no longer monitor or control the speech of their members, nor require (directly or indirectly) their members to adopt or to live by any political position or ideology. Regulatory bodies must focus only on competence and ethics.

Saskatchewan should lead the way on addressing this Canada-wide problem, and show other provinces how to restore integrity and professionalism in regulated professions. Further below, you will find a full list of regulated professionals in Saskatchewan that would benefit from the legislation being proposed:

Accountants – regulated under The Accounting Profession Act, S.S. 2014, c. A-3.1 (Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Saskatchewan); Agrologists – regulated by the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists (legislative citation to be confirmed); Applied Science Technologists and Technicians – regulated under the Saskatchewan Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Act (Technology Professionals Saskatchewan); Architects – regulated under the Architects Act (Saskatchewan Association of Architects); Audiologists – regulated under The Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Act, S.S. 1990-1991 (College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists of Saskatchewan); Biologists – regulated through the relevant professional body (legislation to be confirmed); Chartered Professional Accountants – see above (“Accountants”); Chiropractors – regulated under The Chiropractic Act, S.S. 1994 (Chiropractors’ Association of Saskatchewan); Dental Assistants – regulated by Saskatchewan Dental Assistants’ Association (legislation to be confirmed); Dental Hygienists – regulated under The Dental Disciplines Act (Saskatchewan) covering dental hygienists, technologists, therapists, assistants, denturists; Dental Technologists – same Act above; Dental Therapists – same Act above; Dentists – regulated under The Dental Disciplines Act; Denturists – regulated under The Dental Disciplines Act; Dietitians – regulated under The Dietitians Act (Saskatchewan); Early Childhood Educators – regulated by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (legislative citation to be confirmed); Engineers and Geoscientists – regulated under The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act;   Foresters – regulated under the Forestry Professions Act (or Association of Saskatchewan Forestry Professionals; citation to be confirmed); Funeral Directors and Embalmers – regulated under The Funeral and Cremation Services Act (or equivalent; to be confirmed); Hearing Instrument Practitioners – regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act once in force (or current specific legislation); Land Surveyors – regulated under The Land Surveyors Act (Saskatchewan); Lawyers – regulated under The Legal Profession Act, S.S. 1990 (Law Society of Saskatchewan);  Licensed Practical Nurses – regulated under The Licensed Practical Nurses Act, S.S. 2000 (or similar); Massage Therapists – regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act when in force (or current legislation to be confirmed); Medical Laboratory Technologists – regulated under The Medical Laboratory Technologists Act (Saskatchewan); Midwives – regulated under The Midwifery Act (Saskatchewan); Naturopathic Physicians – regulated under The Naturopathy Act (Saskatchewan) or similar; Notaries Public – regulated under The Notaries Act (Saskatchewan); Nurses (Registered) – regulated under The Registered Nurses Act, S.S. 1988 (College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan); Occupational Therapists – regulated under The Occupational Therapists Act, S.S. 1997 (or similar); Opticians – regulated under The Opticians Act (Saskatchewan);  Optometrists – regulated under The Optometry Act, S.S. 1985 (Saskatchewan); Paramedics – regulated under The Paramedics Act (Saskatchewan); Pharmacists & Pharmacy Technicians – regulated under The Pharmacy and Pharmacy Disciplines Act (Saskatchewan); Physicians & Surgeons – regulated under The Medical Profession Act, R.S.S. 1981 (Saskatchewan) until the RHPA comes into force; Physiotherapists – regulated under The Physical Therapists Act, S.S. 1998 (Saskatchewan); Podiatric Surgeons (Podiatrists) – regulated under The Podiatry Act (Saskatchewan); Psychologists – regulated under The Psychologists Act, S.S. 1997 (Saskatchewan); Real Estate Professionals – regulated under the Real Estate Brokers Act, S.S. 1987 (Saskatchewan) (or the Real Estate Sector Act; to be confirmed); Registered Massage Therapists – as above for Massage Therapists; Respiratory Therapists – regulated under The Respiratory Therapists Act (Saskatchewan); Security Workers and Private Investigators – regulated under the Security and Private Investigators Act (Saskatchewan) (or similar); Social Workers – regulated under The Social Workers Act (Saskatchewan); Speech-Language Pathologists – regulated under The Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Act, S.S. 1990-1991; Teachers – regulated under The Education Act, S.S. 1995 (Saskatchewan) – and the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board; Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners – regulated under The Traditional Chinese Medicine Act (or similar; citation to be confirmed); Veterinarians – regulated under The Veterinary Medical Association Act, S.S. 1983 (Saskatchewan); 

Sincerely,