Summary#
Bill 19 would replace the current law governing occupational therapists in New Brunswick with a new Occupational Therapists Act, 2025. It would continue the New Brunswick Association of Occupational Therapists and give it updated powers to regulate the profession, license practitioners, investigate complaints, and protect the public. The bill was introduced at first reading; the supplied material does not show that it was passed or that any amendment was adopted.
- The Association would regulate occupational therapists and set standards for education, practice, ethics, and continuing competence.
- The Association would maintain public registers showing practitioners’ names, licence information, conditions, restrictions, and certain sanctions.
- Only registered people could practise occupational therapy or use titles such as “occupational therapist” or “OT.”
- The bill would create detailed processes for complaints, investigations, hearings, appeals, and penalties.
- Professional corporations could provide occupational therapy if they met ownership, licensing, and other requirements.
- The bill would include rules on sexual misconduct, reporting sexual abuse, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and public protection.
What it means for you#
- Patients and clients: You would be able to check whether an occupational therapist is registered and whether the person has publicly listed restrictions or licensing sanctions.
- Patients and clients: Complaints could be made to the Association about a therapist’s conduct, competence, health, or ability to practise. The Association could investigate and impose conditions, suspension, revocation, fines, or other penalties.
- Patients and clients: Professional conduct hearings would generally be open to the public, although hearings or information could be kept private to protect personal information, safety, or legal proceedings.
- Occupational therapists: Practitioners would have to maintain a licence, professional liability coverage, practice records, current contact information, and any required continuing-competence training.
- Occupational therapists: They would have to practise only within their education, competence, licence conditions, and approved scope of practice.
- Occupational therapists: They would have to report certain serious concerns about other health professionals, including suspected sexual abuse, professional misconduct, incapacity, or danger to the public.
- Applicants: The Registrar or Admissions Committee could approve, deny, or place conditions on applications for registration or licensing. Applicants could appeal some Admissions Committee decisions to the Court on a point of law.
- Employers: Employers could not knowingly allow someone to practise occupational therapy without registration.
- Professional corporations: Corporations could practise occupational therapy only if they held a licence and met requirements such as ownership and management by registered occupational therapists.
- Current registrants: People registered when the new Act starts would continue as registrants. Applications and disciplinary proceedings already in progress would generally continue under the current law, while new complaints would be handled under the new Act.
Expenses#
No direct public cost is identified in the supplied bill material. The bill would allow the Association to set fees and could create costs for practitioners, applicants, and people involved in professional conduct cases.
- Practitioners and applicants: The Association could charge registration, licensing, examination, continuing-competence, and other fees.
- Practitioners: Professional liability insurance or similar protection would be required for a practising licence.
- Practitioners found responsible for misconduct: A committee could order fines, repayment or reduction of fees, and payment of investigation, legal, assessment, hearing, and other costs.
- People requesting records: The Association could charge a reasonable fee for copies of certain professional conduct records.
- Association: It could face administrative, investigation, staffing, legal, hearing, and technology costs. No estimate is provided.
- Taxpayers: The supplied material does not identify a direct cost to the provincial government or municipalities.
Proponents' View#
The bill appears intended to update and replace the existing law while continuing the Association as the regulator for occupational therapists.
- A possible argument for the bill is that clearer licensing, practice, and complaint rules could help protect patients and maintain professional standards.
- Public registers could make it easier for patients, employers, and others to confirm a therapist’s registration and certain restrictions or sanctions.
- The proposed continuing-competence requirements could support ongoing training and safe practice.
- The complaint and discipline system could give the Association stronger tools to address misconduct, incompetence, incapacity, and sexual abuse.
- Public representatives on the Council and some committees could provide non-professional input into regulatory decisions.
- Rules for professional corporations could allow occupational therapists to operate through corporations while keeping individual professional responsibilities in place.
Opponents' View#
No specific criticism from opponents is provided in the supplied material. Possible concerns based on the bill’s design include:
- The Council would have broad power to set fees, licensing categories, education requirements, continuing-competence rules, professional standards, and penalties through regulations and by-laws. Some important details would be decided after the Act is passed.
- The bill could increase costs and administrative work for occupational therapists through licensing, insurance, training, record-keeping, reporting, and possible professional conduct proceedings.
- The Association could publish information about conditions, restrictions, and sanctions. Although publication bans are allowed in some cases, this may raise questions about privacy and how much information should be public.
- The bill gives investigators powers to inspect business premises and, with a court warrant, search places and seize relevant documents or objects. This may raise questions about privacy and safeguards during investigations.
- A professional conduct committee could order a registrant to pay broad investigation and legal costs. The bill does not provide an estimate of how these costs would be calculated in individual cases.
- The bill allows the Council to impose an interim licence restriction or suspension while an investigation is under way. The affected registrant can respond and apply to court for a stay, but the action can remain in effect until the matter is resolved.