9 | CVO ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Partnering for improved access to veterinary services
Access to veterinary services is central to animal health and welfare. An increase in public demand for veterinary services and a shift in working hours have contributed to challenges impacting access to veterinary services across North America.
• Limited licensure: A national project to produce competency assessment tools for limited licensure is complete. In June, the College Council approved limited licensure as a pathway which supports the assessment of internationally educated veterinarians and provides them with a licence that is limited to those areas where they demonstrate competency. The College collaborated with Canadian veterinary regulators to develop new competency assessment tools that will permit experienced and / or internationally educated veterinarians to seek a limited licence in equine, production animal, or companion animal practice.
The assessment tools were piloted throughout 2024 in Ontario and Alberta and the research concluded limited licensure is valid and viable as a competency-based assessment model. Each provincial veterinary regulator is being asked to consider adoption of limited licensure as a new pathway to the veterinary workforce. Discussion related to full and timely implementation continues with the National Examining Board.
• Language Skills Evaluation Project: In 2023, the College embarked on a project to set new language benchmarks for veterinary medicine in Ontario so the College can meet its requirements related to language proficiency testing within a broad testing environment. In September, the Legacy Council adopted national benchmark scores for reading, writing, listening and speaking.
• Team-based care: The College is working with our partners to share opportunities that will support and promote team-based care under the new legislative model. Several communications have been published with a focus on team-based care. The College completed the first phase of a research project to study how teams are currently working which will allow for a better understanding of the impact of the legislative changes.
Communications around team-based care continue, including new podcasts in the Elevating the Veterinary Team series which discuss a range of topics, such as unique challenges in rural care, revolutionizing emergency care, and setting a team-based culture. Further, the College continues to explore how best to assist veterinary teams in leveraging the roles of veterinary technicians in practice, inclusive of a regulatory sandbox.
• Spectrum of Care: In 2023, the College Council approved its position on balancing access to veterinary care with options. Council’ s position is that veterinarians consider available care options along a spectrum which requires the veterinarian and the client to weigh various factors to determine the appropriate action. Through its Practice Advisory Service, the College promotes the spectrum of care, as well as through communications, including articles in various publications.