MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Colleagues:
G
Steven Bodley, MD
College President
Governance needs
to focus not on day
to day activities, but on
matters such as strategy,
engagement and
ensuring that all College
decisions are made in
the public interest
overnance changes
are coming to all
health regulators.
At this point, it is
just a matter of when.
My role as President, and
indeed the role of Council,
is to govern the activity of
the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario. Effective
governance requires that the
Council (board) provide stra-
tegic direction and oversight of
the activities of the CPSO, not
to ‘run’ it. As Linda Rothstein, a
prominent lawyer with exper-
tise in the area of governance
for not-for-profit organizations
recently told Council: “Good
governance is having your nose
in and your hands off.”
Governance of this organiza-
tion has evolved as a unique,
hybrid structure and members
of Council participate in the
work of the College through
participation on its statutory
committees such as Discipline
(adjudicative), and Inquiries,
Complaints and Reports (central
screening of complaints). This
structure is mandated by legisla-
tion, and any re-tooling will
require legislative change and
as such, the government will
have the final word on what
our structure will look like. In
fact, the government has already
taken its first steps in this direc-
tion. For example, Bill 87, the
Protecting Patients Act, grants the
Minister new governance-related
regulatory powers, including the
ability to establish the composi-
tion and functions of the seven
statutory committees.
What will this mean to ‘self-
regulation’? How did we get to
where we are now?
It was The Medicine Act of
1867 which created the College
of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario. It brought structure to
a profession made up of several
different groups of practitioners.
At its inception, it was felt that
the practice of medicine was so
complex that only physicians
could regulate its practice and so
self-regulation was born. These
powers were granted to allow the
College to ensure its members
practised medicine at the highest
standard and that the public
interest would be protected. Not
only would members need to be
ISSUE 2, 2018 DIALOGUE
5