HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

2649, ISLINGTON AVENUE, ETOBICOKE, ONTARIO, M9V2X6.

Dear Members of the Homeopathic Medical Association of Canada & the Homeopathic Community, GREETINGS.

We the President and Board of Directors of the Homeopathic Medical Association of Canada are delighted to inform you that Bill 171 - Schedule Q- Homeopathy Act, 2007, has since received Royal Assent and has been passed into Law in Ontario with effect from Monday the June 4, 2007. This day of June 4th, 2007 becomes a truly historic day for the profession of homeopathy in Ontario. The bill now becomes an official Act and we can all celebrate our successful journey to self-regulation under RHPA (Regulated Health Professions Act).

We thank for the support of all Members of the Homeopathic Community and very special thanks to Minister of Health and long term care, Honorable George Smitherman, Mr. Peter Fonseca, MPP, Mississauga East, Dr. Kuldip S. Kular, MPP, Bramalea-Gore- Malton-Springdale, Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Health and Long Term Care and also to Honorable Donna Cansfield, MPP, Minister for Transportation & Dr. Shafiq Qaadri, MPP, Etobicoke North, for their whole hearted support who have very cordially acknowledged and addressed our concerns and advise in the making of the bill and by carrying out necessary amendments and passage of the bill. We also thank to Minister’s Policy Advisor Mr. Alex Young for his cooperation in listening to our concerns and putting forward to the Honorable Minister during the journey of the bill to its final stage.

We also wish to thank our President Dr. Bhupinder Sharma who has worked very hard for the last more than two years when he launched his campaign to get Homeopathy regulated in Ontario in March 2005 – duly cooperated and supported by the Asian News Media- along with Secretary Dr. Guru Dutt by holding Public Awareness Programs, International Conferences, Seminars which are on record of the Association and Media, due to which this outcome have come.



This is a beginning and we have lot of work to do now for setting up standards of homeopathy for teaching and practicing Homeopathy in Ontario so as to provide the best quality of Homeopathic treatment and health care to the Ontarians which they are looking for from a long time.

As per provisions contained in the bill , a Transitional Council will now be set up by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for carrying on the task of writing the various regulatory aspects for our profession. This process is expected to be in place after the provincial elections in October, 2007. We would accordingly be, updating you with the further information during the course of time. Please keep checking the Flash news of our web site www.hmac.ca for further information.

Thanks again to all our members and homeopaths for your continued support for which we feel proud for choosing this wonderful profession.

We wish you all a very happy summer.



Yours sincerely,



Board of Directors of Homeopathic Medical Association of Canada.

HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT DR. B.P.SHARMA, PRESIDENT AT 416-741-8788.

Schedule Q
Homeopathy Act, 2007

The Schedule enacts a new health profession Act with respect to the regulation of homeopathy and makes complementary amendments to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.

The College is established as the College of Homeopaths of Ontario and the new profession the College will govern is homeopathy. The Health Professions Procedural Code, which is Schedule 2 to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, is deemed to be part of the new Act.

The scope of practice of homeopathy is the assessment of body system disorders and treatment using homeopathic techniques to promote, maintain or restore health.

The College Council will be composed of at least six and no more than nine persons who are members of the College and elected in accordance with the by-laws, and at least five and no more than eight persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Council shall have a President and a Vice-President, elected annually by Council from among Council members.

The Schedule restricts the use of the title “homeopath” to members of the College. No person other than a member may hold themselves out as qualified to practise as a homeopath or in a specialty of the profession. Anyone who contravenes these restrictions is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a maximum fine of $25,000 for a first offence and a maximum fine of $50,000 for a second or subsequent offence.

The Registrar must notify each member of the College if the Minister refers a suggested statutory or regulatory amendment under the new Act to the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council. The College Council, with Ministerial review and approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, may make regulations:

(a) prescribing standards of practice respecting the circumstances in which homeopaths shall make referrals to members of other regulated health professions;

(b) prescribing therapies involving the practice of homeopathy, governing the use of the prescribed therapies and prohibiting the use of therapies other than the prescribed therapies in the course of the practice of homeopathy.

Transitional provisions in the Schedule provide for the appointment of a transitional Registrar and a transitional Council by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The transitional Council and Registrar may do anything that is necessary or advisable for the implementation of the Schedule and anything that it could do once the Act is in force, including accepting and processing applications for registration.

During the transition period, the Minister may review the transitional Council’s activities, require it to make, amend or revoke a regulation and do anything that is necessary or advisable to carry out the intent of the Schedule and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.

After the transition period, the transitional Council shall be the College Council, if it is constituted in accordance with the Act or, if it is not, it shall be deemed to be the Council until a new Council is constituted under the Act.

The short title of the new health profession Act is the Homeopathy Act, 2007.

The Schedule contains complementary amendments. It amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) to add the new health profession Act and the profession of homeopathy to Schedule 1 under the RHPA. It also amends the Health Care Consent Act, 1996 to provide that a member of the College is a health care practitioner.