Proposed Changes to the College By-Laws

Periodically, the College Council reviews portions of the By-Laws to make necessary updates. There are three areas of Schedule 1 to the By-Laws - Fees that have been proposed to be revised by Council. Changes to the By-Laws require public consultation for 60 days prior to final approval of the Council. Feedback from the consultation is provided to Council for consideration prior to final approval. This consultation is open until January 26, 2024.

First Proposed By-Law Amendment:

Licence Application Fee

What is proposed?

The licence application fee applies to new applicants or returning applicants who have not been licensed with the College in more than one year. This fee is meant to cover staff administrative time and technology (i.e. database and online portal) costs related to processing licence applications. The Council is proposing to increase this fee from $100 to $250.

Why is this amendment proposed?

The licence application fee has not been revised by Council since 2013. The College operates on a cost-recovery method. It is estimated that the current annual costs to manage licensure applications are approximately $200,000. If we estimate that we will receive approximately 400 applications per year, on a pure cost recovery approach, it would suggest fees of $500 per applicant. 

The Council of the College recognizes the financial impact of completing veterinary education or moving to Ontario and intends to balance the actual costs of processing licensure applications with the fact that the current fee is no longer sufficient to support this activity. Application fees from other veterinary regulators across Canada and non-veterinary regulators in Ontario were reviewed and it was found that the proposed fee aligns with the average application fees charged by the other regulators.

Second Proposed By-Law Amendment:

Jurisprudence Examination Fee

What is proposed?

The Jurisprudence Exam fee applies to new applicants or returning applicants for all licence types except educational, short term and public service, who have not successfully completed the Jurisprudence Examination in the last two years. The current fee is $175 and it is proposed that the revised fee will be $250 and that applicants will be responsible for paying for their own proctoring costs.

Why is this amendment proposed?

This fee is intended to cover the costs to develop, maintain and administer the Jurisprudence Examination. 

The Jurisprudence Examination fee was last updated in 2015. To ensure the ongoing validity and reliability of the examination, an exam advisory group was created in 2022, the College now offers in-person and online remote proctoring through Prometric, and the questions are reviewed annually to ensure currency as Professional Practice Standards changes over time. 

The College intends to move to a model where applicants will be responsible for their own proctoring costs ($62-64/per administration dependent upon whether in-person or remote proctoring is selected) and they can manage this directly with Prometric as the College needing to be in the middle of this administrative step has been awkward for both applicants and College staff.  With the removal of the proctoring fees, it costs approximately $100,000 per year to develop, maintain and administer the exam. With approximately 400 applicants, the cost per applicant is $250. It is proposed that the new fee for the Jurisprudence Exam be $250.

Third Proposed By-Law Amendment:

Outstanding Fees

What is proposed?

The College has licensed members who owe fees to the College, primarily for disciplinary cost awards or remediation costs. Most individuals pay these fees as required or are on approved payment plans. 

It is proposed that the by-laws would indicate that in addition to any annual licensing fees, a licensed member would also be required to pay any outstanding balance owing to the College in respect of a decision made by a committee, and any fees payable under this by-law will be added to and included in the annual fee. This new provision would not affect approved payment plans as long as the licensed member continues to meet the timelines agreed to or a new agreement is negotiated. 

Why is this amendment proposed?

There are occasions that the College needs to put significant resources into following up with licensed members in order to seek re-payment of these outstanding fees.  Other regulators such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario have provisions in their by-laws which require these outstanding fees be paid at the time of licence renewal in order to continue to hold a licence.

This amendment would ensure that the College does not need to put significant resources into enforcing these outstanding fees and that licensed members who owe these fees will need to pay them in order to continue to maintain licensure with the College.

Proposed changes to By-Laws