New year, new rules in Ontario for pharmacists, foreign-trained health care professionals, restaurant patios and wetlands.
Government regulations are where the details can be found for many Ontario laws.
The Doug Ford government plans a number of regulatory changes to coincide with the new year, effective Jan. 1.
Pharmacists
A major change coming in the new year is the ability of pharmacists to prescribe drugs for some minor ailments.
Those ailments are uncomplicated urinary tract infections, dermatitis including eczema, insect and tick bites, conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, oral thrush, cold sores, hemorrhoids, gastroesophageal reflux disease, dysmenorrhea, musculoskeletal sprains and strains and impetigo.
Foreign-trained Health Professionals
Canadian experience as a qualification for registration with a healthy regulatory College will be “void” unless an exemption is sought.
“A health regulatory College may continue to accept Canadian experience in satisfaction of an experience-related qualification for registration if it also accepts international experience as a viable alternative to Canadian experience,” the government says.
The government’s stated goal of the regulatory changes, which include streamlining the process for health professionals to gain the approvals needed to practice their profession in Ontario, is to increase health human resource capacity in Ontario in responding to and recovering from the pandemic.
Licensed Patios
Municipalities and First Nations bands will have authority to approve outdoor temporary extensions of Liquor Sales Licences, allowing them to green light a new temporary outdoor patio or expand an existing outdoor patio.
While the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) does not currently charge for approval of temporary extensions of licensed premises, municipalities will have the option of levying an application fee.
Wetlands
The Ontario government is “streamlining” the process of evaluating wetlands in a move it predicts will be “neutral to positive” for business and help meet the demand for more housing.
Under Bill 23, the controversial More Homes Built Faster Act, which redefines the boundaries of the GTA Greenbelt, the regulations would provide greater clarity for how significant wetlands are assessed and identified and streamline development decisions by removing a requirement for ministry review and confirmation of wetland evaluation results, the government says.
“These changes are providing a solid foundation to address Ontario’s housing supply crisis over the long term and will be supplemented by continued action in the future,” the proposal says.
Post a Comment