1408 Verified Signatories
Following the ending of the signing period (March 6th to March 20th), we have had the opportunity to undertake a review of the responses. The final total is 1408 verified signatures. We received responses from a significant cross-section of the Ontario psychological community, encompassing a wide variety of practice areas, including registrants, trainees, professors, retired registrants, psychological associates, and behaviour analysts. In addition, signatures were received, but not counted, from psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and psychotherapists.
The Letter has been provided to the CPBAO board, the office of the Premier, the office of the Minister of Health, and members of the media.
Anonymized Responses from Concerned Registrants.
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All statements are shared with consent of the individual signatories. Where necessary, ellipses have been used to preserve anonymity.
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“I wholeheartedly support this initiative. I have been dumbfounded and speechless at the way the College has handled this initiative, and at how our attempts to be heard and provide meaningful feedback have been devalued, dismissed, minimized and manipulated.”
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“I strongly believe that we as a group of professionals who practice psychology and train future psychologists in Ontario have had our voices silenced. When a great number of psychologists and psychological associates protest and voice grave concerns that the dramatic changes proposed by CPBAO regarding registration are harmful to the public and we are repeatedly ignored by the CPBAO we become silenced. I believe, as a group of professionals, we have been disrespected and discounted. Many of us feel strongly and, using our collective knowledge, have great concerns that reducing the requirements for becoming an autonomous practitioner to one quarter of the current requirements puts the public in harm. Further, ignoring the protests and carrying on with the agenda of stripping the requirements is paramount to silencing a large group of professionals. At the very least it is disrespectful. The result: there is no longer confidence in the CPBAO leadership.”
“I am a psychologist in private practice and I fully support this vote of non-confidence. I have been deeply concerned by the lack of transparency, the pattern of obfuscation, and the apparent departure from professional and ethical responsibilities demonstrated in the registrar’s handling of these matters. The process has conveyed a troubling sense of bias and predetermined conclusions, despite substantial evidence and feedback to contrary. I stand in agreement with the concerns outlined in the formal letter and support the call for a vote of nonconfidence.”
“I believe it is fair to request a change in leadership given the conduct that has transpired. The fact that I am hesitating to give my name, is telling. and speaks to why I, respectfully, think there needs to be a change.”
“I am now nearing the end of a long and satisfying professional career in such positions as the … Over a professional career spanning more than …, I generally experienced increasing respect from clients and other professionals, leading to, and from, increasingly responsible leadership positions within the various professional settings in which I was involved. I credit the generally positive evolution in the professionalism of psychology as a professional discipline over most of my career to the progressive leadership provided firstly by the College of Psychologists of Ontario, and secondly by the Canadian Psychological Association. I firmly believe that actions taken by the current leadership of the College of Psychologists in Ontario in recent years, however, has begun to undermine the professionalism of our discipline in Ontario. While I am concerned about all of the issues raised in the seven items listed under the heading: "Basis for Non-Confidence," I have particular concerns about items four and seven, in terms of: 1) there currently being insufficient safeguards to ensure that psychology standards remain grounded in psychology expertise; and, 2) current changes to college standards and regulations are leading to disruption and uncertainty affecting training and supervision pathways, including confusion among trainees, supervisors, and training programs regarding expectations, standards, and future registration requirements, with avoidable impacts on workforce stability and public access to care. Many thanks for this opportunity to express my concerns in this important area.”
“Thank you for this. I am deeply concerned about the professionalism, ethics, and accountability of the current leadership. In addition to be concerns about the proposed changes themselves, [Dr. DeBono’s] reactions to the concerns raised in good faith by the majority of stakeholders have been unacceptable and I have very little faith in his ability to occupy his role effectively.”
“The changes made by the College are shortsighted and dangerous. The process has been largely opaque and the communications from the College have bordered on arrogance. This is unacceptable.”
“Thank you for this effort. I commend the leadership of whomever who stepped forward to address this concern. As a … psychologist with a … who is in the process of completing … own clinical training, we are feeling the destabilizing ripples of the college's changes. We are shocked at the changes, particularly to training requirements, without implementing reasonable transition planning (i.e., clear criteria) to ensure that training standards will not erode. However, the most shocking part of this process has been the lack of inclusion of public voice, which has been clearly and vociferously opposed to many of the proposed changes. It feels that we are being strong-armed into accepting poorly thought-out changes for the purposes of some interest other than that of public safety and protection.”
“Many thanks for doing this. I actually wish the message in the petition were stronger. Specifically, I think [Dr.] De Bono’s shocking misinterpretation of the survey data that the college collected and his disturbing misconstrual of the events/issues surrounding the proposed regulatory changes he advocates, both of which he described in a recent op-ed, fatally compromise his integrity and credibility.”
“It is clear that the proposed reforms are out of touch with the needs of the very public that the CPBAO is mandated to protect. The public and professional members have made that clear and yet the current administration continues to disregard the evidence of stakeholders. It is time for radical change.”
Why Host this Letter Here?
Matthew Marshall of Ex Parte Law Professional Corporation (practicing in association with Marshall Law Group and Benedict Ferguson & Marshall) has been retained to host this letter, collect signatures, and verify identities of signatories. Legal counsel was engaged to support the integrity of the process and to address confidentiality concerns expressed by registrants and trainees.
Matthew Marshall is a lawyer practicing in Caledonia, Ontario. Matt offers litigation services in a wide variety of areas including but not limited to corporate disputes, employment, and property law, as well as solicitor’s services in areas such as wills and estates, corporate acquisitions, and real estate.
Matt has a keen interest in the delicate balance between professional regulators and their registrants and welcomed the opportunity to assist in this matter.
You can contact Matt about your legal issues directly at matt@explaw.ca.
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