The British Columbia government plans to create a new College of Veterinarians of B.C., with powers to register and discipline veterinarians and certify vet technicians.
Agriculture Minister Steve Thomson on Wednesday introduced legislation which gives the new “college” name to the B.C. Veterinary Medical Association and is meant to “refocus” the organization, giving it regulatory powers much like those of other health-care colleges.
“The Veterinarians Act hasn’t been substantially updated since 1967, so the proposed changes are required to bring the legislation up to date,” Thomson said in a release.
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The legislation is expected to provide “fair, transparent processes for registration, complaint resolution and discipline of veterinarians” as well as public online access to information on disciplinary outcomes.
It also allows for “additional government oversight” of the college’s operations and opportunities for more people from outside the veterinary profession to serve on the college council and committees.
The college will also be able to certify and regulate technicians such as animal health technologists, the province said.
The legislation is also expected to offer the ability to exempt some “alternative and complementary treatment activities” from regulation by the college.
The legislative changes follow a public consultation period in December 2009, in which the province said it received over 580 individual submissions and a “750-person petition.”
According to the province’s final consultation report, compiled in January, the petition opposed any change to the Act that would “limit or eliminate access to alternative therapeutic care for animals from qualified practitioners who are not members of the BCVMA” such as naturopaths, homeopaths, massage therapists and chiropractors.
The petition also opposed any change that would give the BCVMA powers to create bylaws or govern itself without public input, the province said.
“The focus of these changes is to ensure British Columbians continue to have confidence in their access to safe, competent and ethical animal care,” Thomson said Wednesday.
