Guelph, ONT—The Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians (OAVT), the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO), and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) have been working collaboratively over many years towards a shared goal of modernizing the regulation of veterinary medicine in the province. The current law, by failing to distinguish between RVTs and lay staff, limits RVT scope of practice and means RVTs are not permitted to apply their rigorous education and training fully in the provision of veterinary medicine.
Monday’s announcement from OMAFRA is a concrete step towards realizing that shared goal.
“The Ontario government committing to opening the Veterinarians Act is a huge step forward for the OAVT’s legislative reform efforts”, said Kirsti Clarida, RVT and OAVT Board of Directors President. “It has taken years of hard work and effort from our members, Board of Directors, staff, and sector partners to get here.”
“We now have an exciting opportunity to recognize and enable RVTs to be better utilized to reflect the full extent of their education and training, and shape a future for veterinary medicine that ensures Ontarians have timely and efficient access to animal health care.”
The Veterinarians Act is now open for public consultation, a process where the government actively seeks the opinions of interested and affected groups, like RVTs, before changes are made to the legislation. This feedback will inform a discussion paper. Details on the proposed changes to the Veterinarians Act are available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/consultation-veterinarians-act-ontario. RVTs can share their feedback by email at vetact.omafra@ontario.ca.
RVT voices will continue to be represented throughout the public consultation process, and the OAVT will continue to keep members updated on how they can be more involved in the next phase of this important work.
For more about the OAVT’s legislative reform activities please visit https://staging.oavt.org/about/legislative-reform/. Milestones and timelines on the legislative reform process, including how RVTs can participate, will be added as soon as they are available to the OAVT.