Frequently Asked Questions

How will feedback be used? 

All feedback will be reviewed by Ministry staff. Feedback will be treated as correspondence and shared, as submitted, with the Steering Committee. If a submission includes the writer’s name or other identifying information, this information will be shared with the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will provide an overview of themes emerging from the feedback via the Ministry of Health’s Professional Regulation website. Identifiable data will not be shared publicly.

Participants are advised not to include any personal information about third parties in their submission. Personal information provided by respondents through this consultation process is collected under the authority of section 26 (e) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. For additional questions regarding how personal information may be used, please email Joanna Czapska, Senior Policy Analyst, Professional Regulation and Oversight Branch at: Joanna.Czapska@gov.bc.ca.

Will feedback related to the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia (CDSBC) or another regulatory college be considered by the Steering Committee?

The Steering Committee will consider how to modernize the regulation of health professionals and will not be involved in monitoring the progress of CDSBC toward implementing the recommendations in Part One of the report. Government has made it clear to all regulatory colleges that they are expected to meet their mandate to protect the public and must take proactive measures to ensure registrants are complying with their standards, rules and guidelines.

For clarity, the Steering Committee is not seeking feedback or evidence to support the findings and recommendations related to the CDSBC (contained in Part One of the report). If feedback specific to CDSBC or another regulatory college is received, it will be reviewed with a view to understanding its relevance to modernization of the overall regulatory framework. 

What about complaints or suggestions regarding CDSBC?

The role of the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) is to monitor the general functioning of health profession regulatory colleges to ensure they are complying with all applicable legislative requirements and have mechanisms in place to carry out their mandate to protect the public from incompetent, impaired or unethical practice. Due to concerns about the governance and operations of CDSBC, the Minister of Health initiated an inquiry into CDSBC in March 2018.

The inquiry was carried out by Mr. Harry Cayton. Mr. Cayton’s approach to the inquiry included observation of CDSBC meetings including the Inquiry Committee and complaints review meetings of staff. Mr. Cayton also audited 30 complaint files and received correspondence and telephone calls directly from members of the public, patients, individual registrants and other interested parties.  The Minister has accepted the recommendations in the report and will monitor CDSBC’s progress toward implementation of the recommendations.

Complaints regarding a dentist, dental therapist, or certified dental assistants should continue to be directed to CDSBC. More information on how CDSBC protects the public, including how to make a complaint, is available here: https://www.cdsbc.org/Public-Protection

The Health Professions Review Board (HPRB) is an independent, quasi-judicial administrative tribunal. The HPRB does not deal directly with complaints against a college, but serves to monitor the activities of colleges’ inquiry and registration committees, in order to ensure they fulfill their duties in the public interest and as mandated by legislation. The HPRB provides a neutral forum for members of the public as well as for health professionals to resolve issues or seek review of the colleges’ decisions related to process. If you are dissatisfied with a decision of a college, it may be possible to request a review from the HPRB.

Please note that you have 30 days after receiving the decision from a regulatory college to contact the HPRB. More information about the HPRB and how to request a review is available at: www.hprb.gov.bc.ca.