President's Newsletter - 2009


Hello everyone and a happy summer to you all. 

This is my annual President’s update, although it has been an odd year due to the change in the date of our membership year. We are now entering our membership drive, and it will soon be time for you to renew your membership with OAPA. 

This is a very auspicious time for our organization: this year is the 10th anniversary of OAPA; the 15th anniversary of the first registration of Psychological Associates in Ontario; and the celebration of nearing/reaching the 300 member mark in our organization. I’m thinking the Annual General Meeting this year should really be a celebration of all of our accomplishments over the years. 

Over the past year OAPA has had meetings with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to ask that the Ministry’s documents/forms regarding access to professional services be consistent with the RHPA and the Psychology Act. Recent documents from MCSS Developmental Services do show Psychological Associates listed as qualified to assess and/or diagnose. We are still waiting, however, for documents regarding Autism Intervention Services to reflect this wording. OAPA was pleased to see a formal recommendation that Psychological Associates be recognized as qualified professionals to diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorders in the most recent minutes of MACSE, the Minister (of Education)’s Advisory Council on Special Education. 

Of particular note is our successful lobbying of the Ministry of Health regarding an equal pay rate for Psychological Associates on Family Health Teams. Our efforts began over two years ago and have finally come to fruition: the rate of pay is equivalent to that of Psychologists. This standard mirrors what we have in the insurance industry with the published guidelines under the SABS (Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule). 

OAPA continues to have membership in the Coalition of Regulated Health Professions Associations (CORHPA). At the quarterly meetings we can keep up to date on topics relating to the various professions, raise our visibility among them, and stay informed on topics relating to any pending or possible changes in RHPA or related issues. 

This year we have a new member of the Board: Casey Batchelor has joined us as our first Director At Large - welcome Casey! This position became available under by-law changes voted on at our November 2007 AGM. At this time I’d also like to thank other members of the Association who are not currently on the Board for their support and assistance on various projects and issues. 

In addition we have found some unexpected treasure in Carol Garson, our first official volunteer. Carol very kindly offered to give some time to OAPA. She has mined valuable information from our member database on such topics as job classifications, area of practice, etc., which we have shared with you. It also helps us to better describe our membership to government officials and others. She has also researched information links for our website redesign. Many, many thanks to Carol for her kindness. 

This year you will be able to complete and submit application or renewal forms electronically. Of course, you can always print them off and send via Canada Post if you prefer. Payment can be made via personal cheque or PayPal. PayPal is a new feature for us, but members have been asking about electronic payment for some time. It turned out to be a bit more costly and complicated than we imagined, but at last, PayPal is here! 

You will also note that there has been a fee increase. This increase was voted on at the AGM in 2008. OAPA is sensitive to the current global financial situation, and understands that most members are feeling some financial pressures these days. However, in the last few years our costs have increased substantially. Here are some of the major costs OAPA has incurred in the last 24 months: 

  • administration and website services 
  • legal fees (the FSCO Fiasco). Here I am referring to a memo sent in October 2007 by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, summarily dismissing the legal authority of Psychological Associates to assess, diagnose, and complete requisite forms under SABS. Because OAPA was able to act very quickly and in a position to secure excellent legal counsel, the matter was resolved in fairly short order.
  • consultant fees from Global Public Affairs, of great benefit to us in our lobbying efforts but also very expensive; our reserve funds were exhausted over the eight months of their contract
  • a net loss from the 2008 conference 
  • accounting costs for annual reviews of our finances 
  • liability insurance for OAPA Board members (this is with respect to Board activities only; it is not personal insurance for Board members beyond Association business) 

In order for us to continue to serve our members well, we must continue to grow the association administratively and politically. Members should bear in mind that each of us on the Board serves the organization on a volunteer capacity: from time to time this is an exceptional challenge when the needs of home or of the workplace are such that OAPA business must take second place. In the future the membership may wish to consider adding a position such as an Executive Director. This would be a paid position (though not necessarily full-time), and would help to ensure that the needs of the Association are consistently handled with the priority they deserve. The AGM is your opportunity to voice your opinions on where OAPA needs to go in the future. I encourage everyone to attend the next AGM. Come celebrate with us, and help us develop the Association so that we can better serve the needs of Psychological Associates in Ontario. 

As you know, this year our November Conference will be held on Monday November 9, at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Toronto. The date and venue were chosen after consultation with members. We are trying to be responsive to each and every one of our members, and hope to see many of you out on November 9!! We have two very excellent speakers for the day in addition to our AGM and birthday festivities. 

More information will also be coming your way about the professional development part of the 2009 conference. I am very pleased that we have arranged for two outstanding speakers: Dr. Rick Morris of the College will be offering you answers to your questions on difficult ethical and professional issues and situations. He has offered to tailor his talk to our needs; I will be putting something out on the listserv later this summer, so please do watch for this and give your suggestions. Dr. Johnathan Weiss will be speaking on service utilization by families with complex needs, including how to assist a family presenting with a dually diagnosed child (e.g., autism and mental health issues) who is in crisis and what the literature tells us about these very challenging situations. 

Have a safe and happy summer and we will see you November 9! 

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns: koekkoekc@hdsb.ca 

Caroline Koekkoek, 
President