Office des professions du Québec

The Office des professions du Québec, abbreviated to abbreviation OPQ, is an autonomous and extrabudgetary governmental organization with a defined mandate by the Professional Code of Quebec. The OPQ reports to the Minister of Justice, who is, by Order in Council, the Minister responsible for the administration of professional legislation. The OPQ is a Quebec body responsible for ensuring that the professions are exercised and develop by offering the public a guarantee of competence and integrity.

In 2017, the "Office des professions du Québec" supervises 46 professional orders and 54 professions. As of March 31, 2016, OPQ is composed of 385 205 professionals, including 39.0% of men and 61.0% of women. The "Ordre des infirmières et des infirmiers du Québec" (English: Order of Nurses of Quebec) (OIIQ) had 74,206 members, the "Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec" (English: Engineers Order of Quebec) (OIQ) 62,068 members and the "Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec" (English: Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec) (OCPAQ) 37,963 members.

Mission of OPQ

To this end, the Board shall ensure that:

• The Professional Orders have the appropriate means to carry out their mandate;
• Advises the Quebec government on the guidelines for the continuous improvement of the professional system;
• Ensures that the legal framework for the professional system is adapted;
• Promotes the effectiveness of the mechanisms established within the "Professional Orders";
• See that the public is informed and represented in the "Professional Orders".

The Agency, a government agency striving for excellence, promotes innovation, creativity, human resource development and teamwork. In consultation with its partners, the Office seeks coherence in its work.

Professions subject to OPQ

The Professional Code of Quebec (French: "Code des professions du Québec") establishes two types of professions: those of exclusive exercise and those reserved. In the case of a profession of exclusive exercise, only the members of the order can carry out the activities and carry the title that the law reserves to them. The Government of Quebec has established 25 professional laws which give members of specific professions the exclusive right to carry out their exclusive activities.

Exclusive professions each have their own law which defines, among other things, professional activities that are strictly reserved for the members of the Order.

Furthermore, only members of the professions on a reserved basis have the right to use the professional title. However, members of a reserved Order are not exclusively engaged in professional activities, with the exception of certain occupations in the health field.

Roles of Professional Orders

The main role of each of the professional orders subject to the supervision of the OPQ is to: ensure, in their specific field, that professionals offer services that meet standards of quality and integrity of the profession . In order to fulfill the important statutory mandate, each professional order has a number of powers that provide guarantees for the protection of the public and ensure the quality of professional services. The role of a professional association is rather to promote the socio-economic interests and well-being of its members.

The roles and responsibilities of the professional orders are:

1. Control the competence and integrity of its members;
2. Monitoring the practice of the profession;
3. Regulate the practice of the profession;
4. Manage the disciplinary process;
5. Promote the development of the profession;
6. Control the illegal practice of the profession and the usurpation of the title.

Each professional order is required to produce an annual report of its activities. This report shall be made public as soon as it is presented to the general meeting of members. The Minister responsible for the application of the professional laws then files this report with the National Assembly of Quebec.

List of Professionnal Orders in Quebec

The 46 regulated Professional Orders in Quebec are:

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History

In Quebec, professional corporations of notaries, doctors and lawyers were the first to be constituted in the mid-nineteenth century, at the beginning of the era of urbanization and industrialization of Quebec society. These initial clusters were designed to protect clients in the absence of training standards and professional practices. These groupings were also aimed at countering impostors improvising as experts, sharing expertise, developing instrumentation and establishing standards of professional practice.

During the 1960s and 1970s, members of several new professions aspired to be recognized and the legislations governing occupations were disparate, calling into question the professional supervision in Quebec. On November 9, 1966, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council set up a commission to examine the professional system, to investigate the whole field of health and social welfare in Quebec.

In a section of the report entitled "Professions and Society" published in the summer of 1970 on the very foundations of the notion of profession, the "Commission of Inquiry on Health and Welfare" (The Castonguay-Nepveu inquiry) noted the change in the liberal professions and mentioned the traditional professional corporatism which prevented it from adapting to economic and social transformations. The report recommends an important reorganization of the professional organization in Quebec beyond the scope of the health and social services professions. As a result of this report, in 1973, the Government of Quebec passed the "Professional Code" (Bill 250) and 23 other bills to govern an exclusive practice.

In July 1973, the articles of the Professional Code relating to the Quebec Interprofessional Council (French: Conseil Interprofessionnel du Québec) entered into force and in September 1973 for the articles relating to the Office des professions du Québec. The majority of the other articles will be in force on 1 February 1974. The new Professional Code subjected all orders to common organizational principles adapted to the conditions of contemporary society and to the current needs of users of professional services. From now on, the State may establish professional associations, in particular, by entrusting them with the mandate to protect the public with respect to certain activities that involve risks of harm to physical, psychological and patrimonial integrity.

Historically, in Quebec, most professional bodies have made the match between the interests of the members and the interest of the public. The adoption of the Professional Code clearly gave professional corporations the task of protecting the public in the practice of the profession. Instead, members' interests will be assured by professional associations. The legislator then provided for a periodic professional inspection mechanism. The mission of protecting the public assumed by the professional corporations was then divided into two parts:

• Ensure the quality of all professional services offered, by setting satisfactory qualification standards for candidates for professions and by controlling the integrity and competence of professionals by specific mechanisms;
• To ensure the availability and efficient distribution of the professional services required by the public.

In 1994, significant changes were made to the Professional Code. In 2001, the right of professionals to incorporate their practice was adopted, conditional upon the adoption of a regulation on the incorporation of professionals by their respective professional associations. As of March 31, 1999, the Québec professional framework included 589 regulations applicable to the 43 Professional Orders governed by the Professional Code.

List of Presidents of the OPQ: Me René Dussault (1973-1977), Me André Desgagné (1977-1987), André Desgagné (1987-1987), André Desgagné (1987-1988), Thomas J. Mulcair (1988-1993), Robert Diamant (1993-1998), Jean-K. Samson (1998-?), Jean-Paul Dutrisac (2007-up to now).

Professional Inspection within each Professional Orders

Within each professional order, the professional inspection of the professional practice of the members proves to be a mechanism for education, prevention and awareness.

Each professional order shall have a professional inspection committee which is composed of at least three members of the Order appointed by the Board of Directors of each Order. The main roles of these committees relate to monitoring the application of deontological and ethical rules governing the practice of the profession. The interventions of these committees contribute in particular to the control of the competences of the members.

A professional inspection committee shall in particular inspect the professional records kept by their respective members, books, registers, medicines, poisons, products, substances, apparatus and equipment used in the practice of the profession, and the audit of property entrusted to them by their clients or another person.

External links

• Template:Fr icon Site of the Office des professions du Québec
• Template:En icon Quebec Interprofessional Council (Conseil interprofesionnel du Québec)