At OCP, we are serious about our values and principles, and we are committed to living by them as a regulator.
We have published our Service Charter, which naturally builds off of our 2024-2028 Strategic Plan and its Board-defined regulatory principles which guide what we do and how we work. Together they are an expression of what you can expect when you interact with the College.
We believe we are the first Ontario health regulator to establish a Service Charter, and we are proud to demonstrate how serious we are about our values, our principles and our commitment to live by them. You can download our Service Charter or learn about our regulatory principles below.
Public Protection
All our work is to ensure safe, competent and ethical professional practice.
We explicitly link the decisions we make to why they will be good for Ontario patients.
Partnerships
We engage and collaborate with Ontario patients and other health system partners to protect the public.
We work with partners, including patients, government, educators, other regulators, professional associations and others.
We consult with registrants and the Ontario public on proposed regulations, standards and policies.
Whenever we can, we share our documents and experiences with others in Canada and internationally to amplify benefit to patients.
We strive to be efficient by learning from other leading regulators nationally and internationally.
We provide input into relevant government and health system consultations.
We share data with external researchers in keeping with our research policy.
We respond to data requests within 10 business days and provide data within 30 business days.
Risk-based
We act to reduce or prevent harms. We use data to anticipate and measure risk. We measure the outcome of our actions and adapt our regulatory response to ensure the most beneficial impact.
We make decisions based on the available evidence.
We prioritize regulatory commitments in areas where data or other evidence indicates the greatest risk of harm to the public.
We collect the data needed to understand risk and we show the evidence we use in making decisions.
We evaluate the impact of our regulatory programs and initiatives, taking into consideration multiple dimensions and points of view.
Right-touch
Our regulatory actions are proportionate to the level of risk to the public.
We strive to eliminate requirements that do not clearly benefit patients or serve their needs.
Our Board specifically considers risk to patients in its decision making.
We define “risk of harm” broadly to encompass physical, mental/emotional or societal harm.
Culture
We believe in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. We aim to identify, remove, and prevent inequalities.
We do not discriminate. We treat everyone fairly, regardless of who they are (e.g., race, age, sex, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation).
We commit to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in all work with the profession, with pharmacy patients and internally.
We aim to enhance cultural safety, including Indigenous cultural humility, to minimize systemic inequities.
All staff, Board and Committee members complete EDI training.
We review our policy and program decisions using an EDI lens and explicitly consider identity data where available.
We avoid language in our work that condones or reinforces longstanding power imbalances.
Person-focused
We act with fairness and compassion toward all participating in our processes.
We treat you fairly and with sensitivity. You are not a problem to be solved.
We communicate and interact with you with respect, taking the time to listen and providing you with the opportunity to voice your concerns.
Everyone we interact with will have the opportunity to provide feedback. We will learn from your feedback on how we can improve our processes.
Transparency
We clearly communicate our expectations, requirements, activities and performance as transparently as possible.
We are clear regarding regulatory requirements.
We help you navigate regulatory procedures, like registration or making a complaint, and let you know how you can get more information if you need it.
Through our annual report, we show how registrant dues are used.
Our annual report provides clear and easily understandable information about our regulatory programs.
We keep you informed about what is going on, what to expect and when.
We respond to your inquiries by phone or email within three business days.
We provide your PACE assessment results within 10 business days. We provide your Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism exam results within five weeks.
We complete new registrations in 30 calendar days from the time all required documents have been submitted.
We communicate assessment results and accreditation outcomes as quickly as we can. You can expect results of practice assessments of individual pharmacists or pharmacy technicians within three business days and results of pharmacy operational assessments within 10 business days. If we can’t meet these targets, we will let you know about our progress and next steps.
We complete investigations into complaints within 150 calendar days or let you know why we cannot do so.
We post all Board materials at least seven calendar days before Board meetings. We post Board decisions within five business days after Board meetings.
Leadership and Innovation
We clearly communicate our expectations, requirements, activities and performance as transparently as possible. We will innovate and endeavour to drive change to most effectively address identified risk.
We are committed to innovation and regulatory best practices.
We dare to depart from convention and seek new approaches to reduce risk whenever the evidence or opportunity presents options.
We actively participate in provincial and national initiatives focused on best practices and innovative ways of doing things.
We present our work at regulatory conferences to foster the active exchange of ideas and regulatory developments.