Implementation of the Physiotherapy Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)

Status Update

Toronto, Ontario
February 26, 2004

On October 26, 2002, physiotherapy¹ regulators from across Canada accepted the Physiotherapy Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). The acceptance of this agreement was an important milestone in allowing licensed/registered physiotherapists who practice in one province or territory to move their practice to another region in Canada more easily.

Since the MRA was signed, a national consortium of organizations, including the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (The Alliance), ten provincial regulators, the Yukon and Northwest Territories, ex-officio members of Human Resources Development Canada and the Labour Mobility Coordinating Group have been working collaboratively to implement the MRA.

Four key areas of implementation are underway:

1. Consistency under the Agreement on Internal Trade

   The MRA was created to comply with the labour mobility provisions of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). A federal-provincial working group called the Labour Mobility Coordinating Group was formed to oversee the physiotherapy MRA and other regulatory agreements under AIT. This group is currently reviewing the physiotherapy MRA for consistency with other MRA agreements.

2. Adaptation of provincial/territorial legislation and policies

   The MRA asks provincial/territorial regulators to recognize the competency of licensed/registered physiotherapists practicing in other regions Canada, based on their education, examination and practice-hour experience. Individual provincial and territorial regulators have been working with their governments to make the necessary legislative and policy changes to accommodate this recognition. The progress of this work is varied from province to province due to the different kinds of legislative changes required in each.

3. Development of an alternate mechanism to assess examination equivalency

   The MRA establishes conditions under which physiotherapists with an unrestricted practice certificate in one jurisdiction will be recognized and allowed to practice in any other jurisdiction in Canada, even if they do not meet the current examination requirement. To implement this part of the agreement, The Alliance and its member regulators formed the Exam Equivalency Working Group. This group has developed a Proposal for Administration of Examination Equivalency Assessment under MRA. It is expected that this proposal will lead to the resolution of administrative issues associated implementation, as early as summer 2004.

4. Coordination

   With considerable work still ahead, and in order to remain responsive to the interests of physiotherapists and the public, The Alliance and its members are working together to co-ordinate, evaluate and communicate the progress of the MRA implementation.

If you are a physiotherapist and are planning to move to a different region in Canada in the near future, please contact the physiotherapy regulator in the territory or province you are moving to for more information about how and when MRA-related changes will come into effect.

Contact information for physiotherapy regulators is available here.

¹ Physiotherapist and related words are official marks used with permission by registered physiotherapists.

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