2022
“With challenges comes opportunities”
This annual report marks the end of my first year as president of the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR), and what a year it was. The past 12 months have been a period of learning and collaboration as we laid the foundation necessary to ensure CAPR’s continued growth and relevancy. When I stepped into the role as President of CAPR’s Board of Directors, the organisation was dealing with significant challenges brought on by varied factors such as the pandemic and cancellation of the clinical examinations. However, based on our shared vision and purpose, Members stepped up and assisted CAPR in areas that proved to be the most difficult. Their support and participation enabled us to plan for and implement changes which will give rise to a principle driven and fiscally sound organization. On behalf of CAPR I extend thanks to each of our Members for their unwavering support.
In 2022, focus was placed on re-envisioning our assessment services, governance, and operations. To re-imagine our Evaluation Services, we struck an Expert Advisor Panel. This group of experts have done tremendous work over the past year. Through research, discussions, and visioning exercises the panel has brought forth recommendations to re-position CAPR as a leader in assessment services. Over the next few years Ms. Brandi Park, our new National Director of Evaluation Services, will lead her team in providing more products and services which will improve assessment services.
CAPR also launched the Joint Working Group on Governance to examine our structure, minimize the potential for conflict of interest and ensure that CAPR is governed effectively. The recommendations from this working group will inform an accountable governance model and provide direction on enhanced communication strategies, diversity, and inclusion areas. This project will coincide with a cultural and customer service shift driven by CAPR staff in a bid to ensure improved services to Members and candidates.
CAPR’s accomplishments amidst the challenges must be credited to the commitment of our interim CEO – Monique Porlier. Words certainly cannot describe Monique’s tremendous work during her tenure. I personally would like to thank Monique for her devotion to the organisation as she continues to serve CAPR in her role as Director of Finance and Operations. I would be remis if I did not thank our staff who put in countless hours over the past year. Their attentiveness and dedication to CAPR’s mandate and vision is the driving force behind a sustainable and valued organization.
Finally, I extend once again, a big welcome to Dr. R.G. (Bob) Haennel Ph.D. FACSM who assumed the role of CEO on January 1, 2023. We are excited to have Bob lead us in laying the foundation for the future of excellence.
In closing I want to thank the membership and my fellow board members for giving me the opportunity to lead this organization. As the saying goes “with challenges comes opportunities” and I am grateful to be apart of an organisation committed to excellence. The future looks bright for CAPR as we will continue to think and act strategically to ensure we remain leaders in evaluation services.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale A Pitura
President of CAPR Board of Directors
“Our priority initiatives stayed true to our drive to continually evolve and improve”
This past year, CAPR like many organisations impacted by COVID-19 faced many challenges brought on by the pandemic. Through the commitment and dedication of our Board, leaders, and staff, we embraced the challenges and the changes which prepared us for a re-envisioned approach to fulfilling our mandate of “Protecting the public – together”. As we celebrated our 30th anniversary we were reminded of our many accomplishments, collaborations, and the impact the organisation has on the physiotherapy profession and the communities we serve.
Our priority initiatives stayed true to our drive to continually evolve and improve. The governance review undertaken by the Board of Directors and informed by our Regulator members, will lead to an improved governance structure and practices to support our renewed mandate in the coming year. The explorations of an Expert Advisory Panel launched in spring 2022 will provide us with recommendations which will guide us as we re-envision physiotherapy evaluation services into the future. While we continued to provide services to a growing number of Credentialling applicants and Examination candidates, staff also invested time and effort into improving tools to support candidates, including an online client portal to be launched by mid 2023.
You will also read in the following pages about the many accomplishments that would not have been possible without our dedicated staff and the invaluable engagement of our Regulator members, the registrars, our partner national physiotherapy-related organizations, the volunteer board of directors, committee and working group members.
We wish to thank the Board of Directors for their diligence and support through the 2022 interim Chief Executive Officer mandate and the recruitment of our new CEO to strategically lead us through innovation and sustainability.
We are excited for the road ahead as we continue to build on our mandate of excellence in evaluation services and knowledge brokering and positioning the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators as industry leaders.
Respectfully submitted,
R.G. (Bob) Haennel
Chief Executive Officer
Monique Porlier
Interim Chief Executive Officer
“Celebrating 30 years of alliance: Protecting the public – together”
April 9, 2022, marked 30 years since CAPR was officially inaugurated to provide centralized evaluation services to Canada’s provincial and territorial physiotherapy regulators. Since its inception, CAPR has made significant progress in meeting its mandate of supporting the physiotherapy community and protecting the public through strategic policies and initiatives focused on evaluation services best practices.
To commemorate this significant milestone, we launched a 30th-anniversary celebration campaign to memorialize the achievements and challenges that have shaped CAPR into the formidable driving force it is today and to recognize the invaluable contributions of our various stakeholders. Our celebratory campaign started with the re-design of our logo to incorporate the year and the tagline, “Celebrating 30 years of alliance: Protecting the public – together”. A 30th-anniversary video that captured the well-wishes and sentiments from the staff was also created and shared on various platforms accompanied by a digital “Thank You” card sent to Members, staff, committees, awardees and working groups. We also launched a social media campaign, “30 Hidden Gems About CAPR” where we engaged the public with weekly social posts on achievements and unknown facts about the organization and staff.
Our various stakeholders who can be credited for our longevity were engaged through events and customized items. Staff received a 30th-anniversary custom-made scarf and mask, and all stakeholders were invited to a virtual movie screening of the critically acclaimed masterpiece “The Twentieth Century”.
Celebrations will continue in 2023 with an in-person staff event, a social responsibility initiative, and an external stakeholder newsletter feature campaign.
“Re-envisioning our evaluation services”
CAPR’s Evaluation Services include credentialling and competency assessment. We review the education and qualifications of internationally-educated applicants to determine whether or not they are substantially different from those of Canadian-educated physiotherapists. For both Canadian- and internationally-educated physiotherapists, we administer the Written Component of the Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE) to determine a candidate’s readiness for safe, effective and independent physiotherapy practice.
CAPR Evaluation Services are supported by the Evaluation Services Committee (ESC) – a Board Committee – and its sub-committees. The mandate of the ESC is to provide proactive, strategic advice and makes recommendations to the CAPR Board of Directors (Board) on matters pertaining to the Credentialling and Examination programs.
The Evaluation Services Re-envisioned (ESR) project to reconceptualize CAPR’s evaluation services, was launched in 2022. The Expert Advisory Panel (EAP), an ad-hoc committee of nine members, was recruited to lead exploratory background work and preparatory research consider the data and feedback from stakeholder consultations and prepare recommendations. The members of the Panel bring knowledge and expertise in measurement, assessment, and competence.
In the latter half of 2022, the EAP engaged in a series of meetings to develop recommendations for review by the Evaluation Services Committee (ESC) and presented to the CAPR Board of Directors for approval in 2023.
Evaluation Services 2023 Focus
- The EAP and ESC recommendations will inform the Board of Directors decisions for the strategic development and implementation of the CAPR Evaluation Services Re-envisioned project.
- Several continuous quality improvement projects will focus on improving client experience, removing barriers, and increasing efficiencies.
- Accepting marks and degrees through verified digital documents services.
- Streamlining of credentialling document requirements
- Launching the client portal which will allow clients to apply for credentialling and examination services online, upload required documents and obtain status updates.
- Expanding language proficiency tests to include those accepted for immigration purposes under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).
- Introducing a sixth annual Written Component Examination starting January 2024 to address the increase in applications.
- Increasing client communication, obtaining structured client feedback, and measuring client satisfaction.
- Launching a new practice examination that provides a closer proxy to the actual Written Component Examination and provides a better indication of candidate readiness for the exam.
“External governance review launched in commitment to good governance and accountability to Members”
In keeping with a commitment to Board evaluation and continuous quality improvement, CAPR engaged the Institute on Governance to complete an external governance review in 2022. The review, launched in January 2022, had the primary objective of considering the most appropriate model of governance to fulfill CAPR’s mandate and meet future needs.
The process, overseen by the Governance and Nominations Committee (GNC), included an environmental scan of best practices and organizations with a similar structure. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 20 regulatory stakeholders, four similar organizations and selected executive staff.
A final report was accepted by the Board in May and presented to Members at the June 2022 Annual General Meeting. The recommendations of the report addressed the need for the organization’s mandate to guide its governance structure; called for enhanced communication with Member organizations; and identified diversity, equity, and inclusion as areas for focus. The report also provided some recommendations relating to Board operations and committees.
Implementation of the recommendations began immediately with the hiring of a project manager in July, followed by the first in a series of Board education sessions. Terms of reference for a new Finance Advisory Committee and for a Governance Joint Working Group were approved in September, with recruitment commencing immediately thereafter. A Board Bulletin was launched by CAPR’s President and Interim Chief Executive Officer, created with the goal of providing regular communication to CAPR Members. In October, the Board President and Chair of the GNC engaged in a cross-country ‘road show’ to engage the members of every Regulator’s Council or Board. They presented the findings of the governance review, listened to feedback, and worked to recruit members for the Governance Joint Working Group.
The Joint Working Group, whose primary task is to make recommendations relating to CAPR’s mandate and Board composition, began meeting in late November 2022. Their work will continue in early 2023 with the plan of presenting recommendations to the CAPR Board in May 2023. All 2022 work relating to the Governance Review and the implementation of its findings was completed on schedule and within budget.
“Good communication builds and maintains good relationships”
Effective communication is of utmost importance to CAPR. We value our stakeholders; regulatory members, committees, working groups, board members, external partners, candidates, applicants, and the public. In 2022 we re-instated and established new communication strategies and tools to better interact with our stakeholders, keep them informed and nurture those relationships.
To address the concerns of our members and various stakeholders and provide timely and relevant information, we reinstated our newsletter which was discontinued in 2020. The newsletter, titled “CAPR Bits and Bits” re-launched in June to positive reviews and feedback. Bits & Bites goes out to all stakeholders every two months and features CAPR initiatives, relevant projects, and resources. Additionally, we launched another newsletter geared towards providing Members with information to share with their councils/boards, including matters of governance, strategic priorities, initiatives, oversight of the Evaluation Services Re-envisioned initiative, and new policies. A record of Board decisions, key messages, and additional information is also highlighted in the bulletin. The bulletin is published one week following CAPR Board of Directors meetings.
Continuing our work on ensuring all our stakeholders have access to relevant and important information as well as keeping up to date with best practices, we concluded in the early part of the year that a re-design of our website was crucial. A needs assessment was conducted and from that, a Request for Proposal was issued to selected vendors based on referrals, references, and research. Interviews were carried out and a vendor was contracted in December to spearhead the re-design of the website, with the project expected to commence in January 2023.
On a separate but final note, we restructured the Board of Directors website page to include a
profile of each board member along with a headshot. The initiative aimed to put a face to the names of those behind the various governance, strategic and best practice policies that impact the mandate of CAPR and by extension other stakeholders.
“Creating and advocating for a respectful and fair environment”
In 2021, CAPR adopted an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy, which affirmed our commitment to justice, cultural humility, and equity. To move forward with meaningful change, in 2022, we retained respected educator, Robin Adams, to deliver a three-part education package, focusing on Indigenous cultural safety.
The series titled “Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility Education”, comprised of three virtual educational sessions customised for CAPR by Ms. Adams. The first session covered Indigenous history in Canada, the second session focused on the intent and logistics of land acknowledgements, while the third session observed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, focusing on residential schools and Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility in health care profession evaluation services today.
All three sessions were attended by CAPR staff and guests, including members of the Board of Directors, Registrars Committee, Evaluation Services Committee, Board of Examiners, Expert Advisory Panel and Written Item Writers.
In 2023, we will continue building on our commitment to meaningful change with a review of job descriptions to ensure inclusivity and an all-staff training session on matters of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“Congratulations to Uriel Pierre”
The CAPR Award of Distinction is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to a regulatory organization or to physiotherapy regulation in general.
The recipient is someone who represents the following characteristics:
- exemplification of professionalism;
- commitment to promoting public interest values and ethical conduct;
- commitment to best practice in conducting regulatory affairs;
- ethical problem solving and decision making;
- commitment to mentoring, guidance and sharing with colleagues.
Uriel Pierre
In 2022, CAPR presented its highest honour to Uriel Pierre for his outstanding contributions to physiotherapy regulation in Canada.
Uriel is an established health professional with more than 10 years of involvement in the world of regulated professions, as a manager, board member, teacher, and researcher. He has served as a staff physiotherapist at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Montreal’s Children Hospital with a specialization in Neurosurgery, Trauma, and Orthopedic. Additionally, Uriel was the Deputy Registrar for 9 years for admissions at Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ).
He also served as the manager of the Clinical Research Committee for 6 years where he developed and coordinated the research grant application review process, provided recommendations to the board regarding clinical research, and chaired all committee meetings. Additionally, he sat on the Board of the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation (CNAR) and was Chair of the working group, Quebec-France mobility agreement for physiotherapists.
Uriel is quite distinguished with a Master’s in Public Administration and another in Rehabilitation Sciences. He has been nominated for Excellence in clinical teaching and Long-term clinical teaching from McGill University and has been credited for work in several publications and books including; the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 1998 and Clinical and Investigative Medicine 1997.
CAPR thanks Uriel Pierre for his dedication and leadership which has contributed to positive outcomes for CAPR and the profession.
Previous Award Recipients
“Still protecting the public – together”
- Website
Relish branding, a website development firm was contracted to design a new website for the organization. The project will commence in January 2023 with a launch planned for late 2023. The project aims to improve information accessibility, customer service and process efficiencies.
- Governance Review
The Governance Joint Working Group whose primary task is to make recommendations relating to CAPR’s mandate and Board composition will continue their work in early 2023 with the plan of presenting recommendations to the CAPR Board in May 2023.
- Registrars Committee
Work will continue on pan-Canadian values for the profession, validation of the Core Practice Standards, working towards a common language for data collection regarding issues of professionalism and exploring the possibility of a national unique identification number for physiotherapists in Canada.
- Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
In 2023, we will continue building on our commitment to meaningful change with a review of job descriptions to ensure inclusivity and an all-staff training session on matters of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
“Record number of credentialling applications”
- For the second year in a row there were a record number of credentialling applications – exceeding 2021s application numbers by 20%.
- In 2022, our department continued to focus on reducing the credentialling backlog due to the surge in number of applications.
- In August 2022 CAPR retained a consultant to:
- Identify meaningful metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor and report progress on addressing the backlog and establish a target date to eliminate the backlog
- Continuous process improvements included:
- Eliminating the requirement for photos
- Workflow efficiencies and further development of our client record management system.
- Clear and transparent communication to support applicants on the website.
“Registrars Committee celebrates 30 years of collaboration”
2022 marked the 30th year that the Registrars Committee has served as a forum for knowledge exchange and cooperation among the 11 Canadian physiotherapy regulators. It supports policy development on issues of national importance, and serves as an advisory committee to the CEO, providing regional and regulatory expertise on evaluation services issues being considered by the Board of Directors.
In early 2022, following the discontinuation of the Clinical Component of the PCE, the Registrars Committee acted as a venue where Registrars could discuss alternative assessment approaches and advise each other on registration and labour mobility issues. The committee also received regular updates regarding the work of CAPR’s Expert Advisory Panel on competency assessment innovation.
As in previous years, the committee supported pan-Canadian projects both large – such as a full review of the Core Practice Standards for Physiotherapists in Canada – and smaller – such as aligning the collection of regulatory history information from new registrants. The committee also provided advice to CAPR staff regarding language requirements, records retention, and evaluation services issues and served as a single point of contact to external stakeholders such as the Canadian Health Workforce Network, Physiotherapy Education Accreditation Canada, bridging programs and Canadian researchers in the field of physiotherapy competencies.
In 2023, continued focus will be placed on pan-Canadian values for the profession, validation of the Core Practice Standards, working towards a common language for data collection regarding issues of professionalism and exploring the possibility of a national unique identification number for physiotherapists in Canada.
Registrars Committee Members
Government of Yukon, Professional Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Laurianne Grenier-Deschenes (until March)
- Angela Jantz (April to August)
- Stephanie Connolly (from September)
College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia
- Dianne Millette
College of Physical Therapists of Alberta
- Jody Prohar (Chair)
Saskatchewan College of Physical Therapists
- Jason Vogelsang
College of Physiotherapists of Manitoba
- Brenda McKechnie (until May)
- Sue Bowman (June to November)
- Jennifer Billeck (from December)
College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
- Rod Hamilton (until August)
- Anita Ashton (from September)
Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec
- Denis Pelletier (until March)
- Daphné Thériault (from April)
- Marie-France Salvas
College of Physiotherapists of New Brunswick/Collège des physiothérapeutes du Nouveau-Brunswick
- Ellen Snider
Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists
- Joan Ross
Prince Edward Island College of Physiotherapy
- Jennifer Buote
Newfoundland and Labrador College of Physiotherapists
- Michael Kay
“Welcome, Dr. Robert (Bob) Haennel”
The CEO Review Committee (CRC) oversaw the transition of the Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the recruitment of the new CEO. The committee identified the key requirements for the CEO role and developed Terms of Reference for the CEO Search Committee and recruitment of members.
In 2022, the committee launched an extensive national search, overseen by the CEO Search Committee, for a visionary leader, strategic partner, and dynamic individual to collaboratively build a leading-edge organization. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Robert (Bob) Haennel Ph.D., FACSM as CEO effective January 1st, 2023. Bob is committed to advancing best practice standards in evaluation services, evidence-based policies, transparency, good governance, and sustainability in an evolving industry.
CAPR extends its appreciation to the members of the CEO Search Committee for their dedication and perseverance during the recruitment process. Thank you for your insight and thoughtful consideration.
In 2022 CAPR realized a return to financial stability and improved operating results. As a result of increased demand for services and strong controls over expenditures CAPR realized a surplus of $186, 000 which surpassed the planned budget deficit of $428,000. This is a significant turnaround from the $2.6 million deficiency of revenue over expenditures incurred in 2021. The 2022 revenues exceeded the prior year’s revenues by $908,000, due mostly to an increase in the number of written examinations administrated and the number of credentialling applications processed. Expenses were $1.3M lower relative to the costs incurred in 2021 for administering the virtual clinical examinations; the elimination of staff supporting the clinical examination; staff vacancies; and a reduction in LINK Modernization development costs. We continued to make significant investments for the continuing development of the software to support the credentialling and examination services, which was funded through designated reserves for the LINK Modernization project in prior years. Expenditures under Special Projects reflect the initial investment in 2022 to launch the Evaluation Services Re-envisioned initiative and support the Expert Advisory Panel.
Thanks to the generosity of the Regulators, we received loans totalling $564,000 plus $40,000 in grants and special contributions to support CAPR operations and provide the cashflow to ensure sustainability of the organization.
At the end of the year we have a strong cash position and investments which guarantee an operating line of credit. The Regulator loans are scheduled to be repaid in 2024 and 2025. The unrestricted net assets, which were depleted in 2021 have been restored to a balance of $216,000.
***Volunteers and Contributors who serve on multiple committees
Board of Directors
Dale Pitura***
Denis Pelletier
Dianne Millette***
Manon Dufresne
Joyce Vogelgesang***
Laurianne Grenier-Deschenes
Angela Jantz
Stephanie Connolly
Brandy Green
Brenda McKechnie***
Jennifer Billeck
Gary Rehan***
Ellen Snider
Kristin Taylor
Jennifer Buote
Michael Kay
Evaluation Services Committee
Mark Hall
Joyce Vogelgesang
Margaret Autea-Ton
Julia Goquingco
Alison Greig
Mahan Kulasegaram
Theresa Muddada
Paul Stratford
Tricia Twogood
Wing Ting Truong
Leanne Loranger
Cheri Gunn
Sandy Rennie***
Janet Bowring***
Dragana Susic
Janelle Van Heeren
Cheri Gunn
Ann Read
Written Test Development Group (WTDG)/Written Item Generation Team (WIGT)
Helen Bolton
Marian Cayer
Dee Porter
Andre Siqueira
Sophia Zhao
Anastasia Newman
Denise Lai
Rudy Niebuhr
Mirei Belton
Allison Klassen
Karen Malenchak
Melissa Cormier
Rachel Goard
Chloe Lauzon-Gauthier
Carole McMaster
Benjamin Tobali
Katharina Ciobanete
Bonnie Maclean
Jocelyn Krieg
Lacey Nairn Pederson
Erin Beange
Felicia Chow
Tiara Mardosas
Appeal Resource Group
Cindy Ellerton
Diane Dufour
Élise Bouchard
Gareth Sneath
Greg Heikoop
Nancy Cho
Susan Murphy
Victorina Baxan