Newsletter | May 2025

Important News

Information and Updates

Update on Memorandum of Understanding - Cross-Jurisdiction Remote Practice

New rules affecting remote (virtual) services and British Columbia

Effective May 22, 2025, Ontario occupational therapists no longer need to be registered in British Columbia (BC) to provide remote (virtual) services to British Columbia residents.

In addition, occupational therapists registered in British Columbia can now provide remote services to clients located in Ontario without having to register with COTO.

Ontario occupational therapists who want to provide remote services to clients located in:

• British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are permitted do so under their Ontario registration. Occupational therapists are encouraged to confirm any local requirements with the provincial regulator.

• Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan are permitted to do so under their Ontario registration. Occupational therapists must contact the regulators in these provinces to obtain special authorization to provide remote services and/or learn about restricted activities that differ from Ontario's controlled acts.

These rules apply whether clients are temporarily or permanently located outside of Ontario. For more information, see our page on Providing Remote Services Across Jurisdictions.

If you have any questions, please contact our Practice team at practice@coto.org.

Coming Soon: eLearning Module

Advancing Culture, Equity and Justice in Occupational Therapy Practice

This year's upcoming eLearning Module will be a national module on Advancing Culture, Equity and Justice in Occupational Therapy Practice.

Through this module, OTs can expect to:

• Better understand Domain C of the Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada and important concepts related to culture, equity, and justice in occupational therapy practice.

• Gain insight into the vast diversity across Canada's population and how this diversity relates to health equity.

• Understand and be able to apply individual and collective strategies for culturally safer and equitable practice to real life occupational therapy situations.

The module will be released early this summer—watch your inbox for updates!

Annual Renewal 2025

Renewal is due by May 31, 2025

Reminder: Your annual renewal is due on or before May 31, 2025.

A late fee of $113 ($100 + $13 HST) will apply to any renewals submitted after 11:59 PM on May 31, 2025.

We encourage you to renew as soon as possible to avoid unexpected delays and ensure your renewal is completed on time.

Note: As May 31 falls on a Saturday this year, we recommend avoiding late-night submissions. The Annual Renewal Portal will close at 11:59 PM and partial renewals or payments will not be processed by the system.  

Retiring or taking a break at this Annual Renewal? If you don't plan to work as an occupational therapist or use the "OT" title in Ontario starting June 1, 2025, you can choose to resign through the COTO Portal.

Start Your Learning Plan!

More than 1500 OTs have started their 2025 QA Learning Plan

The 2025 QA Learning Plan is available in the COTO Portal. We encourage you to set your goals early.

More than 1500 registrants have already started working on their learning plans. While you're renewing your registration, why not start yours too?

Need help? Check out our resources to help you with setting goals, continuous learning, and professional development.

Privacy Management Handbook for Small Health Care Organizations

Access the IPC's new handbook

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has released a new resource: A Privacy Management Handbook for Small Health Care Organizations.

The handbook guides smaller organizations to meet their obligations under Ontario’s health privacy law. This guide may be useful for occupational therapists who are practicing as solo/self-employed practitioners or operating a small group practice or clinic, to help with developing a privacy management program and meeting obligations under PHIPA.

If you have questions about the handbook, contact healthguidance@ipc.on.ca.

Looking for the Standards of Practice and other resources?



Resources are available here: Practice Standards and Guidance

Tip: 📑 Bookmark the page for future reference!

June Board Meeting

Want to learn more about decisions that affect the profession and the public we serve? The College's next Board of Directors meeting will be held on June 19, 2025.

Meetings are open to the public. Meeting dates and materials are posted online.

Connect with Us

May Poll and April Results

The College's Practice Resource Service provides free, confidential guidance by phone and email.

Our latest video highlights how the Practice Resource Service provides support by providing free, confidential guidance on a range of practice-related topics. You can contact our Practice team at practice@coto.org or call 416-214-1177 or 1-800-890-6570 x240.

In April, we asked registrants who have been a registrant for one year or less which resources are helpful.

Here's the top three responses:

• 33.3% said "Case Studies and Q&As"
• 20.0% said "coto.org website"
• 13.3% said "College Newsletter"

Thank you for participating in our poll!

All resources, including our new digital Welcome Guide, can be found through coto.org.

Do you know someone who would like to be added to our mailing list?

They can sign up here. Have additional comments or suggestions for the College email news? Send your thoughts to communications@coto.org.

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