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December, 2004
- Annual General Meeting (AGM)
- Board Elections
- New privacy legislation now in force: Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
- Working in the USA - Visa Credential Verification Certificate Now Required
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The College's fourth annual general meeting was held on November 6, 2004 at the Marriott Hotel in Richmond, BC. Seventy-eight (78) registrants in the full practicing category were in attendance, which constituted a meeting quorum. Angenita Gerbracht, COTBC Chair, highlighted the COTBC Strategic Plan and accomplishments over the past year.
Board Elections
We are pleased to announce the results of the 2004 COTBC Board Election. The new Board member is Jeff Boniface from North Vancouver. Jillian Rihela from Surrey is re-elected for a second term and Jan Gauthier from White Rock is re-elected for a third term. The elected Board members will serve a term from February 1, 2005 - January 31, 2007. New Board members participate in a comprehensive orientation including a Board manual, an in-person education session and observing a full Board meeting prior to the start of their term. Congratulations to the elected Board members and thank you to all nominees for agreeing to participate in an important process for our College governance.
New privacy legislation now in force: Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
On January 1, 2004, new provincial privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection Privacy Act (PIPA) came into force in British Columbia. PIPA applies to the entire BC private sector, both for-profit and not-for-profit. PIPA governs how organizations may collect, use and disclose the personal information of clients and employees. Registrants of COTBC already have a duty of protection of personal privacy (duty of confidentiality) and registrants will be familiar the principles of the new privacy legislation. However, this legislation will affect registrants working in private practice, working for not-for-profit organizations or other agencies not covered by public sector privacy legislation (FOIPPA). It sets out specific rules for the private sector. It is every registrant's responsibility to know and comply with legislation that applies to their practice. Registrants should visit the following websites for more details of your responsibilities under this new personal information privacy legislation or seek other advice to ensure your practice is in compliance. Tools and helpful resources have been developed to assist organizations becoming compliant with the new PIPA legislation and can be found on our COTBC website. Click here to go to our links on privacy information and resources.
Working in the USA - Visa Credential Verification Certificate Now Required
The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) has asked that we inform individuals who are considering working in the USA that the rules have changed for those seeking temporary or permanent visas as well as those seeking NAFTA status. Regulations for new immigration legislation have been passed and went into effect July 25, 2004. Information on the changes and required forms can be obtained from the NBCOT website www.nbcot.org or by contacting international@nbcot.org or faxing a request to International Program (301) 869-8492.
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