MPPs from 3 parties sponsor private member’s bill expected to be introduced Dec. 8
A private member’s bill that would regulate the HR profession is expected to be introduced in the Ontario legislature on Dec. 8, according to the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).
A previous private member’s bill — Bill 138, the Registered Human Resources Professionals Act, 2010 — failed to reach third reading before the legislature adjourned for the fall election. It would have regulated HR professionals in Ontario in a manner similar to accountants.
In an email to members, HRPA CEO Bill Greenhalgh said the association told its members when the legislature adjourned HRPA would push to have it reintroduced in the next sitting of the legislature. That will happen on Dec. 8, said Greenhalgh, and this time the bill will be sponsored by an MPP from each of the three political parties currently holding seats in Ontario — David Zimmer (Liberal), Michael Prue (NDP) and Christine Elliott (PC). The last bill was sponsored by Zimmer alone.
“As business practices, economic conditions, workforce composition and employee expectations all become more complex and interrelated, HRPA's members are at the centre of this rapid change,” said Greenhalgh. “Never before has it been so vital that HRPA members have the regulatory framework needed to deliver the sophisticated HR management demanded by Ontario workplaces.”
Second reading of the bill is expected in April 2012, according to HRPA.
Over the next few months, HRPA said it will be engaging its members by:
•creating a dedicated website, www.hrpaact.ca, that will go live by Dec. 9, 2011, and provide members with information about the act (such as backgrounders and facts)
•hosting local chapter town hall meetings and webinars
•providing an information session at the annual conference in February 2012
•communicating regular status updates on the new act.
