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Council Highlights

Council highlights for November 18, 2021

President’s remarks 

RCDSO President Sandy Venditti informed Council about the Summary Report from the Ministry of Health that included highlights from the 2020 College Performance Measurement Framework (CPMF) reporting cycle.  The Ministry commended the College for its work in the areas of governance, information management and suitability to practice. 

She thanked the Registrar and staff for their work in preparing the report and their other work to ensure that the RCDSO continues to be an effective regulator. She also extended her gratitude to the former Registrar and Council for their work around competencies.

Independent Chair

Hanno Weinberger was introduced to act as Chair for the meeting, to guide Council through decision and discussion items and manage the procedural process.  Hanno is not a member of Council and has no vote in Council matters.

Registrar and CEO report  

Registrar Dan Faulkner told Council the College has increased the amount of information collected from the annual renewal questionnaire. The College is required to request some of the information and other data is used by the College for regulatory and development use.

Dan reported that the dental regulatory authorities met on several occasions to discuss and consider options for the certification of Dental Specialists in Canada. An agreement was reached for the need to have a national assessment before licensure. The Canadian Dental Regulatory Authorities Federation (CDRAF) has asked the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) and the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC) to work together on developing a certification process, in consultation with other stakeholders that would include requirements for assessments.

Dan presented a Council Dashboard Report highlighting information on strategic projects and Professional Conduct and Regulatory Affairs (PCRA) casefiles. He congratulated the staff in PCRA for maintaining an objective investigation process and effectively reducing the timelines and backlog of cases.

Access to care

Assistant Registrar Andréa Foti reminded Council that, at the September 2021 meeting, it was provided with a draft proposal on Access for Care for feedback. Based on the comments received, the proposal was finalized.

There are two phases to the proposal:

  • Phase 1 will focus on planning and coordination. The RCDSO will host 1-2 stakeholder meetings for the purpose of information sharing and coordination.
  • Phase 2 will focus on the RCDSO’s own intended work. There are two streams of work which will take place concurrently.

Stream 1 will focus on information collected through the annual renewal questionnaire, and the efforts of the Patient Relations Committee, which will continue to identify opportunities to share information with the public and propose concrete action the RCDSO can take to advance Access to Care.

Stream 2 will be comprised of a new project on professionalism, where the RCDSO will strike a working group with the goal of developing a professionalism or good practice document setting out the principles, values, and duties of professionalism.

Council approved the program as outlined.

Per diems

At its November 2020 meeting, Council directed staff to review and consider amendments to the College’s Fee and Council Member Stipend by-laws to address the fiscal effects of COVID-19 on the membership in a way that would not affect the ability of the College to meet its statutory mandate.

The Finance, Property & Administration Committee (FPA) made recommendations for amendments to By-Law 10 respecting Per Diems to Council at the September 2021 meeting; however, following discussion at that meeting, Council directed that the matter be directed to the FPA Committee for further consideration.

As per our By-Law, a “full day” means a period of time, including time permitted for travel, that is greater than or equal to 4 hours.

There are also per diem rates for a 1/4-day period of time meetings and a 1/2-day period of time.

Since the start of the global pandemic, Council and Committee meetings have been held virtually.

RCDSO staff summarized the recommendations for amendments to By-Law 10:

  • Change the definition of “full day” to be a period of time greater than 6 hours versus 4 hours as it currently stands
  • Use four quarterly increments to allow for more clarity and ease of determination of claims for per diems
  • Update the “expense” or “expenses” definition to include ‘principal Ontario’ residence or office
  • Add definition of a meeting to include in-person or virtual attendance
  • Revoke Section 10.4 of the College By-laws respecting teleconference meetings
  • Prescribe only a full day rate for the President, Chair and Council/Committee member, respectively that would be pro-rated by the respective quarterly increment for the meeting attended as provided for in the definitions.
  • No person shall receive a per diem for any meeting that amounts to less than 15 minutes, excluding time permitted for travel.
  • Sufficient notice of cancellation should be given - where a meeting is cancelled with 7 or more calendar days’ notice, no per diem will be payable under this by-law.

The measures result in a decrease to member per diem claims. Council approved the recommendations.

2021 Budget

Ben Lin, Chair of the Finance, Property and Administration Committee, presented the 2021 budget for Council’s review and approval. The budget was prepared by management and aligns with the College’s strategic plan.

The recommended operating budget for 2022 includes a deficit of $731,044. The main reasons for the deficit are:

  • The PLP loss provision budget (an actuarial value determined by an independent organization) increased by almost $2 million (to almost $6M in total) and must be budgeted adequately based on recent trends.
  • The PCRA budget has been increased to remove the large backlog in complaints. The number of panels and resulting costs has increased dramatically, as this is an identified priority.
  • Holding the annual fees flat resulted in lost revenue of approximately $850,000 for 2022.

RCDSO Director of Finance Jeff Gullberg told Council:

  • Expenses have increased by 7% to $33.8 million (almost exclusively due to the above two items).
  • Revenue has increased by 3% to $33 million, due to increase in membership, sedation/CT/HPC revenue and investment income.
  • The capital budget of $2.1 million includes one-time expenses, such as technology.
  • The operating reserve is not funded (and must be increased in the coming years).
  • There are many external pressures that are affecting the budget, including the global pandemic, PLP costs and government directions and regulations.
  • Having a deficit does not allow for contingency for unforeseen issues. This could have an impact on future programs and services.

Council heard that PLP loss provision was under-funded over the past four years. A membership fee increase will be necessary for 2023 to ensure that:

  • adequate funds are allocated for PLP and
  • the College has enough money to meet all regulatory requirements.

Savings for the College include technology initiatives, negotiated credit card and banking fees, a new benefit arrangement and virtual Council and Committee meetings.

Council approved the 2022 Operating and Capital budgets as presented.

Council performance evaluation framework

The Ministry of Health’s College Performance Measurement Framework (CPMF) requires Council implement a Council Performance Evaluation Framework that includes third-party assessments.

The Governance Working Group engaged an external consultant, Satori Consulting Inc., to assist in this process. Richard Hunter, Chair of the Governance Working Group, and Sandi Verrecchia, President and CEO of Satori Consulting made a presentation to Council on the purpose and objectives of performance evaluation.

The process will include:

  • Council members evaluating themselves and each of their peers against the RCDSO competency questions.
  • Evaluating the Council, as a whole, on effectiveness
  • Evaluating the President
  • Evaluating the Chair(s) of committee(s) on which they sit.

Council will be sent a survey to complete in late November/early December with a two-week deadline. Satori will report the results to the Executive Committee in January 2022 and to Council in March 2022.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Council heard an update on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) work of the College. In 2020 the College partnered with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) to conduct a thorough review of the College’s culture and leadership in order to develop training and an action plan for staff.

The Government of Ontario is looking for all colleges to incorporate EDI into how its business is conducted, both internally and externally. In the College’s 2020 CPMF Report, the College noted that “the RCDSO enhanced its training in 2021 to include…equity, diversity and inclusion.”

Council members expressed support for the direction the College is taking in this area and approved of the College developing an active process to encourage protected groups under human rights legislation to apply for governance positions in the College (Council and Committees).

Next meeting

The next meeting of the RCDSO Council will be held virtually on Thursday, March 10, 2022.