Feedback

Dear Editor:

Your December 1997 edition of the Canadian Student Review included an article by Derek Rogusky on the topic of “monopolistic professional associations” which I believe warrants further exploration. In particular, some of the questions raised in my mind concerning the setting of professional standards, enforcement of those standards, and protection of clients’ privacy rights need to be addressed.

Rogusky asserts that “the government could set [minimum education and conduct standards]” and “[a]n association would only have to prove that it was enforcing the legislated minimum standards....” It seems to me, however, that a professional association, being (I assume), a body elected by its members and composed of people who are themselves members of the profession, is in a better position than any government to determine education and conduct standards. To borrow his example, I would certainly have more confidence in a medical association’s assessment of the value of chelation therapy than the assessment of a federal or provincial legislative committee.

In Rogusky’s view, rival professional associations competing for members is not problematic. I disagree. Specifically, I fear that a professional on the verge of being expelled from one association for failure to adhere to its standards could simply join a competing organization. The consequences of this passing of the buck (or deadbeat, as the case may be) are, in medicine, potentially catastrophic. Perhaps these competing organizations could enter into information-sharing agreements with respect to expelled members, but to institute such a policy would require both commensurable standards and additional administrative effort. Can a profession be adequately policed if competing standards are in place? If all competitors accept the same standards, what distinguishes them from each other? Wouldn’t it be more efficient for a profession to have just one regulating body?

Another issue of concern to me is touched on in the assertion that “disciplinary proceedings are not fully open to the public, and consumers are unable to gain access to valuable information on a lawyer’s past behaviour.” There is a really good reason why such proceedings are not public; such proceedings frequently deal, at least tangentially, with information that, under other circumstances, would be considered confidential client information. What the prospective client might consider “valuable information” would be an infringement of the former client’s privacy.

Lastly, I am a little confused about the competing professional associations that Rogusky claims characterize the accounting industry in Alberta. As a former employee of the accounting industry in British Columbia, I am aware of three different associations: the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), the Certified General Accountants’ (CGA) Association, and the Certified Management Accountants (CMA) Society. However, as I understand it, these three organizations confer different designations and have different educational requirements, although they do share standards with respect to accounting practices (at least, members of the CGA Association follow the standards and practices articulated by the CICA). Eligibility for membership in one of these organizations is, I believe, conditional upon the designation one has sought; a Chartered Accountant would not have the option of joining either the CGA or the CMA. Although members of these organizations are authorized to perform the same tasks, the organizations are not, in the sense that Rogusky’s article argues for, competing organizations.

I hope that my feedback is helpful and I welcome the author’s or your reader’s comments on any of these points. I enjoy reading the Canadian Student Review— keep up the good work.

—Tracey Nicholls, BA Philosophy,
University of British Columbia

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.