These letters can be found in the summer 2021 edition of On Call. To subscribe to our quarterly newsletter, click here.
Claire Ramlogan-Salanga RM
Chair, College of Midwives of Ontario
Dear midwives,
We are experiencing yet another painful reminder of the legacy of Canada’s residential school system. My heart goes out to all the families and communities in mourning across the country.
As a racialized settler on this land, I have been struggling to face these events head on. It may be my own trauma of ancestral colonization, or my grief about how these harmful systems continue to impact Indigenous peoples. Either way, I will not avoid it.
As midwives, we play an active role in strengthening families and protecting young children. I ask you to take stock in your own response to this national crisis and find ways to come together to start the education and healing process—whatever that may look for you. I am hopeful that if we all face these truths together as a collective force, we can create necessary change.
The College’s guiding principles are accountability, equity, transparency, integrity, proportionality, and innovation. These principles dictate how we strive to work as an organization, and they shape our culture and our relationships with the public, midwives, and partner organizations. To this end, I am proud to see continual improvements and internal reflection being undertaken at the College to build engagement among our members and foster trust with the public and the profession.
In April, the College held two online “lunch-and-learns” on the 2021 Council elections. The first offering was open to all professional members, while the second was specifically reserved for members who identify as Indigenous, Black, or racialized. Participants were appreciative of the opportunity to better understand the role of a Council member, and I was pleased to see a significant increase in both Council candidates and in voter turnout in the resulting election.
My hope is that the College can continually find these opportunities to deepen engagement with our work in the coming years. I hope that you will be a part of it.
Kelly Dobbin
Registrar & CEO
College of Midwives of Ontario
As I write this letter, Ontario is moving to Step 3 of its re-opening plan. While we must remain vigilant to protect ourselves and our communities, this is a hopeful sign of things to come. Whether you are a midwife, client, or member of the public, I wish to thank you for all that you’ve been doing to stay safe during this challenging time.
The College continues to actively monitor the pandemic as it relates to the health profession regulatory sector—and to the midwifery profession in particular. We participate in weekly Ministry Emergency Operations Centre teleconferences, and meet regularly with midwifery stakeholders to ensure sector issues are discussed and addressed as needed.
In our last newsletter, I shared the College’s disappointment in the closure of Laurentian University’s midwifery education program. The Laurentian program was essential to the support of Indigenous, Francophone and northern Ontario midwifery, and its loss was deeply felt throughout the sector.
I am now pleased to report that Ryerson University and McMaster University have agreed to increase their class sizes to absorb students affected by the Laurentian closure, and to accommodate 30 additional candidates who were expecting entry into the program this September. The government has also announced it intends to find a new home for a bilingual and northern midwifery education program—a welcome development that will enable these future students to become members of the College and meet the care needs of their communities.
As part of the College’s commitment to regulatory excellence, in 2019 we developed a Regulatory Performance Measurement Framework to objectively evaluate our work and impact. While not legislatively mandated, we made a voluntary commitment to evaluate our performance and to demonstrate our success in regulating in the public interest.
After testing the framework in 2020, I am proud to share the a snapshot of the results from our first annual performance review in this newsletter. This same framework will be used to conduct regular performance reviews at the end of each fiscal year, and results will be posted to the website for accountability. I encourage you to read this review, and to share your feedback with the College at any time. Your contributions strengthen our ability to protect the public and the public interest.
From all of us at the College of Midwives of Ontario, have a safe and happy summer.