September 30, 2023 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. CMTBC is honouring the day by announcing two initiatives that address Indigenous cultural safety, humility, and anti-racism:

• The CMTBC Board has approved an Indigenous Cultural Safety, Humility, and Anti-Racism (ICSHAR) Standard of Practice, which will take effect January 1, 2024. The standard sets clear expectations for how RMTs are to provide culturally safe and anti-racist care for Indigenous patients.
• The CMTBC Quality Assurance Committee has approved that the 2024 College-directed quality assurance activity will be a mandatory online course to support registrants’ understanding of the ICSHAR Standard of Practice.

Standard of Practice

CMTBC’s development of an ICSHAR Standard of Practice follows the College’s September 20, 2022, commitment to action to address Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in BC’s health care system. The commitment responded to the BC Ministry of Health’s release of the In Plain Sight report, which documented how racism continues to be perpetuated in the BC health care system.

CMTBC made the commitment to action in conjunction with the development and launch of a new Cultural Safety & Humility section on the College’s website. The website material serves as a resource for registrants to support meaningful engagement and learning with respect to Indigenous cultural safety, humility, and anti-racism.

In 2023, CMTBC invited RMTs, in particular, Indigenous RMTs and RMTs who provide treatment for Indigenous patients, to participate in the ICSHAR Standard Advisory Group. The College worked with the 26-member Advisory Group to adapt the ICSHAR Standard of Practice that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and the BC College of Nurses and Midwives collaboratively developed, with input from Indigenous registrants and partners. In a series of facilitated meetings, including the participation of Sulksun (Shane Pointe, Knowledge Keeper) and Joe Gallagher (Principal at Qoqoq Consulting Ltd.), the ICSHAR Advisory Group provided feedback to College staff on a draft ICSHAR Standard of Practice. As part of the review, the Advisory Group confirmed that the final ICSHAR Standard of Practice is applicable to RMT practice. 

The CMTBC Board approved the ICSHAR Standard of Practice on August 25, 2023. The College selected January 1, 2024 to be the date when the ICSHAR standard goes into effect to provide RMTs with the opportunity to become familiar with the standard and start to implement changes within their practice before the in-force date.   

Read the ICSHAR Standard of Practice on the Indigenous Cultural Safety, Humility, and Anti-Racism Standard of Practice page. For more information on CMTBC’s four standards, see the Standards of Practice page.

Online course

CMTBC recognizes that registrants have varying levels of knowledge regarding Indigenous history, cultural safety, humility, and anti-racism. The ICSHAR Advisory Group expressed the importance of creating a baseline of knowledge for all RMTs to ensure the ICSHAR Standard of Practice is implemented in a meaningful way.

To support implementation of the ICSHAR standard, the CMTBC Quality Assurance Committee has approved development of a mandatory online course on Indigenous cultural safety, humility, and anti-racism. In 2024, CMTBC will launch the College-authored course, which all Practising registrants will be required to complete.

CMTBC will provide more information about the course before it is launched.

Applications to practice

Health Professions and Occupations Act

Implementation of the ICSHAR Standard of Practice and online course will be timely, given that the Health Professions and Occupations Act, which will replace the Health Professions Act as the governing legislation for regulated health professionals in BC, includes the following guiding principles for persons practising under the Act:

• Protect the public from harm and discrimination
• Support and promote awareness of:
  
  • Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
  • The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • The need to address racism and anti-racism issues that are specific to Indigenous peoples
• Take and promote anti-discrimination measures

An in-force date for the new legislation has not yet been announced.