Council Meeting Update

October 10, 2025 |
CPSM Council

A Council meeting was held on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Below are important highlights from the meeting. 

Council meetings are held four times a year and are open to registrants and the public. 

Councillor Election Process

Council approved a public consultation on a revamped process for electing Councillors.

Earlier this year, the Executive Committee of Council appointed a working group of Council members to review and provide recommendations for an enhanced selection process for elected physician Councillors.

The working group reviewed the selection processes at other Medical Regulatory Authorities. They presented their findings and recommendations to Council in June. The option Council selected was using a skills and diversity matrix to select applicants for election for vacant Council positions. 

A public consultation will launch in the next few weeks.

Emergency Medicine Classification

There are Emergency Room closures in rural Manitoba due to a lack of qualified registrants poses serious health and safety risks to the public.

There are internationally trained physicians who have graduated from medical school and have practiced emergency medicine exclusively. However, their training and experience do not align with the existing class registration system as family physicians or as specialists meeting the certification requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

CPSM, in collaboration with the Department of Emergency Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, and Manitoba Health, Seniors, and Long-Term Care, have identified regulatory changes required to create a third provisional class and proposed a corresponding Practice Ready Assessment that would permit the registration of these individuals.

Dr. Paul Ratana, Department of Emergency Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, presented to Council on creating a new class of physicians through the lens of public safety. Creating a new class of physicians would require amendments to the CPSM General Regulation.

 

The Manitoba Government is drafting proposed legislation to allow this change to occur. The draft legislation will be sent out for consultation to registrants when ready. 

 

Restorative Practices Program Update

The Restorative Practices Program (RPP) team provided an update. The team consists of Dr. Courtney Leary, Medical Consultant and Indigenous Health Specialist, Tara Myran, Knowledge Translation and Mobilization Specialist, Dr. Jayson Stoffman, Medical Consultant, and Lauren Phoutthavongsin, Program Coordinator. The RPP formally launched June 6 with a sacred pipe ceremony at Assiniboia Residential School Memorial Site.

Updates included:

  • The program is supporting the understanding and application of the Standard of Practice- Practicing Medicine to Eliminate Anti-Indigenous Racism (launched June 21)
  • Supports the mandatory cultural training and anti-Indigenous training that launched June 21. Registrants have until October 2027 to complete the training. The RPP has been answering questions from registrants related to the training and evaluating other training registrants have completed to see if they meet the requirements. When receiving requests to consider other courses, they look for the following: 

    • Engagement - It needs to require participants to engage meaningfully with the material. It can't be a one-and-done (e.g. a webinar).

    • Systemic Racism - It needs to address systemic racism and the historical foundations of colonialism and the health inequities that exist

    • Must be healthcare-focused.

  • In three months, the program has received 23 referrals.
  • The program has visited several locations to support registrants in awareness and understanding about the training and Standard of Practice.
  • The program has participated in outreach at community events to share awareness about the program with the public.
  • Due to the response and engagement with the program from registrants, the program held a webinar on September 16. Click here to watch the webinar

The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Working Group

The IMG Working Group provided an update. A survey of registrants was launched on September 17 and closes October 17. The purpose of the survey is to seek input on the onboarding of new IMGs and potentially all new registrants. The survey is anonymous and open to all registrants.

At a spring meeting, the group discussed the appropriate components for the Standard of Practice and explored options and resources for the orientation program. Results from the survey will be utilized to inform the curriculum for the orientation program as well as the context of the Standard of Practice. 

 

Amendments to Council Policies

 

Council approved amendments to the following policies: 

Policy Updates
Policy Change Type   Details
Council Policy – Appeals from the Investigation Committee Amendment   Amendment to Sec. 7 – Process upon receiving a Notice of Appeal permitting the Investigator’s Reports to be provided to the complainant. Investigator’s Reports were not previously supplied to the complainant; this change makes the report available to the complainant.
Financial Management Amendment   The change permits a stipend for the Vice-Chair of the Investigation Committee. In June, Council created the new position of Vice-Chair of the Investigation Committee, recognizing an additional amount of work for the Investigation Chair. It was requested that Council consider providing the newly created position of Vice-Chair with a stipend as well, in acknowledgement of the work associated with the position, including the investment of time required outside of scheduled meetings.

If you wish to attend this meeting, please advise CPSM in advance by email at TheRegistrar@cpsm.mb.ca.