Public Members’ Message Public Members are appointed by the Alberta Government to assist Colleges, regulated under the Health Professions Act , in carrying out their mandate to govern their profession in a manner that protects and serves the public interest. It is a Public Member’s responsibility to contribute an independent and objective perspective on Council focused on public interest. We believe a strong public voice is essential to effective self-regulation and we appreciate the privilege and honour to carry out this work on behalf of Albertans. While representing the public is our most important role, we also bring extensive business expertise to our work on Council and Council committees. We appreciate the profession of Occupational Therapy and the care and dedication with which OTs perform their duties in optimizing the health and independence of the public they care for. Since our respective appointments to ACOT’s Council, we have seen Council’s commitment to sound governance in the public interest. Albertans and ACOT’s regulated members should be confident in the dedicated and inspired leadership of ACOT’s Council, and in the work of its exemplary staff. A Note on Events Falling Shortly After the Annual Report Since theWorld Health Organization declared the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic, governments took stringent steps to contain and/or delay the spread of the virus. Actions taken specifically in Alberta in response to the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in significant disruption to most business operations and a significant increase in economic uncertainty. ACOT is working hard to continuously monitor developments around COVID-19 and provide Occupational Therapists with guidance as applicable. We encourage all regulated members to consider lending their support where possible during these difficult times.
Peter Portlock, CD, MHSA Public Member Tiffany Poltz , CPA, CA Public Member
6
ALBERTA COLLEGE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker