Self-Regulation

In a nutshell, self-regulation is a privilege given to certain professions who can demonstrate a commitment to protecting the public interest. Self-regulation means that human resources practitioners are capable of assuming the responsibilities of governing their profession in accordance with best practices, high ethical standards and a defined code of conduct.

Self-regulation of the human resources profession is the cornerstone to becoming a recognized profession; it puts us on similar footing as professional engineers, accountants and lawyers. It also demonstrates to the business community, government and the public that the human resources profession abides by a code of conduct and standards of practice that protect the public interest.

One of the greatest concerns of any professional is the risk to the public of unethical and incompetent practitioners. Self-regulated professions empower their professional associations to enforce standards of practice and codes of ethics to protect the reputation of the profession while ensuring the public receives a high quality of service. Instead of the Alberta government regulating the actions of CPHR Alberta members directly, CPHR Alberta would be mandated with ensuring that qualified professionals are providing trusted services to all their stakeholders. This delegation of responsibility would be conditional on CPHR Alberta being able to demonstrate its commitment to doing what is best for the public and not necessarily what is best for the individual professional.

This does not mean that the Alberta government will let CPHR Alberta take any action it wishes. Self-regulation will provide similar legal tools that organizations responsible for the oversight of the accounting and engineering profession currently enjoy.

One of the greatest concerns of any unregulated profession is the risk to the public of unscrupulous practitioners. As a self-regulated profession, we will be entrusted with “protecting the public” from incompetent practice or work performed by an HR profession through self-policing. Instead of the Alberta government regulating the actions of CPHR Alberta members directly, CPHR Alberta will be mandated with ensuring that qualified professionals are providing trusted services to all their stakeholders.

As a CPHR designation-holder or CPHR Candidate, you will be required to abide by a set of best practices, ethical standards and a code of conduct as well as regularly participate in professional development. This will uphold our commitment to protecting the public from unethical or incompetent practice.

Over the past eight years CPHR Alberta has worked to align its regulatory practices with the best practices of leading professional associations.  This includes elevating the registration standards related to assessment, such as introducing an academic requirement, a professional experience requirement and good character attestation requirements.

CPHR Alberta completed a series of member consultations sessions across Alberta, including two sessions at the annual conference, on a new Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. The Code and Standard were approved by the Board of Directors in May 2014 and implemented January 1, 2015. The Code and Standard aligns the HR profession towards achieving self-regulation by raising the credibility of the designation and elevating the quality of HR practice in Alberta.

The Association has in place many of the components expected from a professional association seeking to become self-regulated including a discipline function, continuing professional development, a rigorous registration process, and a defined scope of practice. The Association is not requesting a limited scope of practice on behalf of the membership. Specific changes you may see under a self-regulated model include:

Certain volunteer committees will assume formal legal functions such as the Registration Committee, the Discipline Committee and the Appeal Committee.

Further improvements to the Discipline Committee’s processes to better protect members and the public.

Addition of public member(s) to the Board of Directors, appointed by the Alberta government to serve in the public interest.

The Human Resources Institute of Alberta, now CPHR Alberta, received a mandate from its members for self-regulation in 1999 and again in 2002. After successfully becoming a unified provincial association in 2013, we turned our attention to elevating the credibility of the profession through achieving self-governance.  In the 2013 member survey, 80% of members identified professional self-regulation as a priority for CPHR Alberta.

In 2014, a motion by special resolution was put forward to the Chartered members asking them to approve the following:

"I am in favour of CPHR Alberta applying for self-regulation of the HR profession under the Professions and Occupations Association Act and obtaining legislation and recognition in Alberta in the same manner as other professions."

The special resolution passed with 93% voting in favour.

At this time we do not anticipate added costs to members. Any additional expenses arising from self-regulation (i.e. legal expenses) will be funded through our reserve funds.  We are in a healthy financial position to accomplish this task.

The Human Resources Institute of Alberta, now CPHR Alberta, formally applied for self-regulation of the human resources profession in December 2014 under the Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act (POARA). We undertook a comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation process in 2014, including the setup of an advisory group of Chartered members to advise on the initiative. In the years that have followed, the Government of Alberta has changed leadership in both party and leadership within parties. 

Most recently, new legislation is being prepared, the Professional Governance Act (PGA) to replace POARA and all current applications, including CPHR Alberta’s will be reviewed once new legislation has been given Royal Assent. CPHR Alberta has taken care to update our application over the years to ensure it is ready for review.