Perspective
Full Practice Rights in Quebec
By now, you are certainly well aware of the recent Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) panel report concerning the mobility rights of CGAs in New Brunswick. CGA New Brunswick's AIT challenge has been part of a lengthy CGA campaign, waged on many fronts, to bring closure to our practice rights struggle in Quebec — the only remaining Canadian province where it still is an unresolved issue.
Released to the disputants on August 19, the panel report is clear and unequivocal. As such it represents a major milestone on our path to resolution. It calls on the province of Quebec to introduce legislative changes to ensure there is absolutely no restriction to the occupation of public accounting in the province for non chartered accountants, such as CGAs.
The panel report goes on to emphasize that the current restrictions to the practice of public accounting in Quebec have impaired internal trade and caused injury. The panel findings confirm what we at CGA-Canada have known for many years: there is no reason whatsoever for the status quo to remain in place.
Indeed, the time has now surely come to change this outdated and restrictive legislation in Quebec, which only serves to perpetuate an unnecessary and unfair CA monopoly in public accounting in that province.
Now that we have the panel report in hand, the next stage of work on this initiative can begin in Quebec. By that we mean mobilizing members, legislators, and other interested stakeholders to press for speedy reform.
Governments by nature are not always quick to action. Yet now it is incumbent upon us to convince the government of Quebec that if ever there was a time for speedy action on an important issue, it is now.
The current situation makes absolutely no sense from a public policy point of view. Why, for instance, should Quebec CGAs be able to audit school boards, cooperatives, credit unions, most municipalities, and CEGEPs (community colleges), yet be unable to perform that very same function for other business entities? Indeed many of those specific institutions are of significant public interest in relationship to the well-being and economic stability of Quebec communities.
And why for instance should CGAs in Quebec be subject to a set of unnecessary practice restrictions when CGAs in all other Canadian provinces are now being permitted to undertake such work? Comprehensive and rigorous certification requirements, backed by stringent standards of professional conduct, ensure that CGAs across Canada are well qualified to provide a full range of accounting services including audit services.
So as the window narrows on this outdated CA monopoly, it becomes ever more obvious that change must come, and come soon.
This next stage of our activity in Quebec is critical to success. It must involve a concerted effort from CGAs across all professional areas — from business to academia, and from all points in between. The effort will be concentrated on convincing the government that the time for talk has passed and the time for action has come.
As we go forward we must be confident and united. Working together, we can make this change happen — for the benefit of business, consumers, and the public at large. For more information on how you can help, contact: Ottawa@cga-canada.org.
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