This news release is also available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese below.

December 20, 2006

TORONTO – Legislation regulating the practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has received Royal Assent and is now law in Ontario,  Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman announced today.

“The passage of this new law is a milestone for all Ontarians who choose alternative health care like TCM,” said Smitherman. “Regulating traditional Chinese medicine will help ensure that Ontarians are receiving safe, quality care from practitioners who have achieved a certain level of skill and training.”

TCM is the first new health profession to be regulated in the province since 1991. As a result of the new law :

• A self-governing regulatory college will be created with the authority to set standards of practice and entry to practice requirements for the profession.
• The scope of practice will be defined so that the use of the title “doctor” by certain members of the profession will apply to practitioners who meet certain standards.
• The performance of acupuncture will be restricted to members of the new College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupucturists of Ontario, members of certain other regulated health professions and to persons who perform acupuncture within a health facility.

This legislation builds on MPP-led consultations, which resulted in a report released in 2005.

“The passage of this new law was made possible by the concerted efforts of MPPs on all sides of the Legislature to the benefit of TCM practitioners, acupuncturists and Ontario patients,” said Smitherman.

Ontario becomes the second province in Canada (after British Columbia) to regulate traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a holistic system of health care that originated in China several thousand years ago. Therapies include acupuncture, herbal therapy, tuina massage, and therapeutic exercise. TCM views the body as a whole and addresses how illness manifests itself in a patient and assesses and treats the whole patient, not just the specific disease.

Today’s initiative is part of the McGuinty government’s plan for innovation in public health care, building a system that delivers on three priorities – keeping Ontarians healthy, reducing wait times and providing better access to doctors and nurses.

For further information :

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

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