Stop the De-Regulation of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Ontario provincial government has introduced "The Traditional Chinese Medicine Repeal Act, Schedule 5 of Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. This bill will lead to the de-regulation of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. 

The de-regulation of Traditional Chinese Medicine is bad to general public (patients).

1. Remove the competence requirement (formal education and licensing exams) will means unqualified person can perform acupuncture and prescribe herbal medicine. Patients' safety will not be protected. The quality of service will be reduced dramatically. 
2. Patients will have reduced or even lost their insurance coverage for their acupuncture treatment since insurance companies will not be able to tell who is a qualified practitioner. 
3. Patients will have difficult to find a qualified and competent practitioner.
4. Medical doctors and other healthcare professionals will have difficulty to help patients to find an acupuncturist or an TCM practitioner as they can not tell who is qualified.
5. Patients will have less access to practitioners as many practitioners will move out of Ontario and many acupuncture and TCM clinics will disappear.    

The de-regulation is bad to the acupuncture and TCM business sector (practitioners, educators, suppliers).

1. The profession will have much reduced credibility and public trust. Less and less patients will use acupuncture and herbal medicine.
2. The de-regulation encourages people to take short training. This will lead to many incompetent people joining the profession.
3. The de-regulation will lead to the lost of many talent practitioners to other provinces and other countries.
4. The loss of business (reduced patients) will lead to shut down of educational institutions, clinics and other related businesses (suppliers). Many people work in the sector will lost their jobs.
5. The profession will be put back by 30 years and will loss the business environment for steady and health progress. 

Students, alumni, faculty and staffs at TSTCM are firmly oppose the de-regulation of acupuncture and traditional Chinese Medicine. Our patients also oppose the de-regulation. 

Important Events

Protest at Queen's Park: March 7, 9:45am - 12:00pm. Everyone is encouraged to participate.