About Canadian Opticianry

National Opticianry Organizations

There are four national organizations that are fundamental to opticianry in Canada: the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC), the Opticians Council of Canada (OCC), the National Alliance of Canadian Optician Regulators (NACOR) and the Canadian Association of Optician Educators (CAOE).  A fifth body, the National Examination Committee (NEC) is a sub-committee of NACOR.

The OAC is comprised of representatives from all 10 Canadian provinces and acts as an opticians' advocacy group. As an example, the OAC undertakes initiatives related to education - including primary education, continuing education and advanced practice.  The essential thrust of the OAC is to take a pro-active interest in all matters that have the potential to affect Canadian opticians both positively and negatively and to promote a favourable outcome for opticians.  Funding for the OAC is based upon membership dues and monies raised from member benefit initiatives.

NACOR was created by the 10 Canadian regulatory bodies to discuss issues related to Labour Mobility as mandated by the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). All members of NACOR represent regulatory bodies. 


Associations

In eight of the Canadian provinces the duties of regulatory body and association are fulfilled by separate entities.  The College is the regulatory body and the Association serves as provincial advocate for opticians.  In each of the other two provinces there exists only a regulatory body, which may in those cases complete the work of an association.


Regulatory Agencies/Colleges

All 10 provinces have Regulatory Agencies - sometimes referred to as Colleges - whose mandate it is to govern the member opticians in matters outlined in each provincial Health Act.