SML’s Grey Areas newsletter has been in publication since July 1992 and discusses the latest developments in professional regulation. New issues are published monthly – subscribe below to learn more about recent studies, case law and legislative updates in the regulatory world. Explore our catalogue below.
Issues published before 2020 can be found on CanLII.
Most regulators use remediation as a tool for addressing competence or conduct concerns. Typically, remediation is negotiated or directed by the regulator at the end of a complaint investigation or at a discipline hearing. This summer the regulator for the oral health professions in the UK released research it commissioned on using remediation early in the complaints and investigations processes
Understanding why registrants engage in professional misconduct can assist regulators develop more effective risk management strategies. An article in the California Management Review by William S. Harvey and others provide some insights.
While few Canadian regulators have published guidelines on choosing appropriate disciplinary sanctions, several UK regulators have them in place. The Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates several health professions, is currently consulting on an updated guidelines document. Since choosing the appropriate sanction for a discipline finding is one of the most difficult tasks for regulators, we were especially interested
Like the proverbial elephant being described by four blindfolded people, no role-description of a regulator comprehensively captures the nature of its work. Some labels include:
As noted in part 1 of this article, Rebecca Allensworth of Vanderbilt Law School has published a thought-provoking book on professional regulation (licensing) in the United States.
Rebecca Haw Allensworth of Vanderbilt Law School has published a thought-provoking book on professional regulation (licensing) in the United States: The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who is Allowed to Work & Why it Goes Wrong (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2025). While the approach in the US is different in several respects from that in Canada, there are lessons in