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Our Association

The Ontario Association of Osteopaths (OAO) is a non-profit corporation that promotes drugless manual osteopathy in Ontario. It started as a transitional council in 1999 by a group of osteopathic practitioners. Their goal was to have osteopathy become regulated under Ontario's Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991.

Today, the OAO has grown tremendously and promotes public awareness of osteopathy via:

  • Media: web, brochures, posters & print
  • Professional Settings: research groups, associations & seminars

Objectives

The objectives of the OAO as stated in the By-laws (pdf document) are:

  1. to promote the practice of osteopathic health care in the province of Ontario
  2. to set standards of practice for osteopathy in Ontario in order to protect the public
  3. to seek public support in Ontario for the enactment of legislation by the government dealing with the regulation of the practice of Osteopathy in Ontario under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991
  4. to make representations and submissions to the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council and the Government of Ontario for the enactment of such legislation
  5. to represent the members and to advocate the position of the members before administrative tribunals, health institutions, other professional organizations, the Ontario Ministry of Health, the provincial and federal governments and to the public
  6. to provide continuing educational programs in order to advance the knowledge of Osteopathy in Ontario to promote the common interest and activities of the members of the corporation
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Plans to Regulate Osteopathy in Ontario

Today, there are no government regulations for the manual practice of osteopathy in Ontario. The OAO is working on a submission to the Ontario government that asks the government to create regulations for osteopathy in Ontario.

Any future Ontario regulations will have to recognize the difference between 2 types of osteopathic practitioners.

Osteopathic physicians practise in Ontario, and they are recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. However, the training needed to become an osteopathic physician is not available in Canada - these practitioners get their training exclusively in the United States. They have a medical degree from a college approved by the American Osteopathic Association. They are licenced physicians who also have osteopathic manual training.

Types of Memberships - Based on Osteopathic Education

Canadian Osteopathic Graduates

Requirements:

  1. Be a graduate of a Canadian osteopathic college of manual practice that is approved by the OAO.
  2. Complete the appropriate application form.
  3. Submit the annual membership fee with your application.
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As an active member of the OAO, you have the right to:

  • vote
  • hold office in the association
  • be a committee volunteer
  • pay less to attend OAO seminars and workshops

Foreign Osteopathic Graduates

Requirements

  1. Be a graduate of an osteopathic school or program of osteopathic manual practice outside of Canada.
  2. Complete the appropriate application form.
  3. Submit the 4 additional documents and the administration fee required from foreign-trained osteopaths (for details, see requirements).
  4. Submit the annual membership fee with your application.

As an affiliate member of the OAO, you:

  • can be a volunteer on a committee
  • do not have voting rights
  • may apply to become an active member of the OAO if you are a Canadian citizen
  • pay less to attend OAO seminars and workshops

Osteopathic Students

Requirements

  1. Be a student at a Canadian college teaching osteopathic manual practice whos curriculum meets the OAO's educational standards.
  2. Complete the appropriate application form.
  3. Submit the discounted annual membership fee with your application.

As an active member of the OAO, you have the right to:

  • vote
  • hold office in the association
  • serve on committees
  • pay less to attend OAO seminars and workshops

Supporting Members

If you are interested in osteopathy but are not an active or affiliate member, you can become a supporting member of the OAO.

Requirement

  1. Pay the regular annual membership fee.

Supporting members do not have all the rights that active and affiliate members do, but they do

  • receive the same notices and publications from OAO
  • pay less to attend OAO seminars and workshops

Fees

Please download the appropriate application form for more details on membership fees.