Election Outcomes: Districts 2 & 3 

The Board received the election report for Districts 2 and 3.  

Congratulations to returning Board Director Julie Reinhart and to Kara Machado who have been elected in District 2, and Vaishali Prasad who has been elected in District 3. 

The Board sets the strategy for the College and makes decisions to ensure the public receives ethical, competent services from occupational therapists in Ontario. 

All Board meetings are open to the public. Learn more about the role of the Board.  


Reports  

The Board received the FY2025-2026 Q3 quarterly performance report and financial summary report. These reports reflect COTO’s commitment to performance and accountability and continuous improvement  


Risk Management Report 

The Board received the Risk Management Report. Managing risks is a fundamental responsibility of the College as it works to regulate the profession of occupational therapy in the public interest. Ensuring the College understands the risks it faces, the plans in place to control, mitigate, avoid, or transfer these risks appropriately is an important oversight responsibility of the Board. 

Learn more about the public protection role of the College.  


Board Education Day 

COTO’s Senior Leadership Team presented the summary and outcomes from the October Board Education Day. These outcomes will inform strategic planning later this year.  

View COTO’s 2024-2027 Strategic Priorities. 


Occupational Therapy Across Canada: CIHI Data, 2024 

Information about the profile of occupational therapy across Canada and 2024 Data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information was presented to the Board with Discussion regarding future opportunities and partnerships. 


Revised Governance Manual 

The Board approved the revised Governance Manual. As part of COTO’s commitment to transparency and accountability. In the coming weeks, the Manual will be posted on the COTO website and available under Resources. 


Annual Board Evaluation 

The Board reviewed the Annual Board Evaluation Summary and approved the action plan.  

Actions are designed to improve the performance of the Board. 

Learn more about the public protection role of the College.  


Committee Appointments 

The Board appointed Wesam Al Ghazawi to the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee and Sarah Waite was appointed to the Quality Assurance Subcommittee. Their terms are three years, commencing March 27, 2026.  

Read about College Committees


Revised Language Fluency Requirement Registration Policy 

The Board approved the revised Language Fluency Requirement Registration Policy. COTO’s English and French language proficiency requirements align with those approved under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). 

View the revised policy.  


Farewell to Departing Board Directors 

The College recognized the contributions of outgoing elected Board Directors Stacey Anderson and Christine Funk. 


Election of Board Directors to Executive 

The election of Board Directors to the Executive Committee was conducted. Congratulations to our new Executive Committee: Neelam Bal (Chair), Tina Siemens (Vice-Chair), Allan Freedman (Director), and Adrian Malcolm (Director).