ACOT/Recreation Therapy Merger

The moderators of this blog are not in charge of this petition. We only post information that is sent to us on the blog. Please contact the organizers if you have questions.

**Update: We only require 50 more signatures to submit for the ACOT registrar to look at the submission to ensure we meet requirements and then put out a vote to the membership

If you know of any OTs standing on the sidelines please ask them to step up and submit a form so that a nonconfidence vote will be circulated to ACOT membership.

Members have given ACOT council feedback on their decision to have a partnership with rec therapists, SAOT survey results have been published, and yet ACOT council continues to move forward with their strategic plan to have a partnership with rec therapists. The council has choosen to dismiss the wishes of their members

Please ask your OT colleagues to sign a petition so that we can bring in a new council***

There has been an attempt to reassure the Alberta OTs that the ACOT/Recreation Therapy Merger is on hold.  However, on review of ACOT Directory of Motions there in fact has not been a motion to rescind the original motion to merge Recreational Therapy with ACOT.

The ACOT Board elected to go forward with the motion as part of the 2017 Strategic Plan without consultation with Alberta OTs.  This represents a potential breach of trust given the substantial impact this may have on the OT profession.


The most expedient way to stop the process of moving forward on the motion to merge, is to have a non-confidence vote of 2017 Alberta OTs.  To date there is 144 signatures when 217 are needed.

There is no legal or professional option to change the direction of a merger once adopted by government.

A non-confidence vote would enable a new, unbiased Board to conduct a Referendum to discuss the potential impact on the OT profession should a merger with alternatively trained groups be considered.

OTs are traditionally grouped under Rehabilitation Medicine professionals that include physical therapy, speech and language pathology, audiology and OT.  This distinct classification has developed over generations of concerted effort to define, educate and provide specialized rehabilitation services.

OTs would not have a supervisory role of Recreation Therapists within a clinical team or community service, and with affiliation with ACOT, it might be assumed that the services of the two professions are interchangeable.  This concern should be thoroughly vetted.

Please forward this information to your group members, and fan out to other colleagues, along with the attachment that requests a signature identifying non-confidence.

A signed form is to be sent electronically to: acotnonconfidencevote2016@gmail.com
and council@acot.ca

Form can be found here.