The Professions and Public Policy

In this collection of twenty-five papers given at a conference sponsored by the Law and Economics program of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, the contributors tackle many of the varied problems being raised today about the conduct of the professions in society. The traditional self-regulating model has been questioned on many grounds and the number of self-employed professionals is declining. The enlargement of the area of state power and the emergence of ideas about fairer access to professional services also serve to bring the relations between society and professionals into debate. Sylvia Ostry, as deputy minister for the federal Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, argues for more competition; Claude Castonguay speaks for the Quebec model of a supervisory public body. The book is divided into several parts: regulatory philosophies; self-regulation -- who qualifies?: Professional education; supply and access; para-professionals; employed professionals; and regulating continuing competence. There is an introduction by one of the editors, and a concluding paper by Ivan Illich characterizing this as the age of disabling professions.

The work unites many aspects of a complex social phenomenon that has risen in Canada as in other countries. It will interest all concerned with the development of professions and their future evolution, including professionals and para-professionals themselves.