SAC-Ontario continues to advocate for policies that strengthen the speech-language pathology and audiology workforce to improve access to essential communication health services across the province.
Ensuring Ontario has qualified professionals, particularly in rural and underserved areas, is critical to supporting patients and reducing system pressures. SAC’s advocacy focuses on labour mobility, workforce recruitment and retention, and integration within team-based care models.
The Government of Ontario has announced an additional $30 million investment to expand the province’s primary care workforce as part of its broader Primary Care Action Plan.
While the announcement focuses on expanding nursing and physician assistant training, it also signals continued momentum toward comprehensive interprofessional primary care teams. As primary care models evolve to provide more coordinated and community-based services, there is greater opportunity to recognize the role of communication, swallowing, and balance health within these teams.
Although these health concerns are common in primary care, speech-language pathology and audiology services remain largely absent. Integrating S-LPs, audiologists, and communication health assistants into interprofessional primary care teams can enhance patient-centred care and support more coordinated service delivery. The clinical knowledge of our professions contributes to early identification, improved understanding of health information, and more comprehensive management of complex conditions.
As Ontario continues to invest in expanding primary care capacity, the structure and composition of these teams will remain important considerations for delivering holistic, accessible care across the province.
Ontario Health, in partnership with Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario (PGLO), is developing two new quality standards focused on Falls and Frailty for adults in Ontario. These standards will guide best practices across health sectors to improve care for older adults, promote independence, and strengthen coordinated, interprofessional approaches to care.
For S-LPs and audiologists, this initiative reinforces the vital role communication health plays in preventing frailty and fall-related injuries:
This work aligns with Ontario’s broader efforts to strengthen community and home-based care, including the recent $1.1 billion investment to expand home care and Hospital-to-Home programs announced on October 27, 2025.
SAC continues to monitor provincial developments that impact the professions and advocate for the inclusion of communication and hearing health within healthy aging and home care strategies.
Related Resource: ECHO – Interprofessional Palliative Care COP | Communication Access Focus
On June 23, the Ontario government announced a $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan, including $235 million to fund over 130 new or expanded primary care teams in underserved communities. SAC continues to advocate for S-LPs and audiologists to be integrated into these teams.
The federal Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program is designed to help reduce workforce shortages in rural and remote communities by offering federal student loan forgiveness to eligible health and social service professionals. Although the government recently expanded the program to include ten additional occupations, speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) and audiologists were not included.
As highlighted in SAC’s recent consultation submission, this exclusion is a significant concern for our professions. S-LPs and audiologists provide essential diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services. Failing to include our professions overlooks the serious and worsening shortages of S-LPs and audiologists in rural and remote areas, where access to communication, swallowing, balance, and hearing services is already limited.
The Ontario government’s Bill 56, Building a More Competitive Economy Act, 2025, received Royal Assent on November 3, advancing new labour mobility measures for regulated health professionals, building on Bill 2.
Under Bill 56, regulatory colleges will be required to process out-of-province applications within two business days once all criteria are met. Colleges will also be limited in requiring additional training or exams for applicants already licensed elsewhere in Canada, unless there is a clear public-protection reason to do so.
The legislation also includes a technical update aligning hearing aid dispensing rules with the new labour mobility framework. This update is intended to support out-of-province audiologists and physicians registering in Ontario and does not expand dispensing authority or change current audiology practice.
These measures aim to improve workforce mobility and reduce administrative delays for professionals relocating to Ontario. The changes are expected to take effect in early 2026, alongside the “as of right” certification process introduced under Bill 2.
SAC will continue to monitor the implementation of these changes and share updates as new regulations are developed.
With the Royal Assent of Bill 2, Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, 2025, a streamlined “as of right” certification process will take effect on January 1, 2026. Certified professionals from other provinces and territories will be able to begin working in Ontario within 10 business days of credential review.
While this announcement primarily highlights non-health professions, SAC is monitoring developments for regulated health professions, including S-LPs and audiologists, and continues to advocate for workforce flexibility to improve access to care.
