Summary

The bill updates the legal definitions of 'duly qualified medical practitioner' and 'physician' in two existing Saskatchewan statutes to reference the new Regulated Health Professions Act instead of older legislation. The changes take effect when section 13-13 of the Regulated Health Professions Act comes into force.

Saskatchewan is replacing its old system for regulating health professions with a new umbrella law called The Regulated Health Professions Act. When that new law takes effect, dozens of existing Saskatchewan statutes will contain outdated references to the old system. This bill updates two of those statutes: The Legislation Act and The Vital Statistics Act, 2009. Specifically, it changes the legal definition of who counts as a 'duly qualified medical practitioner' and 'physician' so those terms now point to doctors licensed under the new regulatory framework by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan. The practical effect is that wherever these two statutes use the terms 'physician' or 'duly qualified medical practitioner,' they will now mean someone holding a valid licence under the new Regulated Health Professions Act rather than the old legislation. The bill comes into force on the same day as a key section of the new health professions law, ensuring the definitions switch over in sync.