Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of 2 recent legal events,
specifically the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act (2006) and Siadat v. Ontario
College of Teachers (2007) decision, with regards to the opportunity of foreign trained
teachers to practice their profession in Ontario. The emphasis is on the case of Fatima
Siadat, who was a teacher in Iran but was unable to satisfy all the licensing requirements
of the Ontario College of Teachers and consequently was unable to practise her
profession in Ontario. When the Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee upheld
the previous decision of the Ontario College of Teachers Registrar to refuse to issue her a
teacher's certificate, Ms. Fatima Siadat decided to initiate a lawsuit. Ms. Fatima Siadat
challenged the decision ofthe Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee by raising
a question of applicability of human rights legislation (i.e., The Ontario Human Rights
Code, 1990) on the Ontario College of Teachers' decisions. The Ontario Superior Court
of Justice decided in January of2007 in favour of Ms. Fatima Siadat (Siadat v. Ontario
College of Teachers , 2007) and ordered that her licensing application be reconsidered by
the Ontario College of Teachers Appeals Committee. In this thesis the author argues that
the Fatima Siadat decision, together with the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act,
2006, will likely make a significant contribution to enhancing the access of foreign
trained teachers and other professionals to practice their regulated professions in Ontario.
