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Legislating Professionals: Private Bills for Entry to Practise Professions in Ontario, 1868–1914
Author(s) -
ADAMS TRACEY L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of historical sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.186
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1467-6443
pISSN - 0952-1909
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6443.2005.00254.x
Subject(s) - state (computer science) , competence (human resources) , legislature , government (linguistics) , public administration , petitioner , political science , professionalization , professional association , private practice , public relations , law , sociology , management , medicine , economics , linguistics , philosophy , supreme court , algorithm , computer science , family medicine
While states are clearly crucial to the establishment and regulation of professions, there is little consensus over the nature of the relationship between professions and the state. This paper explores profession‐state relations, through a case study of the Ontario government's historical practice of granting individual petitioners the right to circumvent requirements for entry to practise established by professional bodies. Through this practice, the Ontario legislature implicitly challenged professions’ right to determine competence and expertise. While some have argued that states regulate professions to regulate expertise, this analysis suggests that state acceptance of professional expertise was a gradual process that came several decades after the establishment of professions in the province.