Regulated Professions Neutrality Act (RPNA)

This winter, Bill 13, the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act (RPNA) became law in Alberta. This Act is intended to protect regulated professionals’ freedom of expression by limiting when professional regulatory colleges may discipline members for off duty expressive conduct. It responds to concerns that regulators were overreaching by policing professionals’ private opinions, particularly on social media.

The RPNA restricts professional regulators—including health regulators—from disciplining members for expressive conduct, such as opinions or statements in social media posts, that occur outside providing professional services or practice. This marks a significant departure from traditional disciplinary principles, under which regulators could discipline members for off duty conduct that was seen to harm the profession’s reputation.

The RPNA defines “expressive conduct” broadly to include verbal or written communications, such as social media activity, that convey meaning but do not involve violence or property damage. However, the RPNA does not apply to conduct that occurs in the course of professional services or practice, which includes day to day professional work, related business activities, and professional communications with clients, colleagues, or regulatory bodies.

The RPNA also contains important exceptions. Regulators retain the authority to discipline members for off-duty expressive conduct that relates to serious misconduct, including violence or threats of violence, criminal offences resulting from expressive behaviour, misuse of professional status, boundary violations, and sexual misconduct. These exceptions reflect conduct that undermines trust, abuses professional power, or poses risks to the safety and well being of others.

Crucially, the RPNA does not limit an employer’s ability to discipline employees for off duty conduct. Employers may still impose discipline where off duty expressive conduct—such as social media posts—harms the employer’s reputation or interests. Recent case law has increasingly upheld discipline where there is a connection to the employer, such as identifying one’s workplace or profession opinions or statements that are racist, misogynistic, or demeaning content.

As a result, regulated professionals in Alberta are subject to a dual standard: while they are largely shielded from professional regulatory discipline for off duty expressive conduct, they remain fully subject to employer discipline for the same behaviour. This is particularly relevant for employees in high trust public facing sectors, such as healthcare, where expectations for off duty conduct are higher.

Bottom line: it is possible that an employer may discipline an employee for a social media post even though the professional regulatory college would be prohibited from disciplining for the exact same social media post.