Naturopathic doctors may soon need licences to practise in the Northwest Territories.

The deadline for feedback on the territorial government's proposal for regulating the naturopathic profession is on Wednesday. The 45-page proposal is a starting point in a conversation with the public and professionals that will lead to future legislation under the Health and Social Services Professions Act.

"In the N.W.T. right now, physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, nobody has regulations... this is a problem," said Dr. Nicole Redvers, a naturopathic doctor in Yellowknife.

She said regulation is overdue and she welcomes new legislation.

"Anybody can come up here right now and call themselves a massage therapist or whatever they want."

The legislation would protect the title of naturopathic doctor by defining training and education requirements for the designation, while also outlining the scope of practices allowed by the profession.

Gaps in proposal

While Redvers is eager for regulation, she also noted gaps in the current proposal that would limit her ability to practise in the territory. She said the proposal would not allow her to operate a lab for blood tests, or perform acupuncture.

"Acupuncture is a controlled act in many jurisdictions and that was one item missed," Redvers said.

"We just want to be able to do our own lab work in-house. Which is standard for naturopathic doctors across the country, aside from Ontario... which has been a little bit of an inconvenience for patients."

'We just want to be able to do our own lab work in-house,' said Dr. Nicole Redvers, a naturopathic doctor in Yellowknife. (Associated Press)

Redvers said the difference in Ontario is easy access to private labs — labs that do not exist in the N.W.T.

She also said public labs run by the territorial government have had difficulty processing and taking payments from patients. She wants the lab in her clinic to be allowed to continue to operate.

"We want the North to be equivalent to southern jurisdictions," Redvers said.

"We are not trying to go out and do things that we are not trained to do. That would be self-defeating."

'No intent to surprise the profession'

Redvers provided feedback to the territorial government and said she received a promising response.

"We are quite satisfied in terms of the response, mainly because it comes down to patient safety and we all have that in mind," she said.

A spokesperson with the Department of Health and Social Services said in an email that "there is no intent to surprise the profession with unnecessary restrictions on their practice."

"Once our deadline passes, the Department of Health and Social Services will review and analyze all the responses to address the questions and concerns that are raised."

The N.W.T. could be the first territory to regulate the naturopathic profession.

Regulations exist in six provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.