About the College

Vision and Mission

Vision: The best eye health and vision for everyone in Ontario, through excellence in optometric care.

Mission: To serve the public by regulating Ontario’s optometrists. The College uses its authority to guide the profession in the delivery of safe, ethical, progressive and quality eye care at the highest standards

Our Responsibility is to the Public of Ontario

The College has the legislated duty to protect the public interest. There are a number of ways we ensure that optometrists provide quality patient care that meets the standards of practice, including:

• setting the qualifications required to enter practice;
• setting the conditions to maintain registration;
• developing quality assurance programs to promote clinical excellence;
• promoting safe and ethical practice by our members;
• developing professional and ethical standards and guidelines; and
• responding openly, fairly and with authority when complaints arise.

If an individual has a problem of any kind with their optometrist or the care they have received, the College is here to help. All complaints are dealt with confidentially and both optometrists and their patients are treated with respect. Solutions are reached which provide fair treatment for patients and opportunities for learning and improvement for optometrists. When appropriate, the College will discipline a member who breaches a regulation or fails to maintain the profession’s standards for practice or behaviour.