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1-800-267-3390CNPS Core Services
Please visit our core services page to learn more.
Under an occurrence-based model, the availability of protection depends on whether the protection was active when the incident giving rise to the claim occurred. For instance, in health care, the availability of protection would only depend on whether it was in place when the care was provided. It does not matter when (how soon or far in to the future) the claim is commenced. This is why tail coverage is not needed when occurrence-based protection is in place. CNPS offers occurrence-based professional liability protection. Learn more here.
Please keep in mind that the CNPS does not extend assistance in the following circumstances:
- Labour relations
- Pure employment disputes (unfair wages, interpersonal conflicts, termination etc.)
- Proceedings related to workers’ compensation legislation
- Pure allegations of breach of contract unrelated to allegations of negligence
- Initiating complaints
- Claims against a business entity
- Civil claims, where there is adequate professional liability protection from your employer
- If the claim is one for which you already have adequate coverage from your employer, you will generally be expected to rely on the protection made available by your employer. But know that this will only apply when we have ascertained that your employer has the necessary protections in place.
Please see our Am I Eligible? page.
The CNPS is pleased to issue a written confirmation that you are eligible for its professional liability protection (PLP) when this is requested by your employer or another third party where or for whom you are providing professional nursing services. Please submit a request by completing this form.
Yes. One of the services provided to CNPS beneficiaries within core services is pre-contractual reviews of professional service agreements.
Please note that this service is to assist beneficiaries in identifying wording or content in a proposed agreement that may give rise to issues within the realm of professional obligations, responsibility or liability. It is not intended to address pure employment or commercial terms. As there are several aspects of an agreement to consider in a review, it is important to contact the CNPS as soon as possible upon receipt of the agreement so that there is adequate time to proceed to the review. We cannot provide any commitment that a review will be conducted in advance of any deadline, particularly if the timeline is very short.
Eligibility
(includes information for students, volunteers, camp nurses, and retirees)
Nurses from all professional designations (NPs, RNs, LPNs and RPNs) in Canada may become CNPS beneficiaries, either as an individual beneficiary or as a benefit of membership in a CNPS member organization or affiliated organization. To verify your eligibility status, please visit our Am I eligible? page.
This will depend on your nursing designation, and whether you hold different licensures in different provinces. We recommend that you call CNPS at 1-800-267-3390 and speak with registration.
No, undergraduate nursing students are not generally eligible for CNPS services. Post-graduate students may become CNPS beneficiaries, either as an individual beneficiary or through a CNPS member organization or affiliated organization. Please visit our Am I eligible? page for more information.
Nursing students on placement generally have liability protection through an agreement between the school of nursing and the facility where the student does a practicum. Your educational institution and/or the facility where you are on placement would generally be responsible for your legal defence costs.
Yes, nursing students can be found negligent in the care of patients while on practicum.
CNPS beneficiaries remain generally eligible for CNPS protection provided they are a CNPS beneficiary practicing in Canada at the time of the occurrence.
CNPS beneficiaries remain generally eligible for CNPS protection provided they are a CNPS beneficiary practicing in Canada at the time of the occurrence.
CNPS protection generally remains in place even if you work as a nurse outside of Canada, provided you are CNPS beneficiary at the time of the incident. In the event of a civil action, you must be a CNPS beneficiary at the time of the occurrence, and the civil action must be commenced in Canada. When undertaking a nursing role in another country, nurses should also explore if insurance options are available to them through their employer.
Yes. The CNPS provides occurrence-based professional liability protection which means there is no time limit on the protection we provide. After you retire, you will continue to remain eligible for CNPS professional liability protection and legal assistance as a past beneficiary, if a civil action is commenced from the care that you provided while you were a CNPS beneficiary.
Please keep in mind that the CNPS does not extend assistance in the following circumstances:
- Labour relations
- Pure employment disputes (unfair wages, interpersonal conflicts, termination etc.)
- Proceedings related to workers’ compensation legislation
- Pure allegations of breach of contract unrelated to allegations of negligence
- Initiating complaints
- Claims against a business entity
- Civil claims, where there is adequate professional liability protection from your employer
- If the claim is one for which you already have adequate coverage from your employer, you will generally be expected to rely on the protection made available by your employer. But know that this will only apply when we have ascertained that your employer has the necessary protections in place.
“Quality assurance” generally refers to any process or practice by which an organization or regulatory body responsible for ensuring compliance with the applicable standards or policy verifies compliance to ensure patients receive safe, quality and ethical care. Quality assurance programs can also provide nurses with educational opportunities to assess and improve patient care. In the course of their practice, nursing professionals may be asked or required to submit to quality assurance proceedings by their regulatory body, their employer or a third party for whom they provide services. Please note that although the CNPS does not extend assistance for quality assurance proceedings either as part of its Core Services or through the Supplementary Protection program, we may be able to provide information about the process or other inquiries.
Registration and Fees
Visit our Join or Renew page for more information.
As a not-for-profit organization, fees are set on a cost-recovery basis. Fees are reviewed every year to ensure that they remain generally adequate. They are the subject of a more comprehensive assessment every few years, in response to a significant change in the nursing or legal environment or in our membership structure. When implementing a significant change in our fees or fee structure, the CNPS generally does so with the benefit of an actuarial analysis. The CNPS endeavours to provide notice of a change in fee several months to a year in advance so that both nurses and member organizations can receive appropriate notice of any changes.
The CNPS operates as a national organization with a national perspective. Fees are determined for each professional nursing designation using national data, and the same fees are applied in each province and territory. Nurses can become eligible for CNPS core services, including professional liability protection, in one of two ways: as a benefit of membership in an affiliated/member organization, or by becoming a CNPS individual beneficiary. Nurses who access CNPS services as individual beneficiaries pay a higher fee because they join a group traditionally made up of individuals with a more diversified practice. Additionally, with the exception of a possible transition period, their access to our services is administered and supported directly by us, rather than a member or affiliated organization.
Most CNPS member organizations are provincial and territorial regulatory bodies. The CNPS membership structure is evolving, however, as some regulatory bodies have recently opted to transfer their membership to provincial associations. This is one of the changes that will mandate a more comprehensive assessment of our fee structure. Other significant changes that contribute to the need for a reassessment include COVID-19, changes to the nursing scope of practice, and new modes of health-care delivery such as the rapid expansion of virtual care.
Currently, CNPS fees are not pro-rated for CNPS beneficiaries who are a member of a CNPS member organization or affiliated organization. However, fees for the last quarter of the year are pro-rated for individual beneficiaries and those who apply for optional Supplementary Protection.
Generally, nurse practitioners have a broader scope of practice than registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, registered practical nurses or registered psychiatric nurses. As a result of their senior decision-making role on health care teams, nurse practitioners are more likely to be involved in litigation cases where higher amounts are claimed.
If you are an individual beneficiary with the CNPS, the registration year runs from January 1st to December 31st. You are considered a beneficiary when both your application and payment have been received. You will need to renew by December 31st to avoid a gap in protection.
Your date of birth is used as one of the many unique identifiers to connect beneficiary information to the correct profile as well as for record-keeping purposes. Being able to clearly identify our beneficiaries is necessary to ensure that confidentiality of information is protected.
An employer may have a legal right to access the information in your work email mailbox. Since CNPS assistance is confidential, and because your work email address may change frequently, we recommend the use of a personal email address.
The CNPS asks for your status so that in the event that you should call us, we can understand your needs and serve you better.
This section of the registration form indicates whether the individual has an active nursing licensure, and is part of the CNPS’s quality assurance process.
Check your myCNPS account or call us at 1-800-267-3390.
Your official receipt will exist in your myCNPS account. If you used an online form of payment (such as PayPal), you will receive a Transaction Record automatically. This Transaction Record is not an official CNPS receipt.
To change your address or other personal information, please call the CNPS at 1-800-267-3390. It is important to keep the CNPS updated with any change in your personal or work information so that we can assist you promptly in the event of a claim or legal challenge.
CNPS Supplementary Protection Program
Yes, this optional service is made available by the CNPS to CNPS beneficiaries on a discretionary basis for an additional fee. The CNPS Supplementary Protection program was created to provide an affordable source of legal assistance with complaints regarding your professional conduct from your nursing regulator (College or association). Please note that this protection is not included within core services, and that nurses must apply for registration in the Supplementary Protection program prior to an adverse incident.
No. Unlike professional liability protection, having access to legal assistance with College complaints is not a legislated requirement.
You can apply for CNPS Supplementary Protection at any point in your career. However, you will not be eligible for assistance for incidents that occurred prior to your enrollement in the program. As noted under the eligibility criteria, you must be a registrant of the CNPS Supplementary Protection program at the time of the incident giving rise to the complaint and/or investigation, and at the time when the complaint is submitted to the regulator or, in the absence of a complaint, when the regulator decides to initiate an investigation, in order to be eligible for assistance.
If the complaint or investigation pertains to more than one incident or to a continuous or repetitive course of conduct, you must be or have been a registrant of the CNPS Supplementary Protection program when every incident took place or for the entire duration of the conduct giving rise to the complaint and/or investigation; and you must have maintained your registration with the CNPS Supplementary Protection program at the time when the complaint was submitted by the complainant to the nursing regulator or, in the absence of a complaint, at the time when the regulator decides to initiate an investigation.
If assistance is granted, you will receive legal advice and representation and the cost of expert evidence (if expert evidence is necessary) until the matter is dismissed, resolved on consent, or resolved by way of a decision by a complaints committee. If a complaint or investigation is referred for a hearing before the Discipline Committee or a Fitness-to-Practice Committee, assistance will also include legal representation in preparation for and before the Discipline Committee or Fitness-to-Practice Committee, to a maximum of $50,000.
No. To be eligible for the CNPS Supplementary Protection program, you must be a CNPS beneficiary and a registrant of the CNPS Supplementary Protection program at the time of the incident giving rise to the complaint or investigation and at the time when the complaint was submitted by the complainant to the nursing regulator or, in the absence of a formal complaint, at the time when the regulator decides to initiate an investigation.
If you have received assistance from CNPS during the complaint/investigation stage of the process, your eligibility for assistance extends to matters that are formally referred to a Disciplinary Committee, Board of Inquiry, Fitness-to-Practice Committee or other equivalent tribunal for determination. This assistance can be made available through a partnership with an insurer. There is a limit of $50,000 for this assistance once the formal referral has been made.
- Assistance with quality assurance proceedings
- Assistance with appeals or applications for judicial review
- Fines that may be imposed as a result of the process
- Other expenses such as medical or any other professional assessments; remedies imposed on or agreed to by the nurse; courses or training; personal expenses such as travel or accommodation costs to meet with your legal counsel, attend a meeting with the nursing regulator or a hearing
- CNPS Supplementary Protection does not act as a source of funding in excess to another provider of assistance with complaints to a nursing regulator or an appeal or judicial review of a regulatory matter.
Yes. If you are on leave or retired and no longer have an active nursing license, you are able to retain your eligibility as long as you maintain your participation in the Supplementary Protection program.
A registrant with the Supplementary Protection program who declines CNPS assistance with an investigation or complaint generally becomes ineligible for further assistance with the same complaint or investigation. A registrant who declines CNPS assistance with respect to an investigation or complaint will however remain eligible for assistance with further investigations or complaints in the normal course.
Nursing Business Solutions (formally CNPS Business Plus)
Nursing Business Solutions is a business insurance product available exclusively to CNPS beneficiaries and brokered by BMS. This insurance product is designed to provide business protection for CNPS beneficiaries who are nursing business owners as a complement to the individual protection available to them as CNPS beneficiaries. Purchasing a Nursing Business Solutions insurance product does not provide any access to CNPS core services or Supplementary Protection. Learn more.
Should you operate a business, it would be generally advisable for your business to carry separate protection. Your business financial or legal advisor may assist you in determining the type and extent of protection or coverage that would be appropriate for your business. You may also need “business-type” coverage for risks associated with your infrastructure if you are an independent contractor. If you are unsure whether you operate a business or whether you are an independent contractor, you can contact the CNPS for more information. You may also consult our Nursing Business Solutions page for more information about the commercial liability options available via this BMS insurance product.
Webinars
Before the Webinar
You can access the webinar on a laptop or desktop computer by clicking on the link provided in your confirmation email. Copy and paste the link to your internet browser to access the webinar presentation page.
Yes, users may also access the webinar by using the Zoom app on a mobile device. Once the link is selected, your mobile device will ask you if you wish to open in your internet browser or in the Zoom app.
Please check your junk mail or contact us at webinar@cnps.ca if you do not receive a confirmation email within three business days after registering.
Once you register for a webinar, you will receive a confirmation email from the CNPS that will display the time zone that applies to you. You will also receive a reminder email from CNPS within 48 hours before and on the day of the webinar. If you are uncertain about your time zone, we recommend consulting the National Research Council of Canada’s website.
Webinars are free for CNPS beneficiaries and Canadian nursing students. Non-beneficiaries who wish to attend a webinar may become a beneficiary here.
During the Webinar
If the link is not working, you may need to copy and paste it into your browser address bar. If this is still not working, we suggest trying a different internet browser.
It is likely you have multiple windows of the webinar running. Close any duplicate webinar sessions which may be open.
Try playing sound from another website and check your volume settings. If you can hear sound from other websites, the problem is usually fixed by closing out of the webinar and going back in again. If you have more than one audio output available, you can try selecting the speaker icon, then “select speaker”, and choose a different speaker.
After the Webinar
We send a thank you email the day after the webinar to all nurses who attended. The thank you email includes the webinar title, date, description, and duration of the webinar. It can be kept for your professional development records.
It depends on the topic. Some topics such as documentation and social media are offered regularly. Other topics such as legal risks for new grads, independent practice and privacy are offered at least once per year.
Visit the Webinars page for a list of upcoming webinars.
Since the law is always subject to change, the CNPS does not generally offer copies of presentations, nor recordings of presentations. If you are looking to book a webinar or live presentation for a group, please visit the Request an Educational Session page for more information.