Alberta PLP Registration for RNs and NPs 2022-2023

In August 2020, the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) made the decision to move towards a single mandate focused on setting regulatory standards for nurses. As the regulatory body, CRNA is required by law to stipulate the PLP requirement. Though CRNA continues to mandate that all registrants must fulfill the professional liability protection (PLP) requirement by registering with the CNPS, it is no longer able to collect the fees on behalf of registrants.

The Alberta Association of Nurses (AAN) officially launched this spring and the CRNA has transferred its CNPS jurisdictional membership to the AAN. This means that nurses who choose to join the AAN can access the CNPS Professional Liability Protection and Core Services at the group rate. Nurses can also choose to register through the CNPS directly at the link below, at the individual rate.

Joining the AAN is voluntary, but registering for PLP remains a permit requirement. To learn more about the benefits of AAN membership, please visit www.albertanursing.ca.

As a result of recent changes to the Health Professions Act, the CRNA must continue to mandate the PLP requirement as it condition of practice but can no longer collect the PLP fee.

Professional liability protection (PLP) provides financial compensation for members of the public who have been harmed as a result of malpractice or negligence by a health professional. For instance, if a court found that a patient suffered injury as a result of nursing care that falls below accepted standards, the court could require that the nurse who provided the negligent care compensate the patient. In such case, a PLP provider would normally cover the cost of legal representation for that nurse and pay the compensation ordered by the court on their behalf. As a result, the public is protected because an adequate source of compensation is available to them. The health care professional is also protected because they benefit from legal representation when facing a claim for compensation and do not have to personally bear the full cost of the legal proceedings and the compensation, should the court order that it be paid.

In Alberta, the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta’s bylaws stipulate that beneficiary status with the Canadian Nurses Protective Society is a requirement of practice. Up until the 2022-2023 practice year, CNPS fees were collected during the CRNA permit application. This year, CRNA registrants need to take the necessary steps to renew their PLP through the CNPS directly.

No, CNPS Professional Liability Protection and Core Services remain the same, regardless of which option you choose. Those who choose to join the AAN can benefit from the group rate.

Please note that CNPS Professional Liability Protection and Core Services does not include assistance with regulatory complaints. The Supplementary Protection program is an additional, optional service offered by the CNPS. This program expands the CNPS scope of protection to assistance with regulatory complaints. If you are interested in learning more about this program or submitting a new application, click here.

The Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) has been the professional liability protection provider of choice for CRNA registrants (as well as registered nurses and nurse practitioners in most Canadian provinces and territories) since 1988. The CNPS is a not-for-profit society providing legal advice, risk management services, legal assistance and professional liability protection related to nursing practice to over 140,000 Canadian nurses across all Canadian provinces and territories.

As a discretionary legal support system created by nurses, for nurses, the CNPS is known to provide one of the broadest scopes of professional liability protection. We know that your practice is constantly evolving. That is why our scope of protection grows with it and why we offer legal and risk management advice to support your practice and promote safe patient care, along with a variety of continuing education opportunities. The CNPS may also use its discretion to assist in a broader range of circumstances to both protect the public and the integrity of your nursing practice, including in some of the unusual and unpredictable circumstances that can arise.

We encourage you to think of the CNPS as a legal resource in your day-to-day practice! To learn more about CNPS Core Services, please visit https://cnps.ca/services/plp-core/.

In 2021, the CNPS applied a $20 fee adjustment to the RN group rate, which had remained at the same level for several years, to ensure that it could continue to respond to the legal needs of Canadian nurses in the face of the new circumstances brought on by the pandemic and consequent substantial changes in the practice environment.  The RN group rate was therefore adjusted from $48 to $68 across Canada. The NP group rate, which had recently been increased, was unaffected. Exceptionally, for the 2021-2022 permit year, the CRNA subsidized the fee increase and CRNA registrants therefore continued to pay the prior annual rate of $48. For the 2022-2023 permit year, RN registrants who choose to join the Alberta Association of Nurses, the new CNPS member organization in Alberta, will continue to benefit from the group rate, which is now set at $68. The group rate for NPs remains the same at $159.50.

The CRNA registrants who do not elect to join the AAN can register directly with the CNPS at the individual rates of $88 for RNs and $179.50 for NPs, available in all provinces and territories where CNPS PLP is required as a condition of practice. The additional fee assists with the additional human and technological resources required to support the direct registration process.

As a not-for-profit, dedicated to assisting nurse beneficiaries across Canada, our fees are set on a cost-recovery basis. These fees are reviewed each year to ensure that they remain generally adequate and reflect the changing needs of the nursing profession and the organization.

No. The CNPS Supplementary Protection program operates on a calendar year and renewal will open on October 1^st. Exceptionally for the 2023 registration year, it will continue to be accessed as a separate registration. We are working to combine the CNPS Professional Liability Protection (PLP) and Core Services and Supplementary Protection program registrations for the following registration year. 

The Supplementary Protection program is an additional, optional service offered by the CNPS. This program expands the CNPS scope of protection to assistance with regulatory complaints. If you are interested in learning more about this program or submitting a new application, click here.

The information above applies to CRNA registrants only. If you practice nursing in Alberta via a different licensure method, you may register for CNPS Core Services at the applicable CNPS individual rate. Please note that the applicable CNPS fee can vary according to your professional designation. It can also vary depending on whether you practice in a province where all or less than all practising nurses of the same professional designation are CNPS beneficiaries. Finally, it can vary depending on whether you access the CNPS as part of a member organization or designated beneficiary group, or on an individual basis.