Vancouver – The College of Opticians of British Columbia (COBC) today welcomed the decision of the Court of Appeal on The College of Opticians of British Columbia v. Coastal Contacts Inc. and Clearly Contacts Ltd., which found that contact lenses should not be treated as ‘over the counter’ products and that a prescription is required in order to dispense contact lenses.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision that protects consumer safety and requires accurately dispensed contact lenses,” said COBC Chair Kent Ashby. “Protection of one’s eyesight and buying contact lenses should never be a ‘buyer beware’ proposition.”
The decision found that the respondents, both sellers of contact lens over the Internet,
had failed to comply with the regulations governing the safe dispensing of contact lenses, but has also given the companies six months to establish a business model that does conform to the regulations. “The goal of the COBC is to have the respondents operate within the law and the standards of practice.
We regulate to ensure that individual practitioners and companies provide the highest standard of vision care and accountability, “said Ashby. “Our hope is that both companies come forward with a method of operation that meets the regulated standards for safe practice so that they may continue to serve customers”.
In BC contact lenses may be obtained, with a prescription, from a regulated health professional such as an optician, optometrist, or ophthalmologist.
The College of Opticians of British Columbia regulates and improves the practice of opticians in the public interest by ensuring that BC Opticians provide quality professional care to help people achieve better vision.
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October 14, 2008
Court rejects Great Glasses appeal bid.
Panel upholds contempt fine of at least $34m.
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/448936
September 29, 2008
York Region District School Board Announces Success of Markham School Readiness Project
The York Region District School Board (YRDSB) will be joined by Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Markham MPP Michael Chan on Tuesday, September 30 at 9:30 a.m. at Wilclay Public School in Markham to celebrate the completion of its first school readiness screening project and the preliminary results.
Over 1,200 junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten children at 11 Markham area schools participated in a month-long screening of vision, oral health and nutrition to identify deficiencies or need for referrals.... For more information, CLICK HERE.
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