REGULATION
FAQ
RMTSMB has been advocating for regulation under the Regulated Health Professions Act since 2015. Our advocacy has established RMTSMB as a credible source of regulatory information for the RMT community, third party insurers, media, and public. Our Regulation Consultant George Fraser has been advocating for regulation since 2003. He continues to use his strong voice to advocate for all RMTs.
A new regulatory college will be formed to take on the responsibility of regulating the profession:
- Set standards of practice and qualifications
- Assess applicants’ education and experience
- Grant RMTs a license to legally practice the profession
A regulation date has not been announced. Once declared a regulated profession, it will likely take two to three years to establish a functioning regulatory college for Massage Therapy.
RMTSMB will continue to update members on the regulation process and will provide members with educational resources and information on the changes ahead related to your business and practice. Be sure to sign up for our eNewsletter. Contact us to arrange a one-on-one virtual consultation to answer your questions.
Regulation, first and foremost, exists to protect public interest. The profession, if regulated, could play a significant role in ‘Protecting the Pubic’ in certain situations if a College existed. The regulation of RMTs and the protection of the public allows receiving and investigating complaints directly from the public about a specific Massage Therapy practice, a practitioner, and may take disciplinary action, if necessary, all occurring outside of the judicial system, similar to the Colleges that regulate MDs, Nurses, Physiotherapist and Chiropractors. Generally, this model operates at a faster pace than the courts and is often chosen by the public to register complaints about health professionals for that reason. Privacy of the complainant is fully protected
Regulation will ensure that all RMTs in Manitoba have achieved educational standards equivalent to other regulated provinces for the profession. In other words, the public will be protected from individuals who are not qualified to practice.
We anticipate that regulation will result in these benefits:
- Massage Therapy will become a recognized medical expense—Manitobans will be able to deduct it from their annual income tax like the majority of other Canadians
- Manitoba Public Insurance will cover collision-related Massage Therapy treatments provided by RMTs
- Workers Compensation will cover Massage Therapy treatments provided by RMTs. This is significant—the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba consistently reports that more than 60% of claims are for soft tissue injuries
- Across Canada, GST/HST will be removed from Massage Therapy treatment, giving it the same status as Chiropractic and Physiotherapy treatments
No, the regulation of Massage Therapy does not require Manitoba Health to add Massage Therapy treatments to the provincial health plan.
The profession will pay the costs of self-regulation just as other Health professions do. Neither taxpayers nor government will financially support it.
Yes, Probe Research has conducted a decade of surveys showing that Manitobans are in favour of regulation of Massage Therapy. Public support for regulation increased to 72% in 2015 from 63% in 2006.
Yes. Over 70% of Canadians access Massage Therapy treatment through health benefit plans. Companies that underwrite these plans favour regulation of Massage Therapy because regulation will help them control the growing cost of insurance fraud.
