Update to Members

Dear Members,

Many of you who reached out to the Minister of Health to request that massage therapy be regulated in Alberta received a response recently. The CRMTA would like to address the Minister’s letter, and share an update on our recent efforts in working towards regulation. In Minister Shandro’s letter he stated:

“Additionally, please know that the Ministry of Health has been working with Alberta-based massage therapy associations over the past several years to discuss regulation of the profession. However, the associations have yet to demonstrate unity and alignment as a profession. When a profession seeks regulation under the Health Professions Act, unity within the profession is paramount as it demonstrates the profession is able to self-govern. Please be assured that we have advised the massage therapy associations to collaborate and submit a joint application in order to move forward with regulation of the profession.” 

CRMTA would like to assure our members and other massage therapists across the province that the CRMTA is working collaboratively with the TC-CMTA and the MTAA and strongly supports regulation in Alberta for Massage therapy.  We have been working with all stakeholders including the government to support this goal.  In September 2020 CRMTA signed a joint application with all stakeholders which was submitted to government to support regulation.

In February 2021, the CRMTA along with the MTAA participated in meetings with the TC-CMTA to discuss how we could work to create a unified front with all four associations.  CRMTA has often expressed its interest in joining the TC-CMTA, and are aware of the MTAA’s consideration of re-joining the TC-CMTA to all work collectively with equal representation of associations. A letter was sent by the CRMTA on March 17, 2021 to the TC-CMTA to express our interest in becoming a member and included a list of key concerns which are also shared by the MTAA, who also submitted a similar letter.  At this time both the CRMTA and MTAA have clearly demonstrated their interests in achieving regulation by cooperating with the TC-CMTA and expressing a desire to join the organization.

Currently, we are awaiting the TC-CMTA’s response to our request. Once the TC-CMTA responds to the request of further information, both CRMTA and MTAA will be able to address our concerns and ensure that all organizations are fairly and equally represented on the TC-CMTA, we can move forward.  CRMTA feels that once all associations have equal representation with a common goal and plan, we can then demonstrate to government our ability to self-govern the profession as requested by the Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro. The CRMTA is looking forward to collaborating with all four associations and the TC-CMTA to achieve a common goal of regulating massage Therapy in Alberta.

CRMTA will continue to provide updates for our members through email and on our website and on our social media to keep our members informed. We are excited about the future working relationship between our organizations and the other leaders in the profession.

Sincerely,
CRMTA Board of Directors