Alberta

The Alberta Working Group for The Regulation of Massage Therapy (AWGRMT) formed in 2021. The Transitional Council for the College of Massage Therapists of Alberta (TC-CMTA) President is the facilitator who chairs the WG.

Each of the following organizations provide three representatives to the AWGRMT:

• Canadian Massage and Manual Osteopathic Therapists Association (CMMOTA)
• Certified Registered Massage Therapist Association (CRMTA)
• Massage Therapist of Alberta Association (MTAA)
• Natural Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC)

The Alberta Regional Massage Therapy Association (ARMTA) has confirmed their support of the Alberta Working Group for the Regulation of Massage Therapy.

The Alberta government recognizes the TC-CMTA President as the facilitator who chairs the regular meetings of the AWGRMT and serves as the spokesperson in communication between the AWGRMT and the Government.

Costs are dependent on many factors including, but not limited to, the number of registrants who join the College, membership retention, the cost for startup, and ongoing operations. The costs have yet to be determined.

Currently, the AWGRMT continues to work closely with the government on revisions requested by the Minister of Health to the application for regulation of Massage Therapists in Alberta. As the AWGRMT completes revisions, these are sent to the government for review and comment, and the AWGRMT integrates the feedback on each revision.

This process may go back and forth several times before no additional comments are provided by the government, and the revision is considered completed by the AWGRMT for submission to the Minister of Health.

When the requested revisions are completed, the final draft will be sent to the Board of Directors of each association for their review and endorsement. Once the associations have provided written endorsement, the updated application will be submitted to the Minister of Health.

At this point, the process switches to the Government. The Minister will review the application and make a decision on the path forward. The process for approval and legislation of each regulated health profession is different, so the Government provides no timeline for this process.

As we move through this process, the AWGRMT will continue to provide updates to the profession through the associations.

Once established, the College will determine the standards for the educational institutes and massage therapy programs. The future College will have the responsibility to educate and inform educational institutions of requirements.

Reasonable notice will be provided to massage programs and institutions to make any necessary changes to meet the required standards.

Those who are not practising massage therapy when the College is formed will not be a part of the regulation transition process. They will instead have to meet the entry requirements of the College at the time they re-enter the profession.

Maintain and meet your association membership requirements, including maintaining a non-practicing or inactive membership if required, so that you continue to receive regular updates regarding regulation.

It will be important for those who want to transition into the College to stay current through updates provided by their respective association for any progress made on the status of regulation.