Massage Therapy Canada

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Manitoba reignites hope for massage therapists’ HST saga

This year is ending with a somewhat positive development from Manitoba, which can potentially have a big impact on massage therapists across the country.

December 16, 2015  By Mari-Len De


Last November, the province’s health ministry announced it has approved regulation for massage therapists in Manitoba. Once regulation is institutionalized, Manitoba will become the fifth Canadian province to have a regulatory college and will effectively result in massage therapists across Canada bidding farewell to GST/HST charges.

Before we start counting our chicks, however, it would seem this announcement is only the first step of what could be a long and tedious process toward establishing a regulatory body in Manitoba. You can read more about this development in our report on page 10.

This latest story from Manitoba became the highest visited web page on the Massage Therapy Canada website in a matter of days. Shortly, after the link was posted on our Facebook page, it was shared 88 times and was seen by nearly 11,000 people. Because of its potential national implications, it’s easy to see why this story gained so much attention.

It would be interesting to see how this story unfolds. The hope is for all stakeholders to come together with a common goal of truly advancing the profession through regulation that is at par with national standards.

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While on the surface it looks like a provincial issue, it would be prudent for existing massage therapy regulatory bodies in Canada (B.C., Ontario, Newfoundland, even the new college in New Brunswick) to help guide Manitoba in the right direction. This would ensure the end-result is provincial regulation that conforms with nationally accepted norms.

We might not be able to say goodbye to that pesky GST/HST just yet, but we certainly bid farewell to 2015, and welcome the new year.

On behalf of the staff at Massage Therapy Canada, I wish you good tidings and all the best in 2016!


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