Comments on the Registration Fee Increases

We understand that Registrants may be both upset by and concerned about the registration fee increases announced today by the College and so I wanted to take a moment to provide some context for you.

I hope that this will help with your understanding of the situation.

In 2022, we saw higher rates of inflation than Canada has seen in over 20 years. Inflation continues to impact every sector of the economy, from food prices to energy prices to commodities and supplies. Like every other business out there, the College is seeing price increases in every aspect of its operating costs, from third-party providers, to consultants, to hydro and so on. We’ll also be seeing increased pressures in the areas of salaries given that the personal costs incurred by our staff have impacted them in very much the same way. Providing these salary increases for our staff promotes staff retention and is consistent with the Council and the College’s priorities, which hold our human resources as a valuable asset.

The College came into being on July 1, 2015, and every January since that time, fee increases have been instituted based on the provisions of the by-laws, with only one exception. No other fee increases have been proposed by the College over this eight-year period, meaning that the automatic indexing against the Consumer Price Index is working as it was intended. That intent was to ensure that the fees remained consistent with the value of the dollar over time.

The one exception noted above was in 2020 when the Council decided to not to implement the increase as the profession had been prevented from working for the period of April to June due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the province.

The Fees paid by Registrants of regulatory authorities vary considerably; however, as far as health care regulatory bodies, our fees are consistent (within a reasonable range) of those charged by comparable regulatory bodies, given the size and scope of the profession and the regulatory demands imposed by the framework established by the Government.

The CPI used by the College indicates that at November 2022, health care costs had increased by approximately 5.4% from the previous November. This information may be useful when considering whether to increase your own professional fees.

Finally, Registrants are encouraged to consider the College’s Payment Plan Program as an effective tool to mitigate the impact of these increased costs. Changes made to this Program make it highly advantageous as there are no fees to enroll, there is no upfront balloon payment, and payment of the 2023-24 registration fee is completed over 10 installments made by automatic debit from your bank account.

In closing, all of us at the College are hopeful that governments and the Central Bank can bring the current inflationary pressures under control. However, like us, we acknowledge that they live in a world that is much bigger than simply one country and we all face on-going challenges to our supply chains and industries.

Sincerely

Andrew Parr, CAE
Chief Executive Officer