For the past 15 years, the Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS) says it’s been advocating for regulations for their profession.
“When you see that somebody down the street has determined that they’re going to be a massage therapist and put up a sign saying, ‘I’m a registered massage therapist,’ there’s nothing really we can do about that,” MTAS executive director Lori Green said.
The association represents more than 850 registered massage therapists who have passed a two-year course and a qualifying exam.
The MTAS recently reached out to provincial leadership candidates to get their thoughts on creating legislation for massage therapy in the province.
“While we’re picking two leaders, we thought wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where they stand, those candidates, and relay that information to our membership,” Green said.
From the Saskatchewan Party, the association received responses of support from Scott Moe, Gord Wyant and Ken Chevaldayofff. The association said Alanna Koch, Tina Beaudry-Mellor and Rob Clarke did not respond.
For the NDP, both Trent Wothershpoon and Ryan Meili responded in support of legislation.
Based on the responses, the association is encouraging its members to purchase memberships to participate in upcoming provincial leadership elections.
“When you’re in a province where anything goes, anybody can call themselves a massage therapist. You get massage parlours, which of course upsets everybody, but you get people that just maybe aren’t safe to practice when there’s existing conditions.”
MTAS said legislation would give a regulating body the ability to develop a standard of practice, designate the qualifications required to be a registered massage therapist and create a governing body responsible for public complaints.
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