The Saskatchewan government introduced new legislation Monday to better regulate the massage therapy industry in the province.
The Massage Therapy Act will establish the Saskatchewan College of Massage Therapy, a new regulatory body that will govern massage therapists.
It will help protect the public from any potential instance of unethical or incompetent practitioners and will also provide title protection.
“Establishing self-regulation for massage therapy in our province will help ensure that the services people receive are safe and appropriate,” said Health Minister Paul Merriman.
“This will give greater assurance to the public that the practitioner they’re seeing meets established competency standards. Also, if there are any concerns regarding the practitioner’s competence or conduct, there will be a mechanism in place to address those concerns.”
The Saskatchewan College of Massage Therapy will be a stand-alone regulatory body, separate from any of the three existing associations — Massage Therapists Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS), Natural Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC), and Canadian Massage and Manual Osteopathic Therapists Association (CCMOTA).
Those associations will continue to exist as advocacy organizations for the profession.
“We strongly believe there is public support for regulation of massage therapy in the province and certainly believe it is in the best interest, not only of anyone practicing massage therapy in Saskatchewan but also for members of the public seeking massage therapy services,” MTAS, NHPC and CCMOTA said in a joint statement on Monday.
The Saskatchewan College of Massage Therapy will be responsible to develop competency and practice standards, a code of ethics and an investigation/discipline process for the profession.
The Massage Therapy Act will come into effect by order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
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