CMTBC is now accepting nominations for its upcoming 2023 Board election. Nominations are open for four Board positions, each to be elected for a two-year term beginning April 1, 2023.

The election will be conducted online by Simply Voting Inc., a provider of hosted online elections for regulators and other non-profit organizations. Individual ballots are 100% confidential, and CMTBC receives voting results in final tabulated and aggregated form only.

Board members are the directors of the College, providing policy governance and oversight in support of the College’s public protection mandate. Before consenting to nomination as a candidate, registrants should read the Board Roles & Responsibilities page.

Eligible RMTs will receive an email on January 31, 2023 from Simply Voting with voting instructions and a link to the voting website.

Nominations

Pursuant to section 4(1) of the CMTBC Bylaws, any Practicing Registrant in Good Standing may nominate for office up to three Practising Registrants in Good Standing by delivering nominations to the Registrar, together with the consent from the persons nominated.

CMTBC has prepared a Board Candidate Nomination Form (PDF) that must be filled out, signed by the nominee, and received by the Registrar no later than 5:00 pm on January 3, 3023. The completed form can be mailed to CMTBC’s office or e-mailed (as a PDF only – no JPEGs please) to [email protected].

PLEASE NOTE: If the Nominee is unable to fill out the form (after the Nominator’s sections have been filled out) and attach a signature electronically, CMTBC will accept the Nominee’s dated Consent and Declaration – in the exact wording that appears on page 3 of the Board Candidate Nomination Form – (and the Nominee’s photograph) by email sent directly to [email protected], together with the Nomination form attached and filled out by the Nominator.

Results will be announced in early March of 2023.

Why to consider running

The next two years will be critical ones for CMTBC and for the regulation of massage therapy, and of course for all regulated health professions.

Most if not all RMTs will by now be aware of the new Health Professions and Occupations Act, and the Ministry of Health’s plans for regulatory modernization, which includes a reduction in the number of health regulatory colleges from the present 15 (down from 22 a few years ago) down to six colleges. One of these will be a new Regulatory College of Complementary and Alternative Health Care Professionals, which will amalgamate CMTBC with the colleges currently regulating chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists.

The new legislation, when it comes into force, will include provisions designed to improve cultural safety for Indigenous people and to confront and address the legacy of Indigenous-specific racism in BC’s healthcare system. CMTBC is committed to this work as the regulator of a health profession that provides touch-based therapy to the public and as a regulator mandated to serve and protect the public. CMTBC looks forward to undertaking these tasks with an engaged and passionate Board.

Regulatory modernization is a process, not an event, and like all complex processes, will take time. The next few years are likely to be exciting, interesting, and challenging years in CMTBC’s history, and will offer members of the Board a unique opportunity to have input into the future of health profession regulation in British Columbia.