Proposed changes to By-law No. 60 regarding annual registration fee

An increase such as is being proposed would not be beneficial to anyone. We are bombarded with increases left and right with cost of living, and taxed to no end. Many people in healthcare work partime. I cannot see how an increase of this amount would be worth it for someone who works little hours. Not to mention, there are other associations and memberships that we need to be part of on top of CMRITO, from a sonographer point of view, but i know other modalities and careers have this as well. Let’s not forget, many if not ALL of us did not receive “covid pay” during the pandemic, although we were working closely with the public. We were not considered “essential” . We need financial help. Healthcare system is already in crisis. This is not the way to help out your members and in return, the community that we serve. Thank you

I would like to start off by saying that I have enjoyed being a CMRITO member for the past 3 years as a cardiac sonographer. Whenever I have had a question, CMRITO staff responds to my inquiries quickly, the QA ePortfolio is very user friendly, etc. With that being said, I was rather disappointed when I received the email regarding By-law No. 60, especially given the current economic climate. In a province with a housing affordability crisis and sky-rocketing grocery prices, it's no wonder so many of us are struggling right now. A 37% increase in the annual registration fee is offensive. Including tax, our annual fee will jump from $531.10 to $726.59, not including the PLI we need to purchase as well. Sonographers have enough day-to-day stress and this consultation notice has added to it. Since when did it cost so much to work? I sincerely hope the Council reconsiders this adjustment and leaves the annual registration fee as is. Thank you.

I do not want to pay anything to CMRITO at all in the first place. I feel like CMRITO just sit and make regulations and collecting expensive fee which is much more than Sonography Canada and ARDMS. CMRITO didn't even offer any CME/CPD courses or articles. Some provinces doesn't even have the college and are doing fine. There is already Sonography Canada which does almost everything as CMRITO, Why do I need CMRITO and why do I have to pay more fees? If possible, I only want Sonography Canada and want Sonography Canada to also act as regulatory College. That way I don't have to pay fee in many places.

Dear CMRITO Council, I am would like to express my strong dissatisfaction with the proposed increase in the annual registration fee from $470 to $643. As a member of the College, I find this significant rise unjustifiable and detrimental to many professionals within our field. The 37% increase represents a considerable financial burden, especially at a time when many healthcare professionals, including medical radiation and imaging technologists, are already facing economic challenges. Given the current inflation, stagnant wages in many healthcare settings, and rising costs of living, this proposed fee hike is likely to cause undue hardship for many members. I would like to understand the rationale behind such a steep increase and how this will benefit members directly. While I understand that operational costs may rise, I believe there should be more transparency regarding how the additional funds will be used and whether alternative cost-saving measures have been considered before passing on the financial burden to it’s members. Maintaining affordable membership fees is essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of our profession and relationship between the College and its members. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a response that addresses the concerns of your members.

The proposed increase seems too severe a change, especially when this is expected as a single payment. For some households this just isn’t feasible. With sonography Canada fees we would now be paying almost 1000 dollars a year just to work.

After 34 years as a full time technologist I retired but continue as a casual technologist providing much needed relief work in GTA facilities and in Canada North. The increased annual fee plus liability insurance with Sonography Canada would bring my fees well over $700. I would have to question whether it would be worth continuing in the profession as this is quite steep for my present wage. The communities I serve would lose a very loyal and dedicated professional and much needed help as staffing is at a crisis level. However, CMRITO is approaching this scenario in a business sense. So I and most members are asking for transparency as to where our fees are being allotted, the day to day transactions, the costs of overhead, the monthly rent of offices that are located in a very expensive area of the Toronto city. If the increased fees are deemed necessary by the college, would CMRITO consider incorporating fees incrementally over a significant period of time to help overworked and burned out health care professionals to adjust.

$643 is a huge amount. We are not earning at a Physician level

I have worked in health care since 1995. Currently CMRITO is the largest regulatory body I have been a member of and the most expensive. Wages in Ontario for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers do not support this increase. After review of the CMRITO 2023 Financial Audit it is not clear where the increase in registration fees are required or where the extra revenue will be used. With the current cost of living in Ontario this proposed increase could not come at a worse time.

Personly I think this price increase to maintain a license is a little ridiculous. As it is already more expensive then most other linceses a year. To maintain any trade license (ie. mechainc, electrician plumber) is only 60$ a year. A ECE is 175$ a year, a teacher is 200$ a year and a RN is 384.20 a year. I strongly believe that the price for annual registration fee should stay the same, if not decrease. We are already short on heath care workers and this may just make it worse.

The proposed increase in annual registration fees seems like an unnecessarily large raise, without explanation as for what the increased funds will go towards. I strongly feel the college should explore other options to meet their financial goals aside from raising membership fees, and if there is no other option, the college should provide reasonable explanation for what the increase in fees will be used for.

This proposed change is absurd and should never have been proposed. Whose pockets does this increase fill? Most definitely not ones of the technologists. We already make less than nurses who pay less for their annual registration fees and have more secure jobs, benefits and are unionized! This increase will only make everyone want to find new career paths. This proposal is disrespectful to all registrants.

Could CMRITO consider absorbing the extra costs within their internal organization. A suggestion could be to rent head office in a lesser expensive part of Toronto. While I respect the intention of a regulatory body, especially to maintain quality assurances of technical performance, ensure technologists are educated with Canadian standards and to protect the public, can someone from CMRITO explain the advantages of being a member to the overworked and increasingly financially burdened members.

This is insanely ridiculous. You don’t see us getting a 37% raise. Ultrasound sonographers have been added, so their extra money is already more than usual

I strongly disagree with the price increase on the registration fees as it’s already high. I believe it will only cause members to not register as it creates another financial obstacle to the profession. As a healthcare worker it is already hard enough to live a healthy life while balancing work and the rising cost of living has been difficult to deal with for all Canadians. If there needs to be money raised it can be raised by other means instead of forcing a membership increase.

This increase is approximately 37%, in a time when people are suffering financially and also a time when there is a tech shortage. I believe that if you go through with this increase you will loose a lot of valued members. There are many techs that have retired but have hung on to help their institution out during the shortage. You will loose these techs and have no staff to work. Patients are suffering enough with increased wait times due to shortages. Please reconsider this increase and try to find alternate ways to fund for your monetary issues.

Completely unfair. Even the current fee is unfair. If CMRITO exists to protect the public, why the registrants have to pay? Why not the provincial govt? It is extremely hard to find a technologist around and CMRITO’s attitude will drive away even more young people from this profession. What is CMRITO doing to attract/ support MRT profession? Did college ever recommended increasing the capacity in our colleges where MRT profession is taught? Why does college want the registrants to hate this organisation?

The proposed fee increase seems to be steep considering there are more members now than ever and cost of living is continually increasing. Furthermore, it would not make sense to ask for an increase to account for fees up until 2028 when it is actually an annual fee.

I would like to register my dissent in regards to the proposed fee increase of nearly 37%. Quite frankly, every member should just refuse to pay the increase. Regulatory body or not, every hospital, healthcare center and government in this province would never allow members to not be able to work and provide care. It would be disastrous. In any other business if your spending outweighs your profits there are layoffs and cost cutting measures. You don’t go to your shareholders and ask them to pay more money. I’ve yet to see any cost-cutting measures on your side being mentioned. You’re a family who doesn’t know how to live within their means, well, so many of us are trying to stay afloat as it is. You have a fixed income and part of your job is make your budget work with the funds you have. It should be a reportable offence that you mismanaged your finances and then expect to hold us hostage to make up for your poor financial decisions. We members should be reporting you to our MPs and anyone who will listen, and believe me I will. There are certainly other governing bodies similar to you, with similar mandates, such as CMLTO, that are not financially compromising their members. You need to cut your costs, before you even consider taking out of our pockets. Enough has been taken from us over the last few years and I know members now that are telling me they are not going to bother returning to profession. Either because financially, it doesn’t make sense or because they’re just tired of being exploited and it’s their only way to register their dissent. So our workforce shortage is only going to increase now.

You have not been transparent about your finances. Where is your CFO in all this? How did you get to this point?? What costs have you been cutting and why are your salaries not listed on the Sunshine list anymore? What increases have your staff received while we experienced pay freezes and caps of 1% (during a pandemic at that)!! It is NOT our job to fix your budget! It is time your consider moving offices, cutting staff that are unnecessary, perhaps hiring new financial staff if they are not guiding you in the right direction, or if they are, get rid of the people not listening to them! I want you guys to give us a list of your salaries and increases over the last 15 years along with your financial statements. Then we can talk. We are burned out, broke and short staffed. More will leave if you do this.

This increase in fees is outrageous. With more members joining CMRITO, such as the ultrasound technologist, why aren't the fees decreasing. I would like to know what added services we will be provided with this large increase in fees. Some technologist do not even work full time so this fee would feel even more steep for those people. You are making it very hard for technologists when we should feel supported by you. Why do RN's pay less than us when we are on a lower or similar pay grade. I would also like to note that on top of these fees we also need to have insurance. As part of your program we also need credits which you do not offer any. This is absolutely unacceptable.