The details explaining the need for the proposed changes to the CMRITO members' fees actually demand further explanation and greater transparency of the College's functions that led to the claimed deficits: At the March 2024 Finance & Audit Committee meeting, Hilborn LLP, CMRITO’s independent auditors, presented the 2023 year-end financial results and raised concerns regarding CMRITO’s financial health. Specifically, they noted that the 2023 operations resulted in an annual deficit (negative unrestricted net assets balance), that there had been deficits in the previous two years, and that deficits were being projected for upcoming years. --> deficits as a result of what? what cost saving measures has the College taken to ensure the long-term financial stability of the College is secured other than simply passing on those costs to its members?*** Historically, CMRITO has only increased fees when necessary to ensure financial sustainability. As a result, the current annual registration fee does not reflect the rate of inflation or the increasing requirements and costs of regulation over the last 13 years. Over this time, the College’s registrant base has grown, leading to an increased level of regulatory activities, including registration, professional conduct, and quality assurance processes. Other costs have also increased in line with inflation. --> so has everything else (food, housing, services) which has placed increased financial strain upon it's members; the timing is inappropriate; why wasn't this addressed/adjusted over the last 13 yrs instead of all at once in a time of financial crisis for the members of the College and the Province in general*** In 2020, when a state of emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic and many CMRITO registrants were facing difficult, dangerous, and uncertain employment circumstances, the Council approved a one-time pandemic fee credit for all registrants in the amount of $90. While this was helpful to, and appreciated by, CMRITO registrants during this challenging time, this decision also challenged the financial sustainability of CMRITO. --> one time credit of $90 results in a permanent $173 increase annually? if asked retrospectively, most members would have said keep your credit; if the college was noting deficits, then how is it that the College felt that it was financially responsible to offer a credit it could not afford?*** A review of the annual registration fees of the other RHPA Colleges shows that CMRITO’s current annual registration fee is lower than most other RHPA Colleges, and the proposed annual registration fee will still be lower than 21 of the 25 other RHPA Colleges. T --> how do the salaries of CMRITO members compare with those professions whose college fees are higher?; if there are greater numbers of members, similar management of its members being completed for all, systems and processes already established, fees should be lower as more members are paying (see nursing) yet we are paying as much as groups who have 1/4 of our members size*** In considering the appropriate level for CMRITO’s annual registration fee, the Finance & Audit Committee identified the following criteria for financial stability: • no annual deficits • no negative unrestricted net assets balance at the end of any year • the level of unrestricted net assets to reach a goal of 4.5 months of annual expenses -->net assets are for what? lack of transparency for a governing body of practice*** A one-time increase is recommended to avoid annual fee variability and maximize efficiencies related to implementation costs. -->the expectation is that members' fees be increased and then pay again in order for the college to implement these changes? So we're paying a processing fee***
