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

Dear CMRITO, I hope this message finds you well. I want to express my concern regarding the recent significant increase in the yearly registration fee. such a substantial hike can be burdensome for many members. I believe it is important to keep these fees reasonable to ensure counited access and participation. Thank you for consideration this feedback. Sincerely,

I trained and practised in British Columbia before moving to Ontario. BC does not have college, however I find the quality of scans and patient care far superior to Ontario. I frequently have a chance to review patients' previous imaging done in private clinics and find them of shockingly low quality with patients often being misdiagnosed. At the same time, CMRITO requires triple the amount of continuing education credits that Sonography Canada does. CMRITO is not fulfilling its mandate to protect the public. The continuing education demands are excessive and fail to improve the quality of service. The proposed nearly 40% increase in mandatory membership fees are unacceptable, especially considering that I can see no benefits of the college existence.

As a sonographer we had no choice but to become a member of the CMRITO. Since inception, the annual requirements take up a great deal of time entering CME requirements, updating personal data, answering question on a minimum of 2 required professional standards, and paying an already high fee to be a member. This membership was not a choice. I do not personally receive any benefit from this membership. If anything, I lose personal time throughout the year and money on my birthday. Sonography Canada is an optional membership that supports sonographers on a professional level which we receive so much more benefit from and requires us to also have professional educational requirements. I am happy to be a member of SC and was really frustrated when we had to join the CMRITO after more than 20 years of being a sonographer. To now suggest a raise in fees of 36% is outrageous and completely frustrating. There are so many cutbacks in healthcare that we work harder than ever to perform our careers in a professional manner that the proposed fee increase seems like more punishment to healthcare workers. We did not originally qualify for front line pandemic pay. If the college successfully negotiated this for us with the government, maybe I would feel differently. But the college did not help. So I ask, what am I paying for when I feel so unsupported and always penalized? Looking forward to retirement more and more everyday.

The inflation in fees seems unreasonable. The increase puts an added hardship on its members. Currently, within Ontario all residents are struggling with food pricing inflation, food packaging shrinkage, cost of living increases for utilities, housing prices and everyday items. We are expected to work hard and short handed for the benefit of our patients, which we do constantly. But, we are being asked to pay to come to work, Association Fees, College Fees, Parking costs and CPR fees. What else can you ask of us, perhaps we should work on Statutory holidays! We are categorized as an essential service. Maybe these fees should be paid for by our employers!

The CEO should resign, because she could not control the budget, waste of money and time! She has no idea how to save money, but just rob from the others!

I am not in support of higher fees for registrants without the provincial organizational employers supporting employees with reimbursement or a percentage of reimbursement.

No

This is not justified with such a statement. Please look into your expenses that it’s not reasonable. You added ultrasound techs as well and you absolutely did nothing for the techs during COVID . Please move your office from downtown Toronto and reduce your human resources since you all are working from home now. We shouldn’t pay for your expenses. We haven’t received any raise to compensate the inflation.

I am shocked and disappointed for the college to purpose such a dramatic increase to our membership fee. Please look into the organization spending and ways which you can reduce spending before coming to us members that are under tremendous stress from staffing shortages and high inflation without wage compensation. The spending from the college should also be audited as ultrasound members already added extra revenue to the organization in recent years. Thus, I am stronger against the proposed fee increase.

It is appalling that you were considering increasing the fees by that much. The economy is dreadful. No one is getting raises at their jobs and you decide to increase our fees by over 30%. I think perhaps you should be looking at how to decrease your costs. Is it truly necessary to be working out of one of the most expensive cities in Canada? We are now with the power of the Internet you could work from anywhere. You literally could be working from a rural town or from your own home. How often do people actually walk into your offices that you need to be so high profile? We want more members to join, and I guarantee you by increasing the fees it will not draw new professionals. It is a slap in the face after what we went through during Covid. We got no recognition, and we are rewarded by a hefty increase in our annual dues.

I am against a 37% increase in the fee. There needs to be transparency as to what the money is being used for and we need to start getting some value from this organization. We have all been capped since 2019 and are still fighting to get what we deserve. We never got pandemic pay and more responsibilities have been delegated to technologists without any acknowledgment or responsibility pay. We are also needing techs who can work part time or casual to fill the gaps and high fees may detour them from the profession.

I do not support this increase in membership fees.

Pls don’t raise it we are already broke lol

We are already paying for union fees, parking and sonography Canada fees. Please do not increase the fee for this too. I’m barely keeping up

I find the increase in change is ridiculous.I am not for this change at all. Instead of increase the fees CMRITO needs to find a way to decrease the cost in the college itself. For example maybe they can move their office away from downtown and pay less rent. Other colleges have way less registration fees. You recently added PLI to our cost. As an immigrant from europe I never understood the point of having a college. We don’t have this in other country. How can you justify the increase of cost?

Please don't. The fee is already high and our wages haven't increased by 36%.

I am deeply concerned about the proposed increase in membership fees for CMRITO. This hike places an undue financial burden on members who are already facing economic challenges. It is crucial for the college to consider the financial impact on its members and explore alternative solutions that do not involve raising fees. I strongly urge CMRITO to explore cost-cutting measures and efficiency improvements before considering any increase in membership fees. By identifying areas where expenses can be reduced and streamlining operations, the college can alleviate the financial burden on its members. It's essential to exhaust all possible avenues for cost reduction and operational efficiency to ensure that fee increases are a last resort. This approach not only demonstrates fiscal responsibility but also shows a commitment to supporting the members. I suggest CMRITO to reconsider this proposal and engage in a more transparent and inclusive dialogue with its members to find a fair resolution.

I am opposed to the fee increase. At a time when we have empty jobs to fill, it seems counterintuitive to attract new staff who may look to other provinces to practice. Already we can not replace anyone who retires. Not being in a union environment i only receive a 1% raise each year. If anything, a fee decrease may help, not this outrageous increase.

The increase rate of annual fee is too high. Compare to Sonography Canada and ARDMS.

The increase is way too much, 37%. It’s a huge burden for my already struggled family due to inflation and high interest rate. I got injuries due to work and on WSIB. A lot of other sonographers work with pain due to work and they have to work to support their families. This fee increase is totally unfair!!!