New college regulating P.E.I. massage therapists
Practitioners must be registered to use the word therapist
New regulations for massage therapists came into effect on P.E.I. on March 1, and the College of Massage Therapists of P.E.I. is currently registering members.
Once the registration process is complete, it will be illegal to advertise or practise as a massage therapist without being registered. To register, therapists will require a certain number of hours of practice, insurance, and police checks.
Therapists would also be subject to investigation if a complaint is received about them.
"If it's a criminal issue we would be doing our investigation, parallel with the judicial system, and we could modify or revoke the person's licence," said college registrar Bernie Plourde.
"That would in essence stop them from being able to practice until which time the issue was resolved."
Plourde said he is currently aware of close to 100 therapists on P.E.I. who would qualify to register with the college.
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With files from Natalia Goodwin