As a citizen living in your riding and a Registered Massage Therapist who has practiced for 25 years, I would like to entrust to you an important task.
HST has been the bane of my profession for some time. My clients pay HST even though I am a Regulated Health Professional and an important part of their health care. If the Registered Massage Therapists were exempted from HST it would allow clients greater access to treatment.
Why should it be eliminated for Canadian Massage Therapists? We now have 5 provinces that are an integrated part of regulated health care. There is precedent. Naturopaths previously charged HST but had it removed in 2014.
Many patients have had great results with massage therapy. Decrease in headaches, improved mobility, decrease in pain, alleviating repetitive strain injuries to name a few. This can lead to significant visits to family physicians for these issues.
In the City of London alone, there are over 350 Registered Massage Therapists. There are over 26,000 across Canada. The value we bring to our clients is immeasurable.
Your task is simple. The Canadian Massage Therapy Alliance will be making a formal request to the Federal Minister of Finance once Parliament is allowed back in session. Champion this request and implore the finance minister and all Members of Parliament to expedite the removal of HST on Massage Therapy. It is a critical time for Canadians and their health. Massage therapy will be an integral part of health care once the Covid 19 crisis has settled down, human touch and stress relief will be an important aspect in the health of all Canadians.
For further information:
http://www.crmta.ca/
https://www.rmtao.com/
https://www.rmtact.ca/
Resources: Fixman Laura, “HST: Registering, Remitting and Eventual Exemption”, Massage Therapy Today, BCS Group for the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario, Spring 2019, Vol 13, No. 2,