Illegal Practitioners
Under provisions of the Massage Therapy Act, 1991, only individuals who are registered with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) are permitted to:
- Use the protected title of “Registered Massage Therapist” or “Massage Therapist” (the two terms are equivalent);
- Use any variation of these two titles or abbreviations, including but not limited to “RMT” and “MT”; and/or
- Claim they provide “Massage Therapy.”
CMTO has secured the following protected titles under the Federal Trade-marks Act:
- Registered Massage Therapist
- Massage Therapist
- RMT
- MT
- Massage Therapy
- Therapeutic Massage
- Massothérapie
- Massage thérapeutique
- Massothérapeute
Sometimes individuals may have taken courses in Massage Therapy within Ontario, other provinces or internationally. Taking courses in Massage Therapy does not permit individuals to refer to themselves as a Massage Therapist or permit them to refer to their care or services as the practice of Massage Therapy in Ontario. To verify that someone is a Massage Therapist, you can search the CMTO’s public register.
Individuals may have membership in various associations and/or organizations in Canada that grant them a registration number and allow their members to use of one of the protected titles listed above. These titles and registration numbers do not apply in Ontario and any person found using any protected title within the province of Ontario, regardless of their membership in an association or organization, are considered illegal practitioners engaged in unauthorized practice.
Those who engage with or make allowances for illegal practitioners place the public in harm’s way. CMTO is committed to the protection of the public interest in these circumstances.
List of Illegal Practitioners
The individuals listed below have been, or are in the process of being, prosecuted under the Massage Therapy Act, 1991 and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. These individuals are not registered with CMTO and are not permitted to practise Massage Therapy in Ontario or hold themselves out as a “Massage Therapist,” “Registered Massage Therapist,” “MT” or “RMT.”
- The Canadian Examining Board Of Health Care Practitioners and Colin Paddon, Michele Anes, Bridget Le Chat, Jan Benham, Doris Morely, Leea Mitchell, Mathias Nauts, Ronald Nauts, Richard Zirler) – Toronto
- Svetlana Kojeko – North York
- Active Massage Therapy Sports Clinic and Maureen Rutter – Pickering
- Jenny Tran – Toronto
- Karmen Luttrell – Sudbury
- Yvette Bazarin-Ulett – Port Perry
- Positive Fitness and Wellness and Sandra Correa – Hamilton
- George Workman – Mississauga
- Just Relax Wellness Centre and Ivy De Koning – Richmond Hill
- Ocean Nature Health Center, Ocean Spa and Zou Fan (Amy) Lam – North York
- Chu Yun Li – Scarborough
- Rhonda Riordon – Toronto
- Chakra Spa and Lisa Julien – Toronto
- Tu Hoa Beauty Centre and Huiling Chen and Fenghua Wang – Toronto
- A & P Therapy and Acupuncture Center and Angela Wu – Scarborough
- Katherine Frost and Valentini Hair Design Limited – Guelph
- Xu Ting Wei, Mindy Pan and Faye Beauty Centre – North York
- Sharon Frohwein – Richmond Hill
- Relaxology Health Centre Corporation, Relaxology Wellness Centre Corp, Relaxology Wellness Centre, Teresa Ming Hsin deceased (a/k/a Ming-Chien Chen a/k/a Teresa Chen) and Hong Yan Liu (a/k/a Nancy Hongyan Liu) – Mississauga
- Carolyn McDonald – Ajax
- Yan Wang and Forever Health Centre – Scarborough
- Jennifer Hsieh and Greenway Spa – Toronto
- Dannielle McDougall – Wallaceburg
- Michael Mu – Toronto
- Bi Cheng Health Centre Inc. and Jia Li Dai – Toronto
- Colin Andruniak – Newmarket
- Irina Cuicioglo – Ottawa
- Ashley Soldera – Woodbridge
- Brooke Harrison – Brantford
- Luis Aroche – Ottawa/Kanata
For further information, or if you are aware of any of these individuals continuing to use a protected title of this College, please contact professionalconduct@cmto.com.
