Who we are

The Alliance of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists Regulators of Canada (AMRITRC), also known as the “Alliance,” is a federally incorporated organization of eight provincial regulators.

Our Purpose

The Alliance’s main purpose is to bring together organizations that have the legislative authority for regulating the practice of medical radiation and imaging technologists (MRITs) with the goal of enhancing safe, competent, and ethical care in the public interest. The Alliance was formed with a focus on public protection and patient safety by advancing excellence in regulation.

The Alliance continues to work to achieve the following goals:

Encouraging and supporting communication and information sharing.
Developing, promoting and evaluating common standards.
Facilitating MRIT mobility between regulated jurisdictions.
Encouraging and promoting standardised regulatory policies and procedures.
Supporting provincial MRIT organizations in their pursuit of MRIT regulation.

Alliance members are regulatory bodies that work to ensure that MRITs practice legally in the province/territory of their choice, meeting mandatory licensing/registration requirements, passing standardized exams, following specified practice, conduct, competence, and ethical standards, participating in professional development and renewing their licenses/registration annually.

Thanks to MRIT regulators, Canadians can expect safe, quality, competent and professional MRIT services (e.g., nuclear medicine scans, X-rays, MRIs, radiation therapy, and ultrasounds) from regulated MRIT professionals.

Work of the Alliance includes:

Recurring activities

Publishing an annually updated “Comparison Chart of Regulators and Provinces Seeking Regulation for MRITs”
Maintaining the “Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) Certificate,” which supports labour mobility and registration practices for individual regulatory bodies.
Representation with the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation (CNAR)
Focusing on governance, including the annual review of the Governance Summary and Handbook and (Re)Orientation for Alliance Directors
Cross-Country Information Sharing
- Through a minimum of three Board of Directors meetings each year, there is opportunity for regulators and guests from not-yet-regulated jurisdictions to provide updates on MRIT regulation; topics include.
  - Regulation of diagnostic medical sonographers (DMS)
  - Internationally educated MRITs
  - Provincial legislative changes that will affect labour mobility of MRITs, and
  - Updates on governance modernization efforts

Collaborating with other Canadian MRIT stakeholders and organizations, including:

The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT)
Sonography Canada
Accreditation Canada (AC) and EQual Canada
Canadian National Network of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists (National Network)

History

2011

The Alliance of Medical Radiation Technologists Regulators of Canada (AMRTRC) was formed to ensure public protection by further advancing MRT (medical radiation technologists) regulation, professional standards, patient care and regulatory issues.
It was officially incorporated on September 28, 2011, with six organizational “members” from jurisdictions with MRT regulators.
- Individually, each regulator was responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, and competent medical imaging and radiation therapy services within their jurisdiction.
- The Board of Directors included one representative from each member jurisdiction, usually the Registrar, Executive Director, or Chief Executive Officer.
The founding jurisdictions were the:
- Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technologists (ACMDTT)
- College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario (CMRTO)
- New Brunswick Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (NBAMRT)
- Nova Scotia Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (NSAMRT)
- Ordre des technologies en imagerie médicale, en radio-oncologie et en électrophysiology médicale du Québec (OTIMROEPMQ/OTIMRO)
- Saskatchewan Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (SAMRT)
The goals were to:
- Develop, promote and evaluate common standards between jurisdictions.
- Encourage and promote standardised regulatory policies and procedures.
- Facilitate communication and information sharing.
- Facilitate MRT mobility between regulated jurisdictions.
- Support other provincial/territorial MRT organizations in their pursuit of MRT regulation.
The regulated professions included magnetic resonance technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, radiation therapists and radiological technologists.
The head office was located within the College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario office in Toronto.

2012

AMRTRC was actively involved in the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) issue and created the “Certificate from Out-of-Province MRT Regulatory Authority Under the AIT” to support the automatic recognition of credentials between regulated jurisdictions.
AMRTRC joined the Canadian Network of National Associations of Regulators (CNNAR)
AMRTRC recognized the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) as a key stakeholder and held its spring meeting to coincide with CAMRT’s annual conference.
In November, the Board of Directors held the organization’s first strategic planning session, which established several strategic directions to guide its work from 2012 to 2015:
- AMRTRC is committed to responsible and accountable governance and management.
- AMRTRC promotes awareness and understanding of the role of the MRT regulator through education and communication.
- AMRTRC is the voice of MRT regulators in Canada.
- AMRTRC ensures the safe and ethical practice of MRTs by promoting excellence in regulatory practices.

2013

AMRTRC participated in developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) and provincial organizations.
AMRTRC held it first symposium “Regulating the Sonographer” on March 19 in Toronto. The event was a great success.

2014

AMRTRC held its first Education Day for Unregulated Provincial Associations in Montreal on October 27
The Board of Directors continued working on the 2012 to 2015 strategic plan.

2015

After achieving meaningful results with its first strategic plan, the Board of Directors approved the 2015 to 2018 Strategic Plan:

1. The Alliance engages non-regulated provincial associations in advancing their progress to regulation and Alliance membership.
2. The Alliance promotes safe and ethical practices of the professional through regulatory excellence.
3. The Alliance commits to responsible and sustainable financial and people resourcing to ensure capacity and continuity for strategy delivery.

AMRTRC hosted its second Education Day on November 1 in Vancouver. The event focused on the duties and responsibilities of regulatory bodies.
AMRTRC approved the Position Statement on Hybrid Technologies

2016

AMRTRC provided educational opportunities and forums for members and stakeholders to share information on MRT regulation.
On March 21, AMRTRC hosted an Accreditation Information Meeting with representatives from the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), Sonography Canada, Colleges Ontario and Accreditation Canada. The meeting followed CMA’s announcement that it would be divesting its role in assessing and accrediting Canadian health science education programs. The CMA had previously been responsible for accrediting MRT and other allied health programs in Canada.
In May, AMRTRC joined the Allied Health Program Accreditation Working Group to identify a new organization to provide accreditation services for allied health education programs in Canada.

2017

The “AIT Certificate,” originally developed in 2012, was revised and renamed the “Certificate from the Out-of-Province MRT Regulatory Authority Under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)” following the replacement of the AIT with the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).
AMRTRC created and published the “Canadian Comparison Chart of Regulators and Associations for Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technologists,” an informative resource that will be updated annually.

2018

With the conclusion of the 2015 to 2018 Strategic Plan, the Board of Directors decided to implement an annual goal-setting exercise, recognizing the core principles of the strategic plan would remain consistent in the years ahead. In November, the Board, together with representatives from not-yet-regulated jurisdictions, held a goal-setting session, that resulted in two significant outcomes:

Change of Name
- new name to recognize the regulation of diagnostic medical sonographers (DMS): Alliance of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists Regulators of Canada (AMRITRC)
Change of Purpose Statement
- “To bring together organizations that have legislative authority of a province or territory of Canada for regulating the practice of medical radiation and imaging technologists.”

Changes to the accreditation of MRT education programs were announced following the selection of Health Standards Organization and its affiliate Accreditation Canada to deliver accreditation services through their new EQual Canada Program.

2019

The new name of the organization, Alliance of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists Regulators of Canada (AMRITRC), became official on March 15.
Following the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on April 18, AMRITRC became a member of the Canadian National Network of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists (National Network), a coalition of organizations, including provincial regulators, provincial associations, the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT), and Sonography Canada). The Network was established to address issues of mutual interest and to coordinate collaborative initiatives within medical radiation and imaging technology profession.

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors transitioned to virtual meetings and invited representatives from the not-yet-regulated jurisdictions to participate.
Information sharing became the priority for the Board, supported through virtual monthly check-ins.
Two member organizations underwent name changes:
- The College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario (CMRTO) officially became the College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Technologists of Ontario (CMRITO) on January 1, reflecting the inclusion of diagnostic medical sonography under its regulation.
- Following the unification of the Nova Scotia Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (NSAMRT) and the Nova Scotia Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (NSSDMS), the Nova Scotia College of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals (NSCMIRTP) became the new regulatory body for MRITs in Nova Scotia on September 8.

2021

As in 2020, no in-person meetings were held.
The Board of Directors continued to focus on priority issues.
AMRITRC was pleased to welcome the College of Allied Health Professionals of Prince Edward Island (CAHPPEI) as a new organizational member, bringing the number of provinces regulating MRITs in Canada to seven.
- The Board of Directors now included seven members.

2022

AMRITRC held its first in-person meeting since the pandemic, the Internationally Educated MRT Symposium 2022, co-organized with Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) on September 19 & 20 in Toronto.

2023

The Head Office was relocated from Ontario to Alberta.
The Board of Directors continue to build on the momentum from the 2022 Symposium by collaborating with the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) on initiatives supporting internationally educated medical radiation technologists (IEMRTs).

2024

Recognizing the value of collaboration, the Board of Directors added a standing agenda item to its meetings to enable Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) and Sonography Canada to share updates and initiatives of mutual interest.
To reinforce their roles as regulatory bodies and their mandate of public protection, two member organizations underwent name changes:
- Saskatchewan changed from the Saskatchewan Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (SAMRT) to the College of Medical Radiation and Imaging Professionals of Saskatchewan (CMRIPS).
- New Brunswick changed from the New Brunswick Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (NBAMRT) to the New Brunswick Regulatory College of Medical Radiation Technologists (NBRCMRT).