Make a complaint

Any person may file a complaint against a member of the Association for a violation of one or more of the provisions of the Code of Ethics. The complaint must be made in writing and sent to the Association’s domicile.

Upon receipt of the complaint, the Association’s secretary sends a copy of the complaint to the member concerned and to a Complaints Review Committee composed of three members of the Association appointed by the secretary who will review the complaint. They may meet with the member concerned and/or the complainant and request any information considered relevant from any person and:

a) dismiss the complaint and inform the complainant and the massage therapist concerned thereof; or

b) refer the complaint to a Disciplinary Committee that will be composed of three members of the Association appointed by the secretary and who are different from those on the Complaints Review Committee.

The Disciplinary Committee meets in camera. It applies the rules of procedure that it considers appropriate to conduct the inquiry into the complaint that has been referred to it. It may also decide that a particular type of conduct, while not included in the Code of Ethics, constitutes a breach of ethics subject to sanction.

The Disciplinary Committee may: (1) dismiss the complaint; (2) issue a reprimand; (3) suspend a member temporarily or permanently; (4) order the payment of a penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1000) per offence. Once imposed, the sanction is effective immediately. It is published in the Association’s annual report. If the payment of a penalty is ordered and payment is not made within the time specified by the Committee, the member is automatically suspended until payment.

Since membership of the Association is voluntary and the complaints management procedure has been established in order to ensure the protection of the public and the Association’s credibility, the members agree that legal proceedings may not be brought against members of the Complaints Review Committee and the Disciplinary Committee for acts made in good faith in the exercise of their disciplinary functions.

Massage therapists

The mandate of the Association des Massothérapeutes du Québec is to protect the integrity of the practice of the profession. To that effect, a Professional Inspection Committee is composed of two members appointed by the AMQ®’s Board of Directors. The Committee conducts inspections with prior notice in order to verify massage therapists’ compliance with the protection of the public, the Code of Ethics, the General Regulations and any resolutions made by the Board of Directors.

Massage therapists shall comply with any inspections planned by the Professional Inspection Committee. Refusal to do so could result in temporary or permanent suspension.

If an inspection of a massage therapist’s workplace reveals a violation, an inspection report will be sent to the Disciplinary Committee which will take the necessary steps to resolve the situation.

Massage therapy schools

The mandate of the Association des Massothérapeutes du Québec is to protect the integrity of the practice of the profession. To that effect, a Professional Inspection Committee is composed of two members appointed by the AMQ®’s Board of Directors. The Committee conducts inspections with prior notice in order to verify schools’ compliance with the protection of the public, the Code of Ethics, the General Regulations and any resolutions made by the Board of Directors.

Massage therapy schools whose course content has been accepted by the AMQ® shall comply with any inspections planned by the Professional Inspection Committee. Refusal to do so could result in temporary or permanent withdrawal of the course content of the school in question.

If an inspection of a massage therapy school reveals a violation, an inspection report will be sent to the AMQ®’s Board of Directors which will take the necessary steps to resolve the situation.