FAQs on Registration Fee Changes

The CLPNM’s current income will be insufficient to support the organization’s ability to meet its operational and strategic priorities. Our ability to effectively regulate, in the public interest, is directly tied to our financial health.

Since registration fees were last increased in 2019 (for the 2020 registration year) the CLPNM has continued to experience changes in its role, work volume, and external pressures.

While the demands on our organization’s resources have risen, our purchasing power has declined. According to the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, the goods and services that the CLPNM could have purchased with $470 in 2020 would cost the CLPNM $525 today, and extrapolating to 2024, the same goods and services will cost the CLPNM $588.

We are forecasting a deficit. If we allow that deficit to be realized next year, registrants will face a higher fee increase later to pay for past deficits. Ongoing deficits also introduce risk to the CLPNM’s financial health. Small increases, every few years, may be more manageable for our registrants than a significant increase and/or a special levy that could be required to return the organization to financial health.  

In addition, we must continue to build our contingency fund which provides us with the resources necessary to prosecute unauthorized practice, pursue complex discipline cases if necessary, and  defend the organization in the event of an appeal, litigation, or a human rights complaint. With inflation, there is more need for the contingency fund as all costs have risen.

The last registration fee increase was ratified in 2019 and took effect for the 2020 registration year.  Since then, like many organizations, we have incurred increased costs in most budget lines and inflation has reduced our purchasing power.

The CLPNM is a not-for-profit regulatory body. As such, its primary source of income is licensing and application fees.

The CLPNM is given a mandate through government legislation, but we receive no government funding.  As a self-regulating profession, it is expected that the profession will fund the activities of its regulator.

As well, the CLPNM cannot cut back its core functions (registration assessment, complaints management, monitoring continuing competence, education program evaluation). The CLPNM has an obligation to carry out these functions in legislation, and adequate staffing is necessary to ensure we can be responsive to the public needs and to our registrants.

The fact that human resources are our greatest operating cost speaks to the fact that we keep other expenditures low. For example, we pay no mortgage or rent.  

Our staffing levels exist, in large part, so that we can be responsive to registrants and applicants. With less staffing, registration applications and practice inquiries would take much longer to process.   

The decision to support a registration fee increase was something that the Board of Directors considered very carefully. The Board made the decision to support a fee increase because it recognized that:

• The CLPNM’s only source of funding is the fees paid by applicants and registrants. A profession that is given the privilege to self-regulate is expected to be self-funding.
• The unfortunate reality is that fees cannot stay static indefinitely. Eventually they must go up, even just to keep pace with inflation.
• Without a fee increase this year, there is a greater risk that the fee will have to be increased even higher in future years to make up for years of deficits.
• Although the CLPNM’s role is to serve and protect the interests of Manitobans, a lot of the work the CLPNM carries out is work that also helps the profession as a whole. If the CLPNM is limited in its ability to do this work well, it may affect LPN scope of practice, opportunities, and roles within the system. 

The Board knows that fee increases are never popular. It is our hope that LPNs will see the benefit of paying the equivalent of $6.25 more per month ($75/12months) so that their professional regulatory body has the resources it needs to carry out important work that supports the public interest, and which has a direct impact on LPN practice and the opportunities and resources available to CLPNM registrants.

Even with the increase, the LPN annual registration fee will continue to be one of the lowest for a practising health profession in Manitoba. 

This is a reasonable question to ask. The reality is that the cost of regulating a profession (and therefore, the amount that a regulatory body must charge in registration fees to cover its operational costs) is not indexed to professional salaries.

For example, registrant salaries do not have a bearing on the CLPNM’s costs to obtain legal advice, engage a financial auditor, or obtain cybersecurity insurance, all of which are necessary and unavoidable operational costs. Similarly, our obligation to be responsive to the government is no different than that of any other professional regulator. Our obligation to establish and maintain fair procedures for our applicants and registrants is also no different.

This said, the CLPNM does make an effort to keep registration fees within the same ballpark as other Manitoba regulators.

Yes. Once a health profession has transitioned to the RHPA, its regulatory body can set fees without a vote from registrants. The CLPNM will continue to be fiscally responsible and ensure that its fees are justified, but the decision will rest with the Board of Directors, not registrants.  

The CLPNM chose to present a fee increase proposal to LPNs this year, instead of waiting until the profession is under the RHPA, because:

• We believe this approach is more fair and transparent than simply waiting until a vote is no longer required.
• We believe this approach will allow the CLPNM to avoid a deficit, which members of the profession would pay for in the long run anyway.  
• We expect that LPNs will understand the risks — both to Manitobans and their profession – if the CLPNM does not have the capacity needed to engage in work that supports safe, competent, and ethical practice, and which contributes to the profession’s ability to work to its full scope.

Yes. You can email us with your comments and questions.

You can also attend the Annual General Meeting in June of 2023 if you wish to make formal comments and/or (if you are an LPN in good standing) vote on the fees. The CLPNM’s AGM will take place by virtual means. Advance registration will be required. More information about the AGM, including the date, time, and how to register, will be communicated this spring.

We hope that CLPNM registrants will understand the need for the fee increase and recognize that:

• The CLPNM’s only source of funding is the fees paid by applicants and registrants. A profession that is given the privilege to self-regulate is expected to be self-funding.
• The unfortunate reality is that fees cannot stay static indefinitely. Eventually they must go up, even just to keep pace with inflation.
• Without a fee increase this year, there is a greater the risk that the fee will have to be increased even higher in future years to make up for years of deficits.
• Registrants are able to vote on fee increases this year; once the CLPNM transitions to the RHPA, fees will no longer be subject to a vote by registrants.
• Although the CLPNM’s role is to serve and protect the interests of Manitobans, a lot of the work the CLPNM carries out is work that also helps the profession as a whole. If the CLPNM is limited in its ability to do this work well, it may affect LPN scope of practice, opportunities, and roles within the system.

The CLPNM understands that fee increases are never popular, but hopes that registrants will see the benefit of paying the equivalent of $6.25 more per month ($75/12months) so that their professional regulatory body has the resources it needs to carry out important work that supports the public interest, and which has a direct impact on practice and the opportunities and resources available to CLPNM registrants.