Issue 3: October 2023

The Annual Licence Fee (ALF) has remained unchanged for the last 6 years. Over that time, the College has also abolished or reduced fees for many services, such as requesting a Certificate of Professional Conduct or applying for Postgraduate, Clinical Traineeship, Postgraduate Locum or Emergency licences. The fees associated with professional corporations have also stayed the same and remain the lowest in the country. The creation of the Atlantic Registry also substantially reduced the costs to physicians licensed across our region.

At its October 13 meeting, the College’s governing Council approved a motion to increase the ALF for 2024. There are many operational forces driving this need. Complaints have tripled over the last ten years. There is increasing pressure to explore new routes for licensure, with greater demand for physician evaluation and assessment. To support physicians, the College is playing a larger role in the accreditation and licensing for physician expander programs and in its physician health program.

In the face of inflationary costs, and confronted by a deficit budget, the Council determined the College could not meet its legislative mandate going forward with the ALF as set in 2017. It approved the ALF at $2300. This fee is very much in line with fees in the region and across the country.