Upcoming Fee Increases for Pharmacies

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Upcoming Fee Increases for Pharmacies

At its September 2020 meeting, as part of the 2021/22 budget, the College Board approved a fee increase of 5.5% for an annual pharmacy licence which will come into effect on April 1, 2021. 

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the College budget. The College worked hard to find savings to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, reducing expenses in the past fiscal year for travel, professional development, and staffing and will continue to look for cost-saving opportunities in the coming year. However, in September 2020, after reviewing the impact of adjusted operations due to COVID-19, the College determined that it needed to move forward with its planned fee increases for pharmacies. 

The fee increases are necessary to ensure the College can continue its essential operations, and continue to take action on important strategic initiatives needed for public safety, all while maintaining a fiscally responsible reserve fund balance. 

The College is funded almost entirely through registrant and pharmacy licensure fees. Previously, the College has been able to keep increases to a minimum by drawing on its reserves to balance the budget. 

The fee increase will enable the College to continue to build up an acceptable reserve balance as part of a multi-year budgeting process to ensure the College remains financially secure. Because it generally takes almost three years for revenue generated by fees to be realized in the College’s revenue, these fee increases must be implemented this year, in order to ensure sufficient funding and reserve balances during the 2023/2024 and 2024/25 fiscal years. 

FEE TYPE FEE INCREASE EFFECTIVE
Pharmacy Licence $2474 5.5% April 1, 2021
For more information see:
Mar 18, 2021