The evidence has always been there since 2004
We're at 1,335 signatures — and the evidence has been there all along.
The Ontario Legislature is on its summer recess, but this movement isn't taking a break.
Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough: the misclassification of dietitians in Ontario's compensation system isn't just an oversight. There's documented evidence that it happened deliberately — and without supporting documentation to justify it.
In 2004, when the first Community Health Centre compensation structure was developed with the Ministry of Health, dietitians were correctly placed in Band 8 — alongside physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers. Roles with comparable education, scope, and responsibility.
Then in 2006, the Ministry moved dietitians to a lower pay band. No supporting documentation. No evidence-based rationale. The Hay Group's rigorous job evaluation methodology — the same tool used to classify every other role in that structure — consistently placed dietitians in Band 8. The 2009 compensation study reaffirmed it. The 2012 Primary Care Compensation Report reaffirmed it again. In 2013, three provincial primary care associations submitted a formal joint report to MOHLTC recommending the correction. Based on all publicly available records, the correction was never made.
That is nearly 20 years of documented evidence — and no action.
A quick note on the 2023 Kaplan arbitration award — because it's worth understanding what it did and didn't do. That award was a hard-fought win, and it mattered. But it was a pay equity adjustment, meaning it corrected gender-based wage gaps across all professions under Ontario's Pay Equity Act. It was not a reclassification of dietitians relative to comparable allied health professions. Clinical dietitians in Ontario still average around $45/hour while occupational therapists average around $55/hour. The gender correction happened. The compensation gap did not close.
And here's what makes all of this harder to sit with: I've been speaking with dietitians who have been advocating on this for 20 years or more. RDs who have been sharing their stories, gathering data, and raising this with employers, associations, and government — long before this petition existed. Despite all of that sustained effort, and all of that documented evidence, meaningful change has not come.
And the consequences are real. When dietetic work isn't compensated fairly, RDs are forced to make impossible choices — moving toward roles that pay more, even when those roles take them away from direct patient care, or out of dietetics entirely. That means fewer RDs at the bedside, in the clinic, in the community. It means patients with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and eating disorders waiting longer for the specialized nutrition care that only a dietitian can provide. This isn't just a compensation issue. It's a patient access issue.
That's not a reason to stop. It's a reason this moment matters.
1,335 people have signed because RDs aren't asking for something new. They're asking for a correction that the evidence has supported for decades.
The fall legislative sitting is when we bring this to Queen's Park — with signatures, documentation, and a clear ask.
What you can do right now:
- Share this petition — summer conversations matter
- Write to your MPP — pre-written letter takes 5 minutes [link in previous update)
--> RDs: your story is evidence. DM me or comment below.
1,335 voices. The evidence was always there.
Sources referenced in this update:
Hay Group Technical Report — Developing a Provincial Compensation Structure for IPCOs (2013):
2012 Primary Care Compensation Report — Toward a Primary Care Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Ontario (AFHTO/AOHC/NPAO, submitted to MOHLTC):
Ask - If you find any data to help show the history or have any corrections, please send to me so I can compile, correct & share for this cause. We need to work together & I appreciate any help!