The quarterly publication of APEGA. This edition features Plot Devices: Children Engineer Solutions for Storybook Characters; Council Candidates Announced; Legislative Review Wraps Up; Dues Increase Goes to Risk Reserve; Foundation Renamed, Refocused
FALL 2016
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Contents
PEG
FALL 2016
FEATURED PHOTO: PAGE 62››
65
28
37
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
8 & 9 Council Nominations Continue
4 President's Notebook
57 Focal Point
10 Towards Improved Practice Clarity
6 Interim CEO’s Message
65 Good Works
12 Legislative Review Consultations Continue
16 Movers & Shakers
74 Member Benefits
28 Professional Development
76 Record
13 Trustees Appointed to OIQ Board
48 AEF Campaign Connection
28 Mentoring Program Relaunch Planned
37 Salary Survey Results in Summary
FRONT & BACK COVER PHOTO: COURTESY BRENDAN O’BRIEN Water Finders: (from left) Randy Shinduke, Douglas MacLean, G.I.T., Colin Miazga, G.I.T., Paul Bauman, P.Eng., P.Geoph., Erin Ernst, P.Geo., Landon Woods, P.Geo., and Franklin Koch.
PRINTED IN CANADA
FALL 2016 PEG | 1
US POSTMASTER: PEG (ISSN 1923-0044) is published quarterly in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, c/o US Agent-Transborder Mail 4708 Caldwell Rd E, Edgewood, WA 98372-9221. $15 of the annual membership dues applies to the yearly subscription of The PEG. Periodicals postage paid at Puyallup, WA, and at additional mailing offices. US POSTMASTER, send address changes to PEG c/o Transborder Mail, PO Box 6016, Federal Way, WA 98063-6016, USA. The publisher has signed an affiliation agreement with the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. Please return Canadian undeliverables to: APEGA, 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 4A2. Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40062712
VOLUME 7 | NUMBER 3 | FALL 2016 (Print) ISSN 1923-0044 (Online) ISSN 1923-0052
Opinions published in The PEG do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policy of APEGA or its Council. Editorial inquiries: glee@apega.ca. Advertising inquiries: chiemstra@apega.ca.
Editor George Lee glee@apega.ca Administrative Assistant Catherine Hiemstra
chiemstra@apega.ca
STAFF LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL President Dr. Steve E. Hrudey , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), FCAE, FSRA (Canmore) President-Elect Jane Tink , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) (Okotoks) Vice-President John Rhind , P.Geol. (Calgary) Past-President Connie Parenteau , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) ( St. Albert) Councillors Natasha Avila , P.Eng. (Cold Lake)
EXECUTIVE Interim Chief Executive Officer Heidi Yang , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Director, Executive & Government Relations Pat Lobregt , FEC (Hon.), FGC (Hon.) Director of Operations Krista Nelson-Marciano , BA
REGULATORY Registrar Carol Moen , P.Eng.
Dr. Jeff DiBattista , P.Eng., MBA (Edmonton) Lisa Doig , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) (Calgary) Jennifer Enns , P.Eng. (Calgary) George Eynon , P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) (Calgary) Darren Hardy , P.Eng. (Calgary) Dr. Brad Hayes , P.Geol., FGC (Calgary) Dr. Timothy Joseph , P.Eng., FCIM (Edmonton) Mahsoo Naderi-Dasoar , P.Eng., M.Sc., PMP (Calgary) Manon Plante , P.Eng., MDS, CD1 (St. Albert)
MEMBER SERVICES Acting Director, Member Services Mohamed El Daly , M.Sc.
COMMUNICATIONS Director, Communications Philip Mulder , APR, FEC (Hon.), FGC (Hon.)
CORPORATE SERVICES Director, Corporate Services D.S. (Pal) Mann , P.Eng.
Art Washuta , P.Eng. (Edmonton) Terry Waters , P.Eng. (Calgary) Public Representatives Ross J. Harris , FCA, ICD.D Robert Lloyd , QC Mary Phillips-Rickey , F CA
APEGA CONTACT INFO
HEAD OFFICE 1500 Scotia One
10060 Jasper Avenue NW Edmonton AB T5J 4A2 PH 780-426-3990 TOLL FREE 1-800-661-7020 FAX 780-426-1877
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Engineers Canada Directors Connie Parenteau , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Larry Staples , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Geoscientists Canada Director George Eynon , P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) BRANCH CHAIRS Calgary Johnathon Bain, P.Eng. calgarybranch@apega.ca Central Alberta Stephen Huber , P.Eng. centralalbertabranch@apega.ca Edmonton Bob Rundle , P.Eng. edmontonbranch@apega.ca Fort McMurray Jason Vanderzwaag , P.Eng. fortmcmurraybranch@apega.ca Lakeland Hannah Maynard , E.I.T. lakelandbranch@apega.ca Lethbridge Olivia Sieniewicz , P.Eng. lethbridgebranch@apega.ca Medicine Hat Said Said Yussuf , P.Eng. medicinehatbranch@apega.ca Peace Region Brian Morrison , P.Eng. peaceregionbranch@apega.ca Vermilion River Kashif Dada , P.Eng. vermilionriverbranch@apega.ca Yellowhead Ana Paula Mayumi Tanaka , P.Eng. yellowheadbranch@apega.ca
www.apega.ca email@apega.ca
CALGARY OFFICE 2200 Scotia Centre
700 Second Street SW Calgary AB T2P 2W1 PH 403-262-7714 TOLL FREE 1-888-262-3688 FAX 403-269-2787
2 | PEG FALL 2016
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Sign up today and let the matching begin! apega.ca/members/ mentoring
President’s Notebook
MASTER APEGA
We Must Honour the Privilege of Self-Regulation — or Risk Losing It
BY DR. STEVE E. HRUDEY, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) FCAE, FSRA APEGA President
we must focus our continuing regulatory improvements with them in mind. APEGA exists because of the authority granted to us in provincial statute, which means we must honour and understand the obligations required of us by law. Any perception in a specific case — justified or otherwise — that our professions have failed at this could undermine our ability to maintain our privilege to self-regulate. The government must trust us, as must the public it represents. Trust is very challenging to earn, remarkably easy to lose — and, once lost, incredibly difficult to regain. We should be proud that our professions have for the most part earned that trust, but to retain it we must be vigilant and willing to learn from the experience of other self-regulating professional agencies. On July 6, Quebec’s Justice Minister announced that the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) was being placed under provincial government trusteeship. An APEGA sister regulator, OIQ, with about 61,000 Members, has been entrusted with the self-regulation of the engineering profession in Quebec since 1920. The Justice Minister’s announcement was based on a recommendation from Quebec’s Office of Professions, questioning the capacity of OIQ in carrying out its primary mission of protecting the public. See related story, page 13. How did this serious Canadian challenge to self-regulation of our professions come about? The genesis of this challenge was the four-year Quebec Charbonneau Commission, an inquiry into corruption in the awarding and management of public
The year 2016 has been remarkable for many reasons, not least of which is the public’s increasing skepticism of expert opinion — a trend that appears to have accelerated. Notably, a majority of British voters apparently did not accept countless warnings from prominent political and economic experts that a vote for Brexit from the European Union was a vote for economic uncertainty. What does skepticism about expertise have to do with self-regulation and APEGA? A key argument for regulating profes- sions is that they need to have, maintain, and deliver a unique set of knowledge and skills to ensure that the public interest is served. Trends towards societal rejection of expertise and authority can only make the regulation of professions more challenging. Self-regulation of a profession — or, in APEGA’s case, two professions — is a particularly valuable adaptation of this essential role. Self-regulation can ensure that the people most knowledgeable of best practices provide the standards for measuring competence and professional conduct. The costs of the regulatory process are borne by the regulated professions, not by the taxpayer. In return, regulated professionals are assured that their performance will be judged by practising professional peers, not by bureaucrats inevitably limited in their understanding of details of professional practice. We have been fortunate to exercise this privilege of ensuring public safety on behalf of our Members since 1920. As we approach APEGA’s centennial in 2020, however, we must take heed of authentic threats against retaining this privilege, and
contracts in the construction industry. Justice France Charbonneau released her report in November 2015, after damning testimony about unethical conduct such as taking bribes. The unacceptable behaviours in the engineering profession that the commission revealed were
not failures of technical competence; they were failures of professional ethics. The commission
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President's Notebook
APEGA
recommended mandatory training in ethics and professional conduct, not only for admission to the profession but also as an ongoing requirement of continuing professional development (CPD). OIQ proposed several specific responses to inquiry recom- mendations, including increased membership fees to fund improved regulatory capacity. Unfortunately, there was substantial controversy and resistance among OIQ Members to fee increases. The Quebec government concluded that OIQ was not responding adequately to the problems identified by Justice Charbonneau’s Commission. OIQ has not yet lost the privilege of self-regulation, but the government appointment of trustees to its board effectively places OIQ on probation. Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) is pursuing compulsory CPD, acting on an October 2014 recommendation of the Elliot Lake Commission of Inquiry into the Algo Centre Mall collapse. The collapse, which caused two deaths, involved questions of both unskilled and unethical practice. PEO did not meet Commissioner Justice Paul Bélanger’s speci- fied deadline of making CPD compulsory within 18 months of this report’s release, because PEO has been consulting its membership about implementing a tiered, risk-based approach to CPD. Individual Professional Engineers would have their CPD requirements deter- mined by the degree of public risk that each Member poses. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGBC) has voluntary CPD reporting, but it failed in 2009 and 2015 to achieve a required two-thirds majority vote of the membership to adopt a bylaw for compulsory CPD. Challenges to self-regulation in B.C. have come out of two reports stemming from the massive, August 2014 failure of a tailings dam at the Mount Polley copper mine. The three-member Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel, commissioned by the Chief Inspector of Mines for the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mining, said in its December 2015 report that “the dominant contribution to the failure resides in the design” and that “the engineers of record did not conduct adequate studies and site investigations of the perimeter embankment foundation.” Ongoing regulatory investigations are not necessarily bound by these findings and may reach different conclusions. In its separate report on the failure, in May of this year, B.C.’s Office of the Auditor General said regulation of mining is overly reliant on qualified professionals, including engineers and geoscientists. In its response to this report, the Government of B.C. called this a “criticism of professional bodies’ ability to regulate their professions” but found that claim to be unsubstantiated with respect to mining and inconsistent with long-standing industrial and professional regulatory experience in B.C. Self-regulation of engineering and geoscience was, in this case, supported by the Government of B.C., despite a very pointed challenge. However, the very nature of technological failures that cause major environmental damage, ranging from hydrocarbon spills to groundwater contamination, can be expected to attract
criticism and a public search for blame. Such circumstances will inevitably include questions about the performance of Professional Geoscientists and Professional Engineers, a reality that we must be able to responsibly address. APEGA Members would be extremely unwise to believe that we will be immune from high-profile criticism in cases like these. We must demonstrate meaningful and effective regulatory action within our mandate. Removal or limitation of professional self-regulation is not without precedent. The medical profession in the U.K. has long been regulated by the General Medical Council, but the professionally funded, self-regulatory body has been subjected to reforms in the last 15 years that reduce its autonomy. These reforms were sparked by extensive public scrutiny that followed some major failures. The most notable and extreme was the notorious Shipman case, in which a licensed physician was discovered by police — not the medical council — to have murdered hundreds of patients over a 27-year period. Medical colleagues failed repeatedly to report Dr. Harold Shipman’s openly questionable medical practices. More than a decade ago, in Queensland, Australia, a growing scandal involving the Queensland Law Society and its inability to regulate excessive fee billing by its members led to the state appointing a Legal Services Commissioner, effectively taking over the society’s investigative and disciplinary functions. At the end of June, the B.C. Government removed the privilege of self-regulation from the province's real estate industry, citing its failure to protect the public interest after only 10 years of having this privilege. What is APEGA doing to ensure that we remain responsive and effective in honouring the privilege of self-regulation? Our current legislative review has been strongly influenced by these and other challenges to the privilege of self-regulation. The 2017-2019 APEGA Strategic Plan is structured to better ensure that we are worthy of this privilege. It calls for: • ensuring organizational excellence • improving our commitment to continuing professional development, with a focus on ethics • improving our regulation of ongoing professional practice A new APEGA Vision, included in the plan, is that APEGA “earn the confidence of the public and instill pride in its Members.” This is a call to action to Members, letting us know that individually we must never tolerate unskilled or unprofessional conduct in our ranks. Effectively policing ourselves to protect the public is the es- sence of self-regulation. Ultimately, we must continuously rec- ognize that the privilege of professional self-regulation cannot be compromised by self-interest. By ensuring competent and ethical professional activities, we must never lose sight of our duty to protect public safety and honour the public interest.
Questions or comments? president@apega.ca
FALL 2016 PEG | 5
Interim CEO’s Message
APEGA
How Your Council and Staff Continue Improving APEGA’s Game
BY HEIDI YANG, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) Interim CEO
where we need to be. However, several new processes are in place and working well, as we standardize our requirements. We’ve put more registration staff in place, including staff dedicated entirely to fielding applicants’ phone calls. We have a system for assessing and reporting academic qualifications that saves time and duplication of effort from applicants. Also dramatically improved is the work experience record and its process of gathering references. This system has moved to a mobile-friendly, online platform. Many of the other processes important to our role as a regulator are also being reviewed and improved. Our 2017-2019 Strategic Plan calls on us to focus on oversight of the practice of the professions, along with organizational excellence, continuing professional development, and the centennial of APEGA, which occurs in 2020. Two of those priorities are strongly tied to individual ethics, which is worth noting. Another project that ties directly to our strategic plan is the legislative review. As you may know, the review is preparing us for the first complete revamp of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) in more than three decades. Working with Members, Permit Holders, the Government of Alberta, and other stakeholders, we are delving into all the legislative changes required to improve our regulatory role and make our Act more modern. Proposed recommendations are being forwarded to the government, after Council approval. The review has been successful in enhancing APEGA’s engagement with Members and Permit Holders on regulatory matters. More than 4,000 stakeholders have taken part in the review so far, and further opportunities lie ahead. Right now, we’re taking a close look at many of the standards and requirements Members and Permit Holders are held to in the practice of their professions.
As I write my column for the Success issue of The PEG , the 2016 Summer Olympics are officially behind us. Sports do come to mind when many of us try to define success, and it’s always tempting to make them a metaphor for the other things that happen in life. Success in sports is difficult to achieve, taking lots of commit- ment and effort. But measuring it is, in most cases, fairly straight- forward. You beat the time, you win the medal, you stand on the podium. Personal bests, world records, and other measurable achievements lie before you, and you reach for them. When it comes to the regulation of engineering and geoscience, however, measuring success is a little more difficult. APEGA’s goals are not complicated — the most basic, important, and over- arching one we have is to serve the public interest by regulating the practices of engineering and geoscience in Alberta. Simple, right? But achieving that goal relies on our earning and keeping the confidence of the public and instilling pride in Members — pride in their professionalism and practices, pride in their societal role. I don’t mean a self-centred type of pride. I mean the kind of pride that comes from doing the right thing in all situations. The question is this: how do we, as the regulator of engineer- ing and geoscience, earn this public confidence and develop this Member pride? The privilege of self-regulation is something we must continu- ally work at deserving. These days, our challenges are even greater than usual, in light of: • growing public expectations of regulators • recent news events, along with the consequences some self- regulators are facing • a difficult economic climate • a need your Council has identified for us to have more robust processes So, how are we doing? I will do my best to capture the successes we’ve had in recent months, and there have been many. I’ll also provide some context about where we are going, which I’ll build upon in my next column.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
Our new website went live in January — the first rebuild of the site in about eight years. Because we rewrote and updated all the material on the site, content is leaner, simpler to read, and less repetitive than it was. A clean, simple look makes finding content much simpler, too. Our data and survey results confirm that Members are more quickly finding what they need on apega.ca.
BETTER PROCESSES
Among our most complex challenges continues to be the timely and effective registration of new Members. Frankly, we are not yet
6 | PEG FALL 2016
Interim CEO’s Message
MASTER APEGA
Annual General Meeting and Conference, in April in Edmonton. Our professional development offerings are improving all the time, including sessions about APEGA’s regulatory roles and requirements. We know how important this regulatory
Also live since January is our new job board, which operates on an intuitive, user- friendly platform. This is a great tool for employers and Members, helping connect the right people to the right jobs in difficult economic times. More than 400 companies have registered, posting about 550 jobs so far. The job board amounts to one-stop shopping for Members and employers. Members know their resumes are being perused by legitimate engineering and geoscience employers. And employers know potential applicants who are not professionally qualified are pre-filtered from searches — because only Members have access to postings. Professional development sessions sold out at APEGA Summit 2016: the
serve the public interest by regulating the practices of engineering and geoscience in Alberta. As leaders, directors, and managers at APEGA embarked on the planning process for our next business plan, each depart- ment prepared a self-evaluated scorecard. It measured how well we are doing in relation to a performance bar. Are we delivering what we need to deliver, and are we in compliance with the Act? The exercise helped us determine that there is much to do to strengthen the foun- dation of APEGA, both from an operational and a regulatory excellence perspective. It will take more resources to be a more effective regulator. By 2020, we may even need to have increased dues by $200 to $300 per Member. This possibility was raised in the winter 2015 CEO’s Message — a column that also said we will need to begin that journey with a dues increase in 2017. We continue to dialogue with Council on what the first increase will look like, along with when it and further increases will be implemented. Stay tuned. The winter edition of The PEG will be themed Planning and Preparation. At that time, I’ll look at the high-level document that all our business stems from: the 2017-2019 Strategic Plan , which your elected Council has created. What do you and your regulator need to do to act upon its directions? I hope to answer that question and maybe a few others. Visit apega.ca to read the plan.
training is, and our Members are responding positively to this focus.
Members honoured their peers with 46 nominations for Summit Awards in 2016, the largest number in years and 20 more than we received in 2015. From my viewpoint, the quality of nominations and recipients was extremely high. A new and improved APEGA mentoring program is launching this fall. We’ll be using online matching software, to make the program more efficient and the pairings of mentee and mentor more successful. Permit Holder participation in our annual salary survey increased again, to 177 companies from 156 in 2015. This improves our data, and we’re sure many of you will put the resulting document, the Value of Professional Services , to good use. We continue to improve our engagement with Branches, which represent our Members at the grassroots level throughout the province. Branches have been directly involved in our legislative review; a champions collaborative of Members from across Alberta have made sure of that.
AND FINALLY
APEGA most certainly faces challenges. Olympian challenges, you might even say. So let me end by thanking our Cana- dian athletes for a job well done in Brazil. A medal count of 22 is something to be proud of, surpassing the pre-Games goal of 19. Congratulations. You are an inspiration to us all — APEGA included!
WHAT’S NEXT
Our business plan approach in 2017 falls under the banner of Strengthening Our Foundation. This speaks to our continuing need, as I said earlier in this column, to meet a deceivingly simple goal: to
Questions? ceo@apega.ca
FALL 2016 PEG | 7
COUNCIL NOMINATIONS
Nominations for 2017 Council close on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 11:59 p.m.
Election Dates February 17 to March 19, 2017
• Nominations are accepted electronically through the Member Self-Service Centre at apega.ca. • You will have no further opportunity to self-nominate for the 2017 election. • Based on governance and strategic needs of Council, the Nominating Committee will review all nominations for possible endorsement. • The names of all qualifying nominees will appear on the ballot, regardless of whether they have the endorsement of the Nominating Committee. • Information about candidates will be distributed to Members in mid-November.
MORE INFORMATION Member Self-Service Centre at apega.ca Summer Edition of The PEG (Digital or Hardcopy)
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APEGA
YOUR PATH TO A SEAT ON COUNCIL
Deadline Approaches For Council Nominations Are you ready to take a major step in the life of an APEGA Professional Member? One that could see you playing a key role in shaping the future of your professions and the self-regulatory system that allows you to practise? If so, consider seeking a seat at the table of the next APEGA Council. Nominations are open for the 2017 APEGA Council election — but not for much longer. They close on October 19, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Do you have a professional peer you know would make a great Councillor? If so, please pass along this information. Strong, thorough preparation will give potential candidates the best chance of being endorsed by the Nominating Committee and elected by their peers. You must submit your nomination electronically through the Member Self-Service Centre at apega.ca. Full information appears there and in the summer 2016 edition of The PEG . If you no longer have your copy of the magazine, read it online at apega.ca. You’ll need to prepare a variety of materials (some mandatory and some not) and gather endorsements from 25 other Professional Members. The APEGA Nominating Committee is charged with ensuring that recommended candidates represent a strong combination of attributes for Council. Through its own networks, the committee searches for potential candidates to endorse. But it also draws upon self-nominated candidates. Before the election, the committee arrives at its list of candidates — Members who are willing, suitable, and available for Council governance and succession. Every year, at least four Professional Members are elected to Council. Members also choose a President-Elect and a Vice- President each year, who will lead Council and join the immediate Past-President on the APEGA Executive Committee. Not including the Executive Committee, Council is made up of 12 Professional Members and three public members. The Government of Alberta appoints public members to be the eyes and ears of the public. Names of all qualified and properly nominated candidates will appear on the 2017 ballot, regardless of whether they receive the Nominating Committee’s endorsement. APEGA runs background checks on all potential nominees, a term you will need to accept before clicking submit in the Member Self- Service Centre.
You
• Familiarize • Decide • Access Member Self-Service Centre • Complete your submission
Nominating Committee
• Collects • Interviews • Meets/Reviews • Endorses or Doesn’t Endorse
APEGA
• Confirms information with you • Communicates with you
• Creates ballot • Runs election
Ballot Counting Committee
• Confirms results • Prepares report to CEO and President
CEO/President
• Calls you to discuss results of election
QUESTIONS? elections@apega.ca
FALL 2016 PEG | 9
REGULATORY
Improving Professional Practice APEGA’s new strategic plan will, among other things, call for improvements and clarification in our professional practice requirements. We’ll meet this strategic priority through better, clearer, and more specific direction for Permit Holders and their Responsible Members
APEGA has about 4,600 Permit Holders, and all of them are required to develop, maintain, and deliver PPMPs. Each Permit Holder must assign at least one of its RMs to manage the PPMP.
As we heighten our attention to professional practice, APEGA has a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with Permit Holders and their Responsible Members (RMs) — all serving the cause of working together to be better self- regulators. Launching next year, the 2017-2019 APEGA Strategic Plan will guide us in connecting with these critical partners in self-regulation to improve and enhance their management and quality systems for professional practice. In fact, one of four priorities in the new strategic plan is entitled Professional Practice. Changes in this area we’re working on are outlined later in this story. But first, here’s a refresher on APEGA’s permit system.
IN THE NEWS
The public has an increased expectation for engagement, communication, and transparency from companies that practise engineering and geoscience. This desire for an improved social partnership, as it is sometimes called, is often reinforced by current events. News items that come to mind include the Elliot Lake mall collapse in Ontario, the tailings pond failure at Mount Polley Mine in B.C., and pipeline failures in Alberta and elsewhere.
PERMITS EXPLAINED
WHAT’S CHANGING?
In Alberta, companies and many other organizations must have an APEGA Permit to Practice before they can practise engineering or geoscience and use reserved words in their names, in ways and forms that suggest they are legally allowed to practise — words like engineer or geoscientist, for example. Once issued a permit, a Permit Holder must designate at least one APEGA Professional Member as an RM for each APEGA profession it practises. Permits are renewed annually, just like other APEGA professional memberships. RMs are employed by the organization, either as regular employees or contractors. The number of RMs needed increases with the size of the company. The rule of thumb is one RM for every 10 Professional Members and Members-in-Training, per profession. It’s the duty of every RM to help regulate the practices of engineering and geoscience within their organization. RMs must ensure their employers have appropriate and properly enforced Professional Practice Management Plans (PPMPs) in place. What is a PPMP? It’s a document that outlines the corporate policies, procedures, and systems used to ensure engineering and geoscience work done by the company is • carried out responsibly • meets APEGA’s professional, technical, and ethical standards • meets other legal requirements
APEGA is developing clearer guidelines, standards, and bulletins for Permit Holders and RMs to use as they develop this social partnership. These will enhance and clarify their professional obligations and give them better direction on PPMP expectations and oversight. They’ll give Permit Holders, RMs, and, indeed, all Members a stronger understanding of their responsibilities, while also improving APEGA’s ability to self-regulate on the public’s behalf. We’re not just responding to the public in this area. These changes are something Permit Holders themselves have asked for, which underlines their desire to keep improving. Guidelines, standards, and bulletins will contain more details for Professional Members, RMs, and senior management, outlining specific requirements in such areas as • document authentication • outsourcing • contractor checks • proper hiring and position titling Permit Holders will continue to be required to show APEGA, in clear detail through their PPMPs, how they are meeting APEGA’s practice standards, guidelines, and bulletins, and how they are ensuring that all engineering and geoscience work is subject to their companies’ quality management systems.
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REGULATORY
Currently, APEGA conducts random practice reviews of Permit Holders. In the future, we’ll conduct more reviews, and they’ll be more focused on areas of public interest. These reviews allow APEGA to give timely feedback to Permit Holders and work with them to improve their practices.
We’re improving our materials for the seminar and online course, and volunteers who are Responsible Members will soon be joining APEGA staff as presenters. We expect to start rolling out these changes by the end of 2017.
PERMIT HOLDER REMINDER Visit the APEGA Company Self-Service Centre at apega.ca to: • manage the status of your company’s Permit to Practice • update company information • pay permit fees QUICK FACTS • Not all provincial and territorial regulators of engineering and geoscience require practising companies to have a permit. • In some provinces, a Permit to Practice is called a Certificate of Authorization. • APEGA first began licensing consulting firms in the late 1960s. The system expanded in the early 1980s to include all other companies and many organizations practising in Alberta. • Some organizations, such as governments, are not required to have a Permit to Practice. • Permit to Practice Seminars began in 2004 to help inform our Responsible Members about how they can entrench professionalism in their corporate cultures.
ENGAGING WITH PERMIT HOLDERS
In the APEGA legislative review, a number of proposed recommendations would, if implemented, affect Permit Holders and Responsible Members. These are being discussed with Members as part of the APEGA legislative review consultations scheduled for this fall. See story, Page 12. We want to continue this heightened level of engagement with Permit Holders and Responsible Members. Indeed, APEGA’s ability to uphold the public interest requires an ongoing partnership with our Members and Permit Holders. We believe the changes we’re making will also help Permit Holders become more engaged in self-regulatory matters of professional practice and empower Responsible Members to confidently fulfill their obligations.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WORKS
We’re also planning improvements to the permitting process and to the tools Permit Holders use. These include enhancements to our online Company Self-Service Centre, through which Permit Holders update their company information and pay their permit fees. And we’re revamping our Permit to Practice seminars. RMs must attend a Permit to Practice seminar (or take an online Permit to Practice course) within six months of a permit for their employer being issued or their becoming a new RM. After that, the seminar or course must be retaken once every five years. The seminar is open to the public. Also, RMs can request that we deliver the seminar in-house, which we try to accommodate when the number of attendees warrants it. Permit to Practice seminars inform Responsible Members of their duties and provide guidance on creating a PPMP.
QUESTIONS? permits@apega.ca
FALL 2016 PEG | 11
REGULATORY
The Conversation Continues Legislative review consultations restart in October, with some significant proposed changes to APEGA’s governing legislation on the agenda. Among the topics we’ll need your feedback on are Permit Holder criteria, the authentication of professional documents, mandatory professional liability insurance, and professional development obligations
WHAT DOES APEGA DO WITH YOUR FEEDBACK? • The legislative review is a complex and lengthy process.
We’ve been working on proposed recommendations for changes to legislation for at least two years, and we anticipate the review will take until spring 2019 to complete. We’re consulting Members, Permit Holders, and other stakeholders in stages. • So far, we’ve held three rounds of consultations — two in 2015 and a third in early 2016. A fourth round begins this October. • During each consultation round, several face-to-face meetings, videoconferences, and webinars take place to share information and collect feedback about proposed legislative recommendations. Members and Permit Holders can also submit their feedback through a survey or directly by email. • When a consultation and survey wraps up, APEGA posts a We’re Listening report, which summarizes the feedback we’ve gathered. Based on this feedback, APEGA Council will endorse, or amend, the
We encourage you to read the full briefing notes, once they’re posted, to get a better understanding of the recommendations being proposed. Watch your inbox for an e-PEG announcement when this information goes live. SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK Join over 4,000 Members and Permit Holders who have shaped the future of the professions by taking part in the legislative review process. Because Member engagement is critical to the success of self-regulation, your input is important in the review and development of new legislation — legislation that will govern Professional Members and Permit Holders into the future, as they practise their professions in service to the public interest. Following are several ways you can get involved. Face-to-Face Consultation Sessions • Edmonton — October 18 and 19, and November 8 • Calgary — November 17 and 23 • Sherwood Park — November 8 All Members and Permit Holders are invited to attend one of these free, two-hour sessions. For participating, Members can claim credit under the APEGA CPD program. Register online at apegalegislativereview.ca. Webinars and Videoconferences • Webinars — October 25 and November 10, 15 and 23 • Videoconferences — October 26 and November 17 Survey • Open at apegalegislativereview.ca from October 4 to December 2
APEGA’s legislative review is at a critical stage as we cross the midway mark in the consultation process and prepare for another round of formal consultations with Members and Permit Holders. So far, APEGA Council has endorsed more than 60 recommended changes to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act), and these have been forwarded to the Government of Alberta for its consideration. The Act hasn’t had a major update in over 30 years, so we’re working with the province to ensure the Act continues to protect the public interest and reflect business and industry practices. Stakeholder consultations continue this fall, digging into a number of essential top- ics. This round of consultation focuses on a list of regulatory areas directly related to how Members and Permit Holders practise their professions and conduct their busi- ness. Over the next few months, we’ll be seeking your feedback on matters involving: • authentication practices • Permit to Practice and Responsible Member responsibilities • professional liability insurance • the introduction of creative sanctions • tools for statutory entities to better manage proceedings • the introduction of Custodian of Practice • our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program • our Provisional Licensee membership category Council meets September 30 to review and decide whether to support proposed recommendations set for discussion in fall consultations. Once these details are finalized, they’ll be published at apegalegislativereview.ca.
proposed recommendations. • Because the Engineering and
Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) is provincial legislation, the endorsed recommendations are sent to the Government of Alberta for its consideration. The proposed legislative changes Council is forwarding to the provincial government are based on APEGA’s stakeholder consultations. The province considers feedback from stakeholders an important part of legislative change. The list of recommendations already endorsed by Council can be found at apegalegislativereview.ca.
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? legislative-review@apega.ca
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REGULATORY
Quebec Government Limits Self-Governance of Quebec Engineers Through Appointment of Trustees Quebec’s provincial government has placed the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec under its trusteeship, seriously compromising the engineering regulator’s privilege of self-governance. It’s a significant decision, and one that we at APEGA are closely monitoring while we move ahead on improvements in the way we regulate engineering and geoscience
for staff and from a governance standpoint for Council. Many of the recommendations have been discussed with Council, as we continue to explore ways to strengthen our regulatory management systems and associated resources. Like much of the work APEGA is doing, these efforts serve our goal of becoming a more effective regulator for the Alberta public. The lessons learned from what happened in Quebec — as well as from other events like the Elliot Lake mall collapse and the Mount Polley mine tailings breach — will remain top of mind as APEGA enhances oversight of the professional practices of engineering and geoscience in Alberta.
The regulator of the practice of engineering in Quebec, Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), has faced financial pressure and internal challenges over recent years. It’s reached the point that the province’s Office des Professions, which oversees all of Quebec’s professional bodies, has recommended that the government place OIQ under trusteeship, and the government responded by appointing three directors to oversee the board of the 61,000-Member order. The office said in its news release that it had seen problems in governance, internal management, and the financial stability of OIQ, which challenge OIQ's ability to fulfill its primary role of public protection. Although disappointed in the decision, OIQ President Kathy Baig, ing., said the order will continue to cooperate with the province. The newly elected president hopes the province will recognize the work done over the past year to enhance OIQ’s management and governance practices. Quebec government officials have not indicated how long the trusteeship will be in place. The regulatory environment is much different in Quebec than it is here, but there are still important lessons that APEGA, as the regulator of engineering and geoscience in Alberta, can learn. This journey of learning for APEGA began in early 2015. While developing our 2017–2019 strategic plan, APEGA Council and staff looked closely at the Charbonneau Commission Inquiry. The inquiry, led by Justice France Charbonneau, examined construction industry corruption in Quebec, including the unethical practice of some engineers and engineering firms. We also analyzed the findings in the Charbonneau Commission’s final report, released last November. It suggested several improvements to Quebec’s professional regulatory management systems. In 2014, while OIQ was responding to events surrounding the Charbonneau Inquiry, the Office des Professions conducted a review of OIQ’s administrative practices and rules on internal management. From that review, 21 recommendations for further improvements arose, covering areas such as board governance and committee structure, ethics training, and professional practice inspections. There’s a lot to learn from the Office des Professions recom- mendations as well, both from a regulatory operations standpoint
WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS AND PERMIT HOLDERS?
In the coming years, we’ll introduce clearer practice standards, guidelines, and bulletins for Permit Holders, Responsible Members, and Members in general. These will enhance and clarify expecta- tions, including better direction on expectations and oversight of Professional Practice Management Plans — ultimately improving our ability to self-regulate. We’re also making changes to our Continuing Professional Development program. These changes will emphasize the need for sustained professional and ethical competence, while deepening public confidence and trust in our professions. Changes will include the development of early ethics and professionalism training for university students, as well as new requirements for career-long ethics refreshers for professionals. Members and Permit Holders can also expect to see APEGA engaging with them on the quality of their Professional Practice Management Plans and how they are used to oversee the quality of practice within their organizations. While some of the work to design these regulatory improvements lies ahead, we’re confident that the effort will be worthwhile in helping us achieve our mission of regulating the practices of engineering and geoscience to serve the public interest in Alberta.
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2016-07-12 11:19 AM
Movers & Shakers
MEMBER NEWS
Movers & Shakers
APEGA STORIES REACH SUMMIT OF SUCCESS
They’re inventors, they’re Innovators, they’re influencers — and they’re also recipients of APEGA’s 2016 Summit Awards. If you haven’t heard about them yet, here’s your chance to find out more about these high-achieving Members, their projects, and why they were honoured for professional, technical, and community excellence. You can also visit apegasummit- awards.ca to watch short videos that highlight their achievements. Note: Nominations for the 2017 Summit Awards closed September 15. Recipients will be honoured at a gala awards night, April 27, 2017, in Calgary.
PEAK PERFORMANCE Recipients of 2016 APEGA Summit Awards and project recipient representatives pose for a group photo with the Honorable Lois E. Mitchell, CM, AOE, LLD, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Back row: (from left) are Karen Sagar, P.Eng., Kamal Botros, P.Eng., PhD, Arden Spachynski, P.Eng., APEGA Past-President Connie Parenteau, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), Russ Wlad, P.Eng., Aminah Robinson Fayek, P.Eng., PhD, Leon Prebeau-Menezes, P.Eng., and Lourdes Lugue, P.Eng. Front row: (from left) J.J. Roger Cheng, P.Eng., PhD; Paul Bauman, P.Eng., P.Geoph.; Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell and her husband Doug Mitchell; Robin Gardiner; and Jacques Georgy, P.Eng., PhD.
Centennial Leadership Award Presented to Members who have
attained the highest distinction relating to engineering or geoscience through directorship of an outstanding project, original research, or invention, or an exemplary career in teaching At first, others called him crazy, but Dr. J.J. Roger Cheng, P.Eng. , proved them wrong. When he became chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Engineering, he set a goal to raise $25 million in five years. “We not only made that goal, we surpassed it.” The funding helped transform the department into one of the largest for civil engineering in North America. It also consistently ranks as one of the top 100 places to study civil engineer- ing in the world. Over Dr. Cheng’s term, undergraduate enrolment has more than
Early Accomplishment Award Presented to Members recognized by peers for their integrity, expertise, and outstanding accomplishments in fields related to engineering or geoscience at an early stage in their professional career Since joining Statoil International in 2012, Leon Prebeau-Menezes, P.Eng. , has already demonstrated high levels of achievement in his field. As a senior well engineer with Statoil ASA, a Norwegian multinational oil and gas company, he works mainly with platform and subsea wells in the North Sea area. He was on
doubled to more than 1,000 students, and graduate enrolment has seen a 50 per cent increase to almost 500 students. Dr. Cheng’s other accomplish- ments include a 56 per cent increase in faculty positions and the establish- ment of the Nasseri School of Build- ing Science and Engineering. The department used to have one industrial research chair under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) — now it has eight.
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