As APEGA’s president during its centennial year, I will remember 2020 as a year when we were tested, both as a regulatory body and as engineering and geoscience professionals. We were confronted with a global health emergency, a strained economy, and increasing scrutiny of professional self-governance in Alberta. But I’ll also remember 2020 as the year APEGA, and our members, rose to the occasion. We reflected on our history with pride and demonstrated—as we have for 100 years—that we are agile, resilient, and responsive in the face of adversity. APEGA Council provided diligent governance oversight, developing and executing solutions that enabled APEGA to react quickly to changing situations. Undeterred by the pandemic, APEGA’s leaders and staff kept operations going without missing a beat or losing sight of our goals. Most importantly, we kept the promise made by our founders a century ago: to safeguard the public welfare of Albertans by proactively regulating the practices of engineering and geoscience. With this mandate to guide us, we are working to become an even stronger regulator. Topping our priorities is the renewal of our governing legislation, the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act . Self-regulated professional associations across Canada face increased pressure from provincial governments to show we can protect the public by ensuring our members are practising competently, ethically, and professionally. The changes APEGA has proposed to the Act will give us better tools to hold registrants accountable if they fail to meet these obligations.
APEGA’s licensed members are also integral to our efforts to become a stronger regulator. The best way we, as professionals, can support self-governance is by living our Code of Ethics every day: practising competently, with principle, and with the public interest always at heart. By doing so, we show Albertans we’re worthy of the confidence they’ve placed in the P.Eng. and P.Geo. designations. As leaders in self-regulation, APEGA and our members are always pushing ourselves to raise the bar higher. Alberta’s history over the past century is a testament to this. Engineering and geoscience innovation, determination, and drive helped our province flourish and made it a better place for everyone. This perseverance, imagination, and ingenuity will also help us define and solve the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. There will be many obstacles to overcome—some we expect, and some we can’t even imagine. In this, our centennial year, it was my honour to serve as APEGA president and to stand on the shoulders of the 100 men and women who held this position before me. Our journey so far has brought us to a pivotal moment in time. As our next 100 years of service begins, we’ll be stronger because of it.
Our first virtual President’s Town Hall in September was a new way for APEGA’s president to connect with members during the pandemic and to share updates on APEGA activities. More than 200 professionals joined the online discussion, including participants from Abu Dhabi and Texas.
NEW CONNECTIONS
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