THE GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE: REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
Alberta’s recession strongly influenced
risks, such as lawsuits, challenges that threaten our protected titles and regulatory decisions, and other actions or events that undermine public protection. I must also note that we have made our dues system more reflective of the actual costs associated with membership. Prior to 2017, we had one-size-fits- all dues for permit-holding companies. Permit holders have professional responsibilities like those of individual members, applying across each organization. This means that the larger the permit holder, the greater the potential for regulatory costs to APEGA. To reflect that, the amount paid in dues now increases with the size of the permit holder. On July 1, 2018, the second and final phase of the increase comes into effect. Although economists predict it will take until 2019 for Alberta’s economy to fully recover from the recession, things seem to be moving in the right direction. APEGA’s professional members—among them innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and academics, APEGA volunteers, and leaders in our communities and around the world—will be critical to Alberta’s continued success. Recessions challenge all of us, individually and organizationally. APEGA has continued to deliver great value to the public, to members, and to permit holders. The downturn made us stronger and more cost-conscious, and I am confident we will carry those lessons into the future. Very soon, in 2020, APEGA will celebrate 100 years of existence. We came into being because Alberta and the public needed us. The need still exists, and APEGA must continue to change and improve to meet it. We have done this for almost 100 years, and I am confident we will do it for the next 100.
APEGA governance and operations, throughout my tenure as President- Elect and President. In exercising our duty
to protect the public, Council had to continue the association’s major regulatory projects—a detailed and consultative review of our legislation, for example, and an overhaul of our registration systems and procedures. Yet we knew, of course, that many members were struggling financially, to a degree Alberta and our professions had not experienced since the early 1980s. Tough realities were reconciled by our making difficult decisions. We required staff to reduce operational costs in non-critical areas. We reduced dues for unemployed members. We approved defensible dues increases for 2017 and 2018. This process challenged Council and staff, it was not painless, and the dues increases were not popular with many of our members. The reasoning behind the increases was sound, however, and that is a message I have shared while touring the province to meet members face to face. The increases were a lot to ask of members, but they were carefully considered in relation to a continued need to improve the association. Council and senior staff had identified foundational weaknesses we could not ignore and had to fund. Then, our analysis of the risks associated with regulation convinced us we needed money earmarked for risk management. The need to improve does not wait for the economy to change. Society has placed increased expectations on regulators, and that is happening now, so we cannot simply set aside plans to be better and more resilient. We must also be capable of handling severe
Jane Tink, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.)
2
APEGA Annual Report 2017
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker