President’s Notebook
MASTER APEGA
Here’s Looking at Another Successful Year of Improvements BY JANE TINK, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) APEGA President
As 2017 ends, it seems only appropriate that we review how we progressed through the year, leading to the revisions, tweaks, and renewed focus we need for 2018. It is something we are taught to do in our personal lives, our professional lives, and our business lives, and it is something APEGA does in its regulatory life, too, as we prepare for the year ahead. Challenging, exciting, and occasionally bittersweet changes and developments have highlighted your Association’s 2017. APEGA AND ASET I trust that over the last few months many of you have been able to participate in at least one of the numerous information sessions we have held to update Members and Permit Holders on the progress of the legislative review. If you did not have the chance to do so, I invite you to watch the video posted on APEGA’s website that explains our position on changes proposed by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals (ASET). I also encourage you to read APEGA’s response to ASET, also posted on our site. The Government of Alberta (GoA) had requested a joint submission from APEGA and ASET, but it became necessary for APEGA to act independently, submitting our proposals and the reasoning behind them without ASET’s support. Currently, it appears unlikely that any changes to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act and General Regulation will occur before the next provincial election. However, the extensive review and discussions held with our Members and Permit Holders have prepared the Association to move forward when the GoA addresses our legislation.
APEGA’s submission comprises more than 80 Council-endorsed recommendations, the result of work we began at the launch of the legislative review in 2014. These updates are important to the modernization and strengthening of APEGA’s regulatory system. A consequence of this extensive review, when it is combined with the viewpoints of new public members on APEGA’s Council, is that we have gained new insights into how the current legislation can be used more effectively. We also have a perspective on how other self-regulating organizations in Alberta are making their legislation work for them, despite their own needs for legislative modernization. In our web materials, you will see a link to a survey to submit your comments about the legislative review positions of APEGA and ASET. If you have not already, please take the survey. EXCITING CHANGES In April, APEGA welcomed Jay Nagendran, P.Eng., QEP, BCEE, FEC, as our new Registrar & CEO. This newly created position combines the positions of Registrar and CEO to ensure that our regulatory roles and obligations, along with the business of running the Association, are more effectively balanced at the highest level. In this way, we ensure that important initiatives have the resources to succeed. Also new this year to the executive team is Sharilee Fossum, CPA, our new Chief Financial & Administration Officer. Heidi Yang, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), who served as our Interim CEO, has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Matthew Oliver, CD, P.Eng., formerly our Director of Registration, is now Deputy Registrar & Chief Regulatory Officer.
4 | PEG WINTER 2017
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