CEO’s Message
APEGA
Planning to Become a Better Regulator? There’s a Cost BY MARK FLINT, P.ENG. APEGA Chief Executive Officer
Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.
Last, but no less important, is that unique opportunity I mentioned. It’s the commemoration of the 100th year of our professions in Alberta, which arrives in 2020. APEGA’s Council and senior leadership team have been engaged in developing strategy over the past year. We have a clear understanding of what we want to achieve. But as I have already alluded to, we are conscious of the challenges that lie ahead, both in terms of what we want to do and how much it will cost. Clearly, the questions are: “So why bother building a new plan at all? Why is it so important to do these things, anyway?” The Alberta Energy Regulator has recently taken measures to define what a world-class regulator should be in order to be ef- fective and maintain its social partnership. That’s good regulatory news in Alberta, but as we scan the regulatory landscape there’s clear pressure on regulators across Canada to better fulfill their mandates. Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) faces serious pressure from its oversight body, Office des professions du Québec. OIQ has now been directed to overhaul its governance and other processes to enable it to attract and retain high-quality employees and to better protect the public. OIQ announced that it was going to raise Member dues by $100 to pay for the changes. This created a veritable rebellion within its ranks, which has resulted in significant upheaval in its leadership. In British Columbia, the review of the failure of the tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine suggests steps could have been taken to prevent this environmental disaster. Sharing such lessons learned is critical in creating a climate of learning within our professions. Nevertheless, APEGBC Members recently rejected their Council’s attempt to initiate a professional development program — the precise type of program needed to ensure the communication of professional learnings and therefore help prevent failures like the one at Mount Polley. Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) did an outstanding job of working with the Elliot Lake Inquiry following the collapse of the Algo Mall parkade, a collapse that killed two people. Although many of PEO’s recommendations are still being considered for implementation, some PEO Members do not support implementing their own self-regulating organization’s recommendations.
- NIELS BOHR, Physicist
Regardless of whether you believe it was Niels Bohr or Yogi Berra that coined the above ironic insight into the unknown, when the topic of planning comes up it usually elicits one of two divergent reactions. Some people will experience a pre-dormant eye-glazing, followed by a period of deep unconsciousness. For others, endor- phin production spikes and an ensuing, unregulated level of hubris drives them to produce highly complex and colourful plans that will transform the universe. Regardless of where you sit on the spectrum, the unfortunate truth is this: “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” OK, that one was Yogi Berra. Apparently. This issue of The PEG is devoted to planning and the future. As we close out the third year of our current strategic plan and enter into its last year, we do so knowing that 2016 is a year of transi- tion for APEGA. We have dedicated the past three years to building capacity aimed at improving many of APEGA’s current systems and functions. The year 2016 arrives during a dramatic economic shift, which has resulted in some significant economic impacts here in Alberta. As we transition from our current strategic plan and prepare to launch APEGA’s new strategy in 2017, how will APEGA position itself to achieve the aim of being a more capable regulator? Let me explain the three main thrusts, plus a unique opportunity that needs careful attention. The first line of effort is aimed at continuing to improve opera- tional excellence. APEGA has done much over the past few years to improve business practices, but we have lots left to do. Second, we are going to revamp APEGA’s Continuing Professional Development program to improve its effectiveness, and we will include an ethics component stemming from our own learnings and from events in other jurisdictions. The third element is to improve the Professional Practice Management Program so we can deliver better value to our Permit Holders by enhancing their role in self-regulation.
6 | PEG WINTER 2015
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