CEO’s Message
MASTER APEGA
could find ourselves in the unenviable position of being directly regulated through other forms of government oversight. Addressing the priorities of the 2017—2019 strategy is important work — important work that requires resources. And while people are understandably sensitive when the issue of resources arises, I offer the following in regards to our main source of resources: our annual Member dues. As many of you know, APEGA currently charges dues that are about average when compared to our regulatory peers across Canada. Also, our dues are very modest when compared to those of other professional self-regulatory organizations in Alberta. I’m not suggesting that just because our annual dues are lower than almost every other profession in Alberta that we should raise them. But I am suggesting that it is consistent with every other regulator that we fund our regulatory needs. In short, professional regulation will take more money than it traditionally has. To strengthen our existing regulatory functions and to develop a more robust capacity to address emerging regulatory issues, as well as to execute on APEGA’s strategy, we will need to significantly increase revenue starting in 2017. While we have not discussed detailed options with Council, I could foresee a scenario where we would need to increase APEGA’s current overall revenue by more than 50 per cent by year 2020. This could potentially include an increase to Member dues of $200 to $300! To prepare for the future, starting in 2016 APEGA will conduct a review of its revenue structure, aimed at building a more appro- priate funding model to sustain the regulation of the professions. It will include a review of the application fee structure to develop a fee-for-service approach, linking the costs of applications for licensure proportional to the amount of effort and services needed to process them. While I expect that some Members will have questions and concerns about this review, there will be no changes to any of our existing funding approaches without a substantive dialogue within APEGA’s Council and without Council’s approval. Over the next year, should you have questions or comments regarding the future of APEGA’s finances, I remain at your service to answer those questions and to understand your thoughts on our future and any implications there may be for self-regulation. I anticipate that there may be a significant response to this article, especially in the context of global economic factors, their impact on Alberta’s economy, and the fact that many of our Members are losing their jobs. Please send me your comments at the email address below. I will do my utmost to respond to all of them, but if the demand is high I might not be able to do so directly. I do commit myself, however, to reading them all.
In Alberta, we know we need to strengthen our current regu- latory systems and tools, and we’re working on that. But we also have to evolve to counter emerging regulatory threats such as those mentioned above. If we don’t figure out how to do it ourselves, we
Questions or comments? ceo@apega.ca
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