The quarterly publication of APEGA. This edition features Plot Devices: Children Engineer Solutions for Storybook Characters; Council Candidates Announced; Legislative Review Wraps Up; Dues Increase Goes to Risk Reserve; Foundation Renamed, Refocused
SUMMER 2016
Dr. Steve E. Hrudey, P.Eng. APEGA's 97 th President
The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta |
apega.ca
WE SPECIALIZE IN SIMPLE, COST-EFFECTIVE AND RELIABLE FACILITY DESIGNS. Gold-plated designs are out of place under any market conditions. That’s why we focus on JVZ[LɈLJ[P]LLUNPULLYPUN[OH[ZPTWSPÄLZMHJPSP[`VWLYH[PVUZHUKTHPU[LUHUJL>LZ[YLHTSPUL LX\PWTLU[HUKKLZPNUZWLJPÄJH[PVUZ[VYLTV]LJVZ[S`V]LYKLZPNUHUKTPUPTPaLJVTWSL_P[` Put our experience to work for your project. Learn more at vistaprojects.com
Contents
PEG
SUMMER 2016
FEATURED PHOTO: PAGE 10››
68
34
52
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
4 President's Notebook
8 & 9 New Council, Summit Recipients 10 Meet the President 15 Council Nominations Begin 40 What’s Next in Legislative Review? 49 All About apega.ca 68 Science Plus Youth Equals This
65 Viewfinder
6 Interim CEO’s Message
72 AEF Campaign Connection
20 Movers & Shakers
75 Focal Point
34 Professional Development
82 Member Benefits
52 Good Works
84 Record
60 And You Are
COVER PHOTO: Kurtis Kristianson, Spindrift Photography
PRINTED IN CANADA
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 1
US POSTMASTER: PEG (ISSN 1923-0044) is published quarterly in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, c/o US Agent-Transborder Mail 4708 Caldwell Rd E, Edgewood, WA 98372-9221. $15 of the annual membership dues applies to the yearly subscription of The PEG. Periodicals postage paid at Puyallup, WA, and at additional mailing offices. US POSTMASTER, send address changes to PEG c/o Transborder Mail, PO Box 6016, Federal Way, WA 98063-6016, USA. The publisher has signed an affiliation agreement with the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. Please return Canadian undeliverables to: APEGA, 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 4A2. Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40062712
VOLUME 7 | NUMBER 2 | SUMMER 2016 (Print) ISSN 1923-0044 (Online) ISSN 1923-0052
Opinions published in The PEG do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policy of APEGA or its Council. Editorial inquiries: glee@apega.ca. Advertising inquiries: chiemstra@apega.ca.
Editor George Lee glee@apega.ca Administrative Assistant Catherine Hiemstra
chiemstra@apega.ca
STAFF LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL President Dr. Steve E. Hrudey , P.Eng., FEC, FCAE, FSRA (Canmore) President-Elect Jane Tink , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) (Okotoks) Vice-President John Rhind , P.Geol. (Calgary) Past-President Connie Parenteau , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) ( St. Albert) Councillors Natasha Avila , P.Eng. (Cold Lake)
EXECUTIVE Interim Chief Executive Officer Heidi Yang , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Director, Executive & Government Relations Pat Lobregt , FEC (Hon.), FGC (Hon.) Director of Operations Krista Nelson-Marciano , BA
REGULATORY Registrar Carol Moen , P.Eng.
Dr. Jeff DiBattista , P.Eng., MBA (Edmonton) Lisa Doig , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) (Calgary) Jennifer Enns , P.Eng. (Calgary) George Eynon , P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) (Calgary) Darren Hardy , P.Eng. (Calgary) Dr. Brad Hayes , P.Geol., FGC (Calgary) Dr. Timothy Joseph , P.Eng., FCIM (Edmonton) Mahsoo Naderi-Dasoar , P.Eng., M.Sc., PMP (Edmonton) Manon Plante , P.Eng., MDS, CD1 (St. Albert)
MEMBER SERVICES Acting Director, Member Services Mohamed El Daly , M.Sc.
COMMUNICATIONS Director, Communications Philip Mulder , APR, FEC (Hon.), FGC (Hon.)
CORPORATE SERVICES Director, Corporate Services D.S. (Pal) Mann , P.Eng.
Art Washuta , P.Eng. (Edmonton) Terry Waters , P.Eng. (Calgary) Public Representatives Ross J. Harris , FCA, ICD.D Robert Lloyd , QC Mary Phillips-Rickey , F CA
APEGA CONTACT INFO
HEAD OFFICE 1500 Scotia One
10060 Jasper Avenue NW Edmonton AB T5J 4A2 PH 780-426-3990 TOLL FREE 1-800-661-7020 FAX 780-426-1877
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Engineers Canada Directors Connie Parenteau , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Larry Staples , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Geoscientists Canada Director George Eynon , P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) BRANCH CHAIRS Calgary Johnathon Bain, P.Eng. calgarybranch@apega.ca Central Alberta Stephen Huber , P.Eng. centralalbertabranch@apega.ca Edmonton Jim McCuaig , P.Eng. edmontonbranch@apega.ca Fort McMurray Jason Vanderzwaag , P.Eng. fortmcmurraybranch@apega.ca Lakeland Christopher Penny , P.Eng. lakelandbranch@apega.ca Lethbridge Olivia Sieniewicz , P.Eng. lethbridgebranch@apega.ca Medicine Hat Said Said Yussuf , P.Eng. medicinehatbranch@apega.ca Peace Region Brian Morrison , P.Eng. peaceregionbranch@apega.ca Vermilion River Kashif Dada , P.Eng. vermilionriverbranch@apega.ca Yellowhead Ana Paula Mayumi Tanaka , P.Eng. yellowheadbranch@apega.ca
www.apega.ca email@apega.ca
CALGARY OFFICE 2200 Scotia Centre
700 Second Street SW Calgary AB T2P 2W1 PH 403-262-7714 TOLL FREE 1-888-262-3688 FAX 403-269-2787
2 | PEG SUMMER 2016
In this year’s APEGA Council Election, 8,289 Members cast their votes. That’s a turnout of about 15 per cent. If you’re represented in that group, we truly appreciate that you exercised your franchise. Still, we think an organization of APEGA’s stature can do much better. Each year, we work hard to provide more useful information about candidates. We also continue to refine the electronic voting process to make it more user- friendly. And after each election, we gather your comments to guide this program of continuous improvement. Would you help us? Please take the short survey at apega.ca to tell us why you did or did not vote. You can link to the survey through the election page of apega.ca. In the meantime, let’s hear it for the corporate leaders on this list. Each of the following major Permit Holders below had a professional turnout of at least 30 per cent. Thank You x 8 , 289
AMEC Foster Wheeler Canada Ltd. ATCO Structures & Logistics Ltd.
Evraz Inc. NA Canada John Crane Canada Inc Keywest Projects Ltd. MaXfield Inc Newalta Corporation OEM Remanufacturing Company
Ryder Scott Company Petroleum Engineers Scheffer Andrew Ltd. Sproule Project Management Limited Sproule U.S. Limited Sproule Unconventional Limited Strathcona County Teck Coal Limited ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (Canada) Inc. TR Canada Inc. Vantage Engineering Inc. Zedi Inc.
Beck Engineering (1992) Ltd Belloy Petroleum Consulting Canadian Fertilizers Limited Canbriam Energy Inc. Celanese EVA Performance Polymers Inc. City of Lethbridge
Opus Stewart Weir Ltd. Raytheon Canada Limited
Why did you vote in the 2016 APEGA Election? Or
Why didn’t you vote in the 2016 APEGA Election? Visit apega.ca and take our short survey now
President’s Notebook
MASTER APEGA
Let’s Apply our Knowledge and Innovation to Moving Alberta Forward
BY DR. STEVE E. HRUDEY, P.ENG., FEC, FCAE, FSRA APEGA President
for an effective solution, even if it is not the ultimate truth. Engineers put people on the moon by relying on calculations based on Newtonian mechanics, without needing the corrections arising from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Our judgment is essential in knowing when an answer is close enough to the truth to achieve our objectives. As a retired academic, I readily acknowledge that our professional education generally does not excel at fostering problem identification. More emphasis tends to be placed on teaching an ever-expanding body of knowledge. (Student design projects and competitions, which require a major
As I contemplate the challenges I’ll face chairing the governing Council for the largest self-regulating professional organization in Western Canada, I'm reminded of what has always been at the foundation of our professions — applying scientific knowledge and evidence to diverse problems. Most of us can likely agree that this essential skill is fundamental to what we find challenging and rewarding about our professions. Whether large or small, complex or simple, solutions must start with a serious and comprehensive focus on defining and thoroughly understanding the true dimensions of a problem. The most elegant solution in history will have limited value, possibly even negative consequences, if it is not directed at the authentic problem. When we’re faced with the practical realities of providing professional services in an increasingly competitive and global market place, it can be challenging to avoid defining problems in terms of what we know best — the adage that if you are most skilled with a hammer, every problem may look like a nail. Albert Einstein once said: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” This particularly rings true as the pace of technological development continues to accelerate. Focusing our intellectual energy and adequate resources on problem identification often gives rise to the insights necessary to generate truly innovative and effective solutions. One of the things that distinguishes applied scientists from theoretical scientists is the savvy to know when our knowledge is close enough
investment of teaching resources to deliver, are an obvious and effective exception.) One of the most compelling lessons I learned in my first job after graduation is that there are no answers in the back of a textbook that solve complex, real-world problems. Perhaps we need to let future Professional Members in on this insight, while they are still in primary learning mode as students and Members-in-Training. Our professions face enormous challenges caused by current economic conditions. We have been subject to boom and bust cycles for as long as I can remember. Only a handful of my 50 graduating classmates in mechanical engineering in 1970 had job offers. Knowing that our professions are strongly affected by economic cycles allows us to be cautiously optimistic about the future, because we know that conditions inevitably change. However, we cannot simply presume that the boom of recent years will return to Alberta in the same fashion.
4 | PEG SUMMER 2016
President's Notebook
APEGA
We also need to be aware that bad economic times do not spread their pain equally among our Professional Members. Some disciplines (geophysics, for example) have been disproportionally affected. APEGA needs to recognize all of these realities. We are certainly open to receiving constructive and creative suggestions from our membership about feasible measures we can consider. (My email address appears at the end of this column.) At the risk of being trite, I note that difficult times also create opportunities. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, observed: “I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.” Great inventions and other transformative innovations need not be candidates for patent protection. Innovation is all about looking at how you do things in a different light — one that may result in greater efficiency or superior outcomes. Steve Jobs said that innovation “comes from people meeting up in the hallways, or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem.” Innovation cannot be mandated — you cannot schedule an hour a day to innovate. This kind of critical insight happens only if an organization routinely encourages creative interchange among its professionals. For most of the past decade, worldwide investment has been beating a path to Alberta. This kind of external demand leads to economic growth and high employment. However, the inevitable shortage in professional capacity that comes with high external demand may force innovation to take a back seat to simply coping. Clearly, as we have learned from more than
performance and conduct. That means APEGA itself cannot drive the pursuit of diversification, but we can certainly serve as a vehicle to inform our membership and Alberta’s leaders about the innovation and diversification successes of our Members. I invite all our Members to share with us your insights and advice about how we can innovate our way to a better future in Alberta. Our annual Summit Awards are an excellent way to celebrate the innovative achievements of our Members, so please remember to keep them in mind as a way to recognize your peers and colleagues in 2017. Nominations are now open, so please check apega.ca for more information. You, the skilled Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, are the largest and most renewable of all resources that this province has at its disposal. Our political leaders may not fully recognize this truth, but I dedicate my energy and time for my term as your President to making sure that the countless innovation and diversification success stories of our professions are widely heard and commonly understood across Alberta.
Questions or comments? president@apega.ca
CEO DEPARTS APEGA As you may well know by now, Mark Flint, P.Eng., is no longer the CEO of APEGA nor on the organization’s staff. This change is effective May 12, and I announced it on behalf of APEGA’s Council on the same day. We informed staff, and then we informed Members and the public on our website and in a news release. We also distributed an e-PEG Extra to Members. I’d like to assure you that business proceeds as usual at our offices in Edmonton and Calgary. As we go through the process of establishing long-term leadership, I have every confidence in Interim CEO Heidi Yang, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), along with our entire Senior Leadership Team and, indeed, the rest of our competent and motivated staff. APEGA will continue to serve the interests of the public and you, our Members, during this transition. Heidi brings extensive leadership experience to the table. She was already part of our Senior Leadership Team as the Director, Member Services, a position she accepted in 2014 when she joined the staff of APEGA. A Professional Engineer for 17 years, she held many leadership positions during two decades with Weyerhaeuser in Grande Prairie. I hope you’ll understand that, for reasons of privacy, we will not be providing further information about Mark’s departure. Council and the Executive of APEGA wish Mark well and thank him for his contributions as CEO.
one boom-bust cycle, Alberta does need to do more to diversify our economy. Some of our best and brightest still find it necessary to move elsewhere to find employment in specialized technological fields. We need to continue to take advantage of the can-do mentality that Albertans have always demonstrated, in bad times and good, to expand our technological horizons. Our Members have certainly been innovative in solving problems facing Alberta, and they work creatively around the world, as well. With about 68,000 full Professional Members and Members-in-Training, APEGA’s register represents about 1.6 per cent of Alberta’s population. Given our training, education and skills, and our experience making technology work for the benefit of society, what group of professionals in Alberta is better placed to lead our pursuit of economic diversification? APEGA must, above all else, be the accountable regulator of our professional
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 5
Interim CEO’s Message
APEGA
Service, Regulation, and Commitment Continue Unabated After Leadership Change
BY HEIDI YANG, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) Interim CEO
As you know, privacy and confidentiality require that APEGA provide few details on Mark’s departure. I join the President and Council in thanking him for his contributions to APEGA and in wishing him the best. And on behalf of management and staff, I pass along the same sentiment. Our organizational structure features a strong and cohesive Senior Leadership Team (SLT), which I was part of before the announcement, as Director, Member Services. As the Interim CEO, I will lead the SLT and the rest of the APEGA organization. My former spot on the SLT will be filled and looked after by Mohamed El Daly, M.Sc., who moves up from Director of Outreach & Product Services to Acting Director, Member Services. And Hana Marinkovic, Assistant Director, Outreach & Product Services, fills Mohamed’s position to become the department’s Acting Director. I have great confidence in both Mohamed and Hana and know that Member Services is in good hands. A question you probably still want answered is: why should we, as Members of APEGA, have confidence in Heidi Yang? It’s a fair question. After all, I’ve been on the staff of APEGA for a relatively short time, about two years. However, my team and I have accomplished a lot in that period, essentially refocusing and reshaping Member Services. Great improvements have come out of that and those will continue. Before I started as an APEGA director, I was strongly engaged in APEGA and deeply understood how it operated. A Professional Engineer for 17 years, I chaired the Peace Region Branch, and then I served a three-year term on Council, set- ting strategic direction for APEGA. This governance experi- ence will serve me well, as I work closely with Council to lead APEGA in delivering on that strategic direction. For two decades, I worked for Weyerhaeuser in Grande Prairie. My leadership roles there began soon after I was hired and continued until I left. I’ve managed projects and led operational units to effectively meet their safety and performance goals. In my last role at Weyerhaeuser, I was a
On May 12, APEGA Members and staff learned that Mark Flint, P.Eng., was no longer our CEO and no longer employed by APEGA. This was an unexpected development for all employees, including management, and I’m sure it was for Members, too. The situation demands a significant adjustment for those of us at APEGA who work, lead, serve, and regulate on behalf of the public and you, our Members, but let me assure you that we are up to the task. On a personal and professional level, this is certainly a change for me. President Dr. Steve E. Hrudey, P.Eng., FEC, FCAE, FSRA, announced Mr. Flint’s departure on a Thursday. The next day, he announced that I would be the Interim CEO. I certainly did not begin the work week thinking anything like this would happen! Since then, I have been on the proverbial learning curve — a busy and challenging place, to be sure. But each day I gain confidence in myself in this role and an appreciation of the breadth of knowledge and skill I can count upon in all operational areas of APEGA. From the perspective of Members and applicants, business carries on as usual. We have very capable and dedicated staff and volunteers doing great work for APEGA, and nothing changes on that front. We continue to respond to issues as they arise. We continue to deliver all our regulatory duties in service to the public interest. And we continue to do our best to meet the needs of you, our Members. At the same time, we encourage your ongoing engagement in the professions of geoscience and engineering. We will continue to move forward. The circumstances are not ideal for anyone moving into a new position, even on interim basis. However, I was happy to accept my new role and excited by the opportunities it presents. Professional Engineering and Geoscience are great professions. I volunteered for APEGA to help keep them great. Then I accepted the position of Director, Member Services, to further serve our professions. And I now I have accepted the Interim CEO position for those same reasons. This is indeed a huge honour and a huge responsibility, and I promise I’ll continue to, first and foremost, serve you and the public.
6 | PEG SUMMER 2016
Interim CEO’s Message
MASTER APEGA
member of the Plant Leadership Team, and the Customer Service and Quality Manager for the site. As interim CEO, I am committed to keeping APEGA moving
500,000 hectares in size. New evacuations have occurred at about a dozen camps and worksites, and many folks do not know what they’ll find when they return to Wood Buffalo. For any of you who were evacuated, I hope this edition of The PEG finds you safe and perhaps even back in your own home. For those of you who lost your homes to the fire, I really can’t imagine what you’re going through, and I wish you all the best in extremely trying times. At APEGA, we’re doing our best not to compound your problems. I can’t confirm all the details while meeting The PEG’s deadline, but I can tell you that we’ve looked at every aspect of our interactions with Members and applicants to make sure that you’re not penalized for your misfortune. You’ve got enough to worry about right now without having to think about your relationship with us. Let’s start with applicants. Once they have begun the application process, potential Members normally have 90 days to complete it. That 90-day
forward until such time that a permanent CEO is appointed. Weyerhaeuser and APEGA Council have confidence in me, and so can you.
FORT MCMURRAY AND YOU
Obviously, my adjustment pales in comparison to what Members and others in the Fort McMurray region are going through. As I write this,
clock is no longer ticking, however, for any applicants from the Fort McMurray area. Furthermore, examination candidates from the affected area who were scheduled to write technical exams in May will now do so in December. If you are a Member affected by the fire, here are a couple of notes specifically for you. If you’ve received previous notices about your
the fire has crossed into Saskatchewan and is about
APEGA membership dues being overdue, please call us. Your dues will be temporarily suspended. If you registered for an APEGA
professional development seminar and are unable to attend, cancel at any time — even after the event — for a full refund. Challenging times, for sure. Please email me with any concerns you have, regarding the Fort McMurray situation or anything else to do with APEGA. I’ll do my best to help you or connect you to someone who can.
Questions? ceo@apega.ca
PEG | 7
APEGA 2016-2017 Executive Committee and Council
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
COUNCILLORS
PUBLIC MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
Timothy Joseph* P.Eng., PhD, FCIM
Steve E. Hrudey P.Eng., PhD, DSc(Eng), FEC, FCAE, FSRA President
Mary Phillips-Rickey FCA
Manon Plante* P.Eng., MDS, CD1
Brad Hayes P.Geol., PhD, FGC
Colin Yeo, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) Past -President Connie Parenteau P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Past-President
Robert Lloyd QC
Jeff DiBattista P.Eng., PhD, MBA
Natasha Avila** P.Eng.
Jennifer Enns P.Eng.
Lisa Doig P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.)
Jane Tink* P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) President -Elect
Ross Harris FCA, ICD.D
Art Washuta P.Eng.
Terence Waters P.Eng.
George Eynon P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.)
Darren Hardy* P.Eng.
Mahsoo Naderi-Dasoar P.Eng., MSc, PMP
John Rhind P.Geol. Vice - President
*newly elected **last name on ballot was Pounder
8 | PEG SUMMER 2016
The Summit Awards honour and recognize the contributions APEGA Members make to the engineering and geoscience professions and to society. Congratulations to all award recipients! 2016 Summit Award Recipients
Centennial Leadership Award
Environment and Sustainability Award Lourdes Lugue P.Eng.
Outstanding Mentor Award
J.J. Roger Cheng P.Eng., PhD In recognition of the highest distinction relating to engineering or geoscience as an executive or director of a continuing enterprise.
Arden Spachynski P.Eng. In recognition of exceptional achievement as a mentor.
In recognition of excellence in the
preservation of the environment and the practice of sustainable development.
Excellence in Education Award Aminah
Community Service Award
Early Accomplishment Award
Paul Bauman P.Eng., P.Geoph. In recognition of an outstanding contribution made to society.
Leon Prebeau- Menezes P.Eng. In recognition of exceptional achievement in the early years of a professional career.
Robinson Fayek P.Eng., PhD In recognition of exemplary contributions to teaching and learning.
Frank Spragins Technical Award Kamal Botros P.Eng., PhD In recognition of
Research Excellence Award
Honorary Membership Award
Jacques Georgy P.Eng., PhD In recognition of innovative research in the professions that improves our economic and social well-being.
Robin Gardiner In recognition of service to the engineering or geoscience professions resulting in the betterment of society.
integrity and expertise, and for outstanding accomplishments in fields related to engineering or geoscience.
Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion Award
Project Achievement Award City of Red Deer’s South Red Deer Regional Wastewater System Designed by Stantec In recognition of a substantial contribution to technical progress and the betterment of society.
Calgary Women in Klohn Committee Karen Sagar, P.Eng.; Lucy Philip, P.Eng.; Chelsea Wisheart, M.I.T; Michelle Van Elsberg, CHRP; Vanessa Bellardinelli, APEGA applicant. In recognition of achievement as a champion of women in engineering and geoscience.
MONTH 2010 PEG | 9
the President
Dr. Steve E. Hrudey, P.Eng., FEC, FCAE, FSRA
You just completed a three-year term as an APEGA Councillor and have served on several different APEGA committees over the past 16 years. Why did you run for President? Why is it important for you to volunteer with APEGA and be involved in the self- governance of the professions? Steve Hrudey: I thoroughly enjoyed my three years on Council, largely because of the excellent quality of people our Members consistently elect to govern the APEGA professions. I am also enjoying the challenges associated with the substantive changes we have addressed over that period. Many of the changes have to do with how we cope with the massive influx of new registrants, year upon year. The number of applications dropped to under
I firmly believe that practising a profes- sion that is duty bound to serve the public is a privilege. That privilege must be honoured by participating actively in a process of self-regulation that allows us to ensure that we collectively perform to high standards of integrity and excellence. What are your top priorities as APEGA’s 97th President? And why are they important? SH APEGA Members are major play- ers in Alberta’s economy. I believe that APEGA needs to be acutely aware of how the current downturn is affecting our Members and how we can continue to effec- tively discharge our responsibilities to the public under the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) during these trying times. We need to be open to learning about the realities our Members are experiencing
8,000 in 2015 — still a huge number — but by 2014 had grown to over 9,000. We’ve also been implementing new approaches to Council governance, with a greater focus on generative Council discus- sions. Included was the streamlining of the Council committee structure, reducing the number of committees from 11 to just four. I can honestly say that while I was serving on Council I had no intention of running for Executive — that’s how fulfilling I found the role of Councillor. However, some of our past Presidents are very persuasive! Throughout my career I have believed that our best leaders take on tasks like being President out of a sense of duty more than any recognition-based motivation. I am primarily motivated by the opportunity to serve our professions, which have provided me with enormous opportunities and satisfaction.
10 | PEG SUMMER 2016
APEGA
“I firmly believe that a key element of APEGA’s self-regulation mandate can be to promote pride in our professions among our Members. If we all exhibit that pride, we will be motivated to lodge complaints about any Member who is failing to perform up to the ethical and practice standards we collectively demand.”
to ensure a totally preventive regime. Consequently, our Members need to identify those among us who should be investigated before the public finds it necessary to file a complaint. I firmly believe that a key element of APEGA’s self-regulation mandate can be to promote pride in our professions among our Members. If we all exhibit that pride, we will be motivated to lodge complaints about any Member who is failing to perform up to the ethical and practice standards we collectively demand. You bring an interesting perspective to the legislative review process, having spent over 40 years protecting the public interest through your work on drinking water safety, in environmental risk consulting, and on the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board. How will your knowledge in these areas help inform the legislative review process? SH As I noted earlier, the legislative review process is of particular importance to me. My views guiding my career have been driven by the perspective I learned from my Dad. That is, that personal integrity is the most important characteristic that anyone must honour and demonstrate in a career. I accepted the Cabinet appointment to serve as an administrative law judge in 1996 for the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Frankly, in the beginning, I didn’t fully understand what I was taking on. I quickly learned that natural justice, the foundation of conflict resolution in a civil society, was engrained in all aspects of the EAB and was something that I was inherently comfortable respecting. The EAB often provided findings that were contrary to the expectations of
appellants, but EAB-sponsored, third-party surveys of participants consistently showed that appellants believed that they had been heard and treated fairly. My 13 years on the EAB, including four as its chair, provided me with an excellent opportunity to hone my listening skills and develop my ability to make reasonable and fair judgments within the constraints of the legislation about complex disputes. An ability to listen and understand others is a skill we are all challenged with achieving in a world where technological distractions and information overload abound. In my experience, most conflict arises from inadequate listening skills, including a tendency for others to hear not what you are actually saying but what they expect you to say. There is no magic answer to this challenge, but awareness of its importance is a significant first step to improving understanding and reducing avoidable conflict. Another experience with a long-lasting impact on my career and on me personally was my participation from August 2000 to May 2002 on the Research Advisory Panel to Justice Dennis O’Connor, Commissioner of the Walkerton Inquiry. Justice O’Connor is a remarkable man who demonstrated exemplary character as a judge entrusted with finding the truth in a terrible tragedy. In addition to over 2,000 drinking water consumers suffering serious illness, seven died and 27 (half between the ages of one and four) developed a serious kidney ailment with potential life-long consequences — all from consuming contaminated drinking water from a public water system. There was enormous pressure from the Ontario Provincial Government to place the blame solely on the operators, but Justice O’Connor recognized that, above many other contributing factors, the provincial
and considering any relevant initiatives that we might adopt in these circumstances. I believe that our Members are uniquely well placed to drive innovation and creativity, which can help Alberta weather the current downturn and seize opportunities to become stronger than ever. APEGA only exists in its current role because of the authority vested in us by the EGP Act . We have been undertaking a major review of our legislation with extensive consultation of our membership to prepare recommendations to the Government of Alberta for the first major overhaul of the Act in over 30 years. During the coming year we need to tackle the General Regulation, which contains most of the operational detail for exercising APEGA powers, and our Bylaws, which provide the procedural details for our governance and operations. These activities are critical to APEGA being able to deal effectively with current and future challenges for our professions. I will do my utmost to engage our Council and our Membership in providing continuing input to this process to ensure that we present the best possible recommendations to the Government of Alberta. The challenges facing APEGA are only likely to grow as external factors like outsourcing make regulation of professional practice more complex. APEGA has protected the public by initially being diligent about those we admit to practise our professions. APEGA has taken important steps to improve our investigative processes to ensure we can be responsive to complaints about unprofessional conduct and unskilled practice. We are evaluating our practice review and Continuing Professional Development programs. However, we cannot realistically expect that APEGA can ever have the staff capacity
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 11
APEGA
regulatory system had failed miserably. The harshest criticism was reserved for those who had failed in their duty of care to ensure safe drinking water. That experience has guided a large component of my research, publishing, and professional speaking, including co- authoring with my wife, Elizabeth, two major, internationally acclaimed books documenting case studies of drinking water contamination. Although the failures in Walkerton and most of the case studies we have written about have not primarily involved errors by Professional Engineering and Professional Geoscience, the case study experiences resonate with me. Relating those case studies to some disasters that have involved our professions — for example, the Elliot Lake Algo Centre Mall collapse — reinforces the critical importance of what we do. What does self-regulation mean to you as a professional? SH Self-regulation is a privilege, not a right, and it can only be sustained for our professions if we continue to place the public interest above the self-interests of our Members. There are precedents in Canada for governments taking away the privilege of self-regulation if they lose confidence in the ability of a profession to keep the public interest paramount. Certainly, self-regulation must be much more than each Member just regulating him or herself. Self-regulation means that we are regulated by our peers, who collectively through APEGA establish and maintain the standards and procedures that we use to judge our professional competence and ethical practice. We all have a responsibility to ensure that our professional colleagues and professional contacts are held to the high standards we collectively set to protect the public. Self-regulation also means that APEGA must be more than just an agency funded by its Members’ licence dues to pursue a mandate to regulate them. Them is us! The EGP Act created APEGA by authorizing us to elect our own Council and made it directly accountable to the Government of Alberta to ensure, by appropriate oversight, that APEGA functions to protect the public effectively
“An ability to listen and understand others is a skill we are all challenged with achieving in a world where technological distractions and information overload abound. In my experience, most conflict arises from inadequate listening skills, including a tendency for others to hear not what you are actually saying but what they expect you to say. There is no magic answer to this challenge, but awareness of its importance is a significant first step to improving understanding and reducing avoidable conflict.”
by means of our collective commitment. Self-regulation requires an enormous level of volunteer commitment from our Members to serve many functions. We have been fortunate to achieve remarkable
contributions is an ongoing challenge. Finally, because our elected Council is ultimately accountable for APEGA’s ability to deliver its regulatory, public protection, and Member services, our annual election of Council Members is at the core of our ability to effectively self-regulate.
levels of volunteer contribution. Maintaining and enhancing those
12 | PEG SUMMER 2016
APEGA
What are some of the challenges facing APEGA and the professions of engineering and geoscience? How should APEGA address them? SH We are facing a challenging year ahead that clearly has serious implications for many of our Members and for APEGA itself. I can reassure Members that they are well represented on Council by Members who know the realities of professional practice and the challenges of our economic cycles. APEGA has come through a decade of unprecedented growth, which has driven priorities to streamline registration. Major efficiencies have been achieved and are continuing. We recognize a need to align our registration fee structure to recover the costs of processing each type of application. We have come to recognize needs for improvements in investigative, discipline, and appeals processes to provide more timely responses, while acting to ensure that natural justice governs all that we do. We are also looking at our practice review processes, and we recognize a need to enhance ethics core values in our Continuing Professional Development programs. Ethics principles provide the
common and essential framework for guiding the diverse range of professional practice that APEGA must regulate. If we can all be confident that our Members fully embrace our Code of Ethics — including that Members “shall undertake only work that they are competent to perform by virtue of their training and experience” — trouble can be prevented, regardless of the wide range of activities that our Members pursue. Despite all our challenges, APEGA must continue to demonstrate that our professions are worthy of being granted the privilege of self-regulation. This clearly requires a high degree of personal respon- sibility and accountability by each of our Members. There’s been much discussion recently about the need for innovation to diversify Alberta’s economy. How can APEGA professionals be leaders in this area? What do professionals need to do differently or better to spur innovation in their fields? SH I have addressed this topic in more detail in my President’s Notebook in this issue of The PEG , but I’ll touch on it here, too. I firmly believe our
Members are better equipped than any other professions to innovate and lead diversifica- tion in Alberta. We only need to recognize how important our skills are to this province and spark our creativity towards supporting greater economic diversification. What does being a leader mean to you? How would you define your leadership style? SH I believe that being a leader means accepting and honouring an unwavering commitment to the cause that I am taking on. During my career, I have always primarily sought to lead any initiative I have taken on by personal example, rather than by exhortation or other motivational means. I am pleased to note that I expect that leading APEGA will be rewarding because of the excellent and committed leadership APEGA has received in the past, the excellent and informed contributions of our Council, the remarkable contributions of our volunteers, and the dedication and professionalism of our staff. You live in Canmore and saw first- hand the effects of flooding along Cougar Creek in June 2013. You
“I can honestly say that while I was serving on Council I had no intention of running for Executive — that’s how fulfilling I found the role of Councillor. However, some of our past Presidents are very persuasive!”
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 13
“Our professions will always encounter challenges when dealing with public safety issues, particularly those that require substantial foresight, such as flood mitigation and protection. Special interests inevitably abound. Whenever we are dealing with risk that carries complexity and considerable uncertainty, seeking sensible foresight will usually be an uphill battle.”
to promote ill-defined applications of a precautionary principle, because it can be inherently more persuasive than an honest understanding of uncertainty. We have to remain remarkably patient and persistent to avoid responding to uninformed and unethical claims with our own claims of certainty that may not be justified. What is your vision for improving the profile of Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists? Why is this important? SH Any moves to improve our profile with others must surely start with our own view of ourselves. I firmly believe that we must focus on instilling pride in our professions, because that has the potential to ensure that we collectively will not tolerate inferior behaviour by others. Who better to prevent the public from experiencing unethical or incompetent practice than our own Members? Who else will have enough pride in our professions to prevent those who fail to meet our collective standards from being allowed to inflict harm on the public? We are equipped to exercise this duty, and we need to let the public know that. When you aren’t working as a consultant or volunteering for APEGA, what keeps you busy? SH I maintain an office at the University of Alberta, where I hold research funding and support a few
graduate students. I have not severed my connections there, even though I am no longer employed by the university. Unfortunately, I have stopped curling and golfing, after suffering some joint injuries, but I maintain hope of resurrecting one or both of these in future. Hiking, cross- country skiing, and occasional fly-fishing are pursuits I enjoy in the mountains, but I certainly need to make much more time for these while I am still able to enjoy them. Maybe next year? Is there anything you want to say that these questions haven’t covered? SH Teaching and public speaking have been an important part of my career, as some of you will know. I would love to disseminate the message about our professions and what we have to offer to the people of Alberta. If any of our Members have any speaking engagements for an Alberta audience that could benefit from a presentation by the President of APEGA, please do not hesitate to contact me or APEGA staff. I promise to do my best to respond positively to such requests. Finally, I would like to appeal to those Members who are able to but have not yet volunteered for APEGA to explore the numerous opportunities available to our Members. APEGA can only continue to perform to its high standards if our Members are willing and able to be involved, and contribute to our ongoing success.
also served on an expert panel that made recommendations on how to protect people and property from future flooding in Calgary. How did that experience impact your views on the role that professionals have in reducing climate change impacts and risks, especially when it comes to public infrastructure? SH Our professions will always encounter challenges when dealing with public safety issues, particularly those that require substantial foresight, such as flood mitigation and protection. Special interests inevitably abound. Whenever we are dealing with risk that carries complexity and considerable uncertainty, seeking sensible foresight will usually be an uphill battle. There will be no shortage of those who may be seeking short-term gain to advocate allowing others to bear longer- term risks, such as developing and selling in a flood plain. One tangible benefit of recent climate change debates is a greater focus on planning and building with risk and uncertainty in mind. Our Members need to hone their communication skills to explain to decision-makers such difficult concepts as a predicted one-in-300-year flood that could happen next year and even two years in a row. Some advocacy groups will claim unmanageable uncertainty
14 | PEG SUMMER 2016
PROGRESS AND RENEWAL
Nominating Process Begins Now
Serving on Council is one of the most important volunteer oppor- tunities APEGA has to offer. If this challenging, rewarding, and fulfilling commitment is for you, now is the time to make your decision — the search for candidates to run in the 2017 APEGA Election starts now. Members seeking election must submit their nominations in time to be considered by APEGA’s Nominating Committee. Nominations close October 19, but you should start now. Strong preparation will give you the best chance of being endorsed by the Nominating Committee and elected by your peers. Details here and over the next three pages provide the basics of what you’ll need to prepare a nomination and what a Council commitment requires. Full information appears online at apega.ca and in a special election area of the Member Self-Service Centre, accessible through the website. The self- nominating period begins Sunday, July 10. APEGA no longer accepts paper nominations. Instead, we accept them electronically through the Member Self-Service Centre. You’ll need to prepare a variety of materials (some mandatory and some not) and gather the endorsements of 25 other Professional Members. The APEGA Nominating Committee is charged with ensuring recommended candidates represent a strong combination of attributes for good governance and succession. Through its own networks, the committee searches for potential candidates to endorse. It also draws upon self- nominated candidates. Before the election, the committee arrives its list of candidates — Members the committee has decided are willing, suitable, and available for Council governance and succession.
Names of all qualified and properly nominated candidates will appear on the 2017 ballot, regardless of whether they receive the Nominating Committee’s endorsement. Every year, at least four Professional Members are elected to Council. Members also choose a President-Elect and a Vice-President each year, who will lead Council and join the immediate Past-President on the APEGA Executive Committee. Not including the Executive Committee, Council is made up of 12 Professional Members and three public members. The Government of Alberta appoints public members to be the eyes and ears of the public. APEGA must receive nominations by October 19, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. That allows time for nominations to reach the Nominating Committee 180 days before the next APEGA Annual General Meeting, on April 28, 2017, which APEGA’s bylaws require. Once the Member Self-Service Centre begins accepting nominations on July 10, each potential nominee will be able to go in and out of the site to develop his or her nomination in draft, before finalizing it and clicking submit. Once submit is clicked, the nomination is final and locked from changes. The collection of signatures takes place digitally, which makes it easier for potential nominees in areas without large pools of Members in their local networks. APEGA runs background checks on all potential nominees, a term you will need to accept during the electronic process. Also, two or more Members of the Nominating Committee will, as a panel, interview each nominee to review the information provided. Interview results become part of the committee’s process in deciding who to endorse.
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 15
PROGRESS AND RENEWAL
What it Takes to be a Good Councillor
TOP COUNCIL NEEDS Council and the APEGA Nominating Committee have identified the top nine needs for the 2017 Council. You don’t have to meet all nine criteria — or any of them — to run. This is simply meant as a guide to help you know what the Nominating Committee is looking for
Your Council commitment is three years and will take up a lot of your time. Before you start, it’s a good idea to be certain the job is for you. Following are two lists to help you decide. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT COUNCILLOR 1. Experience in professional practice 2. Basic understanding of the principles behind professional regulation 3. Familiarity with board management and governance 4. Balanced perspective and problem-solving attitude 5. Particular knowledge of important issues or underrepresented groups 6. Strong champion of professionalism and of APEGA 7. Track record as a contributor 8. Willing to commit time to APEGA
when it comes up with its endorsements. 1. Business and Organizational Experience 2. Governance Experience 3. Risk Management Understanding 4. APEGA/ASET Experience 5. Financial Literacy 6. Regulatory Experience 7. Varied Experience and Background 8. Strategic Planning Experience 9. Work Experience (minimum 10 years)
TIMELINE: Nominations and Election 2017
Nominations Close October 19
Nominations Open July 10
Nominating Committee Meets November 2
2016
JUL
SEP
OCT
AUG
NOV
Nominations Accepted
16 | PEG SUMMER 2016
PROGRESS AND RENEWAL
Next Steps in Creating a Great Nomination
NON-MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS • Polish and post your resume. It will be available online for voters to read, but it will not be published in The PEG. • Gather and submit any supporting documentation you think is important. This information will be available online for voters to read, but it will not be published in The PEG. • Have a video shot of you promoting yourself as a candidate. We recommend keeping it short and to-the-point – up to two minutes long. We will post the video online. Before your materials are accepted for publication and advancement to the Nominating Committee, APEGA will review them for professionalism and appropriateness. And now – get busy!
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS • Reach out to 25 Professional Members in good standing to support your nomination. Let them know that they’ll be contacted electronically to confirm their support. • Find or have taken a print-quality photograph of yourself — a headshot. • Write a 750-word personal statement. Make sure it includes the information you think is important for voters to know about you. • To help the Nominating Committee in its review, write an explanation of why you want to run for Council. You can type it online or copy-and-paste it in, once the nomination site is open. • Also for the Nominating Committee’s review, rate various skills and attributes from 1 to 7 (1 being lowest, 7 being highest).
You’re certain that you’ve got the time, dedication, and personal attributes to be an effective participant in the governance of your professions. To top it off, you’ve got a skillset you know will be strategically useful to APEGA Council. All that adds up to you not only qualifying as a candidate and but also having a good chance of being endorsed by the Nominating Committee. So, what now? On July 10, you can start the actual process of uploading your nomination materials to the Member Self-Service Centre of apega.ca. It’s a step-by-step process with a save-draft function, and it requires thought and preparation. You’ll need to: • read all materials on the site • fulfill all mandatory requirements • consider the non-mandatory requirements and fulfill those you decide are important • work offline to get everything ready
Annual General Meeting April 28
Candidate Information Published in The PEG Mid-February
Polls Are Open February 17 to March 19
2017
DEC
JAN
MAR
APR
FEB
Candidate Information Available e-PEGs, e-PEG Extras, social media, apega.ca
SUMMER 2016 PEG | 17
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker