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
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker