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
WINTER 2016
A Community Reborn Four hours after the
arrival of their two newest family members, the Ures were evacuated from Fort McMurray. They’re home now — and (for the most part) smiling
The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta | apega.ca
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Contents
PEG
WINTER 2016
FEATURED PHOTO: PAGE 45››
8 20
29
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
8 & 9 AGM & Election News
4 President's Notebook
45 Good Works
12 Legislative Review Input Needed
6 Interim CEO’s Message
57 Member Benefits
14 Registration Renewal
20 Movers & Shakers
60 The Discipline File
16 Better Examinations
29 Professional Development
68 Record
17 Investigative Learnings
42 AEF Campaign Connection
18 CPD Improvements 29 Lifelong Learning Success Stories
FRONT & BACK COVER PHOTO: BY GREG HALINDA PHOTOGRAPHY
PRINTED IN CANADA
WINTER 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 4 | WINTER 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. Inquiries: glee@apega.ca.
Editor George Lee
glee@apega.ca
STAFF LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL President Dr. Steve E. Hrudey , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), 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 (Calgary) 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, FCPRS, 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 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 Bob Rundle , P.Eng. edmontonbranch@apega.ca Fort McMurray Jason Vanderzwaag , P.Eng. fortmcmurraybranch@apega.ca Lakeland Hannah Maynard , E.I.T. 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 WINTER 2016
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President’s Notebook
MASTER APEGA
APEGA Confronts Uncertainty During Worst Downturn in Decades
BY DR. STEVE E. HRUDEY, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) FCAE, FSRA APEGA President
overall indicators like unemployment, conditions are roughly similar to those of the NEP. There are valid reasons to expect that the impact of these economic conditions on our professions will be worse and longer lasting than those of the NEP era. The presumed trigger for this downturn has been low oil prices, even though we experienced lower oil prices from 2002 to 2005 and again briefly in 2009 while Alberta was booming with oil sands expansion. For the purposes of comparing current conditions to the NEP, we need to acknowledge that Alberta’s total oil production in the early 1980s was only 35 per cent of that
Winter 2016 finds our professions facing the worst economic downturn in Alberta in at least 30 years. In many ways, current conditions and the prognosis going forward are more challenging than during the notorious National Energy Program (NEP) collapse of the 1980s, which those of us who were practising in Alberta 35 years ago remember all too well. The NEP was driven by a federal government policy aimed at the oil and gas industry before oil sands production was a major factor. The impact of the NEP was sudden and devastating on individuals, coming at a time of double-digit mortgage interest and inflation. A program that was supposed to shield Canada from international oil prices soon encountered a deep international recession. Canada-wide unemployment reached 13 per cent in December 1982. Despite having increased in population by more than 20 per cent from 1976 to 1981, Alberta had achieved essentially full employment before the NEP, then saw it become 11 per cent unemployment by 1984. How does our current economic situation compare? In October 2016, Alberta unemployment was at 8.5 per cent, up 1.9 per cent over the past year, according to Statistics Canada. This compares with Canada’s overall unemployment rate of 7.0 per cent, unchanged over the past year. Breaking it down further, in Edmonton in October 2016, unemployment was at 6.9 per cent, slightly below the national average, but up 0.9 per cent over the past year. In Calgary in October 2016, unemployment was at 10.2 per cent, up 3.5 per cent over the past year. We cannot be sure whether the Alberta economy has hit bottom yet, but based on
in 2015. Oil sands development was responsible for only about 12 per cent of total Alberta oil production in the early 1980s, versus over 80 per cent of the much higher production in 2015. Development and production of the oil sands are clearly more engineering intensive than development and production of conventional oil and gas. This suggests that the impact of the current slowdown on our professions is likely to be greater than was the case with the NEP. An international focus on reducing the carbon content of energy production and a North American campaign highly targeted against Alberta oil sands production have been major negative influences. This campaign, which fails to acknowledge that oil
4 | PEG WINTER 2016
President's Notebook
APEGA
sands production represents less than 2.5 per cent of global oil production, has contributed to organized opposition to Canadian pipeline projects that seek secure access to international markets. Ironically, this negative focus on oil sands production has occurred against a background of global oil demand increasing by 6.9 per cent over the past three years, according to the International Energy Agency. Because there is a global excess of production capacity, controlling global carbon emissions from oil consumption is clearly more of a demand-side than a supply- side challenge. Limiting oil sands production does not curb oil consumption because there is no shortage of global oil supply. Of course, opposing oil sands production is a much easier target for opponents than limiting global demand. Regardless, these external factors create considerable uncertainty, and we surely must temper expectations for a recovery of Alberta’s energy sector that is similar to the ones we have seen before. The impact of the NEP on the employment of Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists in Alberta was certainly extreme. In 1981, when Alberta’s population was slightly over half what it is now, APEGGA (as we were known then) had about 16,000 Professional Members. In 2016, Professional Members number about 55,400. This means that the proportion of Alberta’s total population made up of Members has almost doubled in the 35 years since the NEP. While I have not been able to verify province-
we have undertaken the most detailed and thorough review of APEGA expenditures and revenue in recent memory. This exercise has been extremely informative and has allowed us to make, with considerable confidence, some very difficult decisions. Inevitably, some of these decisions will be unpopular in some quarters. In developing our new strategic plan, we have recognized the need for essential improvements in APEGA’s regulatory operations. Because we are accountable under the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) , we have a clear duty to ensure that we have an effective capability to deliver our regulatory mandate. We cannot put our privilege of professional self-regulation at risk by failing to implement improvements that we know are necessary. While self-regulation provides us with considerable autonomy, this privilege comes with the harsh reality of being entirely self-funded. Consequently, we must take appropriate measures to ensure the viability of APEGA as we navigate difficult economic conditions. Uncertainty is clearly a dominant reality facing us on many fronts. We have witnessed the United Kingdom voting to withdraw from the European Union, resulting in major implications for the future of international collaboration and trade. Now, we have the largest American electoral surprise since Harry Truman defeated heavily favoured Thomas Dewey, 68 years ago. Both these recent and generally unpredicted exercises in democracy signal a deep dis- satisfaction with the status quo among voters. Profound uncertainty is the inevitable outcome among our major trading partners. The Interim CEO’s Message , which appears on the two pages that follow my column, provides some detail on the major decisions we have found necessary to ensure the viability of APEGA in these uncertain times. A key feature of our deliberations has been a reliance on a balanced approach. We have comprehensively considered all sources of APEGA revenue and expenses, along with mitigation measures for our Members in distress, in relation to a clear need for improved regulatory performance. We landed on several difficult decisions, only after we had developed a comprehensive and balanced perspective. APEGA faces a serious challenge to provide a realistic and responsible approach to external realities. Conditions in Alberta have clearly changed in the 35 years since the severe downturn caused by the NEP. We need to accept that APEGA must be capable of weathering continuing change for the foreseeable future. All of us must contribute if we are to continue honouring our responsibility to protect public safety and the public interest — as we are obliged to do under the EGP Act .
wide unemployment numbers for our Members as a proportion of total unemployment, indications are that engineering unemployment is higher than the provincial average and that geosciences unemployment is comparatively even worse. In fact, focused consultation with key representatives of our geosciences community provided clear signals that the basic structure of professional demand for our geoscience Members has been changing and may continue to change. Given the dramatic increase of our Members as a proportion
of the total Alberta population over the past 35 years, we should expect that we comprise a larger fraction of total unemployment in Alberta than we did during the NEP.
PLANNING DURING DIFFICULT TIMES
I can certainly assure our Members that your Council and APEGA manage- ment are taking very seriously the cur- rent painful realities confronting many of our Members. Over the past three months,
Questions or comments? president@apega.ca
WINTER 2016 PEG | 5
Interim CEO’s Message
APEGA
Tough Decisions and a New Planning Approach Build Improved Self-Regulation
BY HEIDI YANG, P.ENG., FEC, FGC (HON.) Interim CEO
becoming a more effective and proactive regulator through: • Organizational Excellence — enable APEGA to deliver excellent organizational performance and results • Professional Development — advance the professional competency and conduct of individual Members • Professional Practice — increase Permit Holder and Responsible Member engagement to enhance the practice of the professions • APEGA Centennial 2020 — increase Member engagement and pride in the professions It’s good stuff. But as APEGA’s senior leadership worked towards building the 2017 business plan and budget, it became apparent that the strategic plan was overly ambitious, especially for the coming year. We found that a shortage of operational processes and management systems would impede us as we moved forward. For APEGA to successfully execute the plan, an organizational reset is essential. The year 2017, we determined, needs to be about strengthening the foundation of APEGA in two places: our operations and our statutory obligations as a regulator. A fundamental initiative will be the development of an operational management system that builds rigour into policy and pro- cess. Foundational strength will also come from improving APEGA’s financial manage- ment and information technology systems. In strengthening our statutory functions as a regulator, we will focus efforts on improving the effectiveness of the APEGA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program through more robust administration and
A busy, challenging, and engaging six months have passed since I was appointed Interim CEO of APEGA. I have experienced and learned so much from so many — Members, staff, Permit Holders, Council, sister regulators across the nation, and the regulators of other professions. Through it all, I have developed a broader and more nuanced understanding of self-regulation. Our effectiveness as the regulator of engineering and geoscience goes beyond the operational activities of staff. It fully relies on the actions of you, our Members, through engagement in your professional practice, your commitment to volunteering with APEGA, and your dedica- tion to serving the public interest. I’d like to single out those of you who serve on our statutory boards and Council. Thank you for your countless hours in service to the professions. We needed you before, we need you now, and, as I hope this column demonstrates, we’ll need you even more in the future. During my time so far as the Interim CEO, the other senior leaders and I have applied ourselves to some serious and impactful business. Next year will see the launch of a strategic plan that will strengthen APEGA’s ability to improve our effectiveness and be a better regulator. I have been involved in the development of many a strategic plan and business plan, both at APEGA and in my prior work experience, but the last go-around has been by far the most challenging and exciting. Let me introduce you to the highlights of the new APEGA Strategic Plan, how we’ve used it to develop the business plan, and what that means to you, our Members. The strategic plan fully supports APEGA
auditing. This will allow APEGA to hold Members accountable to their professional development obligations. We will also focus on professional practice, putting more structure and con- sistency into practice reviews and practice standards, guidelines, and bulletins. Our ability to protect titles and right-to-practice will be enhanced, building the public’s confidence that individuals and companies identifying themselves as practitioners of engineering and geoscience have been evaluated and licensed through Alberta’s engineering and geoscience regulator.
A NEW APPROACH
These are important and sustainable plans. They will truly set us up for success as a better and more effective regulator. But this work will take time, effort — and resources. As I mentioned in my last column, we need to increase Member dues to support such vital work. Our challenge is, how do we do so in light of the tough economic times many Members are enduring? Your Council has provided invaluable leadership in this area. Although fully sup- portive of the business plan that APEGA staff put forward, Council challenged us to act on it within our means. Council wants to ensure that the financial impact on Mem- bers is minimized. This has caused a fundamental shift in our approach to what we do, how we do it, and the resources we do it with. It has caused APEGA’s senior leaders to examine our organizational structure to determine if it aligns with the vision to make APEGA a better and more effective regulator — to figure out how to live within our means and
6 | PEG WINTER 2016
Interim CEO’s Message
MASTER APEGA
still deliver the intended outcomes of the 2017 business plan. This has been no easy feat. Senior lead- ers have stretched themselves to approach planning and budgeting in a new way. This has been transformational, and it positively sets the stage for our future. We’ve made tough choices. We have significantly cut costs in all areas and restructured parts of the organization. Some of the programs we know and love, like our mentoring conference and our Christmas receptions in Edmonton and Calgary, have been stopped. Our Summit Awards will now be presented at a modest event. We are changing The PEG to a digital-only format, because of the money we will save. We have had to adjust our staffing, and for the second year in a row we have frozen salaries.
Despite these changes, we will continue to deliver valuable services to Members. Yes, things will be different. But we will still en- deavor to give excellent customer service, as we do our best to enrich the Member experi- ence while executing our business plan. Council has decided to provide a second consecutive year of dues reductions for our unemployed Members. We’re doing this even though we know that our membership numbers may decrease in 2017, given that the economy does not appear to be picking up. We are also looking at cost recovery in as many APEGA programs as possible. Nonetheless, we will maintain an ambitious and purposeful business plan — a plan that we need to execute in 2017 to strengthen our foundation as an organization and as a regulator. In the end, we still need to increase Member dues. You may recall that the December 2015 CEO’s Message mentioned a potential increase of $200-$300 over several years. But senior leaders have worked hard to put before Council a Member dues increase with as small an impact as possible. Starting January 1, 2017, dues will increase by $36 to $360 plus GST. With the plans we have in place, it’s likely that a similar increase will be needed for 2018. For future years, Council is evaluating
it employs. This is fairer and more rational than a one-size-fits-all fee. APEGA really is setting out to deliver on Council’s Strategic Plan. It’s just that we’re looking at one limited and very focused slice of it in 2017. This will strengthen the foundation for us to achieve the strategic plan’s ultimate goal — to be a better and proactive regulator. What specifically does that ultimate goal look like? That level of detail simply doesn’t exist yet. But we envision changes that will hold Members more accountable for their practices than they are today, and provide them with new opportunities for engagement through various volunteer opportunities to ensure the integrity of our professions. These two things are the essence of fulfilling our self-regulatory obligations. Consistent demonstration of effective self-regulation instills pride in our professions, and we can all stand a little taller because of it.
A GAME CHANGER
Now you know about the effort, time, and thought we’ve put into strategic and business planning. But there is only so much APEGA staff can do. We have pursued a balanced approach in charting our course for 2017 while facing many uncertainties. The rest is up to you. Ask yourself: What are you doing, every day, to serve the public in your professional practice? How are you holding yourself and your peers accountable to the obligations you have committed to as a Professional Engineer or Professional Geoscientist? And what will you do to stay engaged with APEGA and ensure our privilege of self- regulation continues to serve society? At the end of one marathon planning session, a fellow APEGA leader said to me: “I think we’re onto something here — I see this as a game changer for APEGA. I see a positive change coming.” I couldn’t agree more.
whether ongoing, incremental dues increases — within a preset range or amount — will be required. About $9 of the 2017 increase will finance a
second year of dues reductions for unemployed Members. We will also be changing the fee model for our Permit Holders, basing a company’s fee on the number of APEGA Members
Questions or comments? ceo@apega.ca
WINTER 2016 PEG | 7
APEGA
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING In accordance with APEGA Bylaw 16(2) and the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act, official notice of the 2017 APEGA Annual General Meeting is hereby given.
Friday, April 28, 2017 | 2 – 5 p.m. TELUS Convention Centre | Calgary, Alberta Luncheon 11:30 a.m. – 1:40 p.m.
Attendance Qualifies for CPD Credit
Visit apegasummit.ca in late January for further information on APEGA Summit 2017
Have your say in how APEGA is governed. Cast your vote in the Council election.
The 2017 election will run from Friday, February 17 , to Sunday, March 19, 2017 . Candidate information will be posted on www.apega.ca/election in January.
How to Vote To use APEGA’s electronic voting system, you’ll need to log in to your Member Self-Service Centre account. If you haven’t been there in a while, please confirm you have access by logging in now. If you need to update your password, call 1-800-661-7020 and press 2 when prompted.
Please also confirm your primary email address is accurate. An automatic vote confirmation will be sent to this address.
8 | PEG WINTER 2016
APEGA
Candidates Set for Election 2017
APEGA’s Nominating Committee announces names of Professional Members running for Council and President-Elect/Vice-President
Following is the list of nominees. President Elect/Vice-President
The list of candidates for APEGA’s Elec- tion 2017 is set. The annual self-nomination period is over, and Nominating Committee interviews, background checks, and rec- ommendations are also complete. In all, 14 APEGA Professional Members are seeking three-year terms on Council. Two other Members are running for the one-year posi- tions of President-Elect and Vice-President. The rest is up to you, as Professional Members of APEGA. Find out which candi- dates you support. Vote during the polling period. And encourage your professional peers to do the same. Full candidate information and detailed voting instructions will be available in several places online and promoted in the e-PEG, starting in January. To supplement written materials, candidates may choose to have a video about their candidacy posted on the APEGA YouTube channel. Videos will also be embedded on the APEGA website and available through links on the Member Self-Service Centre (MSCC). Polling runs from: Friday, February 17, 2017, 9 a.m. to Sunday, March 19, 2017, 12 noon Members will cast votes for up to five Council candidates and one candidate for President-Elect/Vice-President. In the latter category, the candidate with the most votes becomes President-Elect and the runner-up becomes Vice-President. Your next President was decided in the 2016 election. She will be 2016-2017 President-Elect Jane Tink, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.). Ms. Tink officially takes over as President in Calgary on April 28, 2017, at the APEGA Annual General Meeting.
Nima Dorjee*, P.Eng. John Rhind*, P.Geol.
Councillor Doug Cargill, P.Eng. Craig Clifton*, P.Eng. George Eynon*, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) Darren Hardy*, P.Eng. Amir Jamshidi, P.Eng., PE, PhD RaeAnne Leach, P.Eng. Francesco (Frank) Mannarino*, P.Eng. Jim McCuaig*, P.Eng., CD Ross Plecash, P.Eng., M.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Mustaqur Rahman, P.Eng. Jason Vanderzwaag*, P.Eng., MASc. Claudia Villeneuve*, P.Eng., M.Eng.
elections@apega.ca and we will get back to you within two business days.
THE NOMINATION PROCESS
The Nominating Committee gathers the names of potential candidates for Council and President-Elect/Vice-President in two different ways. Members of the committee reach out to Professional Members in their own networks, and the committee also receives valid self-nominations. Background checks for all potential candidates cover security, finance and credit, APEGA disciplinary decisions, and Continuing Professional Development records. All nominees who qualify as candidates and are properly nominated will have their names appear on the ballot. However, the Nominating Committee is also charged with making sure specific Council needs are represented on the ballot. It endorses candi- dates with a strong combination of attributes for Council governance and succession. The window for Members to self- nominate is open for more than three months, each year. Nominations for the 2017 election opened July 10, 2016, and closed October 19, 2016.
Terence Waters, P.Eng. Emily Zhang*, P.Eng.
ELECTRONIC VOTING
To vote in the election, you need to access your account in the MSSC. If you need assistance with a password reset, call 1-800-661-7020 anytime and press 2 when prompted. Also, it’s a good idea to visit the MSSC well before the polling period to be sure your primary email address is accurate. After you vote, an automatic confirmation will be sent to the address. If you have questions about the election, please call us at 1-800-661-7020. During polling, we will have someone available to answer most of your questions 24/7. You can also email us anytime at
*candidates endorsed by the Nominating Committee
WINTER 2016 PEG | 9
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LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
How Proposed Legislative Changes Will Affect Your Practice
APEGA’s fourth round of legislative review consultations just wrapped up and we covered some critical ground. Several proposed recommendations would be firsts for engineering and geoscience in Canada
• introduction of creative sanctions • updating tools for statutory entities • allowing for custodians of practice We gathered input on the remaining topics through a survey that was open from October 4 to December 2. Some of these proposed recommendations are based on feedback we received during
Throughout October and November, we sought Member and Permit Holder input on proposed changes to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) . More than 1,000 individuals took part, providing us with valuable feedback. Many of the 20 topics covered during the fall consultations deal with proposed regulatory changes that will directly
affect how Members and Permit Holders practise their professions and conduct their business. Our face-to-face consultation sessions focused on six topics: • updating authentication practices • outlining the responsibilities of Responsible Members • initiating primary professional liability insurance
CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION An overview of discussion topics from the fall consultations
• require a sole practitioner to obtain a Permit to Practice
Topics covered during this round of consultations are complex, so we recommend going online to apegalegislativereview.ca to read the full briefing notes on each recommendation. Videos are also available. UPDATING AUTHENTICATION PRACTICES We are proposing new definitions to provide clarity on what needs to be authenticated and how it needs to be done. We’re recommending that in addition to Professional Members, Permit Holders be required to stamp documents. This added requirement for a Permit Holder stamp is to protect the public by demonstrating that companies have an engineering or geoscience quality management system in place, governing their professional practice. OUTLINING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESPONSIBLE MEMBERS We’re recommending the legislation be amended to more clearly define the requirements and obligations of Permit Holders and Responsible Members (RMs). These changes would: • expand and clarify responsibilities of RMs to include: » being professionally responsible for their companies’ Professional Practice Management Plans (PPMPs) and for ensuring PPMPs are followed. (All Permit Holders must have a PPMP in place that describes the corporate policies, procedures, and systems used to ensure that engineering or geoscience work done on behalf of the company is practised responsibly and meets all legal requirements) » stamping, signing, and dating PPMPs within their areas of responsibility • clarify that a deficiency in a PPMP (or evidence that a PPMP is not being followed) may result in a practice review order or a finding of unskilled practice or unprofessional conduct against a Permit Holder’s RMs (collectively or individually) and against the Permit Holder
INITIATING PRIMARY PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE APEGA is recommending that primary professional liability insurance be mandatory for all Permit Holders that provide consulting services. Under the recommendations: • Permit Holders will be responsible to ensure professional liability insurance is in place to cover work done by the Permit Holder and all individuals. This would include temporary employees, term employees, and individuals retained under contract • sole practitioners offering consulting services will be required to have mandatory primary professional liability insurance, along with a Permit to Practice INTRODUCTION OF CREATIVE SANCTIONS We’re recommending the legislation be amended to allow for creative sanctions, which are non-punitive measures that aim to restrict or change the behaviour of a person who has violated the Act. This would give APEGA’s statutory entities, as well as provincial courts, the flexibility to make creative sanction orders, either instead of or in addition to other sanctions in the EGP Act . UPDATING TOOLS FOR STATUTORY ENTITIES We’re proposing changes that update the tools and options available to statutory entities to manage their proceedings. The amendments would explicitly authorize all statutory entities to: • determine whether their proceedings will proceed by way of written or oral submissions, or both • create panels with decision-making authority, including investigative, discipline, appeal, registration, and practice review Under the recommendations, panels may be made of one or more Members chosen from the rosters of the relevant statutory entity.
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LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
previous consultations and cover: • refining the Continuing Professional Development program • investigator authority • authority of practice reviewers • Enforcement Review Committee • mediated settlements • consent orders • obligation to comply and cooperate • establishing timeframes for notices • membership categories for Provisional Licensee, Restricted Practitioners, and University Students APEGA also held separate consultation sessions with Professional Geoscientists to discuss proposed changes to the definition of geoscience, changes to the description of geoscience work products, and changes to geoscience exemptions. These changes will help us better protect the public interest
by reflecting current practice areas and advances in technology. As we’ve done following all our con- sultation sessions, we’ll publish a We’re Listening report summarizing the feedback we’ve gathered. The report will be posted online at apegalegislativereview.ca by December 21. APEGA Council will endorse or amend the proposed recommendations in the report at a special meeting in late January. GET INVOLVED: FINAL MEMBER CONSULTATION IS SET FOR THIS SPRING We’ve been working on the legislative review for more than two years now and will take until the spring of 2019 to complete it. The EGP Act hasn’t had a major update in over 30 years, so we’re working with the Government of Alberta to ensure the legislation continues
to protect the public interest and reflect current business practices. So far, APEGA Council has endorsed more than 60 recommended changes to the Act. Because the Act is provincial legisla- tion, the endorsed recommendations have been forwarded to the government for its consideration. Throughout the review process, we’ve been consulting Members, Permit Holders and other stakeholders in stages. The fifth and final round of consultations is planned for May, so there’s still time to get involved. To date, more than 5,000 APEGA Mem- bers and Permit Holders have helped shape the future of the professions by taking part in the legislative review process.
Questions or comments? legislative-review@apega.ca
Discipline and appeal panels of three or more Members should include public members selected from a roster.
issue to the discipline process, if it is in the public interest to do so. We’re also proposing changes to consent orders to clarify how and when they can be used. OBLIGATION TO COMPLY AND COOPERATE This recommendation makes it clear that Members and Permit Holders are expected to comply with the Act, Regulations, and Bylaws, along with practice standards. ESTABLISHING TIMEFRAMES FOR NOTICES This recommendation makes APEGA a more transparent regulator by setting timeframes for when APEGA needs to respond to a complaint and when we need to make sure a hearing takes place. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY — PROVISIONAL LICENSEE It proposed this designation be removed from the legislation. This would not prevent the 170 Members who currently have this designation from gaining employment, because they could become a Member-in-Training until they have one year of Canadian experience. The term licensee with this designation is misleading to the public. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES — RESTRICTED PRACTITIONER AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS We’re recommending these two categories be removed as we no longer have any Members who are Restricted Practitioners and we do not regulate university students. PROFESSIONAL GEOSCIENCE: CHANGES TO DEFINITION, WORK PRODUCTS AND EXEMPTIONS To better protect the public interest, we’re recommending some changes of the wording related to the definition of the practice of geoscience, type of work products and exemptions, so that the legislation can be updated to reflect current practice areas and advances in technology.
ALLOWING FOR CUSTODIANS OF PRACTICE We’re recommending that the legislation be amended to allow APEGA to apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an order appointing a person as a custodian of a Professional Member’s practice in the event of a Member’s incapacity, illness, death, or suspension of registration, so that it may be temporarily managed or, if necessary, dissolved. The custodian of a practice will be a qualified Professional Member. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) PROGRAM This deals with the regulation on the mandatory CPD program. The recommended change is to clean up some of the language and move the requirements for reporting out of the General Regulation and into the policies of the CPD program.
INVESTIGATOR AUTHORITY AND AUTHORITY OF PRACTICE REVIEWERS
This is a continuation of previous consultations, during which Members and Permit Holders requested more details around what the wording could look like related to the authority of these entities. ENFORCEMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE We’re recommending removal of the Enforcement Review Committee from the legislation, because the committee does not need to be specified in the regulation. Work will still be done on compliance because the legislation already explicitly authorizes it. MEDIATED SETTLEMENTS AND CONSENT ORDERS We’re updating these topics based on recommendations from previous consultations. Mediated settlement clarifies that even though there is a settlement agreed to by two parties, the Registrar may forward the
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REGISTRATION RENEWAL
New Tools Will Streamline Assessment of Engineering Applicants
WHAT IS COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT?
APEGA’s CBA model does things differ- ently. It asks applicants to explain how they meet specific competencies in 22 different areas. Ten of those areas are technical, and the other 12 are related to communication, project and financial management, team ef- fectiveness, professionalism, and the societal implications of engineering. Here’s more detail on what one of the 10 technical competencies requires. The competency is for knowledge of regulations, codes, standards and safety, including local engineering practices and procedures. Applicants will be asked to describe: • a situation that required them to use this competency (I designed a substation switching room.) • the action they took (I applied the following codes and standards to my design.) • the final outcome (my design was successful with no deficiencies or code deviations detected in final construction.) For all 22 competencies, the three types of explanation will be the same. Once UNDER DEVELOPMENT — A NEW WAY TO EVALUATE GEOSCIENCE APPLICANTS Geoscientists Canada is developing improvements for assessing geoscience applicants. Like CBA, a project called Admission Support Tools (AST) aims to enhance assessments through a competency profile for geoscience practice. The tool will describe core abilities and skills that a geoscientist needs for independent practice. APEGA hopes to be the first geoscience regulator in Canada to implement this new assessment tool. Depending on progress at the national level, that could happen by late 2017 or early 2018.
Two big changes coming in 2017 will enhance how APEGA evaluates the work experience and academic qualifications of engineering applicants. Our goal is straightforward: to create a fairer, faster, and more sustainable way to process applications for licensure. First up will be the introduction of Competency-Based Assessment (CBA). In 2017, we’ll start rolling out this online tool for evaluating the work experience and skills of Professional Engineer and Licensee applicants. A related Competency Self- Assessment Worksheet was launched in November of this year. See sidebar, page 15. We also plan to introduce another online tool, called the Academic Assessment Method, to help us better evaluate the educational credentials of engineering applicants. Together, these tools will ensure that those applying for licensure are fully com- petent to work independently, while provid- ing a fair, objective, and transparent way to measure an applicant’s work experience and education — especially when these have hap- pened outside of Canada. In recent years, this has become especially important. Applica- tions to APEGA more than doubled over the past decade, reaching over 9,100 in 2014 and dropping to 7,850 in 2015. Nearly half of our applicants are internationally trained. We’ve been working over the past few years to streamline our registration tools and service to tackle a backlog caused by the growing volume and increased complex- ity of applications. We’ve hired more staff, implemented new policies and procedures, and overhauled our hardware and software systems. New assessment methods are the next step in this renewal. As always, our top priority is to uphold the public interest through reasonable and appropriate qualification standards. We believe we can do this while decreasing overall processing times for all applicants.
CBA is an evaluation model that’s has been used successfully for engineering applicants in British Columbia for the past 10 years. There’s also been discussion at the national level about implementing a Canada-wide competency assessment system, but that’s still a few years from completion. Our need is now, so APEGA began developing a CBA model for Alberta in early 2015, supported by an Innovation Fund grant from the Government of Alberta. Why CBA? Simply put, it’s a superior way of connecting an applicant’s work experience to the core skills all Professional Engineers need to do their job competently, regardless of discipline. For international applicants, CBA makes it easier for applicants to under- stand the exact experience qualifications required to obtain a licence and how their skills will be recognized in Alberta. Even if their experience is not typical to Alberta — working in a rubber factory, perhaps — the competencies developed may be well suited to industries here. CBA is also a less complicated and more consistent way for the APEGA Board of Examiners (BOE) to determine whether candidates meet Alberta qualification standards. The role of the BOE, a volunteer board, is to evaluate applications. Currently, APEGA asks applicants to describe at least 48 months of previous work tasks on a document called the Work Experience Record (WER). After references verify an applicant’s work experience, the BOE determines what level of expertise was demonstrated by each task. Applicants sometimes require staff assistance to document their experience in a way that the board will understand, which sometimes extends processing times.
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REGISTRATION RENEWAL
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS These new evaluation processes are not only fairer and faster. They’re also more sustain- able than the processes they replace. They will ease the considerable workload of the volunteers who serve on the BOE. The BOE has grown to about 75 volunteers in recent years, to meet the demand of application growth. These volunteers come from industry and academia. Last year, they contributed 22,000 volunteer hours to APEGA. Some reviewers are processing around 600 files a year, which is not sustainable. Rather than adding more volunteers to the board, APEGA is introducing CBA and AAM to simplify and streamline our processes so we’re less dependent on volunteer time. Staff will be able to have a larger role earlier in the application process, which will also help speed up processing. Our goal is that by late 2018 we’ll have reduced the average processing time for international applications from 346 to 180 days. For Canadian grads, our goal is to reduce the average processing time from 220 days to 90. This will help us meet targets for foreign qualification recognition set this fall by the federal Forum of Labour Market Ministers. In October, federal, provincial, and territorial ministers announced that they will be asking regulators like APEGA to work towards completing initial foreign qualifications decisions within six months. We were well within the previous one- year target — but we want to do better.
the transcripts of international applicants to determine how their degree compares to a Canadian degree. When the WES evaluation is complete, APEGA’s BOE will assess the courses inter- national applicants have completed to ensure a minimum number of accreditation units have been achieved in four subject areas: mathematics, natural sciences, engineering sciences, and engineering design. Although we’re still ironing out final details, there will likely be three different levels of assessment based on the core subjects completed by Canadian or international applicants. • Applicants who surpass the minimum accreditation units will be approved for the academic portion of the licensing process. • Applicants who are close to meeting the standard will be required to confirm the quality of their degree by taking a confirmatory exam. • Applicants who are below the standard will either be refused licensure or assigned technical exams. Because all Professional Engineer and Licensee applicants will meet a single standard, the academic assessment process will be more objective, more repeatable, and fairer, while reducing the time it takes APEGA to conduct assessments. AAM will also identify early that an applicant will be unlikely to achieve licensure. This benefits applicants and staff, because it reduces the time spent on additional reconsideration of applications that are unlikely to succeed. The accepted best practice is that applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements should be informed as early in the process as possible.
applicants complete the full assessment, their competencies must be independently verified by someone familiar with their work, preferably a direct technical supervisor. After that, the assessment is reviewed by APEGA staff, and if complete, it’s forwarded to the BOE for final evaluation. Applicants will be scored on a scale of 0 to 5 per competency, with a minimum expected competency of 2 or 3. What will this mean for Professional Engineer and Licensee applicants? CBA will replace the WER when the new system comes online in February. Until the CBA launch, these applicants can continue to apply to APEGA using the WER. Note: All other engineering applicants and all geo- science applicants will continue using the WER. ALSO COMING SOON — A NEW METHOD OF ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT Another major change in the works is called the Academic Assessment Method (AAM), which will soon be used for evaluating educational credentials. There are currently two different standards to assess an applicant’s academic qualifications for licensure — one for Canadian applicants, one for international applicants. AAM will mean Canadian and interna- tional applicants will be assessed using a single academic standard. It’s the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board standard used to accredit Canadian engineering schools. However, international applicants will still be required to obtain an academic credential evaluation report from World Education Services (WES) prior to apply- ing to APEGA. We introduced the WES process about a year ago. WES evaluates
Questions? registration@apega.ca
COMPETENCY SELF-ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET: A NEW TOOL TO ASSESS YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE A new Competency Self-Assessment Worksheet (CSAW) launched by APEGA in November is the first competency self-assessment tool to be used by an engineering association in Canada. The worksheet, available in APEGA’s Member Self-Service Centre, allows Professional Engineering and Licensee applicants to evaluate their work experience skills in 22 specific competencies. Prior to applying for an engineering licence with APEGA, they can compare their scores to APEGA’s licensing requirements.
This will help them determine whether they need to improve their skills before submitting their application. CSAW is an optional self-assessment and doesn’t affect membership applications. It’s not an official document — it won’t even be reviewed by staff or the Board of Examiners. To complete the self-assessment, you must have already started the application process and received an APEGA ID number. You will see the CSAW option in your Member Self- Service Centre account.
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