Public Member Reports Council I am privileged to serve on the Council of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) as the public member. From a public member’s point of view, this has been a year of continued growth in governance for APEGA Council. When Council directed management of APEGA to become the best regulator—one whose paramount job is to protect the public—Council also had to ensure their governance practices reflected the best governance. Looking at regulators and regulations beyond Alberta, it appears that both what is regulated and how it is regulated is shifting. There are more places where the legislation seems to be moving the responsibility from self-regulation to regulation by political bodies. More disciplines want to make the choice to either work under a profession regulator or, conversely, not be regulated by a professional body. Compounding this shift is the increasing number of ways that the public can look for “data” on engineering and geoscience (and many other professions), which leads some of the public to feel they do not have to—or should not be bound to—consult a professional. Both the public and registrants have questions about the value of professional organizations and the work they do to protect the public. All of these factors make APEGA’s mandate less clear and more complicated. APEGA has increased its focus on delivering continuing professional development to its registrants. The recently updated Ethical Practice course and other learning modules are online and have had good uptake. This reflects APEGA’s aim to provide professional development that focuses on fundamentals and is applicable to all engineers and geoscientists—no matter their discipline or field. Council, through the committees, is working diligently to ensure registrants understand their professional obligations. They carry out the difficult duty of reviewing APEGA licensed professionals and their practices, and recommending improvements or penalties, as appropriate. Many boards have public members whose job it is to bring an outside perspective to a council. I continue to serve APEGA registrants and provide a public voice on APEGA Council.
Mary Phillips-Rickey, FCPA, FCA Public Member
56 64
2023 ANNUAL REPORT
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker