March 2006 ISSUE
COUNCIL BRIEFS
Financial Statements Show
Black Ink for APEGGA in 2005
The following news items were gathered from the Feb. 23 APEGGA Council meeting in Calgary. The next meeting will be held Thursday, April 20, in Edmonton, in conjunction with the APEGGA Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting.
Audited financial statements showing a small 2005 surplus were accepted by Council for presentation to the APEGGA Annual General Meeting on April 22. APEGGA brought in more than $10.1 million during the year and spent almost $9.8 million, for a bottom line of $313,855 in the black.
The largest revenue generator was dues at more than $7.1 million. Salaries, benefits and pension cost the organization more than $3.8 million.
The APEGGA pension plan is performing better than it was. In 2004 it ran a deficit of $605,000 but in 2005 turned around to a surplus of $174,000.
The full financials will be published in the 2005 APEGGA Annual Report and The PEGG, and will be available online and at the AGM.
Off-site AGM Venues Organized
For the first time, satellite venues will allow more members to attend
the APEGGA Annual General Meeting without significant travel. Council heard that
at least nine satellite venues will be linked by videoconference equipment. Members
in attendance will be able to vote on AGM motions.
Web casting for up to 100 participants is also available. However, those logging
on will be able to observe only, because APEGGA awaits government approval of
bylaw amendments to allow electronic voting.
The main meeting will be held in Edmonton on Saturday, April 22, at the Westin Hotel. Remote meetings will be hosted by facilities belonging to the Entrepreneurship Learning Centre Network, a system of videoconference centres operated by the not-for-profit organization Business Link.
Satellite venues lined up for the AGM are in Grande Prairie, Peace River, Fort McMurray, Hinton, Lloydminster, Red Deer, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. The Calgary meeting may be moved to the APEGGA offices, if numbers warrant.
Watch The PEGG, the e-PEGG and the APEGGA website for address information.
Software Guideline Approved
Members and technical experts have had their say, and now Council has approved
for publication the new Guideline for Professional Responsibilities in Developing
Software. The guideline — which puts APEGGA at the forefront of software
development regulation — zeroes in on engineering, geological and geophysical
software.
This software “may affect the safety, security and financial welfare of the public,” says the document’s purpose statement.
The guideline outlines the ethical and professional responsibilities of APEGGA members to ensure that the public interest is protected. And it guides those working with professional members during the development of software.
Education Foundation Eyes Increase Of Capital Base
The APEGGA Education Foundation — designed to enhance the education
of existing and potential members — hopes to increase its capital base
to $2 million from the current $900,000 over the next three to five years, Council
heard. Led by foundation President Connie Parenteau, P.Eng., a full contingent
of Education Foundation members were on hand to present Council with a draft
business plan.
“The foundation finds itself at an important milestone,” says the report. “From a very small flow-through fund in the past, the potential now exists to grow the foundation into a significant and potentially self-sufficient organization, capable of maintaining its activities in support of education and the development of future generations of APEGGA members.”
The foundation, which operates independently of APEGGA, received $137,000 from the Association in 2005, in addition to proceeds from Summit Awards ticket sales and administrative support. A make-good transfer of $184,465 has also been made to the foundation, after a reinterpretation of past Council directives.
Established in 1996 as a registered charitable organization, the foundation awarded scholarships valued at $93,000 in 2005 and also put $17,000 towards outreach programs. It supports a wide range of entrance, transfer and undergraduate scholarships, gold medal awards, graduate scholarships, and education and millennium scholarships. Last year it was able to initiate new centennial scholarships as well.
Aboriginal Affairs Committee Presents Terms of Reference
Council approved the terms of reference for the new APEGGA Aboriginal Affairs
Committee, which seeks to help Alberta boost the numbers of Aboriginals seeking
education and careers in math, science, geosciences and engineering. In December,
Council approved an Aboriginal initative with funding of $15,000.
The committee hopes someday to see an increase in representation of Aboriginals in the APEGGA professions — although it’s difficult to measure accurately because the Association can’t require mem-bers to reveal their ethnicity. However, the committee estimates there are about 100 Aboriginals on the register.
If the number were to proportionately reflect the demographics of Albertans, it would be more like 3,000.
A full story on the committee’s activities appears on the front page of this month’s PEGG.
Good Standing Redefined
Canadian engineering associations should not take into account past discipline
actions when deciding whether an engineer from a Canadian sister organization
is in “good standing,” executive directors from the associations
learned earlier this year. Council agreed in principle to a change that would
remove consideration of past discipline action in the home or any other Canadian
association.
The change is proposed for the Agreement on Mobility of Professional Engineers Within Canada. The new proposed clause is, “An applicant that has been disciplined in the past, but is not under a licence restriction, suspension or revocation and has satisfied all the requirements contained in a discipline or stipulated order in any jurisdiction in Canada in which the applicant has been licensed shall be considered in good standing.”
Council also approved in principle the addition of insurance requirements to the list of requirements applicants must meet for acceptance.
Both proposed changes now go to the APEGGA Board of Examiners for review and advice.
Pension Plan Turned Around
The Staff Benefits Committee has completed “three years of hard
work” on the restructuring of APEGGA’s staff pension plan. The plan
kept its defined benefits after a look at giving staff more involvement in their
pension investment, the committee reported to Council.
However, even without that major change, the pension plan has made a dramatic turnaround in performance, Council heard. Largely because of the committee’s recommendations, the fund now has no unfunded liabilities.
New plan and fund managers have taken over, a new asset mix selected, ancillary benefits implemented, and staff and employer contributions increased.
Pandemic Plan Reviewed for Council
Council reviewed a three-page description of APEGGA’s plan to deal
with a flu pandemic affecting staff. Experts say the world is due for a pandemic
and that it may well be imminent and already lurking in the form of avian bird
flu.
“While protection of the public safety will continue to be our mandate, the protection and care of staff will be critical to our fulfilling our mandate,” says the report.
Managers are developing cross-training plans, the Human Resources Depart-ment is providing information sessions for staff, APEGGA is stocking up on supplies necessary to fight the pandemic, and APEGGA is also showing leadership by publicizing its plans in The PEGG to help permit holders and other organizations develop their own plans.
Alberta CentennialProject Recapped
Alberta celebrated its 100th birthday in 2005 — and APEGGA helped make
sure the many contributions made by great innovators from its professional ranks
were recognized. Council heard that a partnership of APEGGA, the Science Alberta
Foundation, Alberta Innovation and Science, Western Economic Diversification
Canada, the Alberta Research Council and others took the message of science and
technological innovation to the people.
With the help of media partner Global Television, Innovation 2005 featured vignettes broadcast across the province. Radio stations and print media also got into the act, by publishing supplements and articles.
The project was initiated in early 2003 when APEGGA Executive Director & Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., and Dr. Arlene Ponting, CEO of the Science Alberta Foundation, recruited other science-related groups to get involved. In addition to those mentioned above, other major sponsors and partners included Alberta Ingenuity, TELUS, the Alberta Lottery Fund, Vibe 98.5, 91.7 The Bounce, The Bear, CKUA, the Edmonton Sun, the Edmonton Journal, the Calgary Sun and the Calgary Herald.