May 2007 ISSUE
sight lines 2006
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
By David Chalcroft, P.Eng.
APEGGA President, 2006-2007
APEGGA is a dynamic, robust organization. It upholds our professional members and safeguards the public interest to an extent even our own membership doesn’t always appreciate.
Allow me to build some appreciation, within and beyond our membership, by reporting on a few of the highlights that a busy and productive year generated.
Sight Lines
One of the key results of Council’s strategic planning in 2005 and 2006
is the establishment of sight lines, or clear lines of sight, from the representatives
members elect to actual APEGGA operations and results. These sight lines tie
the goals and objectives emanating from a strategic planning process to the action
items in our annual business plan. From there, the eye can follow through to
resources allocated in our annual budget, and then to the APEGGA Annual Report.
Councillors, staff, APEGGA members, the provincial government and the public now have a clear view of what we do, why we do it and how we do it. Through the Annual Report and other documentation, all of us can see how use of resources and actual results measure up to Council’s strategic objectives.
Strategic Priorities
Our responsibility to lead the professions has taken a giant step forward this
year through our discussions with ASET and Council’s agreement to move
forward on the one Act, two Associations regulatory model. If the province makes
the changes to our legislation the model requires, the public will be much better
protected — because technologists will be regulated to standards of professionalism
similar to those that APEGGA members enjoy.
Consultation with members was taken to new heights during the ASET discussions, with numerous communiqués and FAQs urging members to provide the Discussion Team with frequent feedback. This helped guide the course of these important discussions. Groundwork laid in 2006 led to the use of a videoconferenced, town-hall-style meeting on the proposed regulatory model in early 2007, and ultimately to positive results in ballots of ASET and APEGGA members.
Ipsos Reid conducted a full member survey at year’s end. Results of this tri-annual survey will guide Council in setting strategic priorities in the coming years.
Through the President’s Notebook in The PEGG, I have introduced the concept of APEGGA discussing topics such as highway safety, the Bre-X scam, and adapting to climate change. These topics and others will be explored in further depth as APEGGA develops a process to create position papers. These papers will allow our members’ expertise to enhance society’s understanding of technological issues.
We have introduced a concept called personalized professionalism — the internal compass members use to make decisions in their personal practices, according to what is in the public interest. We’ll expand this in coming years.
Progress continues on the mobility file. Geoscientists in particular can look forward to improved mobility across Canada soon, thanks to the excellent work of the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists.
The CCPG will soon finish creating a national syllabus — the core body of knowledge that will be required at each university that grants degrees in geology and geophysics. This will make the Inter-Association Mobility Agreement for Geoscientists much more effective, as will the creation of a common application form for transfer to any province in Canada.
On the U.S. mobility front, the concept of reciprocal licensure standards is beginning to take root with state boards. This could lead to the waiving of U.S. Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles of Engineering exams for Canadian professional engineers who apply for state licences, providing they have a certain number of years of acceptable practice after graduating from a Canadian university.
Governance
Your Council provides oversight of the statutory boards and committees that regulate
our professions. While unprecedented growth and economic activity are the reality
of the times in Alberta, APEGGA’s statutory boards continue to respond
to these challenges in a thorough and professional manner.
The Board of Examiners processed some 6,400 applications for student, M.I.T. and professional status, and registered more than 2,600 new professional members in 2006 (up from 1,500 just two years ago). Almost 1,000 of the new professional members were recent immigrants to Canada. The board recruited new volunteer members and is streamlining processes to cope with the numbers, all the while maintaining the high, proven standards for registration in Alberta.
The Practice Review Board completed a study of outsourced and off-shored engineering, finding that the end products fully meet the Alberta requirements for public safety, and that the APEGGA permit-to-practice system is being adhered to by the companies involved.
Discipline complaints remained at a relatively low level and were dealt with in a thorough, fair and transparent manner. When appropriate, APEGGA imposed sanctions and cancelled licences.
Presidential Plaudits
Serving as APEGGA’s 87th President has been my distinct honour. I have
had the good fortune to work with a very capable Council. All 19 members have
contributed constructively in fulfilling Council’s role to set policy while
overseeing APEGGA’s statutory role of regulating the professions.
I would particularly like to thank Past President Larry Staples, P.Eng.,
for his personal mentorship through the year, and for his significant contribution
to the one Act, two Associations discussions.
Finally, it gives me pleasure to assure you that this Association is being managed
in a top-notch manner. It takes a very competent and very professional staff,
under the leadership of Executive Director & Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng.,
to create this level of excellence. All members can be proud of the high regard
others have for APEGGA and its professions. This holds true for Alberta public
officials, sister associations in Canada, and individuals and organizations around
the world.
As Alberta’s fortunes keep unfolding, I am confident that our professions will continue to contribute significantly to improving the quality of life for all Albertans, and to protecting the public interest. APEGGA, I can assure you, will be at the forefront.