october 2009 issue
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president’s notebook
Great System, Great Organization
BY JIM BECKETT, P.ENG.
APEGGA President
Here I am, almost halfway through my term as President of APEGGA. What an experience, and what an eye-opener. I wish that each of you could see our Association through my eyes, as someone lucky enough to have been elected President, and someone who has had the opportunity to see and learn how other similar associations across Canada and the United States operate.
To say the presidency is a thrilling and revealing experience is an understatement. Every day, I gain a deepened insight into the complex and challenging issues facing our professions. Just as importantly, I also gain a deepened appreciation of APEGGA and its place in Canada, and in the world.
Simply put, I’ve been blown away. We members have one of the top self-governing organizations anywhere, operating within the best possible system of engineering and geoscience regulation. I have to admit that I might be a little biased, but I really don’t think I am exaggerating.
The two points — top-notch association and top-notch system — are directly related. We’re good because our system is good. It allows us to do what our act and the Alberta Government want: informed regulation of the professions. We do report to the province, and we do react to its policies, which are, for the most part, unobtrusive. And we advance public safety and protect the public interest on behalf of the province.
Our public members on committees and Council do a great job in reminding us that we owe a duty of care, and that we are accountable to our members and to the public. Great insight comes from these public members. They remind us constantly of our ultimate responsibility and obligation to the people beyond our ranks, and they bring a perspective that we might miss without them.
It is the people listed on our membership register, however, who elect your Council. We’re a democratic institution, and our professional members can vote and be elected to Council.
This is not how things are done everywhere else. We need look no further than the U.S. to find a dramatically different system of professional regulation.
State boards regulate primarily the consulting engineering practice and, in about half of the states, the geo-science performed in the U.S. Because of industrial exemptions in the U.S., licensure rates of professionals are a fraction of what we achieve in Canada. These boards, which normally regulate several professions in addition to engineering or geoscience, are made up largely of political appointees with widely varied backgrounds.
This has a number of drawbacks, as I’m sure you can imagine. The main one is that the board is not connected directly to, elected by or answerable to the membership.
All that said, and despite other differences in our systems, I can honestly say that those U.S. professionals who choose to become licensed engineering and geoscience practitioners are up to a standard similar to those of their Canadian brothers and sisters.
That’s why, with little reservation, we have entered into or are pursing mobility agreements with various state boards. For the last decade or more, we have actively lobbied to improve the ability of our professionals to work in the U.S., and U.S. professionals to work here. This has been hugely successful, but it should be noted that it is us and our system that did the courting.
We recognized the need to reach out to our U.S. counterparts, as an economic, public and member benefit on both sides of the border. We were able to make this a priority and painstakingly edge Canada onto state agendas, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. And we are now reaping the benefits.
In Banff last May, state boards actually met on Canadian soil for the Western Zone Interim Meeting of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. This reflects a huge level of mutual trust and respect, and it would never have happened without the groundwork your Association has laid. Only a system that understands the issues and can chart its own course could accomplish what we have accomplished.
Self-regulation also exists in Europe, but not to the same extent as it does here. Canadian engineering and geoscience self-regulating organizations have exclusive right-to-title and right-to-practice provisions in their enabling legislation. In Alberta, individuals and companies must be licensed to practice our professions or even use our titles.
This one is an enormous benefit to the public. The United Kingdom, for example, relies heavily on buyer beware. You can choose to use someone who is not a C.Eng., or Chartered Engineer, to work on your project. That person can practice engineering and even call himself or herself an engineer — legally.
Our Advantage
Of course, the best system in the world doesn’t operate at its best without great people. APEGGA has strong leadership, through Executive Director & Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., and his team. We have a business plan model that is second to none — it ties the actions of staff and our budgeting system directly to the strategic planning of your elected Council.
And, thanks to the size of our membership, we have the resources to be true leaders on the national and international stage. I see it during every function I attend on your behalf. When you represent APEGGA, you represent the best, and this does not go unnoticed.
Your Role
One of the key challenges for a self-regulating profession is the constant requirement to engage members, and to encourage them to volunteer for the various APEGGA committees and council.
We are actively working to improve member engagement in APEGGA. We believe our system works, and we believe the way to ensure it continues to thrive is through you — your vote, your participation in our committees, your dedication to your professions.
We can’t all be President of APEGGA; I am one of the lucky few, when it comes to that privilege. But we can all become involved, validating and improving the great work APEGGA does.
Why not become an active part of our self-regulation success story? Check out the APEGGA website, www.apegga.org, or watch your in-box for e-PEGG items on volunteer opportunities.
Questions or comments? Please contact me at president@apegga.org.