september 2008 Issue
mobility
Engineering Association Transfers
Meet Trade Requirements, Release Says
The regulatory bodies responsible for licensing professional engineers in Alberta and B.C. comply with their provinces’ new trade agreement, they announced in a joint news release in July.
APEGGA and APEGBC noted that 99.5 per cent of the 2,600 professional engineers who apply to transfer each year between provinces and territories across Canada are licensed by the receiving province. Applicants usually receive their licence within five working days.
“Given these numbers, we are confident in stating that APEGBC and APEGGA are in essence compliant with the requirements of the B.C. and Alberta Trade, Investment, Labour and Mobility Agreement, as well as the national Agreement on Internal Trade,” said Janet Benjamin, P.Eng., President of APEGBC.
Added APEGGA President Gordon Williams, P.Geol.: “Canadian professional engineers have long recognized the importance of having efficient, nationwide labour mobility. But we are equally aware of our obligation under provincial legislation to ensure that public safety and well-being must always be the paramount concern in our decision to license.”
In 1999 APEGBC, APEGGA and the 10 other constituent associations of Engineers Canada signed the Inter-Association Mobility Agreement. Renewed in 2004, the agreement allows professional engineers licensed in one Canadian jurisdiction to become licensed in all other Canadian jurisdictions with a minimum of effort, without compromising obligations to protect public safety.
“Although, for constitutional reasons, the final responsibility for issuing a licence to a P.Eng. must remain within the jurisdiction of APEGGA or APEGBC, I’m convinced that the effort of the engineering profession to facilitate national mobility is working,” said Dr. Williams.
The governments of Alberta and B.C. signed the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, known as TILMA, in April 2006, and a transitional period for it began in April 2007. Among its goals are reducing barriers to trade, investment and ability to work, and it comes into full effect in April 2009.
The Agreement on Internal Trade, or AIT, is a national effort that came into force in 1995. Signed by Canadian first ministers, it is dedicated to reducing barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services and investment within Canada.
Together, APEGBC and APEGGA have about 78,000 members.