March 2009

CEQB:  Providing Added Value to the Profession

Chantal Guay, P. Eng., ing., M. Env., CEO, Engineers Canada

My previous message described benefits provided by Engineers Canada to our constituent members. In the same vein, the Canadian Engineering Qualifications Board [CEQB] works in support of Engineers Canada's strategic objectives and provides added value to our members and the profession. 

The Qualifications Board is an information-sharing resource. It brings experts from across the country and different disciplines together to share best practices on important issues, including continuing professional development, the code of ethics, and foreign engineering qualifications. The Board's work takes national collaboration and the importance of being accountable as a professional to the next level. [Note: PEGNL members Dennis Peters, P.Eng. and Tony Dawe, P.Eng. serve on this Board.] The primary role of the Qualifications Board is to develop national guidelines on professional engineering qualifications, standards of practice, ethics and professional conduct. The guidelines facilitate national coordination by promoting consistency in the licensing, registration and regulatory practices of our constituent members. A significant outcome of national coordination efforts was the creation in 1999 of the Inter-Association Mobility Agreement, which allows engineers licensed in one Canadian jurisdiction to obtain a licence in another jurisdiction with ease without compromising public safety. The creation of the mobility agreement is the direct result of the Qualifications Board having facilitated constituent members' collaboration, and Canadian engineers now enjoy mobility that is the envy of other professions within Canada and engineers in other countries. 

Another example of the Qualifications Board's work is the Guideline on Admission to the Practice of Engineering in Canada, which outlines the academic qualifications licensure applicants would normally be expected to demonstrate prior to being admitted into Canada's engineering profession. This and all other guidelines are not policies; they are a culmination of the best knowledge available for use as reference by our members. Many constituent members reference the guidelines in their policies but the value goes well beyond the documents themselves. In fact, the guideline development process allows constituent members' staff to share best practices and experience. This collaboration in itself has been very helpful to many, and the Board is also now working on formalizing the process for developing new guidelines and updating and revising existing guidelines, ensuring that they remain current.

The collaboration is a two-way process. For instance, the Qualifications Board's National Guideline on Environment and Sustainability was adapted from APEGGA's Guideline on Environmental Practice, and APEGBC's Guidelines on Sustainability provided additional subject material. Permission from our members to utilize their material to develop national guidelines is greatly appreciated, and demonstrates how sharing best practices moves important issues forward. 

This and all other Qualifications Board initiatives could not be accomplished without the volunteer members that comprise the Board. These individuals are donating their time and efforts in benefit of both aspiring and professional engineers. My thanks go to these diligent individuals, as well as to the multitude of others who donate their time to both Engineers Canada and the profession. Your expertise is helping shape a better future for all Canadians.

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador