May 2010

Report of Chair and Chief Executive Officer

Darryl Benson, P. Eng.  (Photo by Paul Daly)

Steve McLean, P. Eng. (Photo by Paul Daly)

In early January 2010, members of the Board of Directors, PEGNL staff and members were shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Dr. Jim Wright, P.Geo., PEGNL’s Chair Elect.

Jim Wright was a vital participant and supporter of PEGNL and was a provincial and national leader in the promotion of professionalism in the geosciences.

Jim had many irons in the fire with PEGNL. Besides being Chair Elect of the Board of Directors and Vice-Chair of the Board of Examiners, for the past five years he has represented our association at the Canadian Council of Professional Geosciences and the Canadian Geosciences Standards Board.

He will be greatly missed at PEGNL.
 

Board of Directors Elections 2010

The Chair Elect position on the Board of Directors became vacant at Jim’s passing. Director Jennifer Williams, P.Eng. was appointed Chair Elect for the balance of the current term. Since Jim would have become Chair in May 2010, the Board voted to extend Darryl’s term as Chair for a second year in 2010-2011. This will result in Barry Thomson, P.Eng. continuing as Past President for another year.

Board Elections will be held in April to fill the 2010-2011 Chair Elect position and the two Director-at-Large positions that become vacant in May.

The Board of Directors expresses thanks, on behalf of all members, to the two out-going Directors: Todd Churchill, P.Eng. and Kim Kieley, P.Eng. who have served on the Council/Board of Directors for the past three years.
 

Guidelines and Recommended Minimum Fees for Architectural and Engineering Projects, and Recommended Hourly Rates

In January 2010, at the Board’s direction, PEGNL’s CEO ceased publication of the joint engineering and architecture recommended scale of fees and the recommended hourly rates for senior engineers, effective immediately.

The Engineers and Geoscientists Act (1989) gave PEGNL’s Council the power to establish and publish a scale of fees for consulting services, however, the Engineers and Geoscientists Act 2008 did not continue that power for the Board of Directors.

PEGNL will no longer be distributing the latest version of the fee scales booklet and will take the fee scales down from its website. Henceforth, PEGNL will no longer be publishing the recommended hourly rates for senior engineers.

A memorandum has been distributed to all permit holders and a notice was posted on the PEGNL website advising members of the Board’s decision.

 
Engineers Canada Synergy Task Force

Engineers Canada is the national federation of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country’s 160,000 professional engineers. Engineers Canada serves the associations, which are its constituent and sole members, by delivering national programs that ensure the highest standards of engineering education, professional qualifications and professional practice.

Each association has representation on the Board of Directors of Engineers Canada - Dick Myers, P.Eng. represents PEGNL. The Board is currently reviewing its governance structure through a synergy task force.

The current governance model at Engineers Canada has been in place for almost 20 years and, in the view of some provinces, no longer serves the needs of the 12 associations; there is a disconnect between the Board of Engineers Canada and the constituent associations. The task force is reviewing this relationship. The method and level of financial support from the associations to Engineers Canada is also under review.

It is planned that a full report from the task force will be presented to the Engineers Canada Board and the associations at the May 2010 meeting of Engineers Canada.

 
Engineers Canada Fellows Award

In 2007, the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE) changed its business name to Engineers Canada. At the same time, the Engineers Canada Board of Directors established a new award named “Engineers Canada Fellow”.

The Fellowship status may be conferred upon individuals who have given noteworthy service to the engineering profession in a number of categories. Engineers upon whom this honour is bestowed are awarded the privilege of the use of the designation “Engineers Canada Fellow – FEC”. Non-engineers are designated as “Honourary Fellow Engineers Canada” and may use the designation “HFEC”.

This year, PEGNL nominated two individuals who have provided valued service to our association. The recipients are Kim Kieley, P.Eng., a member of the PEGNL Board of Directors and Chair of the National Engineering and Geoscience Month Committee, and former PEGNL Registrar Daisy Foster.

These Fellowships will be awarded at the PEGNL Annual General Meeting on May 14, 2010.

 
Agreement on Internal Trade

In July 2008, the Council of the Federation (Premiers) agreed to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) by January 1, 2009, to more fully facilitate labour mobility in Canada.

The amendments were made with the intention to provide any worker certified for an occupation by a regulatory authority of one province or territory to be recognized as qualified to practice their occupation by all other provinces and territories.

In the fall of 2009, the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador passed legislation called An Act to Implement Labour Mobility. The legislation ensures compliance with the Labour Mobility Chapter of the AIT, which came into effect on August 11, 2009, and has been amended to require full labour mobility among all provinces and territories. Under the amended chapter, any worker certified for an occupation by a regulatory body in one province or territory will be certified for that occupation in all other provinces and territories, without requiring further education, training, examinations, experience or assessment.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the legislation applies to 36 regulatory bodies that govern 43 occupations, including engineering and geoscience. Several rounds of consultations were held with stakeholders, such as regulatory bodies, including PEGNL.   

The engineering and geoscience professions have had relatively easy mobility among the provinces since the associations entered into Inter Association Mobility Agreements a number of years ago. This new agreement among the provincial governments now assures full mobility within Canada for PEGNL professional members.

It is still necessary for engineers and geoscientists to be registered in the province where they practice, however, in order to comply with provincial legislation.

 
Volunteers

The week of April 18-24, 2010 is designated National Volunteer Week. For associations, charitable groups and all not-for-profit groups, it is a special time to thank and honour the people whose time and energy are the lifeblood of these organizations.

As a self-regulating professional organization, PEGNL could not operate without the dedicated efforts of volunteer members. Approximately 200 volunteer engineers and geoscientists contribute many hours annually, conducting PEGNL’s regulatory, professional and social affairs. 

On behalf of the Board and all members, we thank all volunteers for their dedicated support of PEGNL.

Conference and Annual General Meeting

This year’s annual conference has an interesting program of speakers and the Annual General Meeting will begin at 11.30 a.m.

We hope to see you on Friday, May 14^th at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, St. John’s.

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador