INNOVATION July-August 2013

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Five Bylaw Amendments Proposed for Fall Vote This fall, five bylaw amendments to modernize the Engineers and Geoscientists Act will be put to the membership for ratification. The bylaws proposed for amendment relate to limited licensee recognition and participation in governance processes, removal of time limits on EIT/GIT memberships, and alternative complaint resolution. These changes are part of APEGBC’s ongoing work to ensure that our governing legislation is current, adequate and relevant, reflecting modern practices. Consultation with members and stakeholders was undertaken for each of the proposed bylaws listed below in accordance with APEGBC’s Bylaw Consultation Policy. This policy outlines a process that was established as part of a Council initiative to increase the opportunities for members to provide feedback on potential bylaw changes. Consultation methods included: surveys, direct member e-mails, articles in Innovation and Connections with an e-mail contact for member feedback, and promotion through the association’s social media channels. Feedback received during the consultation processes was generally supportive of the amendments. All comments and data were reviewed, and in some cases, revisions to the wording of the bylaws were brought forward to Council, prompted by stakeholder input. Limited Licensees The Act received 11 modernizing amendments in June 2012. These included changes that enable limited licensees to participate in APEGBC’s key governance processes, including the ability to run for Council and vote in council elections, petitions, and bylaws; and to call and vote at meetings of the association. The amendments to the Act in June resulted in a number of automatic changes to some of APEGBC’s bylaws to bring them into alignment; however Council identified three additional bylaws for amendment that, while not in direct conflict with the Act changes, exclude limited licensees from related processes of governance and recognition. Bylaw 3 (a.1) Nominating Committee – The Nominating Committee is responsible for nominating individuals for the offices of president and vice president, and Council. Currently, the wording of this bylaw states that only members (as defined in the Act , professional engineers and professional geoscientists) may participate on this committee. Proposed amendments would allow limited licensees to participate on the nominating committee. Bylaw 3 (j) Ballot – This bylaw outlines the procedure for counting ballots for the council election. It currently states that only members (as defined in the Act , professional engineers and professional geoscientists) may participate as ballot counters. Amendments will allow limited licensees to participate as ballot counters. Bylaw 10 (c.1 and c.2) Life Membership and Honorary Life Membership – Bylaw 10 (c.1) permits Council to confer life membership in the association upon any member who meets certain criteria. Bylaw 10 (c.2) permits Council to confer honorary life membership in the association on those who have served in the office of president, or an individual Council deems to have made outstanding contributions to the professions of engineering or geoscience. Currently, both of these honours are limited to members (as defined in the Act , professional engineers and professional geoscientists). Amendments to these bylaws will allow life and honorary life licensure to be bestowed on limited licensees. Eight-year Limit on Member-in-Training Status Bylaw 11(c) Engineers-in-Training, Geoscientists-in-Training – Bylaw 11(c) sets out the requirements for status as an engineer- or geoscientist-in-training, and states, in part, “Engineers-in-training or geoscientists-in-training may not remain in that status for a period of more than 8 years unless satisfactory reasons for doing so are presented to the Council.” Amendments to this bylaw would remove the eight-year time limit. Alternative Complaint Resolution Bylaw 18 Alternative Complaint Resolution – This bylaw outlines and captures the critical elements, requirements and framework of alternative complaint resolution of discipline cases, while providing sufficient flexibility to the process. The full text of the bylaws has not been included in this article due to length. However, it is available and can be viewed online at www.apeg.bc.ca/about/bylaws2013.html and will also be provided to members as part of the voter information package that will be distributed by e-mail in late August. APEGBC encourages all voting members to actively be a part of association governance by participating in the bylaw vote and Council election this fall.

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