INNOVATION July-August 2017

Certified Professional Program Following the past success of the Certified Professional (CP) Program course, APEGBC and the Architectural Institute of BC (AIBC) worked together to offer the course again this year from January to April 2017. The CP Program provides an alternative to the conventional building permit and inspection process used by the cities of Vancouver and Surrey, and other municipalities. Through the program, participating municipalities can issue a building permit on the certification of a recognized registered professional engineer or architect—the CP. The 2017 CP Program course focused on advanced code knowledge, with emphasis on Part 3 and relevant associated provisions of the BC Building Code and the Vancouver Building Bylaw , as well as topics closely related to CP practice. A two-day tutorial and intense two-day final exams followed the course. The Advanced Code Knowledge course was also offered along with the CP course for the first time this year. The 2017 CP Program course was fully enrolled, with 10 registrants in the Advanced Code Knowledge course and 24 in the full CP Program course. Of the 13 candidates who successfully completed the full CP Program, four engineering professionals and three architects were granted the specialist certified professional (CP) designation. Three engineers- in-training also successfully completed the program, and will have the CP designation conferred when they achieve professional engineer (P.Eng.) status. The 13 successful candidates are: Ron Bijok, Architect AIBC; Edward Chow, EIT; Richard Dohmeier, Architect AIBC; Mercedes Duifhuis, EIT; Gloria Grill, P.Eng.; David Chih Wai Ho, P.Eng.; John Wesley Lim, P.Eng.; Agata Malczyk, Architect AIBC; Mary McMains, Intern Architect, AIBC; Jon Milloy, P. Eng,; Sunny Nam, Architectural Technologist AIBC; Juraj Novota, P.Eng.; and Mark Olsthoorn, EIT. APEGBC and AIBC express their gratitude to the course lecturers, as well as the members of the exam committee who assisted in the development and marking of the final exams. Due to the proposed publication of the BC Building Code 2017 tentatively scheduled for January 2018, APEGBC and AIBC plan to offer the next CP Program course in 2019. However due to its popularity, the Advanced Code Knowledge part of the course will be offered again in early 2018.

Questions and Misconceptions

I often speak with members who have questions about APEGBC. In some cases, these questions are actually common misconceptions about APEGBC’s role and its practices. For example, members sometimes comment that APEGBC’s fees are high. In fact, at $380.00 (+ tax) our annual dues are amongst the lowest of all of professional regulators in the province (lawyers pay $3,875.57, accountants pay $930, and registered nurses pay $527.36). They are also in line with the fees of our similarly- sized sister associations, including Alberta ($360), Ontario ($399 – PEO and OSPE), Saskatchewan ($450) and Manitoba ($390). We’ve kept our member dues the same for five years. In addition, Council has approved the current budget with no member dues increase confirmed in the coming year, and no increase expected over the next three years. The budget is published on the website at apeg. bc.ca/About-Us/Governance/ Responsible-Financial-Management. Some other misconceptions that I hear are: APEGBC must always act in members’ interests. The association exists under an Act of the BC Legislature. Before anything else, we must uphold the primary mandate of this Act, and that is to protect the public interest with respect to the practice of professional engineering and geoscience. Members can change the Act. Only the BC Legislature can change the Engineers and Geoscientists Act . Members can change bylaws with a two-thirds majority ratification vote, but even this vote is subject to ratification by government. Council meetings are closed to the public . Council meetings are open to the public. The schedule is posted on

Ann English, P.Eng., CEO and Registrar

our website and the meetings are conducted in our offices in Burnaby. There is usually a brief closed session, but we have a transparency policy that restricts what matters can be considered there. (View the policy at apeg.bc.ca/About-Us/Our- Team/Council/Council-Resources- and-Forms) Staff make the nominations for Council candidates. This work is conducted by the Nominating Committee, which is chaired by the Past President. The committee comprises representatives from the branches, and members appointed by Council. APEGBC has low voter turnout for elections. Although we continue to strive for greater participation, APEGBC actually has slightly higher voter turnout than other engineering and geoscience regulators. Our typical turnout is between 18 and 30%; in 2016, we received 19%. By comparison, in 2016, Manitoba received 18%, Alberta received 15%, and Ontario received 10%. If you are interested in learning more about how APEGBC functions, I encourage you to attend a Council meeting. If you have any questions of your own about the association, please contact me, the President, a Council member, or a member of staff. Ann English, P.Eng., is the CEO and Registrar of APEGBC. You can reach her at aenglish@apeg.bc.ca, or President Bob Stewart, P.Eng., at president@apeg.bc.ca.

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