APEGA 2020 Annual Report

APEGA 2020 Annual Report

2020 APEGA Annual Report

When our first general meeting was held on July 10, 1920, the association had 106 registered members in four engineering branches—69 in civil, 20 in mining, 10 in electrical, and seven in mechanical. Today, APEGA’s 70,593 members include professional engineers, professional geoscientists, and members-in-training practising in dozens of different disciplines.

70,593

A CENTURY WELL BUILT Much has changed for APEGA over the past century, yet our purpose today is the same as it was in 1920:

To build a safe and resilient Alberta . Our founders would no doubt approve.

Back in their time, towns and cities across our fledgling province were rapidly expanding. So, too, were industrial developments. Major infrastructure projects—everything from water and electrical plants to dams, irrigation canals, oil and gas developments, bridges, pipelines, roads, and railways—were in full swing. A group of forward-thinking engineers were concerned that lax regulation of their profession was endangering the public. They proposed to the Government of Alberta that engineers—whose ranks in those days included geoscientists— regulate themselves to safeguard public welfare. The province agreed. On April 10, 1920, our governing legislation was proclaimed. One hundred years later, we continue to proudly fulfil the mandate given to us by the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act . We have grown to become the largest organization of self- regulated professionals in Western Canada. Along with our members and permit-holding companies, we have a collective commitment to public safety and well-being. Though many of our centennial events and activities were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we celebrated A Century Well Built in other ways: • we shared defining engineering and geoscience milestones from Alberta’s history and looked to the future on our commemorative website, www.discoverapega.ca

• we created a series of videos that reflected on a century of engineering and geoscience accomplishments and envisioned what our next 100 years might hold • our members captured the spirit of engineering and geoscience in Alberta through a centennial photo contest that received almost 200 entries • we celebrated with our community partners, including the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, which lit the Calgary Tower and the High Level Bridge in APEGA blue and green From building prosperity through scientific research and technological advancement, to enhancing environmental protection, to launching Alberta to the forefront of medical innovation— APEGA professionals have shaped who we are as a province and as a society. Today, they play a critical role in creating a sustainable and diversified economy by devising pioneering solutions across every industry. For more than 100 years, the people and government of Alberta have trusted APEGA, and our members, to act in their interests through the regulation of the professions. This is our privilege and responsibility. We were honoured when our contributions were recognized in the Alberta legislature on July 16. Because APEGA’s history is Alberta’s history.

Our future is Alberta’s future.

CONTENTS

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2 INTRODUCTION

Professional Sustainability Member Benefits myAPEGA Voice of Our Stakeholders Outreach Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Career Services Volunteers Summit Awards Board Letters Financial Statements 34 34 35 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 52 34 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

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Key APEGA Milestones from 1920–2020 COVID-19: Adapting to Change Message from the President Message from the Registrar & CEO APEGA Council

8 10 12 14

16 REGULATORY HIGHLIGHTS

16

Modernization of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act Extension to the General Regulation Council Election Becoming Licensed Competency-Based Assessment Fair Registration Practices Act Application Processing Times Our Membership

16 17 18 20 20 21 22 24 26 28 28 29 30 33

Investigations Enforcement Appeal Board Joint Boards Examinations Professional Practice Regulatory Affairs

KEY APEGA MILESTONES FROM 1920–2020

It becomes mandatory that all professional engineers in Alberta become members of APEA, with annual dues of $2

APEA requires all companies performing engineering, geology, or geophysics work to have a Permit to Practice

Membership reache s

1930

1952

1968

1920

1946

1960

The Engineering and Related Professions Act is passed, allowing for separate registration and designation of engineers , geologists , and geophysicists

The Engineering Profession Act is passed and the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta (APEA) is created

APEA begins using the P.Eng. abbreviation for professional engineers

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APEGGA’s new professional geoscientist (P.Geo.) designation is proclaimed in the Alberta legislature. It combines the professional geologist and professional geophysicist designations

Membership reache s

APEGA celebrates

of regulatory service

1988

2011

2020

1969

1999

2012

APEGGA becomes APEGA , reflecting

the combined designation of professional geoscientists

APEGGA launches its first website

APEA becomes APEGGA , the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta

Membership reache s

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COVID-19: ADAPTING TO CHANGE We navigated a new normal in 2020 with the arrival of COVID-19,

yet our essential work as a regulator remained on course. Our responsibility to regulate the professions and safeguard the public welfare did not pause.

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We followed government and public health recommendations and closed our Calgary and Edmonton offices on March 19. Our core business operations quickly pivoted. Within a day, staff members were working remotely, connecting with stakeholders—and each other—through phone, email, and our existing digital platforms. APEGA Council met virtually throughout the year to provide governance oversight and direction. Our statutory boards and committees also moved online—like our Board of Examiners, which continued reviewing and approving Canadian and international licensing applications. Staff and volunteers conducted other key regulatory activities digitally, including investigative interviews, discipline hearings, practice reviews, practice standard consultations, and Permit to Practice seminars. We also had great success offering web-based events and activities for professional development and outreach. In compliance with public health measures, we cancelled our annual APEGA Professional Development Conference and Summit Awards Gala in April. For the first time in our history, we were unable to gather for our annual general meeting, also in April. We were still able to confirm our Council election results following authentication by our third-party election vendor and approval by APEGA’s Ballot Counting Committee. COVID-19 tested our systems like never before. But it also provided us with an unmatched opportunity to revisit why and how we do what we do. A willingness to adapt—by staff, volunteers, and all our stakeholders—ensured that our various regulatory, operational, and governance functions were not negatively affected by the unexpected shift.

Supporting Our Membership

Through the Pandemic APEGA’s Crisis Management Team, executive leadership, and Council worked together to find feasible ways to support our membership while still being able to function the way we need to. Several initiatives were undertaken to address challenges facing our membership and ensure continuity of APEGA services: • we enabled registrants facing financial hardships to apply for a reduction in their dues, and permit-holding companies to defer 75 per cent of their dues • we lowered our continuing professional development requirement for all registrants to 30 hours for the year • we put a hold on all cancellations of licences and permits from April 2020 to March 2021 • we offered extensions to members-in- training who were under- or unemployed and unable to gain the four years of experience necessary to receive their professional licence • we waived our job board and mentoring fees until March 2021

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT JOHN VAN DER PUT , P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) APEGA President

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As APEGA’s president during its centennial year, I will remember 2020 as a year when we were tested, both as a regulatory body and as engineering and geoscience professionals. We were confronted with a global health emergency, a strained economy, and increasing scrutiny of professional self-governance in Alberta. But I’ll also remember 2020 as the year APEGA, and our members, rose to the occasion. We reflected on our history with pride and demonstrated—as we have for 100 years—that we are agile, resilient, and responsive in the face of adversity. APEGA Council provided diligent governance oversight, developing and executing solutions that enabled APEGA to react quickly to changing situations. Undeterred by the pandemic, APEGA’s leaders and staff kept operations going without missing a beat or losing sight of our goals. Most importantly, we kept the promise made by our founders a century ago: to safeguard the public welfare of Albertans by proactively regulating the practices of engineering and geoscience. With this mandate to guide us, we are working to become an even stronger regulator. Topping our priorities is the renewal of our governing legislation, the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act . Self-regulated professional associations across Canada face increased pressure from provincial governments to show we can protect the public by ensuring our members are practising competently, ethically, and professionally. The changes APEGA has proposed to the Act will give us better tools to hold registrants accountable if they fail to meet these obligations.

APEGA’s licensed members are also integral to our efforts to become a stronger regulator. The best way we, as professionals, can support self-governance is by living our Code of Ethics every day: practising competently, with principle, and with the public interest always at heart. By doing so, we show Albertans we’re worthy of the confidence they’ve placed in the P.Eng. and P.Geo. designations. As leaders in self-regulation, APEGA and our members are always pushing ourselves to raise the bar higher. Alberta’s history over the past century is a testament to this. Engineering and geoscience innovation, determination, and drive helped our province flourish and made it a better place for everyone. This perseverance, imagination, and ingenuity will also help us define and solve the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. There will be many obstacles to overcome—some we expect, and some we can’t even imagine. In this, our centennial year, it was my honour to serve as APEGA president and to stand on the shoulders of the 100 men and women who held this position before me. Our journey so far has brought us to a pivotal moment in time. As our next 100 years of service begins, we’ll be stronger because of it.

Our first virtual President’s Town Hall in September was a new way for APEGA’s president to connect with members during the pandemic and to share updates on APEGA activities. More than 200 professionals joined the online discussion, including participants from Abu Dhabi and Texas.

NEW CONNECTIONS

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MESSAGE FROM THE REGISTRAR & CEO Jay Nagendran , P.Eng., FCAE, ICD.D, FEC, FGC (Hon.) Registrar & Chief Executive Officer

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This has truly been a year like no other. We started 2020 with great anticipation for APEGA’s centennial, a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate A Century Well Built. We held our first centennial events in Calgary and Edmonton in February, looking forward to more. A month later, everything changed. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we closed our offices to the public in mid-March and they remained closed all year. Most of our employees spent the rest of 2020 working from home. As with everything we do, safety was at the forefront of all our decisions on how to move ahead during the pandemic. APEGA staff members were nimble, creative, and innovative in response to the disruption to their personal and professional lives. Their tenacity enabled us to meet this sudden challenge head on and adeptly fulfil our duties as Alberta’s engineering and geoscience regulator. Our IT staff ensured the abrupt transition to a remote work environment went smoothly. Office management staff kept our offices clean and safe for those who came in. The Social Committee helped us stay connected and engaged. We pulled together, while respecting the need to keep our distance. This willingness to step up—by all APEGA employees—has reinforced my belief that if an organization looks after its people, they will go above and beyond to support their organization. And despite the stress we all sometimes felt, we made progress on several strategic priorities that will help us better serve our membership and safeguard Albertans. You can read about these achievements throughout the pages of this report. Of course, everything we accomplished this year— and everything we’ve achieved since 1920—could not have happened without the essential support of APEGA volunteers. Volunteers are the foundation that sustains our professions. They are behind almost everything we do, at every level. This year, especially, I am incredibly thankful for their ongoing dedication, enthusiasm, and leadership. Over the past century, APEGA staff, volunteers, and professional members have collaborated with government and community partners, and so many others, to build a legacy of honesty and trust. Our centennial is the perfect opportunity to ask ourselves: how can we become even better? The key to our continued success is to always exceed the

expectations of those we serve. To grow stronger by encouraging a culture of belonging, inclusion, and diversity. To remember and rely on our core values of integrity, accountability, service, and innovation, which guide our behaviour and actions each day. We’ve shown, over 100 years, that self-regulation is a proven model to protect Albertans from unethical and unskilled practice. But self-governance is not our right as professionals. It’s a privilege given to us by Alberta’s 4,428,112 citizens. APEGA remains committed to working with our stakeholders to regulate the practices of engineering and geoscience responsibly and rigorously. We will work hard to uphold the environmental, economic, and social standards that Albertans deserve and demand. Like we always have, we will be there to move Alberta safely forward for the next 100 years and more. APEGA Core Values WE EXHIBIT INTEGRITY WHEN WE: • match actions to words • behave openly and honestly • treat everyone fairly and impartially • do the right thing—even when no one is watching WE EXHIBIT ACCOUNTABILITY WHEN WE: • act reliably

• own our outcomes • help others succeed • use transparent processes WE EXHIBIT SERVICE WHEN WE: • exceed expectations • seek solutions

• keep commitments • listen and empathize

WE EXHIBIT INNOVATION WHEN WE: • identify problems • seize opportunities • champion solutions • learn and share

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APEGA COUNCIL Since our founding in 1920, APEGA has been governed by an elected Council entrusted by the Government of Alberta and its citizens to protect the interests and safety of the public. APEGA Council consists of 16 licensed professional members and three public members appointed by the government.

2020 Council Executive President: John Van der Put, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Vice-President: Lisa Doig, P.Eng. FEC, FGC (Hon.) President-Elect: Brian Pearse, P.Eng. Past-President: George Eynon, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.) 2020 Council Claudia Villeneuve, P.Eng., M.Eng. Jennifer Enns, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) Tim Holm, P.Eng. Walter Kozak, P.Eng. David Johnson, P.Geo., PhD Manon Plante, P.Eng., MDS, CD1 Melanie Popp, P.Eng. Jason Vanderzwaag, P.Eng. Margaret Allan, P.Eng., P.Geo., FGC Darren Hardy, P.Eng. RaeAnne Leach, P.Eng., PMP, FEC, FGC (Hon.) Theresa Watson, P.Eng.

These volunteers each bring their own diverse expertise and experiences to Council, providing vision, guidance, and oversight to ensure APEGA fulfils its public-protection mandate. Their responsibilities include: • developing and driving APEGA’s strategic direction • ensuring the responsible use of resources to effectively execute APEGA’s strategic plan • providing oversight of APEGA’s function and activities • making decisions that affect the professions and the membership • providing financial oversight Regulation of the engineering and geoscience professions has continually evolved over the past 100 years to meet the changing needs and expectations of Albertans. As we move into our second century of service, APEGA Council will continue to build on our past achievements to improve and enhance our shared future.

Mary Phillips-Rickey, FCA, FCPA (government-appointed public member) Georgeann Wilkin, RN, LL.B, MBS (government-appointed public member)

On March 19, 2020, when Alberta went into a pandemic lockdown, APEGA Council held its first-ever virtual meeting. Councillors from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and Grande Prairie connected instantly via WebEx, an online video-conferencing application. Compare that to 1920, when the fastest way for APEGA councillors to connect for association meetings in Edmonton and Calgary was to travel via passenger train. Back then, a one-day Council meeting could require a four-day round trip between cities.

FORWARD

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REGULATORY HIGHLIGHTS As a national leader in regulation since 1920, APEGA’s systems are robust, proactive, and responsive. We are committed to continuous performance and process improvements across all our regulatory functions, ensuring the protection of the public and the compliance of our registrants.

Modernization of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act

Extension to the General Regulation

APEGA registrants voted electronically to amend Section 79.1 of the General Regulation to extend its expiry date to September 30, 2026. The General Regulation outlines criteria for registration, ethics, and professional development. The extension enables the continued regulation of the engineering and geoscience professions in Alberta while we work with the provincial government to proclaim a modernized EGP Act . This was the first time we had held an electronic vote other than our annual Council elections. More than 9,700 licensed professionals voted, which is nearly 17 per cent of eligible voters. They were strongly in favour of the extension, with almost 97 per cent voting in support.

We continue to work with the Government of Alberta to modernize the Engineering and Geoscience Professions (EGP) Act , which is currently more than 40 years old. The EGP Act is the joint governing legislation for APEGA and the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET). We began a multi-year consultation and review of the legislation in 2014. In 2019, APEGA and ASET agreed on more than 160 recommendations, which we sent as a joint submission to the government. The updated Act will support continued public safety in Alberta through improved transparency and accountability. It will provide meaningful consequences for those who fail to meet our professional, technical, and ethical standards. We hope to see the revised legislation tabled and voted on in 2021.

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Council Election

APEGA’s annual election is the foundation of a strong and sustainable self-regulatory system. Election candidates are licensed professionals who volunteer their time to give back to the professions. Through the election process, their peers determine who will serve on APEGA Council and provide regulatory oversight of the professions. We’ve had healthy participation by election candidates in recent years:

Technology is helping us increase voter engagement and improve the voting experience. • Voters can get to know candidates through our election web page and on social media, where they can read candidate profiles and watch short candidate videos. • Our streamlined electronic voting system, introduced in 2019, has made it easier for licensed professionals to securely cast their votes online. * Due to the public health emergency, APEGA Council was unable to convene publicly to read the election results at the 2020 annual general meeting in Edmonton on April 24, 2020. It invoked Bylaw 11 on April 2, which allowed Council to declare the results of the 2020 annual election as valid based on certified confirmation from Simply Voting, our third-party voting provider, and the 2020 APEGA Council Election Ballot Counting Committee report, which has been made public in the interest of transparency and trust.

3 FOR PRESIDENT 16 FOR COUNCIL 19 CANDIDATES

2020

13 CANDIDATES 15 CANDIDATES

3 FOR PRESIDENT

VOTER PARTICIPATION BY YEAR

10 FOR COUNCIL

2019

17.1%

2020

19.3%

2019

3 FOR PRESIDENT

15.1%

2018

12 FOR COUNCIL

17.9%

2017

2018

15.0%

2016

APEGA licensed professionals elected our first Council through mail-in letter ballot in 1920. FREDERICK PETERS , a civil engineer from Calgary and a long-time advocate of professional self-regulation, was elected the association’s first president. Helping him lead Council was LEONARD DRUMMOND , a mining engineer from Edmonton and the association’s first vice-president.

SELF- REGULATION

APEGA elections were conducted electronically for the first time in 2008. In 2020, all valid votes were cast online.

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Registration with APEGA is a pivotal milestone for applicants. It’s also central to APEGA’s role to serve the public interest and keep Albertans safe. BECOMING LICENSED

Our Registration Department and Board of Examiners work together to establish

transparent and objective admission standards, policies, and processes. The review process is detailed and thorough to ensure applicants have the education, experience, English-language competency, and ethical and professional knowledge required for professional practice. We treat our potential registrants with respect by processing their applications honestly, fairly, and as timely as possible. Each application is unique and reviewed individually to ensure we fully understand all aspects and details. Many of our applicants are from outside Canada. We are committed to eliminating barriers for these internationally trained applicants. We review applications in a balanced manner based on applicants’ qualifications, not their countries of origin. Since 2012, we have been the only engineering and geoscience regulator in Canada to have a full-time international qualifications officer providing outreach and support for foreign professionals seeking licensure.

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VOLUME OF CANADIAN VS. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

2020

3,295

1,385

2019

3,402

1,417

3,838

1,342

2018

Canadian

International

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Competency-Based Assessment

Fair Registration Practices Act

Our competency-based assessment (CBA) tool was introduced in 2018 to allow engineering applicants to assess and explain their work experience. This approach is an objective and consistent way of evaluating professional competency, especially for applicants who gained their work experience outside of Canada. We have made changes to the CBA processes and policies to increase the tool’s efficiency and effectiveness. • We originally used two examiners to review low-risk applications. After gaining experience with CBA, we confidently reduced this to one reviewer. • After implementation, the number of refused applications increased due to deficiencies in the applications. We changed the process to allow deferrals and provide applicants with information on how to address the deficiencies. This permits applicants to remain inside the application process while they resolve experience deficiencies, saving them time and money.

We made substantial progress in 2020 on a multi-year project to renew our registration tools and processes. Clear improvements have brought us closer to meeting targets set by the Fair Registration Practices Act introduced by the Government of Alberta in June 2019. • The Act requires regulators to provide applicants with an interim decision on their application status within six months of submission. • The decision can include advice on extra training or additional experience required. APEGA strives to continuously enhance and expedite our registration process without compromising public safety. Our existing registration practices meet industry best practices, including being aligned with the province’s foreign-qualification recognition framework. Further enhancements in 2020 are improving our application processing times. • Licensed APEGA staff members (professional engineers and professional geoscientists) support the Board of Examiners (BOE) by conducting academic and experience reviews for low-risk files. • Some low-risk applications can be approved quickly without additional review. • The BOE is deferring applications that are highly deficient in academic qualifications (those lacking a half-year or more of engineering or geoscience education). • A recruitment campaign increased the number of volunteer academic and experience

examiners on the BOE to 120 from 70. • We hired additional staff to support the application process.

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