3938 APEG Mar.Apr Edit.indd - APEGBC

Government Relations Update
APEGBC Council and senior staff are continuing to
work to advance Council’s government relations
priorities for 2008. APEGBC Executive Director and
Registrar Derek Doyle PEng has met with several
government officials in the past three months,
including a meeting with the Ministry of Energy and
Mines to promote partnerships that would allow the
Ministry better access to professional engineers and
geoscientists, and a meeting with the Ministry of
Advanced Education that led to a clear resolution of
recent bylaw challenges.
Recent discussions with Ministry of Education staff
included a review of the draft language for a $2.2M
contract between APEGBC and the Ministry of Education
for “Innovative Tools and Strategies for Seismically
Safe and Sustainable BC School Buildings.” APEGBC
senior staff have also been involved in presentations to
WorkSafeBC on the role of professional engineers and
geoscientists in snow avalanche risk assessments, and
APEGBC President Janet Benjamin PEng recently met with
Scott Henley, Executive Director of the BC Common Ground
Alliance (BCCGA) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding
between APEGBC and the BCCGA.
The BCCGA is a non-profi t organization
that was established to ensure the highest
possible standards of public and worker
safety, and damage prevention in connec-
tion with underground infrastructure (eg,
underground utilities including services
such as gas, electrical power, water, sewer,
storm drainage and communications). With
over 35 stakeholders, the BCCGA focuses
on maintaining best practices in relation to
buried infrastructure.
The Memorandum of Understanding
states that APEGBC and BCCGA will work
together to: evaluate the means by which
both organizations can increase awareness
of public and worker safety in relation to
underground infrastructure;collaborate
in dealings
with government,
associations,
and the public
to clarify
public and
worker
safety
issues;
to the Building Policy Advisory Committee on the status
of additions and amendments to the Guidelines for Legislated
Landslide Developments for Proposed Residential
Developments in BC.
Design work is continuing on the SMART online
application system. This project is co-funded by
the Ministry of Economic Development’s Regulator
Projects, which increases access to regulated
professions. The application, which will be part of
APEGBC’s new Enterprise Management System, will
provide secure online communication and tools that
will allow candidates to manage their application for
registration from anywhere in the world.
APEGBC will continue to focus on developing
a collaborative agenda for professional renewal
through upcoming meetings with relevant government
ministries, including the Ministry of Economic
Development, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, and
the Ministry of Environment.
APEGBC Signs MOU on Worker Safety
maintain an open dialogue on specific issues of concern;
and publicize and support this MOU to their respective
members to encourage a co-operative approach
to improvements.
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