APEGS » Act and Bylaw Review

APEGS is engaging in a review of The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act and associated bylaws. Below is an overview of the project. Refer to APEGS Act Review: Information for Members for details about the proposed act and bylaw changes and the rationale.

Reasons for the Review and Changes

The act and bylaws have not undergone a comprehensive review since 1997. Over the last 27 years, the professions have evolved, including the public’s expectations of how we regulate all members.

We are not alone in making changes to an act. Other self-regulators in Saskatchewan and engineering and geoscience regulators throughout Canada have or are going through similar changes to their acts.

Doing so enables APEGS to lead and collaborate on proposed changes. The timing is also right for government to consider changes to our legislative framework given other government priorities such as the Labour Mobility and Fair Registration Practices Act.

Member Consultation

Information on the act and bylaw review has been and will be presented to members as follows:

The Modern Regulation for a Resilient World Information Session at the professional development conference on May 3, 2024
Annual meeting on May 4, 2024
APEGS Member Update and Engagement Event on September 12, 2024
APEGS Member Survey: through APEGS Connect, an APEGS member survey will be issued in September 2024, as an opportunity for members to participate in the consultation process. If you are not a member of APEGS Connect, you can still participate in the survey. Watch your email for details on how to participate.
APEGS Practising the Professions Day on October 28, 2024

APEGS plans to have more in-person and online information sessions throughout 2024 and into early 2025. Details on the location, time and topics of each information session will be communicated to APEGS membership in the coming months.

APEGS is committed to ongoing communication. Updates will be made available through outreach channels such as The Edge Monthly e-newsletter, The Professional Edge print magazine, and this webpage.

Timeline

The current plan is to provide the proposed changes to the Minister of Highways, who is also the minister responsible for the act, for consideration during the call for legislation in early 2025. (Note: The Government of Saskatchewan owns the act and will be responsible for approving and implementing any changes.) If approved, we hope the changes will be implemented by late 2025 or early 2026; however, the timeline is subject to change and may be impacted by the provincial election in the fall of 2024.

Unchanged Foundations

While APEGS is proposing amendments to the act, it is essential to note that many foundational aspects remain unchanged, including, but not limited to:

Maintaining the privilege of self-regulation by having independent legislation exclusive to the engineering and geoscience professions in Saskatchewan.
Unwavering commitment to APEGS’ role as a regulator responsible for upholding public interest and safety.
Maintaining the privilege of an independent council elected by peers who are APEGS members.
Volunteer opportunities for APEGS members to serve on committees that support self-regulation.
Governing structure including 11 elected members and two public appointees.
Regulatory Bylaws will not come into force until approved by the minister and published in the Gazette, and the Administrative Bylaws will not come into force until they are either filed with the Registrar of Corporations or the date specified in the bylaws.
Conducting Annual Meetings that uphold governing requirements of disclosure and engagement with participation by members.
Exclusive use of title with expansion to protect additional titles.
Enhanced investigation and disciplinary processes.
The ability to appeal decisions of APEGS investigation, discipline and registration processes to the Court of Kings Bench.
Enforcement for unregistered individuals and firms acting as engineers or geoscientists.

What it Means for Members

Members’ day to day practice does not change.
Firms will be required to have professional practice standards, similar to some other provincial jurisdictions;
Simplification of act and bylaws will provide better transparency and help member better understand their professional responsibilities;
Modern legislation that considers public safety and expectations allows engineering and geoscience professionals to remain self-regulating; and,
Strong professions now and into the future.

Themes of Change

Simplify: Move specifics from the act to bylaws and policies.
Modernize Terminology: Use terminology that is inclusive and easily understood by the public and reflects our role as a regulator.
Expand Entity (Corporate) Regulation: Give APEGS scope to audit and enforce standards of practice and investigate and discipline business entities, in addition to individual members.
Improve Public Accountability: Ensure appropriate public involvement in the governance of APEGS and enhance our protection of and accountability to the public.
Modernize Registration Framework: Ensure registration categories and processes reflect current public expectations of inclusivity, fairness, transparency and timeliness.
Improve Efficiency, Effectiveness and Transparency of Governance Processes: Improve the ability for the council to represent members and maintain strategic oversight, while empowering the Executive Director and Registrar to manage operations through a cohesive bylaw and policy framework, ensuring that the public understands what APEGS is doing to regulate in their best interest.
Investigation and Discipline Transparency: Improve transparency of processes and provide clarity on roles of APEGS, Council, and the public. This includes the addition of a statutory Appeal Committee.

Proposed Changes Endorsed by Council

In addition to the key themes of change outlined above, the proposed changes generally endorsed by the council on November 30^th, 2023, included:

Amending the definition of “practice of professional geoscience” to ensure alignment with the practice of professional engineering and to better reflect the work of professional geoscientists.
Changing the association’s operating name to Engineers Geoscientists Saskatchewan.
Amending the objects of the association to include two duties and two objects.
Using the title Intern instead of Engineer-in-Training and Geoscientist-in-Training.
Recognition and protection of titles for Engineering Licensee (Eng.L), Geoscience Licensee (Geo.L.), Engineering Intern, and Geoscience Intern.
Modernizing governance concepts respecting roles, responsibilities, and language. This includes changing the way bylaws are made and changing titles from Council to Board, President to Chair, and Executive Director to CEO.
Creation of a new appeal committee as a statutory committee to review appeals related to decisions of the registrar and decision of the Investigation Committee that no further action be taken.

Although the above concepts have been endorsed by the council, the Government of Saskatchewan ultimately approves the changes through the cabinet.

Refer to APEGS Act Review: Information for Members for more details about the changes and the rationale.

Updated Schedule

September 2023 to May 2024– Review the act and bylaws and note desired changes,
May 2024 to December 2024 – APEGS engages interest holders and continues to refine the act and bylaws.
January 2025 to August 2025 – Submit proposed act amendments for the Government of Saskatchewan’s consideration .
September 2025 to December 2025 – Introduce bill through to royal assent

Commitment to Ongoing Communication

The Act and Bylaw Review Task Group is led by Chair, Erin Moss Tressel, P.Eng., P.Geo., along with Nicholas Kaminski, P.Eng., Monte Gorchinski, Public Representative, Peter Jackson, P.Eng., and Bert Munro, P.Eng. in addition to staff support. The task group is continuing to review and recommend changes and provide them to government. Watch for updates on progress through outreach channels: The Edge Monthly e-newsletter (emailed on the 15th of each month or next business day), The Professional Edge print magazine (mailed in June and December).