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BC eyes major changes to professional regulation

Engineers Canada – The Government of British Columbia recently published a report that could have a far-reaching impact on engineering and other self-regulated professions in the province. This could include significant changes to their operating costs and degree of autonomy.

In 2002, the BC Liberal government made the decision to reduce regulation in the natural resource sector and shift towards a results-based system of professional reliance, where the government establishes natural resource management objectives, then licensed professionals decide how best to meet them. This move affected professionals across the natural resource sector, including members of Engineers and Geoscientists BC.

The province’s newly elected NDP government has recently completed a review of the model. The resulting report, which was published June 28, 2018, focused on three major areas: best practices to protect the public interest, the adequacy of current government oversight, and the conditions governing qualified professional involvement in resource management decisions.

Among the 121 recommendations the report makes, Engineers and Geoscientists BC have identified two key ones that would significantly impact its role as a regulator of the professions.

The first of these suggests that the government establish an independent Office of Professional Regulation and Oversight, both to oversee the five associations subject to the review and to administer their legislation. In their public response, Engineers and Geoscientists BC questions the efficacy of this approach, suggesting that it would “add cost as well as an additional layer between government and practising professionals without a clear indication of how it would improve the regulatory model.”

The second key recommendation proposes that the government introduce umbrella legislation to standardize 10 elements of professional governance, including the introduction of a formal continuing professional development program that sets standards and tracks compliance. While no legislated program currently exists for engineers in the province, they are required under the Code of Ethics to keep themselves informed to maintain their competence. Engineers and Geoscientists BC also notes that they have already done significant work on each of the areas addressed in this recommendation.

The province is expected to make a final decision on how the report is implemented later this year.

How to breathe on Mars

APEGA – What’s a critical thing to pack when you’re embarking on that Mars adventure your species has been dreaming, writing and scheming about for decades? Better not leave behind your oxygen, that’s for sure.

A group of chemical engineering students at the University of Calgary decided to look at options for creating oxygen on the planet itself.

The team nabbed first place for its work at the U of C’s 2018 Engineering Design Fair. Based on its calculations, the team estimated it would take more than 800 tonnes of oxygen to support life on Mars for just a handful of astronauts. Shipping costs would be extraordinary.

But what if, instead, the new folks on Mars used atmospheric carbon dioxide that’s already there to create oxygen? The students devised a four-part process that involves electrochemically splitting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen, with the potentially harmful carbon monoxide being transformed into useful by-products.

AECON Group Inc. remains Canadian-owned

APEGA – A controversial deal between Canadian construction company Aecon Group Inc. and China’s CCCC International Holding Inc. has been quashed by the Government of Canada. Last year, the 140-year-old firm announced its decision to be acquired by the state-run Chinese company for $1.5 billion, pending government approval.

While the acquisition could have helped pave the way to freer trade with China, analysts warned that it could also put Canada’s trading relationship with the US at risk. After its assessment of the deal, the federal government announced that it would block the sale, citing threats to national security.

Fund will help communities mitigate natural disasters

Government of Canada news release – The Government of Canada has launched a fund to support large projects meant to help communities withstand natural disasters like floods, wildfires and droughts. The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund is a 10-year, $2-billion national program supporting wetland restorations, setback levees, wildlife barriers, diversion channels and similar projects. A qualifying project must cost at least $20 million.

Create firebreaks in cities, research suggests

Government of Canada news release – The Government of Canada has launched a fund to support large projects meant to help communities withstand natural disasters like floods, wildfires and droughts. The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund is a 10-year, $2-billion national program supporting wetland restorations, setback levees, wildlife barriers, diversion channels and similar projects. A qualifying project must cost at least $20 million.

OIQ Disciplinary Council has busy summer

Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec – The Disciplinary Council of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec rendered four judgments over the summer, three over contract-sharing schemes and one related to drunken behaviour.

Normand Fallu has been ordered to pay a total of $22,500 in fines. Normand Fallu was found guilty of violating two sections of the Code of Ethics of Engineers for tolerating a contract-sharing scheme designed to circumvent the competitive bidding process of the City of Longueuil and for participating in it on several occasions.

Rosaire Sauriol and Jean-Pierre Sauriol were found guilty of bribes to politicians to receive contracts. Both resigned and agreed to not register again on the roll of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

France Michaud will be permanently struck from the OIQ’s roll. Ms. Michaud, who entered a guilty plea, was found guilty of violating the Code of Ethics of Engineers for proceeding to develop a contract-sharing scheme that made it possible to circumvent the competitive bidding process of the City of Boisbriand, participating in said scheme, and being involved in potentially harmful practices for the public or the profession.

Noubar Semerjian was fined a total of $7,000 and temporarily struck from the OIQ’s roll for a period of 90 days. Mr. Semerjian was found guilty of failing to fulfill his professional obligations by practising in conditions likely to compromise the quality of his services, i.e. by consuming alcohol; failing to respect the secrecy of all confidential information obtained in the practice of his profession; betraying the good faith of a fellow engineer and tarnishing her reputation by making obscene and lewd remarks about her.

Scientists seek DNA secrets from Loch Ness

Reuters – If there is a Loch Ness Monster, research this past summer might turn up actual evidence.

Scottish scientists are using a robot submarine to scour the depths of the lake for any environmental DNA that’s down there. Sources will include urine, shells and feathers. Analysis of the samples will provide information about the types of animal life in the body of water, which is unusually cold and deep.

Professor Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago in New Zealand is heading the expedition. Gemmell’s team, which comprises scientists from Britain, Denmark, the United States, Australia and France, is keen to stress that the expedition is more than just a monster hunt.

“While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness,” Gemmell said on his university website.
He predicts they will document new species of life, particularly bacteria, and will provide important data on the extent of several new invasive species recently seen in the loch, such as Pacific pink salmon.

Multi-purpose autonomous river boats

APEGA – Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a fleet of low-cost autonomous boats. The MIT vehicles, which 3D printers can output at about 60 hours per unit, have the maneuverability and precise control needed to function as self-guided water taxis in cities with abundant waterways. Rectangular hulls come equipped with sensors, microcontrollers, GPS modules and other hardware.

Potential beneficiaries include cities such as Amsterdam, Venice and Bangkok.

The boats could be programmed to reconfigure themselves into structures like floating bridges or platforms for food markets. They could also monitor a city’s water quality and supply.