APGO Signs Geoscience Practice Mobility Agreement with APEGBC
The Association of Professional Geoscientists of
Ontario (APGO) and The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists
of British Columbia (APEGBC) have announced the signing of an incidental
practice agreement that will support improved labour mobility for geoscience
professionals in both provinces [see Press Release]. This
bilateral agreement will be implemented as a two-year pilot program and will
take effect January 1, 2014.
The Professional Geoscience Mobility Agreement will
allow geoscience members and licensees registered in either BC or Ontario to
perform short-term work in the other province for no more than 45 days a year
without the need to hold a licence there. Currently, a geoscientist must
hold a separate licence for every jurisdiction in which they practice
regardless of the amount of time spent working there.
Under the terms of the agreement, only APEGBC and APGO geoscientists and
licensees are able to carry out short-term practice in one of those two
provinces. The agreement does not apply to practice in any other province or
territory.
Consultation with geoscience members of both APGO and APEGBC prior to the
signing of the agreement indicated strong support for the mobility agreement.
Not only does the agreement reduce the administrative requirements for both
geoscientists and regulators alike, it has positive implications for public
protection. Now, a single organization—the geoscience professional’s home
association—will have disciplinary responsibility for that individual,
regardless of whether a complaint occurs in BC or Ontario, eliminating the need
for multiple discipline processes to assure public protection in both
jurisdictions.
The pilot program will run for two years, from January 1, 2014 to December 31,
2015, during which time both BC and Ontario geoscience regulators will assess
the merits and efficacy of the agreement.
APGO is continuing to work with other provincial and territorial regulators, and at the national level on practice mobility
for geoscientists in Canada.
Information
for APGO Professional Geoscientists and Geoscience Licensees
- Professional geoscientists (P.Geo.) and (P.Geo.(Ltd.) do
not need to take any specific action to take advantage of the Ontario-BC
incidental practice agreement when it comes into effect January 1, 2014.
However, geoscience members and licensees must keep records of their
incidental practice and make them available for audit purposes. On a
yearly basis, Geoscience members will also be asked to report incidental
practice for statistical purposes. Members intending to practice under the
agreement are advised to familiarize themselves with the eligibility
requirements and terms of the agreement, available on the APGO
website.
- Geoscience professionals currently registered or licensed
with both APGO and APEGBC who now wish to practice incidentally in BC have
the option of resigning their membership from APEGBC during the annual
membership renewal period this fall.
APGO wishes to acknowledge its
founder, first member (APGO #0001) and first President, Bill Pearson for his
tireless efforts in making incidental practice mobility between these two
provinces a reality. APGO is continuing
to work on expanding the mobility for P.Geo.’s in other provincial
jurisdictions.
More detailed information about the Professional Geoscience Mobility Agreement, including a list of key questions and answers, is available on the APGO website at http://www.apgo.net/mobility_apegbc.html.
For questions about the agreement, please contact Gord White, CEO, APGO, gwhite@apgo.net or 416 203-2746
x22.
|
