ASET Technology Alberta Summer 2019 - 18

ASET undaunted by long and winding
road to legislated scope of practice

Engineering technology is the only profession in Alberta
without a scope of practice or defined practice role and
rights related to the education and experience of engineering technologists. This analogue reality in a province
known for being progressive may come as a surprise not
only to members but to businesses, stakeholders and the
media at large.

legislation in 2007 and proclaimed in 2009, making Alberta
the first province to give engineering technology professionals belonging to ASET the right to self-regulate, and its
qualified members the right to practice engineering independently without supervision by professional engineers,
within existing codes and standards, and utilising established engineering principles.

Unfortunately, ASET leadership and members experienced
a surprise of their own on March 14 when, a few days after
mediation concluded with the Association of Professional
Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), Engineers
Canada issued a public statement, including a provocative
proposal that all engineering work - whether performed by
professional engineers or engineering technology professionals - be regulated by a single, provincial professional
engineering body.

In 2014, ASET and APEGA had expressed a mutual interest
in a government review of the Act. However, the efforts of
the two organizations were impeded by the upcoming provincial election. When the NDP was elected in 2015, ASET
and APEGA resumed efforts to persuade the Alberta government to review the Act.

"As ASET interprets this, Engineers Canada was effectively calling for the dismantlement of ASET and provincial
regulatory counterparts, such as ASTTBC, OACETT and
SASTT," said ASET CEO Barry Cavanaugh. "It was most disheartening to be blindsided by this after months of working
diligently alongside and in cooperation with APEGA to get
changes made to the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGPA)."
Only three days earlier, ASET and APEGA had signed and
submitted a joint letter to the Alberta government recommending a series of changes to EGPA and related regulations. The recommended changes were the result of five
rounds of stakeholder consultation sessions and more
than 7,000 comments from ASET members.

Origins of EGPA discussions
between ASET and APEGA
Formal discussions about EGPA with APEGA had begun in
2016 in response to a promise from the Alberta government that it would review the Act in five years.
EGPA - formerly the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Amendment Act (EGGPA) - was passed into

18 | SUMMER 2019 | TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA

While the newly elected government claimed it had never
promised to review the Act, it advised ASET and APEGA
that, if they agreed on changes, they'd be welcome to bring
them forward.

The mediation process begins
When ASET and APEGA found they couldn't reach an agreement on what those changes would look like, the Alberta
government sent them into mediation, a process which commenced in autumn 2018.
ASET originally wanted Sections to be added to the Act for the
purpose of defining the practice of engineering technology,
and an exemption to be made from the professional engineer
(P.Eng) exclusive scope of practice for engineering technology
professionals engaged in the practice of engineering technology as a certified engineering technologist licensed by ASET.
Over the course of the discussions, APEGA had, on four occasions, agreed to a scope of practice for ASET members. But,
in each and every case, APEGA reversed their decision on the
terms, despite the fact that this was the same scope of practice
they'd agreed to as early as 1990. Often, in the course of consultations on the proposals, ASET learned from professional
engineers, consulting companies, and major employers that
they supported the proposed scope of practice.
ASET Technology Alberta Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Summer 2019
