ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2019 - 8

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Why We Persist
Barry Cavanaugh

Some may wonder, "why does ASET keep pushing for rights
to practice, why does it keep pushing for recognition?" In part,
it's because we've been patient, and polite, for the five decades
we've existed as a profession... and little or nothing has come of
it. But in this matter, ASET will never "go away".
It's been a while now since our legislation came into force, and
ASET became a self-regulating profession with the same standing as APEGA and others. The Act and Regulations, as everyone
knows by now, gave the profession a degree of recognition and
legitimacy - technicians and technologists registered with ASET
have achieved the highest standard of any technical organization in North America with that status.
We had always operated as though we had already achieved
that standing - because professionalism is important to our
technicians and technologists, and because we wanted to be
seen by government as being ready to assume the mantle.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the legislative change
wrought in 2007 was the creation of the Professional Technologist (Engineering) designation, in Engineering and Geoscience.
That, of course, gave rights to a CET with the appropriate experience to practise engineering or geosciences independently
within a scope of practice set by the Joint ASET/APEGA Board, in
accord with their qualifications and experience. ASET was also
granted the right to issue Permits to Practice for such members,
very much akin to their APEGA counterpart, thus completing the
suite of requirements necessary for the genuine independent
practice of engineering, in addition to the sign-off rights held by
all holders of the P. Tech. (Eng.) designation. We've now reached
the point where several hundred P.Tech. (Eng.) members are operating consulting practices in engineering within their scopes.
Some things are still missing though, and long overdue...
While our P. Tech. (Eng.) members can sign off at law, and can
practice independently as a firm, they are not necessarily being
accepted or recognised. In the case of some codes and statutes, they are still not listed or recognised as a qualified professional for the purposes of work authorised by those codes
and statutes - a deficiency and an oversight from the legislation.
That deficiency is something which we have been suggesting to

8 | WINTER 2019 | TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA

government it needs to rectify, and rectify soon, if the legislative effort it put into ASET is to have any meaning or teeth. We
have suggested an approach that may work... omnibus legislation, to state that wherever a code or statute, or a regulation requires that the work or authorization be completed by or under
a professional engineer, it should be amended to read "or by a
professional technologist in engineering (or geosciences) with
a scope of practice appropriate to the purpose". We hope that
government will take that seriously, someday - to remedy a serious oversight in its legislative process and to give effect to the
meaning it intended for our profession. We would have hoped,
moreover, that APEGA would lend its voice in our support, since
those P. Tech. (Eng.) members are members whose scope has
been set by, and whose experience has been vetted by, a joint
board from APEGA and ASET which has determined that they
are qualified to do all those things, within their scope.
Another major issue is recognition by the purchasers of engineering services. While many municipalities and other employers have jumped on the opportunity to fully utilise the knowledge and skills of our P.Tech. (Eng.) within their scopes, some
have not. Some argue, speciously perhaps, that the codes, for
example, won't allow it. We hope that objection will soon be
erased by government's rectification of that oversight, or if necessary, through litigation in the courts. We have already begun
to engage in litigation to reinforce our members' rights.
The final obstacle is, of course, those employers and purchasers of services who simply aren't convinced. For that, we count
on the growing track record of our P. Tech. (Eng.) members to
wipe away any doubts - and they will, where they are permitted
the opportunity. We have also added a major arm to our ASET
programs - corporate relations. We are taking out the message
- and not just about what P. Tech. (Eng.) can do, but what the
advantages are of preferring and demanding C. Tech. or C.E.T.
qualified employees, in consulting engineering firms and everywhere that engineering technology is in play. We will be working with employers to actively promote better understanding of
what it means to have people in their ranks who are judged by
their peers to be the best - the ASET qualified technicians and
technologists, the people who lead the way in every aspect of
applied science and engineering technology.

ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2019

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