OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - 43

COVER STORY
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS ACT WORKING GROUP?
The Professional Engineers Act Working Group includes
President Mark Frayne, P.Eng., and other OSPE Board members,
as well as Past Presidents of PEO, who will report back to the
entire OSPE Board of Directors and will be responsible for
consulting with OSPE members, through virtual OSPE Member
Consultations to take place in 2022, to determine the provisions
of the Professional Engineers Act that should be updated.
This Working Group will be studying these issues and others to
continue to formulate proposals as to how the Act can be revised
and what legislative changes will be necessary to remove any
reference to non-regulatory activities within PEO.
WHY IS OSPE INVOLVING THE GOVERNMENT?
The Ministry of the Attorney General is responsible for ensuring
that the regulator (PEO) is managing their activities in accordance
with the relevant legislation - the Professional Engineers Act.
The PEAWG believes that as the engineering regulator in the
province of Ontario, PEO has a greater responsibility towards
regulation, and the focus on member services further takes their
attention away from where it needs to be.
HAS OSPE RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT PEO'S
MANDATE AND NON-REGULATORY ACTIVITIES
AND ATTEMPTED TO WORK THESE ISSUES OUT
INTERNALLY?
Yes. OSPE has been calling for change at PEO through official
submissions to PEO over the years (i.e. an official 10-page
response paper in 2017 to " Enhancing PEO's Government
Liaison Program (GLP): Implementation Plan for the GLP Audit
Recommendations " ). OSPE has also been calling for mandatory
continuing professional development for engineers in Ontario
for many years.
WHY IS OSPE GETTING INVOLVED IN CHANGES TO
THE ACT WHICH RELATE TO REGULATION OF THE
ENGINEERING PROFESSION?
OSPE was created in the year 2000 to represent and advocate
for the engineering profession. This includes advocating for
change at the regulator to ensure the livelihood and reputation
of engineers is protected. Without a strong regulator focused
on protecting the public, public perception of the engineering
community in Ontario will be in jeopardy.
OSPE exists to support the entire engineering community in
obtaining licensure and going on to thrive in engineering. As the
advocacy and membership association for engineers, it is OSPE's
responsibility to advocate to government, media, the public,
industry, academia, and the provincial regulator, PEO, to ensure
December 2021 THE VOICE
43
that the interests of engineers, graduates, interns and students
are protected.
DO ALL OSPE MEMBERS WANT CHANGE AT PEO
AND CHANGES TO THE ACT?
OSPE's current advocacy work reflects the wants and needs of our
most active volunteers and ambassadors. We encourage all OSPE
members to attend our upcoming OSPE Member Consultations
to ensure your voice is reflected in this discussion. Currently, the
majority of OSPE members we have heard from believe change
at PEO is necessary. We will be surveying all OSPE members for
their opinion on this in our Annual Member Satisfaction Survey,
and at our OSPE Member Consultations throughout 2022.
If you have questions or would like to provide feedback
to the PEAWG, please email advocacy@ospe.on.ca.
OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021
