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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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The
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are provided to give
general guidance about the application process. Readers
should refer to
the Act,
Registration Regulation and the Guideline to
Registration (included with application package
download) for more details. Specific questions on
individual applications should be e-mailed to
info@apgo.net
1. Are
geoscientists required to be registered with APGO?
2. Will there be a
grandfathering period?
3. I am a
professional engineer registered with Professional
Engineers Ontario (PEO) who practices geoscience.
Do I
need to become licensed with APGO?
4. Do I have to be
a permanent resident of Canada to become a member of
APGO?
5. I cannot obtain
transcripts from the university I attended. What do I
do?
6. Will I be
required to write technical exams to confirm my academic
qualifications?
7. How are
Qualifying Work Experience Requirements assessed?
8. Who are
eligible to be referees?
9. What is a
Professional Practice and Ethics (PPE) exam?
10. When can I
write the PPE exam?
11. What are the
fees?
12. Can I perform
geoscience work while my application is being processed?
13. What is
National Instrument 43-101 and where can I obtain
further information on this?
14. When I am
licensed as a professional geoscientist in Ontario, will
I be a qualified person under National Instrument
43-101?
15. When will the
first elections for Council be held?
16. When will the
Complaints and Discipline regulation be completed?
17. Who is required to have
Professional Liability Insurance? Where can I obtain
Professional Liability Insurance?
If you have a question, please e-mail it to
info@apgo.net. Specific questions
concerning registration requirements should be directed
to the Registrar at
registrar@apgo.net
1. Are
geoscientists required to be registered with APGO?
Yes. In order to practice as a professional geoscientist
or to conduct professional geoscience activities in
Ontario after August 30, 2002, you must be a member of
APGO. It is very important that geoscientists submit
their applications as soon as possible to ensure that
they can become registered by the in-force date
proclaimed for the Act. The admission conditions for
existing practitioners applying for registration during
the Transition Period are in effect until March 31,
2003.
Go
to 'Who Needs to Register'
Go
to 'How to Register'
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Top
2. Will there be a
grandfathering period?
There is no "grandfathering" period as such as this was
deemed to imply a lowering of standards. During the
transitional period, the applications from existing and
experienced practitioners will be evaluated with
consideration for experience. However, the requirements
of the Registration Regulation were developed to ensure
that an experienced practitioner, recognized by his/her
peers as a practising geoscientist, could become
registered.
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3. I am a
professional engineer registered with Professional
Engineers Ontario (PEO) who practices geoscience. Do I
need to become licensed with APGO?
Under the Professional Geoscientists Act, 2000 an
individual who is licensed as a professional engineer
under the Professional Engineers Act and who is
competent by virtue of training and experience, in
accordance with the regulations made under the Act, to
engage in practices that would constitute the practice
of professional geoscience is not required to be
registered with APGO. However if a professional engineer
desires to practice as a professional geoscientist and
use the title "P.Geo.", he or she must be registered
with APGO. Individuals who qualify may choose to hold
both designations.
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4. Do I have to be
a permanent resident of Canada to become a member of
APGO?
No, it is not an APGO requirement to have permanent
residency in Canada in order to apply for membership or
for a Certificate of Registration to be issued. The
international applicant is required to meet the
knowledge and work experience criteria in order to
qualify for admission to membership and for registration
for professional practice in Ontario.
APGO will accept and process an Application for
Membership and Registration from an applicant from a
foreign country or from an individual who has not yet
obtained approval of their immigration application from
Citizenship and Immigration Canada. An assessment of an
application by APGO is made for the purposes of
professional registration only.
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5. I cannot obtain
transcripts from the university I attended. What do I
do?
APGO will accept only original transcripts, diplomas and
/ or certificates. If an original transcript is not
available from the institution where you earned your
degree, you must supply the original degree document(s)
along with two copies of each, one for the application
file and the second copy of the document which will be
forwarded by APGO to the issuing institution with a
request to confirm, in writing, that the document is
valid. The original document will be returned to you.
You may be requested by the Registrar to provide
additional specific information about your degree
program.
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6. Will I be
required to write technical exams to confirm my academic
qualifications?
Following a review of knowledge credentials, the
Registration Committee may assign a technical or
confirmatory examination program. Technical examinations
are usually assigned to ascertain whether an applicant's
academic preparation is equivalent to that provided by
an undergraduate four-year geoscience program in a
Canadian university, or to remedy identified
deficiencies in an applicant's academic preparation,
compared to that provided by an undergraduate geoscience program in a
Canadian university.
Applicants who are experienced practitioners with ten
(10) or more years of qualifying work experience as
determined by the Registration Committee, hold a
geoscience degree granted by an institute in a country
that has a professional geoscience association in a
Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the Canadian
Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG), or have
completed postgraduate studies at a Canadian university
in the same area as their geoscience degree/degrees
obtained internationally, will not be required to write
examinations, with the exception of the Professional
Practice & Ethics (PPE) exam which is mandatory for all
applicants.
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7. How are
Qualifying Work Experience Requirements assessed?
APGO will assess each applicant on the individual merits
presented in the application against each of the five
quality-based criteria as outlined in the Registration
Regulation (O. Reg. 59/01 amended to O. Reg. 378/01, s.
9.3 (1)):
- practical experience in the application of
geoscience theory;
- practical experience in the understanding of
geoscience processes and systems;
- management of geoscience projects;
- proficiency in communication;
- awareness of societal implications of geoscience.
An applicant for registration as a professional
geoscientist is required to demonstrate at least 4 years
(48 months cumulative) of verifiable and acceptable work
experience. The applicant may be granted up to 12 months
credit for pre-graduation experience gained prior to
receiving a B.Sc. degree, up to 12 months additional
credit for work experience gained during a M.Sc. program
(with thesis) and a further 12 months credit for work
experience gained during a Ph.D. program. Postgraduate
research-related experience credits will not be granted
for course work or exceed actual time spent to complete
degree requirements.
At least 12 months of the work experience must have been
obtained in Canada or in a Canadian work environment or
an equivalent satisfactory to the Registration Committee
to qualify for admission. This experience must be in
addition to that obtained at the pre-graduation stage
and/or granted for the postgraduate degree credits. Time
related to the research and/or thesis portion of a
postgraduate degree may be considered to help meet the
requirement for geoscience work experience in a Canadian
jurisdiction if the work has been conducted under the
supervision of a professional geoscientist.
The referees that are selected by the applicants will be
asked to validate the work experience statements.
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8. Who are
eligible to be referees?
The requirements for referees are set out in the
Registration Regulation s. 9.1
(3), (4) and (5). You must provide the
names and addresses of at least three (3) people who are
familiar with your work and can comment, in confidence,
to APGO on your capability and suitability for
registration and on your character. In the Transitional
Period at least one reference must be from a direct
supervisor and the three references must cover a
cumulative period of 4 years (or 10 years, if
applicable) of your work experience. During the initial
stage of registration until June 30, 2002, a
geoscientist who has applied for membership in APGO is
eligible to act as a referee as he or she will have
signed the declaration to observe the Act, Regulations
and Code of Ethics.
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9. What is a
Professional Practice and Ethics (PPE) exam?
An applicant for registration in Ontario must complete
the PPE examination requirement unless an equivalent
exam acceptable to the Registration Committee has been
written in another jurisdiction. The general examination
will cover ethics, professional practice, business law,
professional liability and responsibilities to the
public. The 3-hour Ontario PPE examination may comprise
120 multiple-choice questions (2 ½ hours) and may also
include a choice from other questions that require a
succinct essay-type response (additional ½ hour).
An applicant whose application has been received by APGO
prior to March 31, 2003 will be allowed to defer
completion of the PPE for up to one year from the date
of acceptance for membership. During the start-up phase
for APGO, this temporary deferral condition will be
granted to permit the candidate sufficient time to
complete the requirement. If the member fails to
complete the requirement within the allotted time, the
certificate of registration will be revoked. For
applications received after March 31, 2003, the
applicant will be required to complete the PPE
examination requirement within two years of filing the
application and prior to being admitted to membership
and registration.
Review this document for more
information on the PPE exam (PDF 9 KB)
Read about the exam, download exam application or
download a practice exam on the
PPE page
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Top
10. When can I
write the PPE exam?
In the Transitional Period until March 31, 2003,
applicants whose knowledge and experience qualifications
are accepted for membership may defer writing the PPE
exam for up to 12 months from the date of acceptance.
The PPE examinations are normally scheduled four times a
year, in January, April, July and October. An
application to write the PPE examination must be
received by the Registrar at least 60 days before the
candidate’s preferred date for an examination. Please
check with the Registrar to confirm available dates. A
PPE examination application package with information
will be provided to applicants along with a list of
suggested textbooks and other materials that may be
obtained to aid in preparation for the PPE examination.
When your application to write the PPE is accepted, you
will be advised of the examination location that is
nearest to you, along with the date and time. No Refund
(If you later find that you are unable to attend the
scheduled examination sitting, APGO will reschedule your
examination to the next available date). An applicant
for a certificate of registration may take the PPE exam
a maximum of three times. Examination results will be
mailed to the candidate not later than 60 days after the
writing of the examination.
APGO plans to use the National PPE exam developed by the
Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and
Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA).
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11. What are the
fees?
The cost to become a practicing member is as follows:
1. The application fee is $275 (plus applicable tax).
Once accepted, the applicant will be invoiced the first-year membership dues of $400.00 (plus applicable tax).
2. Where applicable, technical examination candidates
are required to pay $250.00 (plus applicable tax) for each examination and that fee must be
submitted with the application form for each
examination.
3. The Professional Practice and Ethics (PPE)
examination fee of $250.00 (plus applicable tax) must be submitted with the Application for the
PPE examination. For applicants during the Transition
Period, the PPE examination form will be provided to you
with your acceptance to membership letter which will be
sent to a successful applicant prior to the Certificate
of Registration and membership card being issued.
4. To remain a member in good standing and registered to
practice in subsequent years, a member is required to
pay annual membership dues, currently $400.00 (plus applicable tax) and subject to change. An
invoice will be issued to you at least 60 days in
advance of the date for payment of annual dues as
determined by Council.
The advance payment of the first annual membership dues
with the application fee in the Transitional Period will
allow successful applicants to receive their Certificate
of Registration sooner and will provide much needed
capital to ensure that the association becomes
financially self-sufficient as soon as possible.
Other fees and dues of APGO are set out in
By-law No. 2 - Fees and Dues
and are subject to change from time to time.
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12. Can I perform
geoscience work while my application is being processed?
Yes. During the Transition Period and until August 30,
2002, the date proclaimed for Section 3 of the
Professional Geoscientists Act, 2000 to be in
force, an applicant may continue to carry out geoscience
work.
However, after the August 30, 2002, any person
performing geoscience work will be in contravention of
the Professional Geoscientists Act, 2000 if
they use the title "professional geoscientist" or the
designation "P.Geo." in Ontario, or if an individual
represents in Ontario that he or she is a professional
geoscientist, unless they are a member of APGO.
Enforcement of the provisions of the Act is a legal
requirement for APGO.
Under the Act, exemptions have been provided for a
professional engineer who is both competent and
qualified to undertake activities which constitute the
practice of professional geoscience or a land surveyor
or a land information professional whose practice is
confined to managing geographic information. A
prospector is not required to be a member of APGO to
conduct activities that are confined to prospecting in
Ontario.
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13. What is
National Instrument 43-101 and where can I obtain
further information on this?
National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) is a rule
developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators
(CSA) and administered by the provincial securities
commissions that governs how issuers disclose scientific
and technical information about their mineral projects
to the public. It covers oral statements as well as
written documents and websites. It requires that all
disclosure be based on advice by a "qualified person"
and in some circumstances that the person be independent
of the issuer and the property.
Get
More Information on NI 43-101
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14. When I am
licensed as a professional geoscientist in Ontario will
I be a qualified person under National Instrument
43-101?
When you become a holder of a Certificate of
Registration with APGO as a professional geoscientist
you become eligible to become a qualified person (QP)
under National Instrument 43-101, however you will still
need to demonstrate to the securities regulators that
you have at least five years relevant experience in the
work area required for the project being reported on.
Get
More Information on NI 43-101
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15. When will the first elections
for Council be held?
APGO Council is currently working on a plan for the
change from the present Transitional Council appointed
by the Minister to an elected Council as set out in
By-law No. 8 - Elections. It is expected that the
first elections will be held in the spring of 2003 at
the end of the Transitional Period. As plans are
developed and confirmed in consultation with the
Minister, APGO members will be informed.
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Top
16. When will the
Complaints and Discipline regulation be completed?
APGO released the
Complaints and Discipline
regulation (PDF size: 60 kb) in November
2002.
Go to
The Act, Regulations and By-laws
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Top
17. Who is required to have
Professional Liability insurance? Where can I obtain
Professional Liability insurance?
Any corporation, partnership or other entity that wishes
to obtain a
Certificate of Authorization will be required to
provide the Registrar of APGO with evidence of
professional liability insurance in accordance with the
Registration Regulation Section 25. Professional
liability insurance for individual APGO members is
optional.
Members of the APGO may obtain insurance through any
company that offers suitable professional practice
liability insurance. For information on Registered
Ontario Insurance Brokers, go to (http://www.ribo.com).
Additional information on brokerage service providers
may be obtained from the Insurance Brokers Association
of Ontario at (http://www.ibao.org/html/brokers/about_ibao.asp).
Coverage should include claims for errors, omissions and
negligent acts in the performance of professional
services for others.
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