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President's Perspective - From Membership to Compliance, Professionalism, and Communication
John Buckle, P.Geo. Now that APGO has successfully established a 'critical mass' of members, our focus must now evolve beyond 'Membership' to other issues important to the association. At your Council's Strategic Planning Meeting in February of this year, of the many ideas and suggestions that were presented by councilors and staff, compliance, professionalism, and communication emerged as the major areas of focus for APGO going forward. COMPLIANCE As the watchdog of the practice of geoscience in Ontario, APGO will actively ensure compliance under the Professional Geoscientists Act 2000. Compliance involves more than just the licensure of all geoscientists offering or providing services in Ontario, it encompasses adherence to the Code of Ethics, continuing competence development and professionalism in all geoscientific endeavors by Ontario registered geoscientists both in Ontario and throughout the world. With geoscience covering so many disciplines and areas of practice, there are many compliance issues. As an 'inclusive' organization, APGO will work with all its discipline groups to help establish a suitable range of guidelines for all areas of practice. Professional Practice Guidelines have already been developed for several discipline areas by peer-group teams of practitioners from among the professional membership. Establishing guidelines within other sub disciplines continues to be a priority for the association. PROFESSIONALISM To me, the term 'Professional' implies competence, quality of work and ethics. As geoscientists, we have been granted the right and responsibility of 'self regulation' of our profession. To be legislated as a profession requires a high standard of education, appropriate practical experience and competence, and an ethical and professional approach with respect to the well being of the public. It is with this mandate that APGO is setting a high level of professionalism in the field of geoscience in Ontario. Challenges facing both myself, as your President, and my colleagues on APGO Council, involve the governance of the professional practice of geoscience and communication of the concepts of professionalism among our members and to the public at large. COMMUNICATION A major effort in the coming year will be directed towards communication - both within the geoscience community and with the general public, who are affected directly or indirectly by the work of geoscientists. Within our association, APGO will focus on communicating with the membership about their obligations and responsibilities to protecting the public in all instances where their knowledge, input, and opinions as geoscientists may impact the well being of the citizens of this Province. Externally, the association will concentrate on making the public aware that geoscience plays an important role in the well being of society and is an important contributor to the province's economy. In this regard, I am delighted to announce that APGO has been able to engage a Youth Intern as a Communications Officer for Northern Ontario, based in Timmins. This initiative, which is jointly sponsored by Industry Canada's FedNor program, the City of Timmins, and the APGO, will allow a recent graduate from the Timmins area to gain valuable work experience in a mentored professional work environment and at the same time provide the opportunity to increase the profile of geoscience in the North - an area in which the work of geoscientist has historically been, and continues to be, one of the main seed activities for new economic growth. Please join me in welcoming Crystal Spekking to the position of Northern Ontario Communications officer with APGO. Finally, communication to our members will be increased through the launch of the association's new newsletter, Field Notes. Through this web based newsletter members will be kept up to date with ongoing work of the association and topical issues to Professional Geoscientists in Ontario and worldwide. Along with monthly features and the President's Perspective, participate in Deliberations, our Members Discussion Forum, peruse resumes and job positing in our Need a Geo? Need a Job? Employment Exchange, learn more about your councilors in our ongoing Meet Your Councilors profiles, and check out interesting articles in other newsletters in From Far Afield. |
For more information on APGO, please contact info@apgo.net |