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President's Perspective - Interprovincial Mobility
John Buckle, P.Geo. - APGO President  National
licensure of geoscientists is a critical issue to APGO members, as
I believe it is for my fellow P.Geo members in the other professional
associations in Canada. As geoscientists, we are frequently called
upon to work at various locations around the province, the country
or the world; often at very short notice! The mobility of your professional
registration is a mission that the APGO is actively pursuing. We are
working to reach an inter-provincial mobility agreement through multi-jurisdictional
licensure across the country. Licensure of the professions in Canada is the responsibility of the provinces and falls to each provincially-legislated regulatory association. An inter-provincial mobility agreement must be able to accommodate members from one provincial jurisdiction, who need to practice in another province or territory. APGO is a constituent association of the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists ("CCPG"), an organization whose principle mandate is to foster and accommodate inter-provincial mobility. Through CCPG, an agreement has been reached regarding the transfer of licensure between provinces. While this agreement facilitates ease of license transfer, I feel it is impractical to fully register in every province, at full cost, on an as needed basis. An agreement for incidental practice and/or multi-jurisdictional licensure is the best solution because many of us perform short term projects in many provincial jurisdictions in a single year. Ontario is proud of its inter-provincial mobility agreement with Quebec. APGO's agreement with the Ordre des Géologues du Québec permits short-term practice by members of one association in the jurisdiction of the other, without the need for full registration. This agreement allows for cross-border work terms of up to a maximum of three separate incidents within a maximum 3 month combined duration occurring in any 12 month period. The agreement is working well; a simple notification to the host association of your intention to work in their jurisdiction and a confirmation of membership-in-good-standing from the home association, is all that is required. Ideally, we would like a similar agreement between all the provinces across the country. Each constituent association member of CCPG must search for common ground and overcome obstacles to inter-provincial mobility. Ontario Geoscientists feel so strongly about inter-provincial mobility that a group of APGO practitioners have been instrumental in the formation of a panel of industry and national geoscience society leaders, which has now struck a special Task Force to investigate this issue. The panel is being spearheaded by The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC); a very large number of PDAC members are registered professionals, who are nationally mobile practitioners. On the basis that it feels that public protection can be achieved within an open framework of inter-provincial mobility, APGO has offered its full support to this important initiative and we look forward to a successful coutcome. To view the PDAC's Professional Registration of Geoscientists Click Here |
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more information on APGO, please contact info@apgo.net
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