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Your Councillor - Scott McLean, P.Geo. - APGO Vice President Follows in father's footsteps but doesn't stop there . Geologist donates his time to fledging APGO Crystal Spekking, APGO's Northern Ontario Communications Officer 
Scott's interest in rocks and minerals sprouted early. As a son of
a geologist, he was exposed to rock identification at a very young
age. In fact, his family's outings and trips often included a stop
along the roadside to view, for example, an excellent exposure of
Superior iron formation or a significant unconformity between the
Paleozoic cover of Southern Ontario and the underlying Grenville rocks.
In addition, his father commonly pointed out numerous glacial landforms
and this also helped foster his interest in geoscience. Upon graduating
from high school, Scott was faced with a decision of what program
to undertake at university. Although his exposure to rocks had tweaked
his interest in a geology program, it was a two-hour discussion with
a family friend by the name of Dr. Steve Scott of the University of
Toronto that convinced Scott that this was the right path for him.
His descriptions of earth processes and deep marine geology stirred
his adventurous spirit and set him on his way. Scott's main interest in Geoscience revolves around the mining industry and more particularly mineral exploration. He currently holds the position of Regional Geologist for Falconbridge Limited in Sudbury, Ontario. In this role, he is responsible for nickel-copper exploration within an economic transport distance of the Strathcona Mill. Since entering the industry, Scott has held a wide spectrum of exploration and production geology jobs that have taken him to most corners of Canada and a few interesting spots elsewhere on and "occasionally in" the globe. What are Scott's views on professional registration and its effects on the work of the geoscientist? "Registration validates the profession of geoscience, places us on par with other professions and establishes who is qualified to carry out Professional Geoscience. A licence to practice sets a benchmark for quality, responsibility to the public, and instills a sense of pride amongst the membership." Scott realizes that "there has been some resistance to the formation of a regulatory body in Ontario" but he feels in time, the benefits of clarifying the role of professional geoscience to the public and the sense of belonging to the profession within the national and international arenas will promote the profession and be a positive improvement for both Ontario-based practicing professional geoscientists and Ontarians. When asked, how has professional registration made a difference in your life and in your workplace? Scott said, "Well the biggest difference has been my involvement with APGO since early in 2001. As an appointed councilor, I have helped construct the Professional Geoscientists Act, 2000, been involved in the growth of the Association and have taken on added duties as Vice President this year. Notably, this involvement has created some additional workload but it also has given me a strong appreciation for the need for a professional association within a discipline that I have been working in for over 20 years. I have noticed a camaraderie developing between my fellow Licencees and I have also begun to develop a communication network with other geoscience disciplines through interaction with environmental, hydrogeology and aggregate geoscientists. I anticipate that soon I will also get to know a few of our practicing oil and gas professional geoscientists in Ontario." His message to members Scott would like the APGO members to know that "Council continues to work hard on the issues at hand. Some of the most significant issues include:
What are APGO's challenges and how can Members assist? In Scott's opinion, the Association is still in its infancy and members have a real chance to impact on the direction the association takes in future years. Clearly the primary function is to regulate the profession of geoscience, however, member services can also be and are a beneficial addition to the Association. Members need to get involved in the committees that they think are important and through communication with their Regional Councillors bring to council the issues they believe are important to create a strong association that meets the needs of the profession. When not doing geoscience Scott is a dedicated family man and spends much of his spare time doing things with his children such as helping them with their schoolwork, or engaged in a pick up hockey or basketball game. He enjoys skiing, hockey, curling, camping, and canoeing. He also enjoys playing the piano and guitar. Scott is involved with his son's soccer team as their coach and is proud to announce that the team finished in second place in its league this year. In the winter he also manages his son's hockey team and is currently on the executive for the 2005 SPHL hockey tournament. Scott also tries to get involved with his daughter's passion of dance and has been seen on stage at her recital as part of the "Hip Hop Daddies" comical dance team. When asked to name the most exotic place where his career has taken him, Scott's answer was sitting in the dark on the top of Stromboli, a small, active volcano in the Mediterranean Sea, watching, listening, feeling and smelling the eruptions. "Initially everything was calm. Then the ground would start to tremble, the vent crater would start to glow brilliant orange for a number of seconds before an explosion of bright orange lava bombs would shoot high into the night sky. It was really something to see on a pitch black night," Scott said. Meet your Councillor profiles will feature one of your APGO Councillors each month in Field Notes. The profiles are based on the answers received to a series of standard questions asked of each Councillor. |
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