INNOVATION July-August 2012

as soc ia t ion notes

Submission of Motions for Fall AGM Proposed motions for the 2012 Annual General Meeting should be submitted to APEGBC’s Governance Committee no later than Thursday, September 27, 2012 , in order to enable publication in advance of the meeting on October 27. In accordance with the Engineers and Geoscientists Act , the Association holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its members. Reports are provided by the president and the CEO on the activities of the past year, and the financial report is presented. At the meeting, registered members and licensees are provided with the opportunity to ask questions and make motions for consideration by Council. By reviewing the proposed motions in advance of the AGM, members will know what is going to be debated and can decide if they wish to attend the AGM based on that information. Proposed motions will be published on the Association’s website at www. apeg.bc.ca/agm/. Information on the correct format for motions and how to submit them for review and publication can be found on the Association’s website at www.apeg.bc.ca/agm/. Please note that a mover and a seconder for the motion will still need to be present at the AGM. Members may also request a print copy of the motions by contacting the APEGBC office at (604) 430-8035 or apeginfo@apeg.bc.ca. The AGM will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, BC. APEGBC Staff Appointment APEGBC is pleased to announce the following appointment: As Acting Associate Director of Member

Council Election Vote this Fall Voting for the 2012/2013 APEGBC Council election will open in the fall. The vote will be conducted by electronic ballot and

registered members and licensees will be sent an e-mail in late August with instructions on the electronic voting procedure and access to candidate statements. Those who have not provided APEGBC with a valid e-mail address will not receive direct notification, but will be able to access electronic voting through the main page of the Association’s website. To ensure that APEGBC has your current e-mail address, please visit: www.apeg.bc.ca/ reg/changestatus.html and click on Change your Address with APEGBC. Paper ballots will be available by written request. Should you wish to receive a paper ballot, please send your request to APEGBC, #200 – 4010 Regent St, Burnaby, BC, V5C 6N2, or apeginfo@apeg.bc.ca. Limited Licensees Gain Voting Privileges Following the recent amendments to the Engineers and Geoscientists Act , limited licensees can now run and vote in APEGBC Council elections. They can now also call for and vote at meetings of the Association, and vote on petitions and bylaws. Limited licensees will receive voting access for the 2012/2013 Council election; however the deadline to run for the 2012/2013 Council has passed. On June 25, 2012, 11 amendments to the Engineers and Geoscientists Act were brought into law. These amendments provide APEGBC with broader options for managing investigation and discipline matters, and enable streamlining of the registration process. The changes represent an important milestone in APEGBC’s efforts to modernize its governing legislation. Some amendments will come into effect automatically by operation of law, but will require new or adjusted procedures or polices to implement. Others will require extensive policy and procedural development work before they can be implemented, and some of the amendments will require bylaws to frame how processes will be carried out. As required by the Act and Council policy, these bylaws will be put before the membership for ratification following stakeholder consultation. Amendments that take effect immediately include those that permit limited licensees to run and vote for the positions of president, vice president and councillors; to call for and vote at a meeting of the Association; and to vote on petitions and bylaws. Others relate to disciplinary actions and inter-jurisdictional mobility, provisions for the investigation committee to request the attendance of individuals under investigation, and provisions to permit Council to delegate registration and licensing authority to the Registrar. Amendments that require bylaws or extensive policy and procedural development prior to implementation include provisions for bylaws regarding requirements and procedures for reinstatement, the regulation of supervising members, and certain provisions relating to increased complaint processing options. The amended Engineers and Geoscientists Act is available through www.apeg.bc.ca/ resource/publications/actbylawscode.html. Questions regarding the new legislation can be directed to Geoff Thiele LLB, Director, Legislation, Ethics, and Compliance at gthiele@apeg.bc.ca. A report from APEGBC Council’s discussion of the Legislative Amendments from their June 15, 2012 meeting is available on page 13. Priority Amendments to Engineers and Geoscientists Act Brought into Law

Services, Ailene Lim will oversee the long-range planning of APEGBC’s Continuing Professional Development programming, the Annual Conference and AGM, as well as many other member service programs. Ms Lim first joined APEGBC in 2007 as a

Ailene Lim Acting Associate Director, Member Services

Professional Development Coordinator, and possesses experience in market research, communications, customer relations and event planning. She holds a degree from Simon Fraser University in Economics and Communications. 

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