OIQ auditing firms; PEO changing election rules

The professional engineering licensing organization in Quebec, Ordre des ingenieurs (OIQ), has signed an agreement and formed a committee with representatives of the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) to develop applicable standards for a new program for auditing consulting engineering firms. The committee also includes consulting engineers themselves and representatives from the AICQ (Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec).

In an editorial in OIQ’s PLAN magazine, Daniel Lebel, eng., president of OIQ, wrote: “By expanding its activities to cover the business practices of the firms that employe some 11,000 engineers, the OIQ is pushing the limits of the professional system in order to better protect the public and support its members.

At its September meeting, Professional Engineers Ontario’s Council approved changes to its regulations for electing councilors. Included in those amendments is one to prohibit any former PEO president from running for president again for four years from the time his or her term expires. Another measure prohibits PEO staff from handling and resolving complaints and questions.

At the same meeting, PEO’s Council unanimously supported in principle the development of a continuing professional development program. It referred to its professional standards committee a report by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers that proposes a mandatory program modeled on the program in place for Alberta’s engineers. A mandatory program would align with Engineers Canada’s Canadian Framework for Licensure.