B.C. engineers and technologists go their separate ways

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. have called off plans to unite with the province’s technologists’ professional association, the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of B.C.
The two organizations had been in negotiations for over two years to join forces, and by November 2003 had got so far as drafting a new Act to allow for the merger.
However, opposition among engineers mounted, and at the annual general meeting of APEGBC in October, the issue was the decisive factor in the election of a new council and president, Dennis McJunkin, P.Eng. For the first time since 1939 the sitting vice president did not become the president. Mr. McJunkin, an associate with Consultech Associates, was elected to the position.
The month after the election, the new APEGBC Council voted unanimously to pass the motion: “It is not the wish of this Council to proceed with the previously proposed merger of APEGBC and ASTTBC as it is not in the best interests of the APEGBC membership.”
In an interview published in the Innovation, the APEGBC’s magazine (Nov-Dec. 2004) Mr. McJunkin, said he had decided to come out of “semi-retirement” to take an active part in opposing the merger. He has 45 years’ experience in management and consulting in the industrial manufacturing sector.
McJunkin suggested the merger and legislative changes were not necessary since technologists can already register with APEGBC under the Limited Licence designation that was implemented by APEGBC in 1995. The limited licence allows them to practice in a particular scope of work.
McJunkin also suggested that a merger of the two organizations was inappropriate since the ASSTBC has many members who work in fields other than engineering. Also, a great many technologists and technicians who work with engineers now aren’t in fact members of ASTTBC.
He has said that even though the merger is not going ahead, APEGBC is still committed to a team approach to engineering work.
See Canadian Consulting Engineer’s article “Wedding Nerves,” on this issue in the January/February 2004 issue. Go to www.canadianconsultingengineer.com, and visit the Archives.