On June 27, 2023, Engineers and Geoscientists BC announced that it was initiating the creation of an independent advocacy body for the engineering and geoscience professions in the province, expected to be operational in July 2025. The decision comes as Engineers and Geoscientists BC has been reviewing and evaluating its programs and activities in light of the requirements of the Professional Governance Act (PGA), which included the adoption of a more focused mandate that significantly restricts advocacy activities.
“Engineers and Geoscientists BC has undergone a significant evolution over the past three years,” Heidi Yang, Engineers and Geoscientists BC CEO, noted in the organization’s announcement. “With most PGA requirements now in place, we felt the time was right to make this change. We need to refocus our efforts to best deliver our regulatory mandate and advance our Strategic Plan, but in doing so we also wanted to find a way to retain valuable programs that have contributed to a strong and connected community of engineering and geoscience professionals. Divesting advocacy activities to an independent organization creates clarity for both of our roles and allows both regulation and advocacy for the professions to flourish.”
Over the next two years, several of Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s programs and activities will be changing. For example, activities focused on community-building and registrant benefits—such as the branch program and the affinity program—are intended to be transitioned to the advocacy body. Programs that no longer fit within Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s mandate as a regulator—such as the awards program, sponsorships, and the outreach program—will be discontinued.
Engineers and Geoscientists BC is providing $250,000 in initial seed money to support the establishment of the advocacy body. A steering committee is anticipated to be in place by August 2023 to establish the advocacy body, and an experienced consultant has been retained to guide the steering committee and support this process. A Board of Directors is expected to be named in Fall 2023, which will determine the advocacy body’s programs, services, and membership costs. The new advocacy body is expected to be operational by July 2025.
Read more about these changes in Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s announcement.
