Engineers Canada’s Canadian Engineering Qualifications Board (CEBQ) recently published an updated version of the national Guideline on Code of Ethics. The updated guideline represents a synthesis of the individual regulators’ codes and is intended to provide a non-binding general guide for registrants, educators, and the public, regardless of jurisdiction.
Professions that have been given the right and responsibility of self-regulation, including the engineering profession, tend to adopt sets of underlying principles as codes of professional ethics which form the basis and framework for responsible professional practice. Professional codes of ethics are sometimes incorrectly interpreted as a set of rules, rather than dynamic principles intended to guide all manner of decisions in daily practice.
While offering guidance specific to engineering, the Guideline on Code of Ethics is based on underlying principles of integrity, truth, honesty and trustworthiness, respect for human life and welfare, respect for the environment, fairness, transparency, competence, and accountability. The code provides interpretations for each principle, which may be helpful for:
- Practitioners trying to better understand their provincial codes
- Engineering educators who want to teach ethical principles
- Engineering students who have not yet registered in a specific jurisdiction
- Members of the public who want to understand engineers’ ethical obligations
“CEQB Guidelines do not prescribe a formula for navigating situations. They recognize diversity of legislation, uniqueness of situations, and even the inescapable need for opinion in a self-regulated profession. Instead, they provide legal contexts and guiding principles that will help engineers (and regulator staff) fulfill their obligations to the public without falling off the path,” says Frank Collins, FEC, P.Eng., CEQB Chair.
Revisions to the guideline include more readable language and a refinement of the principles. Some principles have been broken out to reduce ambiguity, while others have been updated to reflect the evolution of regulator codes since the last revision. For example, principle #11, “Monitor and report consequences of actions both of and from projects, including risks associated with the environment”, now contains stronger language around environmental risk. This revision stems directly from updates to Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s code in 2021.
“Updates to guidelines, such as this one, are important because they respond to the evolution of the engineering profession and its regulation”, says Ryan Melsom, Manager of Qualifications and CEQB Secretary.
In Summer and Fall 2023, the Guideline on Code of Ethics underwent substantial consultation, with feedback submitted by five regulators through surveys and an email consultation. Led by a working group under the CEQB Practice Committee, the review of the guideline began with a scan of all regulator codes, which was used to identify points of overlap and consistency. Decisions on changes were intended to represent a synthesis of regulator codes and practitioner perspectives.
“CEQB guidelines are the professional engineering regulatory equivalent to Google Maps. Satellite guidance is imbedded into our culture now - people rarely get lost, and they don't have to ask others for direction,” Collins adds.
Having a collaborative, nationally developed code of ethics helps both engineers and future engineers, and contributes to safe and equitable engineering practices across the country. It builds trust in the profession, and it helps spark interest in the next generation of engineers.
“Whether it's a guideline on ethics, good character, engagement of indigenous communities, academic assessment of foreign credentials, etc. CEQB products steer, harmonize self-regulation, and protect national mobility of engineers. Regulators across the country can use these tools confidently knowing they were produced with careful consideration for their needs – even ones they have yet to discover,” says Collins.
Read the updated guideline here.
