BC Government Announces Review of Professional Reliance Model

Minister of Environment George Heyman announced yesterday that a review will be conducted of the Province’s professional reliance model to ensure the highest professional, technical and ethical standards are being applied to resource management in BC. The review will assess the current legislation governing qualified professionals in the natural resource sector, and the role their professional associations play in upholding the public interest.

“We welcome Minister Heyman's announcement, and we look forward to contributing to this review,” said Ann English, P.Eng., Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s Chief Executive Officer and Registrar. “We are confident that it will be thorough and focused, and we see this as an excellent opportunity to provide clarity around the professional obligations of everyone involved in the professional reliance system.”

The review will look at other jurisdictions to identify best practices and assess whether those practices are being used by QPs doing work on government’s behalf. It will also make recommendations regarding resource decisions made by government, conditions governing the involvement of QPs in those decisions and the appropriate level of government oversight to assure the public their interests are protected.

Engineers and Geoscientists BC is one of the professional associations named in the review’s Terms of Reference, along with the associations governing agrology, applied science technology, applied biology, and professional forestry. The review includes an audit of these associations to “assess the enabling legislation and performance of professional associations that govern QPs.”

“As a regulatory body, we take our duty to protect the public very seriously,” said English. “We utilize proactive and reactive regulatory programs to ensure engineering and geoscience is conducted safely and to high standards, but we welcome any opportunities to strengthen or add to the tools we already have in place.”

A final report is expected to be completed by spring 2018. More information is available on the Province's website.

For more information contact:

Megan Archibald
Director, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
[email protected]
Office: 604.412.4883
Cell: 604.839.1595