Gouvernement

Mise à jour des permis exclusifs

Licensure Update #9 (Oct. 1998)

Attorney General’s office

The Attorney General’s office has been working for the last sixteen months on a business plan which does not include the licensing of any technical associations or professions. The focus of the Ministry of the Attorney General is on the improvement in the delivery of justice services. The vision of the ministry is to produce a justice system that is modern, faster, more accessible and more effective. In their very extensive document, there is only one phrase, i.e. "to provide safer communities" which can be viewed by us as an opportunity to attract the attention of that ministry. Indeed, we have demonstrated many times that our interest is in the protection of the public!

Mining Standards Task Force (MSTF)

For several months ACPO has been giving input to the Mining Standards Task Force (MSTF), indicating the need for licensed chemists to sign-off on assay work. The final report falls short of making such a recommendation. However, the MSTF does recommend that the mining industry establish detailed regulations for all assay methods, and that only a Qualified Person (QP) be entitled to make decisions regarding the specifics of that work.

The MSTF further states that a QP is an individual who has the relevant education, belongs to a professional organization, and has a minimum of 5 years of professional experience. In order to perform the analytical work necessary for the assay methods and draw conclusions based on the analyses, it can be infered that this would require a professional chemist, even though the report doesn’t explicitely say so!

The ACPO was encouraged by the support obtained from prominent assay laboratories in Ontario. Further submissions were made to bring the task force recommendations into line with a letter from the Chair of the Toronto Stock Exchange to the Attorney General’s Office. This note recommends licensure of those chemists involved in Mineral Assaying.

Collaboration with OACETT and AGO

The MSTF report does recommend licensure for Association of Geoscientists of Ontario (AGO). The AGO expected to get licensure in a revised and extended Engineering Act. As a result of changes to the PEO Council, and a referendum of members on this issue, the AGO has been excluded from any revision to the Engineering Act. Since the AGO is smaller than the ACPO, there is some encouragement from the office of the Attorney General for AGO and ACPO, together with OACETT (Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists), to prepare a case for umbrella licensing legislation.

Several meetings have been held with the AGO and the OACETT to prepare a proposal for presentation to the Ministry of the Attorney General, or to the Ministry such as Energy, Mines and Resources, or to the Ministry of Science and Technology. The most recent meeting with the AGO and OACETT was held at the OACETT offices on August 13th. OACETT (Bruce Wells) reported that they had met with the Ontario government legislative counsel on August 13 to present their proposal for Right to Title and scope of practice.

The Bill has been introduced in the Ontario Legislature this Fall by MPP John Baird. [Note: Bill Pr25, First reading 24 Nov. 1998]. OACETT is seeking the use of the designation "Certified Engineering Technician", "Certified Engineering Technologist", and "Professional Certified Engineering Technologist". OACETT is confident that the Bill will be passed, but also acknowledges the need for an alliance with groups such as ACPO and AGO in order to gain its ultimate objective of licensure.

The AGO reported that their Right to Title act has been drafted. If and when they attain Right to Title, they will still need licensure to satisfy the requirements of the TSE and to attain parity with five other provinces in Canada.

D.A. Bayley, F.P.R.I., C. Chem.
Chair, Licensure Committee

Government