October 30, 2024                                                                                  View PDF of this letter here.
                                                                                                                           CPD Modernization Program - At a Glance 

Dear Registrant:

Re:            Ballot for Proposed Amendment to the Nova Scotia Engineering Profession By-Laws

The Council of the Association of Professional Engineers (the “Association”) is proposing an amendment to the By-Laws of the Association of Profession of Professional Engineers (the “By-Laws”).

The proposed amendment removes the reference to a specified minimum number of professional development hours (PDH) in the By-Laws and provides that members must complete the minimum number of PDH set out in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Guidelines (which are approved by Council).

The CPD program review was initially prompted by the Association’s goal to align its CPD program with the CPD programs of sibling regulators in the Atlantic Provinces (as described further below). It was determined that, because the current By-Laws set out a specific number of PDH that do not align with CPD program trends at engineering regulators across Canada, an amendment to the By-Laws would be required (in order to change the number of required PDH). The By-Law amendment process is rather onerous and requires Governor in Council approval (in addition to Council approval and member approval).

It was determined that, by removing the reference to a specific number of minimum hours in the By-Laws altogether, not only would it be possible for Council to make the immediate necessary changes to the PDH and CPD program, but the process would also be significantly streamlined if future additional changes to the minimum number of hours are required. The proposed new By-Law would simply state that each member must comply with the CPD Guidelines (including the minimum number of PDH) and confirm that compliance with the CPD Guidelines constitutes compliance with the Act. 

Council firmly views the proposed amendment as a positive change. The proposed amendment would achieve two things: first, it would allow the Association to update its CPD Guidelines to align with our sibling regulators; second, by removing the reference to a specific number of hours, it allows for a more streamlined process in the future if additional changes to the minimum number of PDH are required (keeping in mind that any future changes would still require Council approval). The minimum number of PDH moving forward would be specified in the CPD Guidelines, not the By-Laws. This would allow the Association to maintain better alignment with current and modern standards for PDH requirements by updating the CPD Guidelines, without triggering the onerous and lengthy amendment process for the By-Laws each time (which requires Governor in Council approval).

Rationale for Updating PDH Requirements

The Association’s current CPD program is not in line with the CPD programs of sibling regulators in the Atlantic provinces.

Recent CPD program trends at engineering regulators across Canada, include:

• Removal of Professional Practice Hours (PPH) from total PDH required.  
• As a result of removing PPH, minimum PDH will now be decreased to 30 hours per year.
• Less categories for CPD and removing complicated PDH conversions (i.e., one hour of CPD is now equal to 1 PDH).
• Including mandatory CPD categories, such as ethics, EDIA, and regulatory knowledge, and extensive web-based resources made available for the completion of CPD activities.
• Including required reporting and random auditing of CPD activities.

The four Atlantic Canadian regulators of engineering have met on several occasions over the last two years and have agreed to take steps towards conforming to common principles in their CPD programs, as many registrants are licensed in more than one of the Atlantic provinces.

Aligning CPD program requirements will assist registrants in meeting the obligations of the engineering profession to maintain their competencies and keep their knowledge and skills current, and to reduce the burden of reporting CPD activities in multiple provinces.

Current Section 13C of the By-laws

Section 13C of the By-laws currently reads as follows:

Professional Development

13C (1) The certification of compliance with the Professional Development Guidelines required by subsection 19A(1) of the Act includes compliance with the required professional development hours and shall include a confirmation that the member is practising only in areas of engineering in which the member is competent.

(2) Unless exempt by resolution of Council, a member shall complete the following minimum professional development hours by participating in the professional development activities identified in the Association’s Continuing Professional Development Guidelines:

(a) beginning January 1, 2011, and continuing until December 31, 2013, a minimum number of sixty professional development hours in each calendar year with the specific number of hours required in each year to be set by resolution of Council on or before March 1 of each year; 10

(b) beginning January 1, 2014,

• a minimum of sixty professional development hours in each calendar year, and

• except as provided in subsection (3) a minimum of 240 professional development hours in each successive three-year period.

(3) A person who becomes a member in the second or third year of a three-year period is not required to meet the minimum professional development hours required by subclause (2)(b)(ii) during that three year period, but must meet the requirement in all subsequent three-year periods in which the person is a member.

Proposed Amendment

The proposed new Section 13C of the By-laws reads as follows:

Professional Development

13C (1)   Unless exempted by a resolution of the Council, a member must comply with the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines.

(2) Unless exempted by a resolution of the Council, a member must complete the minimum number of professional development hours set out in the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines.

(3) Compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines, including the minimum number of professional development hours set out in the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines, constitutes compliance with the professional development requirements set out in subsection 7(1) of the Act.

Next Steps

The proposed amendment to Section 13C was approved by Council at their meeting on September 19, 2024.

The next step in the process is to carry out a vote of the members.

If approved by 2/3 majority (of members who vote), the amendment will be provided to Governor in Council for approval, with the hope that it would be in place early in 2025.

Emails will be sent out by voting company Truverus after November 4, 2024, with a link to the electronic ballot and a unique code for voting. We ask that you please complete the electronic ballot prior to the November 15, 2024 deadline. If you have not received the email with vote information by November 7, please email info@engineersnovascotia.ca

The amendment that will be voted on is:

Please indicate your support or opposition of the following:

The By-Laws of the Association of Professional Engineers, N.S. Reg. 8/1946, made by the Association of Professional Engineers of the Province of Nova Scotia and approved by the Governor in Council by Order in Council dated May 29, 1946, are amended by repealing Section 13C and substituting the following Section:

Professional development

13C    (1)      Unless exempted by a resolution of the Council, a member must comply with the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines.

(2) Unless exempted by a resolution of the Council, a member must complete the minimum number of professional development hours set out in the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines.

(3) Compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines, including the minimum number of professional development hours set out in the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines, constitutes compliance with the professional development requirements set out in subsection 7(1) of the Act.

Your Council unanimously recommends that members vote “In Favour” of the proposed By-Law amendment as presented, for the reasons set out above.

Dr. Sue Molloy, P.Eng.

Engineers Nova Scotia - President

A video presentation outlining the modernized CPD program is available on our YouTube Channel below.