LETTER TO THE EDITOR — National geoscientists group already exists

I am writing in response to a letter by Buz Trevor (“Time for a national geoscience association,” T.N.M., Aug. 23-29/99). While the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG) has no philosophical disagreement with the concept of a single, national professional association for registering geoscientists, I believe I should explain why such an organization is not possible in Canada.

Responsibility for the regulation of all the professions is vested in the provinces and territories under the Constitution. Recognizing this legal situation, those desiring to register geoscientists across the country investigated ways of providing the same level of professional recognition for geoscientists as accorded to engineers and other professionals. An umbrella provincial association registering both engineers and geoscientists was implemented, first in Alberta, then in the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and now New Brunswick. In Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia, groups are actively working to achieve registration of geoscientists.

The provincial associations from the outset recognized the need for a national forum to discuss issues related to the very points Mr. Trevor raises, namely the need for mobility of professional geoscientists. Representatives from the associations identified the three key components of this mobility as:

o the need for national standards for academic background and work experience requirements for registration;

o the need for mutual recognition by each association of the credentials of a person registered in another jurisdiction; and

o the need for mobility agreements to enable geoscientists to move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction with minimum impediments to their ability to practise their profession.

The CCPG received its letters patent in 1997 and commenced operation Jan. 1, 1998. Its mandate covers both national and international aspects of recognition of professional registration. Most importantly, its immediate objectives are to address the three points raised above. These three issues are interwoven. One cannot proceed without the other, in essentially the order in which they are presented. The provincial representatives through CCPG have devoted, and are continuing to devote, much effort to facilitate the mobility of professional geoscientists across Canada.

In addition to these efforts, CCPG was called upon in the Mining Studies Task Force report by the TSE/OSC to be involved in the TSE Exploration Best Practice and Reporting Guidelines Committee. As your readers know from a recent TSE press release, CCPG is an integral component in the committee.

I hope these comments answer Mr. Trevor’s comments. The national body being called for in Mr. Trevor’s letter exists — it is the CCPG, and we are diligently pursuing the very things he advocates. For more detailed information on this subject I refer him and your readers to our web site at http://www.ccpg.ca

Hugh Miller

Chairman, CCPG

St. John’s, Nfld.