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names to mimic how people would be sitting in a circle. We would ask questions and give them the floor and talk through all of their thoughts and questions. At the end, we gave them the space to write out and articulate their thoughts.” Caron concurs, adding: “We were collecting data that would eventually inform the guideline, but it wasn’t necessarily people saying, ‘It’s got to have this and this.’ We were trying to create an engagement process.” CREATING A LIVING AND EVOLVING DOCUMENT Noting that British Columbia and Manitoba’s engineering and geoscience regulators have already adopted Engineers Canada’s Indigenous guideline into their practice, Stephanie Price, P.Eng., FEC, executive president,
regulatory affairs, for Engineers Canada, is hopeful that other engineering regulators will also embrace the guideline. “[It] was designed to provide a flexible framework that recognizes and responds to the diverse identities and needs of Canada’s 630-plus Indigenous communities,” Price says. “Engineers can use this guideline to support a wide variety of projects and thereby better protect the Indigenous public. And communities can use it as a basis for holding engineers accountable.” Price, who notes that the guideline was initiated by Engineers Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Committee, which is composed largely of Indigenous engineers, observes that Engineers Canada remains committed to increasing Indigenous voices in engineering. “We recognize that it is just a first step in a much larger process of truth and reconciliation. We are committed to strengthening relationships and to contributing to improved community outcomes and collective healing, and we would love to hear from users of the guideline on how it can be improved,” Price says.
PEO TO DEVELOP A NEW VISION STATEMENT OUR STRATEGIC GOALS Our goals and accompanying strategic
Optimize organizational performance
Refresh PEO’s vision to ensure all stakeholders
priorities define what success looks like and
We will do this by:
see relevance and value in PEO
describe the specific work we will undertake
• Updating and developing standards
We will do this by:
to drive our mandate and mission. Specific strategies and action plans, with targeted
and practice guidelines; • Ensuring adequate IT infrastructure,
• Facilitating meaningful dialogue with members and other stakeholders;
completion dates, will flow from these goals
improving our capacity to collect and
• Undertaking required research; and
and priorities.
manage data; and
• Developing a proposed vision for
• Reviewing and improving communication Improve PEO’s licensing processes
consultation.
and business processes, including ensuring
without compromising public safety
they reflect the values of equity, diversity
We will do this by:
and inclusion.
• Enhancing the application process so that it is fair, transparent, accessible and
Implement a continuous governance
efficient and maintains competency and
improvement program
complies with FARPACTA by July 1, 2023;
We will do this by:
• Reviewing licensing business processes
• Improving orientation for councillors
and incorporating changes to improve
and PEO’s executive leadership team;
efficiency without sacrificing public safety
• Ensuring committees and Council have
or information security by January 1, 2025; and • Ensuring all licensing activities reflect the values of equity, diversity and inclusion.
the necessary evidence to support quality decision-making; and • Establishing metrics for governance performance, which includes principles of equity, diversity and inclusion by spring 2023 and implementing an annual review.
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PEO recently began work on charting a path forward to develop a new vision statement, which is one of the four strategic priorities outlined in the regulator’s 2023–2025 Strategic Plan. This work, under the guidance of PEO Council—with President Roydon Fraser, PhD, P.Eng., FEC, supporting the working group—will see through the development of a vision statement that describes what PEO aspires to achieve in the decades to come and aligns stakeholders around a common purpose and direction. The first step on this path was taken in midsummer, when a call-to-action for advisory group participation went out to PEO licence holders. More than 200 licence holders submitted their intention to participate in the 2050 Visioning Process, and, since then, have all been invited to participate as advisory group members. In late August, an external project team was onboarded to guide the facilitation and logistical support of the groups’ efforts and ongoing stakeholder engagement. This working group, comprised of representatives from roughly a dozen key stakeholder groups drawn from PEO volunteers, Engineers Canada, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and engineering faculties and students, to name a few, are ultimately responsible for proposing the
www.peo.on.ca
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vision statement to Council for consideration. The working group will be supported by the advisory groups and will guide, provide feedback and evaluate the results. As the working and advisory groups prepare to meet and embark on an extensive period of stakeholder engagement and consultation, this period of work will endeavour to keep participation and transparency top of mind while remaining grounded in the principles of user-based design. The breadth of experience and perspectives offered by group members and stakeholders will feed into an iterative process of analysis, design and evaluation that is planned to conclude this winter. The 2050 visioning process has already been set up for success with the high number of participants in the process, and for that, the team at PEO and the Office of the President would like to thank all those willing to invest their time and energy to the future of the profession.
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