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JAMES: Engineers, geoscientists join forces

“APEGBC and AMEBC agree to: …(2) Seek grounds on which to cooperate with each other in relations with governments, other professional associations and entities, and the public, to express a unified position on matters pertaining to the practice of pr
James

“APEGBC and AMEBC agree to: …(2) Seek grounds on which to cooperate with each other in relations with governments, other professional associations and entities, and the public, to express a unified position on matters pertaining to the practice of professional geoscience and engineering.”

– amebc.ca/media/news-releases, Sept. 22, 2015

If asked to name the professions involved with safeguarding citizens and their public interests, how many of us would have the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. and the Association for Mineral Exploration of B.C. top of mind?

Yet adherence to professional standards and safety of the general public are the founding principles of both and the rationale behind the Memorandum of Understanding between them. Out of the public eye, the event was a significant milestone in their century-old histories.

When asked what led to the agreement after the organizations had existed separately for a century or more, APEG president John Clague and AME-BC president and CEO, Gavin Dirom (both of whom live on the North Shore, said the time was just right.

“The memorandum is a sound foundation from which to work toward a mutual goal, to have the best engineers and geoscientists in the world,” they said.

As peers, Clague explained that while APEG focuses more on the regulatory side, the advocacy role undertaken by AME benefits members and the public alike.

“In essence, we each have a ‘best practices’ outlook and want to co-operate on upgrades as they become necessary,” he said.

“AME’s functions are proactive in the field and also preventative,” Dirom added.

“In mineral exploration, it just makes sense to have geoscientists and engineers working together. As in most endeavours, if you get the foundation right to begin with, it bodes well for the eventual success of the project,” he said.

Living and travelling as we do among the slopes, rivers and ravines of the North Shore mountains, we place a mostly unrecognized reliance on the expertise of the two professions.

Mother Nature drove that home to us during the tragic 2005 Berkley-Riverside landslide in the District of North Vancouver.

 For five years and ongoing after that event, all North Shore administrations have commissioned several geotechnical studies of debris flow hazards in their communities. 

“But when we’re thinking about North Shore work,” Clague said, “the most challenging for our members were the recent Capilano-Seymour water filtration project and the Low Level Road Port Expansion.”

Although not on the North Shore, other such projects affect everyone in the province. The Sea-to-Sky access to Whistler; the Canada and Evergreen rapid transit lines, the Port Mann Bridge, and the upcoming replacements for the Pattullo Bridge and George Massey Tunnel – all continue to involve engineers and geoscientists.

In answer to later questions about provincial government support for the professions, Dirom gave credit where due to the provincial government: “The province has increased staffing at B.C. Geological Survey,” he said, “and the recent hiring of copper and gold specialists and employment of regional government geologists throughout the province are all positive initiatives.”

But that takes this story in a not-so-rosy direction – the hopefully short-term economic slowdown in two industries – mining and liquefied natural gas – that in good times provide many thousands of engineering and mineral exploration jobs in B.C.

Much of that slowdown can be attributed to low commodity prices and resulting low levels of investment.

But if the accompanying stagnation in job creation continues it would have an unpleasant ripple effect on employment numbers and the economy.

Quoting official numbers from the provincial task force on Exploration, Mining, Sand, Stone & Gravel, Dirom said that of the 106,000 new workers expected across Canada over the next decade, 4,000 would be required for mineral exploration in B.C. alone.

Traditionally, a large part of B.C.’s flourishing economy came from resource industries – forestry, fishing and mining. Although those industries have had their up and downs over the past 60-plus years, the jobs they created were full-time, well-paid, mostly reliable occupations. Salaries were sufficient to produce healthy tax revenues and maintain families in affordable homes.

By comparison, a majority of the job-creation “boom” that hit the headlines in late October was rooted in the temporary, part-time positions required to run the federal election.

Today, full-time productive occupations are giving way to part-time jobs that have little hope of supporting a home for the worker, let alone for his or her family or the country’s gross domestic product.

So now that engineers and geoscientists have found it timely to join forces, it’s our job to work with them to find ways in which we can protect our environment and agricultural lands, while still keeping those professionals employed.

After 16 years with the multi-disciplinary Perinatal Programme of B.C. and later in various endeavours in the growing high-tech industry, Elizabeth James now connects the dots every second Wednesday on local, regional and provincial issues. She can be reached via email at rimco@shaw.ca.

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