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June 21, 2007
At the meeting of the Board of Directors on June
21, 2007 the following decisions and reports were made:
Report from the Chair
The Chair gave a verbal update report on events and meetings
attended, committee changes, working with other associations,
OSPE governance, government relations, and thoughts moving
forward.
Report from the CEO
The CEO provided and reviewed a written update report on operational
activities involving advocacy, government relations, membership,
finance, relationship building, PEO, and OSPE staff.
It was noted that PEO is looking to make mandatory secondary
liability insurance at the PEO Council meeting being held
tomorrow, June 22, 2007. Discussion ensued regarding the history
of secondary liability insurance. It was agreed to make a
motion by the Board in support of PEO.
OSPE/PEO Relationship
Each Director gave a verbal update of their monthly discussions
with PEO Councillors.
Report from the Treasurer
The financial report for January to May 2007 was received.
The Treasurer, V. Davidson discussed each item of the report.
Report from the Finance Committee
Verbal report given by the Treasurer.
Investment Portfolio Management
The CEO and Director, Finance and Administration have met
with OSPE’s investment manager to review the return
on the portfolio. Research into alternative investment advisors
has begun in search of a management style that fits within
the current guidelines of the investment policy but will provide
OSPE with a higher return on investment. The CEO and Director,
Finance and Administration will conduct the research with
due diligence and present their findings to the Executive
Committee and Audit and Investments Committee.
Report from the Membership Advisory Committee
The Past Chair reviewed the activities of the Membership Advisory
Committee. Discussion ensued with respect to increasing membership.
N. Miller and E. Poon volunteered to join this committee.
It was asked that OSPE staff monitor which companies pay for
OSPE membership for their employees and then provide a list
of these companies to the Board.
OSPE Marketing Plan
The OSPE Marketing Plan was received by the Board and reviewed.
Increased public viewing of the website offerings
The Director, Marketing and Member Services reviewed the item.
In order for potential members, and members, to be made more
aware of what OSPE is and has been involved with, successes
in advocacy, and what we have to offer members, all information,
unless required to remain behind the members’ portal
for privacy or exclusive membership benefit reasons, will
be made public, and have increased visibility on the website.
The Board approved the increased viewing availability of OSPE’s
website offerings, as recommended by the Membership Advisory
Committee (except for those that for privacy reasons or as
exclusive member benefits remain behind the member portal.
Appointment: Executive Committee
Bylaw No. 2 item 6.9.1 (a) describes the Executive Committee
as follows:
Executive Committee – In accordance
with the provisions of the Corporations Act, there shall be
an Executive Committee comprised of five (5) voting directors,
being the officers of the Society who are also voting directors
on the Board and such other voting directors of the Society
as determined by the Board. If the Past Chair is an ex officio
non-voting director of the Board, he or she shall also be
an ex officio non-voting member of the Executive Committee.
In addition, the Chief Executive Officer shall be an ex officio
non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The Chair of
the Society shall be the chair of the Executive Committee.
The Board may delegate to the Executive Committee any of the
powers of the Board, subject to the restrictions, if any,
contained in the Bylaws or imposed from time to time by the
Board.
As Danny Young, Past Chair is an ex-officio non-voting member
of the Executive Committee there needs to be a fifth voting
member from the OSPE Board of Directors appointed to this
committee. J. Schindler volunteered for this position.
Appointment: Finance Committee
The Finance Committee shall consist of the Treasurer (Chairperson
of the Audit and Investments Committee), and two (2) other
directors appointed by the Board. The purpose of the Finance
Committee is primarily to monitor the financial status of
the Society on a regular basis. The Finance Committee is accountable
to and reports directly to the Society’s Board.
At the May 10, 2007 meeting of the OSPE Board of Directors,
Valerie Davidson was elected as Treasurer of OSPE and Steven
Rose was appointed to sit on this committee. It was agreed
that a second member be appointed at the June 21, 2007 meeting
of the Board. W. Goodings volunteered for this position.
Crediting Membership Fee with PD - Non Member Payments
In order to encourage non-members who take OSPE Professional
Development courses to join OSPE, the differential between
course fees paid by members and non-members will be examined
and widened where necessary to make it more advantageous to
join and pay the lower member fee.
Membership Application Fee
The Chair reviewed the request. Recent changes in OSPE Bylaws
now allow engineering graduates of institutions in countries
recognized as being accredited by CCPE, to join OSPE as Associate
Resident or Associate Non-Resident members. In order to address
the anticipated increase in administrative services that these
new members will require (e.g. verification of their academic
credentials, increased volume of inquiries, etc.) a non-refundable,
one time application fee of $50 will be implemented for any
new OSPE Associate Resident or Associate Non-Resident member
effective immediately. Certain exceptions will apply, including
Associate Non-Resident members who are licensed in Ontario,
but living out of province. Discussion ensued. The Board approved
a non-refundable, one time membership application fee of $50.00
for all new OSPE Associate Resident and Associate Non-Resident
members, as recommended by the Membership Advisory Committee.
OSPE Board Meetings – Attendance
The Chair reviewed the request. At the March 31, 2007 meeting
of the OSPE Board discussion ensued with respect to opening
OSPE Board meetings to the public. It was agreed that if a
request by the public was made to bring a presentation to
a Board meeting then this request would be considered. It
was noted that a motion was not needed but that the staff
would develop a policy statement which would be brought back
to the Board for approval.
Government Relations Committee – Status
The Secretary and Chair of the Government Relations Committee,
A. Bergeron reviewed the item. Since the creation of this
committee there have been numerous government committees,
task forces and working groups created by the Board that have
helped to fulfill the above noted mandate. The OSPE Board
has created the Safe Water Task Force, Brownfields Task Force,
Energy Working Group, Ontario Building Code Working Group,
Fee Schedule Committee, Land Drainage Committee, Mobility
Task Force, P.Eng. Act Task Force and the Complaints and Discipline
Process Task Force. OSPE is a member of the Labour Market
study and has also created a growing Political Action Network.
The Government Relations Committee is no longer required and
should at this point be disbanded and thank you letters to
the committee members to be sent.
OSPE Provincial Election Advocacy Plan
The Director, Policy and Government Relations reviewed this
item. The plan was presented to the Board at the March 31,
2007 meeting and staff has already begun implementing the
plan as the election period can be as short at 28 days, pre-planning
of activities is a necessity. The Board approved OSPE’s
2007 provincial election advocacy plan.
Solid Waste Management Position Statement
The Chair of the Solid Waste Management Task Force, W. Goodings
reviewed the recommendation made by the committee. He advised
that he felt the position statement needed to be reviewed
by the committee and brought back to the Board meeting in
September. The item will be tabled until the September 27,
2007 meeting of the Board.
The Chair, M. Monette stepped out of the meeting at 3:25
p.m. and the position of Chair was assumed by the Vice Chair,
Steven Rose.
Procurement of Engineering Services Position Statement
The Chair of the QBS Task Force, Steven Rose reviewed this
item. He noted that in February 2006, the QBS Task Force requested
approval for their guide on best practices in procurement
for engineering design services. At the same time, a national
body was also working on a guide which was part of the Infraguide
series released in June 2006. They did not want the OSPE guide
to conflict with the Infraguide and it therefore tabled the
Task Force guide until the Infraguide was released. The Task
Force was resurrected in January 2007 and finalized the OSPE
guide to align with the Infraguide. Discussion ensued. The
Board made some recommendations to revise the statement on
procurement of engineering services developed by the QBS Task
Force. The item will be taken back to the QBS Task Force and
tabled until the September 27, 2007 meeting of the Board.
Staff Reports
Item was received by the Board.
Report from NEWOSC
Item received by the Board.
Report from WEAC
Item received by the Board. The Secretary noted that she had
given an interview to jobpostings magazine.
Report from the Chapter Liaison Committee
Item received by the Board. The Chair of the committee, J.
Schindler reviewed the mandate of the committee for the new
Board members. He asked for Board member involvement with
the Chapters and requested volunteers for Chapters that had
not yet been assigned Board members. S. Rose will represent
Ottawa, N. Miller will represent Sudbury and V. Davidson will
represent Niagara. N. Miller noted that every year in the
North the PEO Chapter hosts a spring hockey tournament that
attracts over 300 P. Eng.’s from all over Ontario. It
is a good opportunity to access other Chapters.
The Chair, M. Monette returned to the meeting at 4:00 p.m.
and resumed his position as Chair.
Discussion ensued on different Chapter events and the possibility
of sponsoring part of the Chapter Leaders’ Conference.
Climate Change
The Chair explained that climate change, global warming, and
the need to reduce green house gas emissions are all issues
that OSPE members identified via the Issues Priority Survey
administered to Society members in October 2006. In a 2002
Ipsos-Reid survey almost 5000 licensed engineers were surveyed
and 60% agreed that concerns over global warming and climate
change outweigh potential costs of implementing Kyoto protocol.
OSPE staff has created a climate change work plan which, the
CEO reviewed and noted that staff has started. It is a good
opportunity for OSPE to be visible. Discussion ensued. N.
Miller agreed to participate in an oversight role. The Board
approved the climate change work plan, including oversight
of implementation of the work plan by a member of the Board
of Directors.
Report from the Joint Relations Committee
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Audit and Investments Committee
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Executive Committee
Item received by the Board.
CODE Report
Item received by the Board. A. Bergeron noted that there will
be a meeting tomorrow, June 22, 2007 which, will be held at
the OSPE offices.
2007 Golf Tournament
Item received by the Board. The Director, Marketing and Member
Services reviewed the outcome of the event.
Report from the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards
Item received by the Board. The Director, Marketing and Member
Services reviewed the 2007 awards recipients. The Board requested
that they be notified when the winners are officially notified.
Report from the OSPE Employer Compensation Survey
Advisory Committee
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Safe Water Task Force
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Brownfields Task Force
Item received by the Board. The CEO noted that marketing for
professional development will be re-targeted.
Report from the Energy Task Force
Item received by the Board.
Ontario Building Code Working Group
Item received by the Board.
Fee Schedule Committee
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Land Drainage Committee
Item received by the Board.
Mobility Task Force
Item received by the Board.
Report from the Professional Engineers Act Task Force
Item received by the Board.
Political Action Network
Item received by the Board.
Labour Market – Update
Item received by the Board. The Director, Policy and Government
Relations reviewed. The CEO will be the Society’s official
representative on the steering committee.
Complaints and Discipline Process Task Force
Item received by the Board.
Other Items
It was asked that the signage directing people to the OSPE
office be made more visible. The Director, Finance and Administration
has already sent a letter to the building Management regarding
the situation.
It was asked that staff look into providing small gifts,
possibly with OSPE logos to PAN members to be able to give
to the MPP’s when they meet with them.
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