APEGA and Bill 40

Our ability to act independently, govern our selves, and make decisions based on technical information is being removed by the UCP Government. They are consolidating 22 professional associations under one law with Bill 40. This will provide them the authority to override decisions made by professional associations. If a professional decides to fight against a decision that the UCP is making, the UCP will have the lawful ability to remove them from the association.

In short, the UCP will have the authority to decide who can become an engineer, accountant, or supply chain manager. They will use this power to remove any objection of their plans from white collar professionals. This is a consolidation of power consistent with Tyranny, and it’s Lesson 5 in the book On Tyranny

When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

I am a vocal critic of many governmental decisions, so this bill affects me personally. It will give the government the legal power to remove my status as an engineer.

The passing of Bill 40 would fundamentally alter the relationship between the engineering profession and the public it serves. Under current law, APEGA maintains the authority to regulate its members based on technical merit and ethical standards. But Bill 40 grants the Minister the power to remove the governing body of a professional regulatory organization “in whole or in part” . This undermines the profession’s ability to enforce its own code of conduct, including the duty to “hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public”.

Bill 40 is a betrayal of our commitment to the Iron Ring. If we don’t stop this bill, we lose our ability to freely practice our profession.

Here’s what Bill 40 says

I urge you to read the sections of the bill for yourself. Take the time to really understand what’s at stake.

As a reminder, here is the APEGA Code of Ethics.

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Professional engineers and geoscientists shall recognize that professional ethics is founded upon integrity, competence, dignity, and devotion to service. This concept shall guide their conduct at all times.

• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall, in their areas of practice, hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public and have regard for the environment.
• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall undertake only work that they are competent to perform by virtue of their training and experience.
• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall conduct themselves with integrity, honesty, fairness, and objectivity in their professional activities.
• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall comply with applicable statutes, regulations, and bylaws in their professional practices.

• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall uphold and enhance the honour, dignity, and reputation of their professions and, thus, the ability of the professions to serve the public interest.

Section 201

If the Minister considers it necessary or advisable to do so, the Minister may, by order, (a) require a professional regulatory organization’s governing body to amend a bylaw, a code of ethics and conduct or practice standards and guidelines within a specified time, or (b) disallow, in whole or in part, a bylaw, a code of ethics and conduct or practice standards and guidelines to conform with this Act or the regulations.

Section 201 allows a politically motivated actor within the UCP government to force the amendment of a specific standard or even our Code of Ethics. It would be up to the Minister in charge how to modify our Code of Ethics to suit their own agenda, and their own definition of “public interest”.

In Section 1(tt) “public member” is defined as “an individual appointed by the Minister”.

In Section 2(e) the act says “The purpose of this Act is to protect the public interest by ensuring that each professional regulatory organization administers its affairs and regulates its registrants in a manner that protects the public interest”.

And it’s the Minster that will decide what “public interest” means.

Contrast our current Code of Conduct that says

• Professional engineers and geoscientists shall, in their areas of practice, hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public and have regard for the environment.

When Bill 40 becomes law, the UCP government will form a public panel of hand picked members. This panel will conclude that, for example, Alberta needs to open a new coal mine because it’s in the “best economic interest of the public”.

And it gets worse.

If any engineer puts their hand up with an objection to any future project, there is Section 197.

Section 197(2)(f)

On the recommendation of the Minister, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order, with respect to a professional regulatory organization, make any other direction required to facilitate the exercise of the powers, duties or functions of the professional regulatory organization, including removing the authority of the governing body, any committee, tribunal or other body, or any official of the professional regulatory organization under this Act, in whole or in part, for any period deemed necessary by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.” Bill 40, 290

Section 197(2)(f) allows the Ministers to remove the Council from their positions and take over the association if it’s in the “best interest of the public”

Under Bill 40, the engineering profession is no longer able to refuse work that the government dictates.

Bill 40 kills the independent nature of our work

The reason professional associations exist is to maintain a specialized body of knowledge and make decisions based on that knowledge within their scope of work.

Bill 40 dismantles the foundation of professional independence. It does not merely challenge APEGA’s authority, as many claim, it grants the Minister the power to “make any other direction required to facilitate the exercise of the powers, duties or functions” of a regulatory body, including the removal of its governing body . This means that the individuals responsible for upholding technical standards and ethical conduct can be replaced not for misconduct, but for disagreement with government policy.

The same principle applies to pilots, doctors, lawyers, and engineers: each profession exists to protect the public through expertise, not political alignment. We are seeing an effort to re-align work and professional conduct to fit the UCPs ideology.

Look what’s happening in the US

The erosion of professional independence is not theoretical. It is already underway in other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, the appointment of political loyalists to key regulatory agencies has led to the dismissal of technical experts and the rollback of safety standards.

For example, the removal of climate scientists from federal advisory panels and the weakening of environmental impact assessments under the previous administration demonstrate how political control over technical bodies undermines public safety. Alberta is not immune to this trend.

Bill 40 institutionalizes a similar mechanism, granting the Minister the power to override professional judgment under the guise of “public interest.” If we do not act now, we risk becoming a jurisdiction where safety and ethics are secondary to political expediency.

Environmental consideration are out the window.

Safety standards and working conditions are up for debate.

Regulations Are Written in Blood

Every safety standard in engineering is born from failure, often from loss of life. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill led to new marine safety regulations. The 2005 Texas City refinery explosion prompted sweeping changes in process safety management. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster reshaped offshore drilling oversight.

I was onsite during the 2022 conveyor collapse at the Elkford mine. The supports had been inspected infrequently in the last 50 years. The system was overloaded. It was pure like that no one was killed.

The engineering teams create new procedures to ensure this wouldn’t happen again.

These rules are not created in boardrooms. They are forged in tragedy. Bill 40 allows the Minister to override technical standards not because they are unsafe, but because they conflict with political timelines or agendas. If we allow politics to dictate safety, the next failure will not be a near-miss.

Every regulation, every safety standard, every ethical guideline in engineering is a response to a failure. A death. A disaster.

This is why we wear our ring, to remind us of this fact.

I urge my fellow engineers to share this information. Call your MLA, attend public hearings, make your voice heard.

This could be our last chance to speak up.