Media Room

Edmonton– The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is proud to announce that Manon Plante, P.Eng., will become APEGA’s 104th president at the 2023 annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, April 28.

Plante is a passionate leader with more than 30 years of experience as a professional engineer. She prides herself on being a champion of active participation and engagement, which she has shown by serving on APEGA Council since 2016, including as vice-president in 2021-22, and sitting on many Council committees.

Plante will lead APEGA’s executive committee of Council, which comprises newly elected president-elect Tracey Stock, P.Eng.; newly elected vice-president Margaret Allan, P.Eng., P.Geo.; and current president Lisa Doig, P.Eng., who will transition into the role of past-president at the AGM.

APEGA also welcomes re-elected councillors Geoffrey Kneller, P.Eng., and Jason Vanderzwaag, P.Eng., and newly elected councillors Mihaela Ciulei Mihaela Ciulei, P.Eng.; Ken Hawrelko, P.Eng.; and Jeffrey Priest, P.Eng.

They will join their colleagues who are continuing their terms: Claudia Gomez-Villeneuve, P.Eng.; Seema Makwana, P.Eng.; Victoria Wishart, P.Eng.; Lorna Harron, P.Eng.; Wally Kozak, P.Eng.; Dean Mullin, P.Eng.; and Wendy Shier, P.Geo.

APEGA thanks outgoing councillors Darren Hardy, P.Eng., and RaeAnne Leach, P.Eng., whose terms expire on April 28 at the AGM.

As the regulator of engineering and geoscience in Alberta for more than 100 years, APEGA continues to drive the province forward with courage and innovation. We are the largest regulator of self-regulated professionals in Western Canada, with nearly 69,000 registrants who safeguard the public welfare and contribute significantly to Alberta’s economic success and quality of life.

Edmonton – APEGA supports the innovation and diversification of Alberta’s economy, including the technology and software sectors. Engineers have always been key partners in such innovation and have helped provide Albertans with their high quality of life while ensuring their safety.

The term engineer comes with a licensed and ethical set of responsibilities and accountabilities. This is the same for other regulated professions, such as the health and legal professions.

“You would not want someone to operate on you in the province if they are not licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. By that same token, you do not want someone designing your pacemaker or self-driving car if they are not a licensed engineer. That puts people’s lives at risk—something APEGA takes very seriously,” said Jay Nagendran, APEGA registrar and chief executive officer.

Software engineering is a nationally and internationally recognized discipline of engineering. Across Canada, engineering requires extensive education and training, and individuals must be licensed to call themselves an engineer. It is different from software programming and development, which are not regulated. In Alberta, major technology companies, including DeepMind (Google), Dell EMC and Cloudexa Technology Inc. understand this differentiation and have changed how they title their software positions.

With the ongoing advancements of technology and with increasing delegation of decision-making to artificial intelligence and software, the risk to public safety continues to be of primary importance, and there continues to be a need for regulation of software engineering and use of the engineering title. Any exception to the use of the title engineer will set a dangerous precedent and put the lives of Albertans at risk.

APEGA remains committed to being a constructive partner in the conversation regarding oversight of the computer engineering profession. We look forward to working with the province and industry to find common ground to protect public safety, grow our economy and ensure professionals who use the term engineer are accountable and regulated.