Incoming President Manon Plante, P.Eng., MDS, CD1
Candidate Overview
- Extensive APEGA experience: APEGA president-elect 2022–23; APEGA vice-president 2021–22; councillor since 2016; involved in all council committees; chair of the Governance Framework Review Task Force; APEGA ops officer (2014)
- Proven leader: senior executive engineer with more than 30 years of experience (including 25 years as a Canadian military engineer), spanning over industry and federal, provincial, and local governments
- Approachable and genuine; focused, with an aptitude for de-conflicting competing priorities, responding to challenges with determination, and championing changes with positive results
Personal Statement
First and foremost, I believe I am uniquely prepared and suited to fulfil this important leadership role. I am approachable, respectful, genuine, attentive, and diplomatic. My background is diversified, as I have been fortunate to have worked in and been exposed to many working environments and contexts: governmental, industrial, regulatory, or agency-board-commission-type entities. I have acquired and honed my leadership skills from those experiences, making my way up to senior executive levels with great success.
Second, I believe we must become a more efficient and wiser regulator with support and input from the membership. Just as the adage says that “the chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” I want to be one of the catalysts that will invigorate the membership to not only understand the role and mandate of its Association, but also how to, as members and permit holders, contribute to fulfil the role and mandate. It is an important journey as, more than ever, self-regulation is under scrutiny.
Third, I believe the president and Council must engage more effectively with the membership. While the use of social media, advertisements, the website, and email is reaching quite a significant portion of the membership, many members do not engage or interact with the Association. Engagement and dedication of the membership is at the heart of the Association for its success as a regulator. Thus, I believe we must find more effective ways to reach out to our members to solidify this bond.
Lastly, it is an honour and privilege to serve APEGA. Thank you for selecting me as your APEGA president-elect.
Candidate Resume
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Get to Know the Candidate in Four Questions
What does self-regulation mean to you as a member of APEGA?
Self-regulation means that APEGA members have the right expertise and experience to regulate, advance, influence, and lead our professions today and into the future. Self-regulation is based on volunteering and a collective accountability to ensure we meet our duties: to hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public and have regard for the environment. Self-regulation is at the heart of our association and ensures its strength and health.
What would you bring to Council?
I bring the know-how and proven leadership skills to lead as APEGA president and chair of Council to support current key initiatives and adapt to the future. I have industry, agency, and governmental experience, expertise, and dedication, and I am proud to call myself a professional engineer. As a councillor since 2016, I have a thorough understanding of self-regulation and governance and the in-depth knowledge to support the Act renewal journey. I am committed to bringing the Association closer to its members to ensure it remains relevant and engaging.
As the regulator of engineering and geoscience, what challenges does APEGA face?
As the regulator, APEGA must adjust to remain relevant and trusted in a rapidly changing world of technology, especially in the energy sectors. APEGA must also continue to advocate for diversity to ensure our professions remain vibrant and enticing for generations to come. APEGA will face the challenge of understanding and then influencing how the globalization of engineering and geoscience professional expertise and services is shaping our professions.
What is the value of a professional licence with APEGA?
APEGA members are recognized as professionals who adhere to a robust code of ethics through integrity, competence, dignity, and devotion to the professions; are accountable for their practice actions to their colleagues and association through self-regulation and discipline; have acquired the right experience, training, and education to provide professional engineering and geoscience services to the public; maintain and sustain a high level of expertise through continued professional development; and contribute to their communities through education, outreach, and volunteering.