President's Message

Summer 2010

Chers/Chères collègues,
Dear Colleagues,

The AIBC’S Annual Meeting was three months ago, council has had its planning session, and summer is well upon us. The time is right for an update to all members and associates.

2010 Annual Meeting
Five architects were elected to two-year terms on AIBC Council: Veronica Gillies, MAIBC; Joan Hendriks, MAIBC; Gordon Richards, MAIBC; Lynne Werker, MAIBC; and yours truly. Allow me to congratulate my elected colleagues, thank all candidates, and express sincere appreciation for the extraordinary work of past treasurer Elisa Brandts MAIBC and past president David Wilkinson MAIBC.

In addition, four non-voting liaisons were appointed to council: Dave Boswell (Building Designers/Residential Designers); Michael Currie (Architectural Technologists); Nathaniel Nacionales (Intern Architects); and Keath Seeton (Interior Designers Institute of BC).

Our gratitude is also extended to Chris Macdonald FRAIC who was on council as the acting director of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA).  We look forward to working with Leslie Van Duzer, the new Director of SALA.

The annual meeting included a lively Members’ Forum that resulted in four advisory motions from the floor for council’s further consideration. Those have since been considered: see the AIBC home page for council’s responses.  Though non-binding in nature, the motions are meaningful in reflecting members’ opinions and shaping council decisions.

The annual meeting was well attended and, for the most part, positive and respectful.  I truly appreciate and understand the passion that some members bring to discussions about the state of our profession and the future of the institute. At the same time, I am very concerned about what appeared to be deliberate tactics for procedural wrangling and disruption. The vast majority of members shared this concern by asking that such disruptions be stopped.

I am even more concerned by comments of a personal nature made by a small number of members that impugn individual reputations. Even in the heat of the moment, such comments are inappropriate.  However, I am particularly heartened by the many members who took the time to share their support and appreciation for the way the 2010 annual meeting was conducted.

On a personal level, I am both grateful and humbled to have been re-elected to council, and to have been given the opportunity by my council colleagues to continue in the role as council president.

Setting a Course
Each year, the newly established council commits to an intense two-day planning session that deals with matters at hand and sets a course for the year ahead. Given the breadth and complexity of the issues that find their way to the council table, it is essential that priorities are identified so that our efforts can be focused and effective. For 2010/2011, your council has identified the following four topic areas as its priorities: Advocacy and Regulation; Engagement and Communication; Legislative Renewal; and New and Diverse Members.

Each topic has been assigned a working group to ensure that progress is made on pertinent initiatives. Click here to see the make-up of the various working groups, and stay tuned throughout the coming months for progress reports.

2010 RAIC Festival of Architecture in Saskatoon
The AIBC had a significant representation at the festival as well as national meetings of the Council of Architectural Licensing Authorities (“CALA”, comprised of the executive directors and presidents for the regulatory bodies of the profession’s 11 Canadian jurisdictions). The event was well organized and worthwhile. It helps to know that problems faced in B.C., such as illegal practice challenges involving municipalities and the transition rate for intern architects, are not limited to this province, and that we are working together to find solutions.

At one of the many meetings, AIBC representatives explained why the institute has opted not to participate in the RAIC Continuing Education database. The other provinces and territories, many of which are also non-participants, understood the AIBC position. A national task force was created to explore further coordination.
One key announcement: approval was given for a federally-funded national pilot project for Broadly Experienced Foreign Architects (BEFA), with the AIBC in a lead role.

CALA’s International Relations Committee (IRC), with the participation of Deputy Executive Director Jerome Marburg and your council president, negotiated a tri-partite agreement involving Mexico, the United States and Canada that would see inter-recognition between our countries … albeit with appropriate levels of experience.  That agreement has since been ratified by all 11 Canadian jurisdictions.

Member Engagement
As you are aware, over the past year AIBC Council has been making a concerted effort to connect directly with membership, creating opportunities to share information, concerns and suggestions. That process is far from complete.  In fact, it is an ongoing aspect of council activities, and an important consideration in identifying council’s priorities and directions.

The engagement process is still in its early stages – we’ve spent dedicated time with approximate 400 registrants to date – and there is still much to be learned from what members have to say.  One thing that did become clear early in the process was the high level of confusion and concern about associate membership categories and, specifically, the designations attached to them.  With that feedback, council established a task force to review the state of affairs.  This group came back to council with a series of recommendations concerning such matters as the status of BDs and RDs; the registration of associate members on the bases of competency and credentials; phasing out of the “.AIBC” suffix; and mandatory use of the title “Architect” and designation “MAIBC”.  All were fully endorsed by council. More to follow.

At the risk of leaving you feeling inundated by “engagement” to the point of harassment, we now have mechanisms in place that will allow the institute to tap into member opinion and feedback through online surveys. The first such survey is now underway; you can expect them to become a regular occurrence. It’s only five minutes of your time; consider it an investment in your institute and your profession. Click here to take the online survey.

Governance
Since governance of the institute seems to be a recurring and somewhat misunderstood topic, I thought the following quote from Laura Bickerton, Director of Professional Education and Communication for the BC College of Teachers, might be educational to us all.  It confirms that other self-regulating organizations face challenges similar to those of the AIBC:

“The legislation for each profession creates a governing board on which both members of the profession and lay persons serve. Elected members of boards are not intended to be democratically representative of the constituents who place them on the board. Appointed members of a self-regulating board must be independent from government and elected members must also be independent of their constituents. This seems to be antithetical to the notion of elections in a democracy, yet makes sense in light of the role of self-regulating bodies.  Even though the public does not vote to elect members to a board, board members must act in ways that represent the public at large.  All board members are required to uphold and implement the acts that created them and to do so in ways that are independent of those who elect or appoint them.”

Similarly, AIBC Council embodies governance by members of the profession on behalf of the public. With that in mind, we should all recognize that an engaged, thriving profession is in the public’s best interest.

I look forward to the productive efforts of a rejuvenated AIBC Council, and am indebted to all members and associates for the opportunity to serve. Merci beaucoup.

Pierre E. Gallant MAIBC AAA MRAIC
AIBC Council President