Welcome to PEO’s Council meeting update to licence holders. PEO is sharing this to encourage and assist licence holders to become more familiar with the work of Council, the board of directors of their self-regulating profession. It is intended to highlight a few, illustrative items that may be of interest. Licence holders are invited to review the full detailed meeting package available on our website and to provide regular feedback to PEO on issues of concern to them.
566th Meeting of PEO Council
PEO Council met on November 29, 2024. You may view the meeting agenda and package here. A link to the audio recording and a disposition of motions from the meeting will be posted on the PEO website as soon as it is available.
566 Council decisions/discussion:
- Future Direction of the Engineering Intern (EIT) program: Council approved a motion committing to reintroducing a new EIT program and is expected to have a policy proposal for consideration in April 2025. Following consultations with stakeholders, PEO will redevelop a new and improved EIT program that serves our regulatory mandate while meeting the needs of stakeholders: licence applicants, licence holders, PEO chapters, employers, etc.
- 2025 Budgets: Council approved PEO’s draft 2025 budgets, reviewed by the Audit and Finance Committee (AFC) and as presented to the meeting. The draft 2025 budgets include PEO’s operating, capital, Council special project and strategic plan budgets, encompassing all expenses necessary to fulfill PEO’s regulatory objectives.
- Safe Disclosure (Whistleblower) Policy: Council approved a revised Safe Disclosure Policy that improves on the original policy, particularly around clarity of definitions and coherence of process. The policy aims to ensure that PEO staff, volunteers and Councillors can safely report misconduct or suspected misconduct, without retaliation.
- Discontinuing the Services of The Engineer Acting Under the Drainage Act practice guideline: Council approved discontinuing PEO’s 1998 Services of the Engineer Acting Under the Drainage Act practice guideline. Following a review of the guideline and policy impact analysis, staff determined that potential risks associated with professional engineers providing services under the Drainage Act are adequately mitigated by guidance resources from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness and Ministry of Rural Affairs.
President’s report: PEO President Gregory P. Wowchuck, P.Eng., FEC, delivered his report to Council, noting events attended as PEO president since the September Council meeting. These included the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers’ (OSPE) Engineering Conference in Windsor, meetings with Engineering Deans Ontario, the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards and an Engineers Canada meeting on the future of engineering accreditation.
CEO/Registrar’s report: PEO CEO/Registrar Jennifer Quaglietta, P.Eng., MBA, ICD.D, delivered her report to Council, providing updates on the 2024 operational plan. Highlights include:
- As of November, PEO has completed 20 out of 21 initiatives from the 2024 operational plan
- This year PEO’s Pre-licensing Outreach team gave 52 presentations to over 2600 prospective licence applicants
- PEO’s licensing team is 100 per cent compliant with all registration timelines set out in FARPACTA legislation
- PEO completed a lean review of its regulatory operations, identifying improvement opportunities to streamline processes and improve customer service
The next PEO Council meeting will take place on February 21, 2025. Start time and information on how to join a Council meeting are available on the PEO website approximately one week prior to a scheduled Council meeting.