Advocacy

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ACEC CANADA PARLIAMENT HILL DAY
On October 19th, close to 60 industry leaders from across Canada came to Ottawa to rally the industry for ACEC-Canada’s 2023 Parliament Hill Day.

​During this cornerstone advocacy activity, they amplified the sector’s voice by meeting with Ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), Senators, and other policy makers. Over the course of some 35 meetings with representatives from across party lines, they discussed how consulting engineering firms play a key role in planning, designing, and building resilient and prosperous communities in Canada and across the world.
Following the meetings on Parliament Hill, ACEC-Canada members gathered for an evening of celebrations at the Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards (CCEA) gala. Several MPs joined the festivities, networking with award winners and industry leaders from their ridings.
 
Click here for details on the key messages we shared during Parliament Hill Day 2023, the various meetings participants attended, and how ACEC-Canada will continue to build on the success of this important advocacy day for the industry.
Newfoundland & Labrador Public Procurement Policy
 The Public Procurement Act is an important document governing the process through which government and public sector entities buy goods and services or enter construction and infrastructure contracts.  In 2018, engineering and architecture were removed as professional designations from the Public Procurement Act.
 
The results of that change have been bad for our professions, but also bad for business in the province and potentially for the safety of all Newfoundland and Labradorians. It has created a lack of clarity and consistency throughout procurement processes and has limited the ultimate quality and value for money of infrastructure projects across Newfoundland and Labrador. Nobody benefits, and taxpayers are losing out.
 
ACEC-NL and NLAA have retained First Lake Solutions, a government relations firm to work with us and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to reverse this change to the Public Procurement Act and to work with the province to improve the way in which they procure professional engineering and architecture services. 
 
Below is an outline of our advocacy to date in 2023:
 
June
Meeting requests were sent to five Newfoundland & Labrador ministers with relevance to the public procurement file, highlighting concerns surrounding the removal of the “professional” designation for architects and engineers when the Public Procurement Act was last updated.
  • Minister Abbott (Transportation and Infrastructure)
  • Minister Coady (Finance)
  • Minister Davis (Environment and Climate Change)
  • Minister Haggie (Municipal and Provincial Affairs)
  • Minister Parsons (Industry, Energy and Technology)
 
July & August
First Lake provided an advocacy training session for ACEC-NL members.
ACEC-NL and NLAA met with Minister Coady and Minister Abbott to discuss public procurement policy, how the removal of the professional designation has negatively impacted their members, and to initiate broader discussions about procurement policy reform.
A takeaway from the Transportation and Infrastructure meeting was this change may in part have been made due to the Canada Free Trade Agreement’s introduction in 2017.
  • In response, First Lake conducted a review of procurement policies and related legislation across other Canadian provinces, and how this legislation interacted with the Act itself.
  • Few, if any, provinces, changed how they designated professions since the CFTA introduction, and some provinces still cite architects and/or engineers as “professionals”. Others received CFTA exemptions specifically applicable to the two professions. The review also found that the CFTA itself states provinces may adopt or maintain any occupational standard.
 
September
ACEC-NL and NLAA cowrote a letter to Minister Abbott detailing these findings and highlighting both organizations’ interest in working with the department to identify how the Act can be modernized to reflect the needs and priorities of those working in architecture and engineering in the province. 
December 2, 2022 - ACEC-NL issues letter to City of St. John’s re: Request for Proposals for 2025 Jeux du Canada Games Track, Turf & Field and Centre of Excellence Facility – letter attached
WHAT WE DO
​ADVOCACY
​2023 YEAR IN REVIEW
BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES
SELECTING A CONSULTANT
FEE GUIDELINE
BUSINESS RESOURCES
​Our main goal is to stay focused on the key issues that affect our members and ensure their positions are made known. For most clients, selecting an engineering firm may be the most important decision in ensuring the success of a project. For that reason, the procurement process is of specific interest to us.

ACEC-NL advocates the use of Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) as the preferred method for procuring engineering services.

QBS takes into account a company’s qualifications (experience and skills) as opposed to awarding a contract based on the low price.Priority should be given to core infrastructure that grows the economy, creates jobs and expands the tax base.

​Growing the economy is essential to making further investments in community social infrastructure viable and sustainable in the long term. We suggest a 10-year plan which will de-politicize infrastructure planning and create stability.