The objective of the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, directly aligned with the OIQ's mission, is to encourage its members to develop a practice that incorporates more aspects of their professional obligations toward ethics and professional conduct. To support the deployment of this Plan in its first year, OIQ members voted to increase their membership dues. The OIQ has a mission and is developing the tools necessary to achieve it. In the coming years, $8 million will be invested toward that mission.
"Under the theme of 'Restoring Public Trust,' this plan implements a series of measures that will enable the OIQ to fully carry out its primary mission, which is to protect the public," confirms OIQ President Maud Cohen, Eng.
Raising awareness, informing and educating
The 2010-2015 Strategic Plan has been developed on a continuing basis and supported by a rigorous thought process specifically directed at governance and professional practice that incorporates the obligations toward ethics and professional conduct. For almost a year now, embezzlement allegations aimed at certain members of the profession have caused the OIQ to take prompt and continuous action in order to reassure the public that it is responding to them. Raising awareness, informing and educating are at the core of this key initiative led by the OIQ.
Transformation of the Office of the Syndic
The strategic plan includes a plan to transform the Office of the Syndic. This initiative is intended to meet the increasingly complicated nature of investigations, the growing number of investigation requests and adequately meet public expectations for protection.
This transformation will involve adding resources, but also defining new approaches by improving procedures. These actions will enable the OIQ to meet needs even more effectively. In addition, engineers will have access to an ethics hotline to support them in their practice.
The Ethics, Professional Conduct and Governance Action Plan is also a part of this initiative and proposes actions that are intended to identify - and correct - the nature and scope of problems reported in the media concerning specific fields of engineering.
Review of the Engineers Act
The Engineers Act, whose original foundations date back to the 19th century, no longer reflects the current reality of engineering practice. That is why reviewing this law is a key component of the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan. The new legal and regulatory framework will result in a modern law. The draft will be submitted to the Office des professions du Québec in the fall and eventually to Québec's National Assembly for adoption. This review will help restore public trust in the profession and its members by adequately governing engineering practice.
Professional education
The OIQ and its members feel that professional education is a sector of activity that must be developed so that engineers are better equipped than ever to adapt to modern realities, which is necessary in engineering practice. Thus, professional education is a sector that should grow considerably in scale in the near future.
The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
This year, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Founded in 1920, the OIQ consists of some 58,000 engineering professionals in all fields, except forest engineering.
Mission
The mission of Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec is to ensure the protection of the public by supervising the practice of the profession within the framework of its constituent legislation and make certain the profession serves public interest.