Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association – President’s Message

I hope that this report finds you in warmer weather than the previous edition, even though we may have to wait a few weeks longer for the spring-like temperatures to catch up to the season.

Since the winter edition of the Corner Post, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Saint John’s New Brunswick, for the ANBLS AGM, January 18-20th; Dickinson, North Dakota, for the NDPLS Conference, February 8-10th; Great Falls, Montana, for the MARLS Conference February 15-17th; Niagara Falls, Ontario, for the OLS AGM March 1-3rd; & Victoria, British Columbia, for the BCLS AGM March 8-10th.

Of note, the President’s forum agendas are filled with discussion & updates on the status of the Professional Governance Act (PGA), in British Columbia & Alberta; the BCLS is not under the PGA, but continue to monitor & align their association bylaws & polices with best practices published by the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance & the PGA which many other self-regulating professions are under in BC; the ALSA will be coming under the PGA, but timelines were extended due to it not making it to 3rd reading & delays in Government; Quebec has been under a PGA-style model for many years along with 45 other professions. Additional agenda items include, but have not been limited to: Unauthorized Practice, including a case of identity left in Quebec; Advocacy & Professional Surveyors Canada; Limited Licensing, who does it, does it work & what is the model; Career Awareness, including the analysis commissioned by the ALSA to determine the provincial land surveying needs in Alberta; Government/Ministry Relationships & how to strengthen those relations; & the Modernization of the Profession of Land Surveying, including modernizing legislation & new definitions of land surveyor & cadastral survey.

Bill No. 100, The Miscellaneous Statutes (Accretion) Amendment Act, 2022 has received its 3rd reading on March 8th. The Government Policy Review committee has remained vigilant of the Bill & it’s progress, authoring a letter to Hon. David Marit, Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Bronwyn Eyre, Minister of Justice & Attorney General, Hon. Jim Reiter, Ministry of Energy and Resources, Mr. Alan (Jake) Jensen, Controller of Surveys, Mr. Trent Wotherspoon, Opposition Critic for Agriculture, Ms. Nicole Sarauer, Opposition Critic for Justice & Ms. Aleana Young, Opposition Critic for Energy & Resources providing the SLSA’s support of the bill, in additional to providing further information on the SLSA’s mandate, history of riparian boundaries in Saskatchewan & further details around errors in the GIS & respectfully requesting that the SLSA be involved in the process of developing the supporting Regulations & policies. The SLSA is awaiting further consultation from the Accretion Working Group regarding the next steps.

Speaking of Regulations, the Ministry of Government Relations, is undertaking a regulatory review of The Subdivision Regulations, 2014 had has extended an invite to the SLSA to take part in their first phase of consultations with focus on reducing red tape within these regulations. The SLSA will have representatives in myself & the Government Relations Committee at both stakeholder sessions in Regina & Saskatoon at the end of April and look forward to the discussions & providing future updates to our membership.

Finally, I’d like to share the following updates regarding the SLSA’s Public Member & Executive Director positions. The SLSA Council continues to await the appointment of our Public Member but as previously mentioned the Executive Committee completed the interviews & put forward our recommendations in early January; Terry Alm continues in this role, until such time. Additionally, since the last update, the Executive Committee has completed interviews for the Executive Director position, after receiving 22 applications and intend to extend an offer in early April. I look forward to future announcements regarding this position. I’d like to extend a big thank you to Carrie, Travis & Regan for their time & efforts in ensuring the SLSA continues to have competent & qualified individuals in these positions.

I look forward to seeing many, hopefully most, of you in person at the AGM in Regina, June 7-9th.

Sincerely,
Heather Bennett