FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CANADIAN COUNCIL OF PROFESSIONAL GEOSCIENTISTS SUPPORTS RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TSE/OSC MINING STANDARDS TASK FORCE

Calgary, Alberta, June 16, 1998

The Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists/Conseil canadien des géoscientifiques professionnels (CCPG/CCGP) strongly supports the recommendations of the TSE/OSC Mining Standards Task Force, released on Monday, June 8, 1998.

Geoscientists, including geologists, geophysicists and geochemists, are the professionals who study, understand and work with the rocks, minerals, fossil fuels, soils, and waters on and below the earth's surface. They have always played, and will continue to play, essential roles in exploration for, and development of, Canada's mineral and energy resources. Geoscientists also have the knowledge, expertise and professional skills to minimize and remediate environmental disturbances, whether caused by economic activity or pressure from a growing population.

Professionals are licensed (registered) to protect the public, and public protection explicitly includes financial considerations as well as protection of physical health and safety. In Canada, professional licensure, based on high and consistent academic, experience and ethical standards, is a provincial and territorial responsibility. Geoscientists are currently licensed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Newfoundland by self-governing professional associations which have the legal authority to set standards for registration, to discipline their members, and to prevent unqualified persons from providing geoscience services. Legislation in these jurisdictions provides an exclusive scope of practice, meaning that geoscientists must be licensed to practice their profession. The number of licensed geoscientists in Canada is expected to double over the next few years as other provinces and territories develop appropriate legislation.

The CCPG/CCGP is a national umbrella organization formed by the provincial and territorial professional associations that license geoscientists. Its main purposes are to assist its member associations in developing compatible national standards for registration and professional practice, and to assume leadership in establishing mutual recognition of professional qualifications, within Canada and internationally. The Canadian Geoscience Standards Board, with representation from all CCPG/CCGP member associations, has the principal responsibility in this area. Many Canadian geoscientists work nationally and, increasingly, globally. It is therefore important that their professional qualifications be widely recognized and accepted in the mineral, energy and environmental industries. The CCPG/CCGP is committed to furthering this acceptance.

Mineral exploration and mining activity is an important segment of resource-based activity in Ontario and, indeed, in many other parts of Canada. It is essential that geoscientists in Ontario be licensed (as they are in the other jurisdictions mentioned) for the reasons presented in the TSE/OSC Task Force Report. The CCPG/CCGP therefore strongly supports the Association of Geoscientists of Ontario in its efforts to obtain self-regulatory status, including an exclusive scope of practice for its members.

The CCPG/CCGP applauds the recommendation by the TSE/OSC Task Force that licensed geoscientists with suitable experience be recognized as Qualified Persons for reporting purposes. Such recognition acknowledges the fact that registration provides protection to the public from unskilled or unethical geoscience practice.

Reporting on exploration results is clearly part of the practice of geoscience. The CCPG/CCGP is prepared to work with other interested organizations to develop national reporting guidelines as recommended in the TSE/OSC Task Force Report.


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For further information: contact Gordon Williams, Chair, CCPG/CCGP, at (403) 247-3225.