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2004 - Something
Has to be Done
Alberta continued to benefit from a buoyant economy. The Association continued to see the number of active Alberta Land Surveyors climb, hitting a record 307 members and the largest turnout for an annual general meeting in Jasper. At the 2004 Annual General Meeting, the Association welcomed the first two Alberta Land Surveyors (Geoff Hobbs and John Landry) to receive their commissions under the terms of the interprovincial labour mobility agreement signed in June 2001. In spite of such strong numbers, the Association Council saw storm clouds on the horizon. A large number of members had received their commissions more than 25 years ago and the Association could see many members retire in the next ten years. Even with a good number of articled students in the system, there would not be enough to replace a mass exodus of senior members. Council had been directed, under new business at the 2003 AGM, to develop a vision for the future of the Association. In October 2003, Council held a strategic planning workshop and identified membership demographics and the registration process as two big issues. Alberta was not alone in its concern. The four western provinces considered proposals to compile a more concise syllabus for each Western Canadian Board of Examiners (WCBE) subject and increase the number of exemptions that a technical school graduate could obtain. Late in the year, the Association received a proposal from the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors to merge the CLS Board and the WCBE Board since the Atlantic provinces did not want to pursue the idea of a national board of examiners. The Atlantic provinces were concerned that they would be subsidizing the larger WCBE. All provincial survey associations agreed that something had to be done. There was a fine line between maintaining the same entry standards and developing other ways for people to enter the profession. The ALSA Council responded by creating a "future of the Association" ad hoc committee to look into these issues. In July 2004, the Alberta Land Surveyors' Association moved into its new home: the tenth floor of the Phipps-McKinnon building (#1000 Phipps-McKinnon, 10020 101A Avenue) in Edmonton. It was the sixth full-time office for the Association. The others were:
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