CHANGING THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS CEO is the voice that advocates for your firm’s unique business interests. Throughout the last year, CEO worked closely with our public sector clients and partners to raise awareness of the industry’s most pressing issues and create solutions. Here are some highlights from CEO activities in 2015. Strategic Infrastructure Investment With the provincial government committing about $160 billion for infrastructure over the next 12 years, CEO has been a strong advocate for strategic, long-term planning of and investments in infrastructure. Through our meetings with key policy makers, politicians and clients, CEO has reaffirmed the need for full partnership between three levels of government which is essential for understanding the infrastructure priorities of the Canadian communities. CEO has also actively pursued media opportunities to discuss why dedicated sources of revenue are an essential attribute of a successful infrastructure plan. Our message has been published in The Globe and Mail, Renew Canada, The Hamilton Spectator, The Huffington Post, The Canadian Business Journal and more. Conflict of Interest Guidelines In response to the growing number of large and complex infrastructure projects involving multiple parties, CEO developed the Conflict of Interest Guidelines to help member firms and public sector clients better address and make informed decisions when confronted with conflict of interest or unfair advantages (COI/UA) situations. The guidelines provide an overview of the principles governing the management of COI/UA, the process for identifying COI/UA, appeal and resolution processes, mitigation measures and specific COI/ UA situations and remedies to ensure all parties involved benefit from the minimization of COI/UA. The document is available for download on the CEO website. Bill 6, Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act CEO worked closely with Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid, and ministry officials to shape legislation that best represents the interests of CEO’s member firms. As a result of CEO’s advocacy efforts, the law now specifies that the role professional engineers will play in the planning, designing, constructing and maintaining the province’s public infrastructure shall be of equal standing to that of Ontario’s architects. This responsibility was not included in the draft legislation despite prescribing such a role for architects. Queen’s Park Day CEO’s inaugural Queen’s Park Day took place on October 5, 2015. CEO’s 15 volunteers and senior staff representatives met with Members of Provincial Parliament, senior government leadership officials and political staff from all three parties to elevate the association’s profile with the Provincial Government and raise awareness of the issues crucial to the consulting engineering industry, including: • challenges imposed by current contract language on the construction sector in carrying out public infrastructure projects; • need for refining the current guidelines for municipal asset management plans to facilitate proper planning for strategic infrastructure investment; • calling for full partnership between three levels of government for infrastructure planning and investment; and • necessity of investment in core infrastructure for Ontario’s prosperity. MEA-CEO Standard Agreement Working together with the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA), CEO completed its review of the MEA-CEO Standard Agreement for Engineering Services, which was established to address the professional engineering procurement needs of 8 2015-2016 CEO ANNUAL REPORT
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