Presidential Column

CSEG Elections: Time for you to vote!

The Elections for CSEG Directors are now taking place. The elections run all through December and close on January 15th. It takes a long time to hold the elections due to our use of mail-in ballots. This year there are nine candidates running for five positions. All CSEG members will receive a mail in ballot with their December Recorder and those members with e-mail addresses on file will have the option of voting online.

Your vote is important because the technical and the social activities of the society have an influence on you and on your profession. Candidate bios and platforms are published in this edition of the Recorder and are also available online. Please take the time to review their material and to cast your vote. Nine people have stepped forward and I know that you will have a difficult decision in choosing the right candidate in the four contested positions.

Each Director has a portfolio to oversee and the CSEG website hosts two documents that can acquaint you with their roles. I recommend you review the CSEG Organizational Chart which shows the structure of all CSEG Committees; for an explicit definition of the Directors roles and responsibilities, please take a look at our bylaws.

The CSEG Org Chart can be found here:
http://cseg.ca/members/cseg-executive

CSEG Bylaws are available here:
http://cseg.ca/members/cseg-bylaws

These nine good people deserve our gratitude and our respect. On our behalf they are willing to work with the more than 20 CSEG committees. They will oversee our $1,000,000 annual budget and diligently safeguard the CSEG corpus. Each of these nine Candidates are capable of steering the CSEG’s 62 year old ship into the future and you can support them with your vote.

APEGGA Geoscience Council: Technical sessions at the GeoConvention?

Colin Yeo chairs the APEGGA GeoScience committee and as CSEG President I attend these meetings. Since APEGGA’s primary role is regulation, we discuss things like Geoscience Licensure. APEGGA also has an important educational role to play. With its education programs, APEGGA can help each of us better understand our obligations to public safety and public interests. Adhering to regulations is not optional, and we need APEGGA to ensure that we as individuals and our profession remain law abiding and well respected by the public.

We’ve been asked to think about involving APEGGA in our annual GeoConvention. APEGGA could host a technical session on the EG&G Act, Regulations, and Bylaws. APEGGA did this at the 2010 GeoCanada convention, and their sessions were well attended. We’ll discuss APEGGA’s proposal with our partners, the CSPG, and the CWLS, so it will take us a while to respond to APEGGA’s request. In the meantime, I’d like to hear from you. Please share your thoughts with me on how the CSEG can best work with APEGGA.

There will be a lot to report next month. We are working on the 2011 Budget and on a new office space lease. Personally, my oldest just turned 18, and I’m adjusting to her evolution into an adult. I wish you and your family the best of the season and a happy holiday.