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by: S.M. Matile, P.Eng., June 1998
Almost daily, I receive inquiries regarding the NAFTA, and how it will affect Manitoba engineers wishing to practise engineering in the U.S.
First of all, you should understand that the NAFTA is a trade agreement, negotiated among three federal governments. It is the first agreement ever to include services as well as goods. The parties which negotiated the agreement, however, do not have jurisdiction over the provision of services, and cannot, therefore, be the bodies which will implement the agreement.
Under the NAFTA, the engineering professions in each of the three countries were required to meet, and to develop a mutual recognition agreement (MRA), outlining the requirements for an engineer in one country to practise in another.
The CCPE set up a team of six engineers to represent the engineering profession in Canada. The U.S. was represented by a consortium of three national engineering organizations. Mexico was able to develop a team with representatives of the jurisdictional bodies.
The three teams negotiated a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) which was signed in June, 1995. Under this agreement, if you:
or,
you will qualify for a one-year renewable temporary license to practise in any of the other jurisdictions that are signatories to the MRA.
The jurisdiction for the implementation of the MRA rests with the provincial and territorial engineering Associations in Canada, and with the State Licensing Boards in the U.S. - not with the bodies which negotiated and signed the MRA. It is up to each individual provincial association or state board, therefore, to implement the MRA.
We have submitted a letter of intent to sign the MRA, but the details of implementation have not yet been worked out. We have identified areas in which our legislation and policies are inconsistent with the MRA, and are working on the necessary revisions (for example, we just changed our By-laws to enable the temporary licensure of Mexican engineers - although we have yet to develop the necessary policies and procedures.) Most importantly, however, whatever we do in terms of implementation must be consistent with the processes adopted by the other Canadian associations - which means that the implementation process may take a while!
By October, 1996, most of the Canadian engineering Associations had submitted to CCPE Letters of Intent to "sign on" to the NAFTA MRA.
In November, 1996, the Admissions Officials from the Associations across Canada met in a first attempt to develop an implementation procedure that can be uniformly implemented across Canada. The results of that meeting, at which some consensus was reached, will be (and likely have been, by the time you read this!) forwarded to CCPE for approval. Once approved, a national guideline will be issued, and this Association will commence with the adoption of policies and procedures for offering temporary licenses to U.S. and Mexican engineers.
Anyone who has attempted registration in the U.S. will be aware that, to become registered there, you currently have to complete two eight-hour examinations. (U.S. graduates have to write these examinations prior to registration, and so, therefore, do Canadians. Some state boards will waive the first examination - an examination in engineering fundamentals - if you have a significant amount of engineering experience; however, it is very rare that a Canadian engineer becomes registered as a P.E. in the U.S. without writing at least eight hours' worth of exams!) The NAFTA MRA represents the first window of opportunity for Canadians to practise in the U.S. without examination.
By all account the U.S. appeared initially to be "foot-dragging" - because the organization responsible for the examinations would have a great deal to lose by registering Canadian and Mexican engineers without further examination when they don't even register U.S. engineers without examination. Now, however, they appear to be developing implementation procedures, and one State Board - Texas - has committed to "sign on" to the MRA and to commence with the development of the required procedures for implementing it.
In terms of the Mutual Recognition Agreement, Mexico is committed. Not having had a system of registration or of accreditation in place before the NAFTA, Mexico has a great deal of "catch-up" to do. But Mexico is proceeding rapidly in the development of the necessary infrastructure, and will soon, we believe, be offering temporary licenses to Canadian engineers.
APEGM was created by an act of the provincial legislature to regulate the practice of engineering for the protection of the people of Manitoba. Now the Federal Government is asking us to use APEGM as a trade vehicle. There is an unquestionable dichotomy, here. Can it work? Your Council feels that it can. Trade in engineering services is becoming increasingly important to Canada, and Council believes that the profession has a responsibility to develop engineering exports to create jobs and wealth in Canada.
On a truly self-interest level, it is illegal to practise engineering in Mexico unless you belong to an association which is party to the NAFTA MRA. Signing the MRA will allow our members the opportunity to practise engineering in Mexico. Signing the MRA will also allow our members with 12 or 16 years' experience wishing to practise in signatory U.S. states to do so without examination. The NAFTA MRA should be viewed as a small step toward international agreements recognizing full professional qualifications, which will enhance the international mobility of Manitoba engineers.
There is much work to be done in the area of admissions policies, etc. before we will be able to actually implement the terms of the NAFTA. And this is doubtless true of all of the other Canadian and American jurisdictions. It is not necessarily true of Mexico, however; and you are encouraged to make application to practise engineering in Mexico under the NAFTA MRA as soon as you learn to speak Spanish!
From Manitoba Professional Engineer, February 1997