The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec wants to make Québec a world leader in the integrity and efficiency of engineering business practices

MONTREAL, Nov. 28, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - The current confidence crisis in engineering provides an opportunity to implement sustainable solutions that will make Québec a world leader in integrity and efficiency. This was the message conveyed today by Daniel Lebel, Eng., FEC, PMP, the President of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, at a lunch conference of the Association des MBA du Québec, which was attended by over 175 people.

"We must learn lessons from today's events so that we can prevent them from recurring. Québec society and consulting engineering firms need to come out on top of this crisis and we engineers have a duty to become inspiring examples by demonstrating how to resolve it," stated Mr. Lebel.

In his speech, the President of the OIQ gave a preliminary review of the initiatives taken by the OIQ to fulfill its commitment.

Concrete solutions

On the topic of protecting the public, he pointed out that no engineer is above the laws, the ethics and the Code of Ethics, which is why around thirty engineers must now answer to the OIQ's Disciplinary Council in matters involving corruption, collusion and illegal political party funding.

Mr. Lebel also discussed the OIQ's efforts to broaden the boundaries of the professional system by creating a program to audit the business practices of consulting engineering firms. The program was announced in May and is now in the process of being developed in cooperation with the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ).

Mr. Lebel repeated that the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec is stepping up research and training activities with its members on the issues of professional independence, contract management, ethics, conflicts of interest and the supervision of construction work.

In connection with the proposed vision, the President of the OIQ took the opportunity provided by this event to launch the idea of creating an independent integrity institute that would monitor, research and disseminate best business practices around the world in the construction and engineering industries. Not only would the institute provide information on continuously evolving best practices, but it could also increase Québec's ability to manage and complete quality projects at reasonable costs. It would allow Québec to distinguish itself and become a world leader in infrastructure and other types of project management. It would also leave an indelible, but positive mark on the current crisis.

"We need to work together to transform the ethical standards involved in the business practices of the engineering and construction industries. But not just in those industries. All business communities should be concerned. The entire province should come out on top of this crisis. Together, we can make the necessary changes," concluded the President of the OIQ.

His full speech is available on the OIQ's Web site.

About the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec

Founded in 1920, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec has a membership of more than 60,000 engineering professionals in all fields, except forest engineering. The mission of the OIQ is to ensure the protection of the public by supervising the practice of the profession within the framework of its constituent laws and ensure that the profession serves the public interest. For more information, go to http://www.oiq.qc.ca.

SOURCE: Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec

Patrick Leblanc
Communications and Public Affairs Department
Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
514 845-6141 or 1 800 461-6141, extension 3253