2022 Progress and Success
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Celebrating Engineering Excellence
The 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards were presented to five New Brunswick consulting engineering firms this past April. The firms and projects range in size, discipline and location. Congratulations to RJ Bartlett Engineering who was honoured for the Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Core Science Facility with the Pinnacle Award which is the top ranked entry deemed to demonstrate consulting engineering excellence by the judging panel. 
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Congratulations to all the award winners:
- YMCA Moncton North, Moncton, NB by MCW Maricor Consulting Engineers;
- Development of Asset Management Plans for water and wastewater systems for the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority by Dillon Consulting Limited;
- Char Lake Pump Station + Signal Hill Water Treatment Plant – Resolute Bay, Nunavut by EXP Services; and,
- Upper River Valley Hospital Biomass Boiler Plant, Waterville, NB by MCW Maricor Consulting Engineers.
To learn more about all of the winning projects and individual awards presented you can view the videos here: https://www.acec-nb.ca/2022-awards-gala.html
2022 Webinars and Professional Development
- January 2022 - Connected Leadership – Nicole Paquet
- January 2022 – Construction Remedies Act – McInnes Cooper
- May 2022 – Working NB Lunch & Learn
- November 2022 – NBDELG – Update on the Contaminated Site Process in NB
- Dec 2022 – Government Funding for Atlantic Engineering Projects – Ryan + Mentorworks
ACEC-NB hosted our annual golf tournament in June in Sussex this year, it was a great networking opportunity, it was a beautiful sunny day and we had 50 golfers out. Thanks to all our sponsors and participants!
The Young Professionals Committee is now the Future Leaders Group!
ACEC-NB would like to sincerely thank all of our sponsors and volunteers for the 2022 Habitat for Humanity Young Professionals Build Day!
Advocacy
New Official Languages Requirements for Tender Documents
We have been working closely with our federal colleagues and Atlantic partner associations on this issue. In late 2021, the Federal Languages Commissioner directed Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and other departments that all design and construction documents, as well as other professional services, forming part of a Request for Proposal (RFP) or tender must be provided in both official languages – regardless of the project location and demand. Further, the Languages Commissioner has directed that translated documents must be of the same professional quality.
As you can imagine we have several concerns with this, however we agree with and support the fundamental principle that all firms should have the opportunity to participate in federal procurement in the official language of their choice. We aim to work with the federal government to successfully achieve this, while delivering high quality federal projects in a timely, fiscally and professionally responsible manner.
As professionals responsible for developing appropriate engineering designs to be tendered and constructed, we see several concerns with respect to this new policy. In June 2022 we sent a letter (you can read letter here) to PSPC outlining our concerns.
You can read a full update here.
Engaging With Strategic Stakeholders
The economic climate over the past year is presenting several unique challenges to our industry and our province. Most firms have had to make significant salary adjustments due to inflation over the past year, this was necessary to address the unusually high rise in the cost of living and for employee retention.
We addressed this issue with two important clients of our member firms. You can read the full letter sent to NBDTI in December 2022 here. Additionally, we met with DCC in November and addressed this concern along with many other items, you can read a summary of that meeting here.
2022 New Brunswick Industry Forum
ACEC-NB would like to thank everyone that helped make this year’s event a great success including our partners - the Architects Association of New Brunswick, Construction Association of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. As well as the attendees, the excellent speakers and the sponsors that made this event possible! Summary report of the event can be read here.
Congratulations to Denis Leblanc of WSP Canada for receiving the first ever ACEC-NB Mentorship award at the MAPSWS dinner as part of the 2022 New Brunswick Industry Forum.
The Year Ahead
We continue to advance our strategic issues as well as any new advocacy initiatives impacting the business of our member firms. You can read our new 2022-2025 strategic plan here.
SAVE THE DATE! The 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards will be held in Fredericton on May 4th – stay tuned for more details in the new year.
Thank you to the board of ACEC-NB:
Andrea Kalafut - Past- President
Christine Plourde – President
Peter Allaby – Vice-President
Tim Dulenty – Treasurer
Ben Coles – ACEC Canada Rep
Denis Gallant - Ex-officio Director
Daniel Houghton - Director
Richard Smith - Director
Philippe Landry - Director
Jason Young - Director
Melissa Steeves - Director
Julie DiCicco – Future Leaders Representative
Finally, we want to recognize that we are a member supported association, we want to thank all our members for their support which makes all that ACEC-NB does possible! We wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
