annual general meeting – may 31, 2003 - ciphi.ab.ca general meeting – may 31, 2003 red deer,...

Box 1674 Drumheller, Alberta

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Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (Alberta Branch)

Annual General Meeting – May 31, 2003 Red Deer, Alberta

Members Present: Nelson Fok Stephen Parker Rob Mahabeer Tricia Herridge Nicole Obert Ken Dong Nyall Hislop Marilyn Dahlgren Dan Richen* Victor Mah* David Crowe* Keith Lee* Merry Turtiak* Rhian Harrison* Koreen Westly* Jay Jorgenson* Phil Callbeck* Cheryl Galbraith* Simon Sihota* Kristen Kliciak* Phi Phan* *Denotes Executive Member

Agenda Item Discussion & Decision Action by 1.0 Call to Order 11:10 AM

2.0 In Memoriam • Fred Hassen – Dan Richen gave a brief eulogy of

Mr. Hassen

3.0 Adoption of the Agenda

3.1 Additions/Deletions to the Agenda • Add 7.7 Web Referrals Report • Add 10.12 Branch Gifts

Closed

3.2 Adoption of the Agenda • Motion to adopt agenda. Seconded. Carried

Closed

4.0 Adoption of Minutes

Adoption of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting: October 3, 2002 Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

5.0 Executive Reports

5.1 President Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

5.2 Vice President Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

5.3 Treasurer Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

5.4 Secretary Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

6.0 Zone Reports 6.1 Arctic Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

6.2 Northern Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

6.3 Capital Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

6.4 Central Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

6.5 Calgary Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

6.6 Southern Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

7.0 Committee 7.1 Communication Closed


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Reports Moved. Seconded. Carried. 7.2 Board of Certification

Moved. Seconded. Carried. Closed

7.3 Membership Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

7.4 Issues Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

7.5 Concordia Advisory Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

7.6 Council of Managers – Environmental Health Moved. Seconded. Carried.

Closed

7.7 Web Page Referrals Report Moved. Seconded. Carried

Closed

8.0 Business Arising

8.1 National Education Conference 2003 Update • Effort to make this a financial and educational

success • 37 exhibitors/sponsors; 53 speakers • Coming together quite well

Continued

8.2 Constitution & Bylaw Update Tabled 8.3 Professional Development

Comments: • Telehealth info shares – members are encouraged

to speak about regional issues • Under the Health Professions Act we do not provide

care or treatment to an individual, so we do not qualify for recognition under this act. Instead, Executive members will evaluate pursuing recognition under the Registered Professionals Act to protect our professional status.

• Workshop in October – very early planning stages

Continued

8.4 Social Events • Ski Trip – although well planned unfortunately no

one was able to attend • AEC Golf Tournie – organized by the conference

committee and Alberta Branch. Appears it will be well attended

• AB Branch Tournie – another golf tournament is being planned, members will advised when information available.

Continued

9.0 Information Items

9.1 Water Manual Distribution • Initially thought the AB Branch would be handling the

distribution however AHW is looking to post on the AHW government website. A link to the document on the AB Branch website may be added.

• Water manuals were available at the meeting or if

Closed


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members still need copies please contact Kevin McLeod with AHW

9.2 Newsletter Name Contest • The name was chosen is the Alberta Branch News

Closed

9.3 Membership Raffles • Arctic Zone – Does not conduct raffle • Northern Zone – Tony Thepsouvanh • Central Zone – Ron Pillidge • Capital Zone – Dwayne Cherlenko • Calgary Zone – Kenning Eng • Southern Zone – Brian Craig • Ken Fujioka – Free Conference Registration as he

paid his dues by December 31, 2003.

Closed

9.4 Webs Page Referrals Addressed under 7.7

Closed

10.0 New Business

10.1 Financial Issues Financial Audit • Keith has been very busy; auditors are still awaiting

information from the Treasurer. Fall Workshops – 2001 & 2002 • Cheques for those years have been made available. • 2001: Branch: $3950.78 Concordia: $1975.39 • 2002: Branch $8861.30 Concordia: $4430.65

Continued Closed

10.2 President Award Protocol Changes • Protocol has been adjusted to clarify who can qualify

for the award and to coincide with the Concordia program year.

Closed

10.3 Hockey Pool Winners • 1st Place Craig Nowakowski (Yellowknife) • 2nd Place Kelly Kennedy (Drayton Valley) • 3rd Place Garth Gosselin (Didsbury) and Stephen

Parker (Alberta Health) • In the past, various prize have been awarded, but

prizes in the future will consist of monies, $50, $30 & $10 for 1st, 2nd & 3rd.

Closed

10.4 Zone Boundaries & Councillors • Due to the recent RHA boundary changes where

some regions were split or amalgamated, to maintain simplicity discussion was held to determine if zone boundaries should change.

• Two proposals were in the Spring 2003 edition of ABN. Each option was discussed.

Motion: The zone boundaries would change as follows, the Arctic Zone will remain the same, Regions 7, 8 & 9

Continues


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will become the Northern Zone, Region 6 would remain the Capital Zone, Region 4 & 5 would become the Central Zone, Region 3 would be the Calgary Zone, and Region 1 & 2 would become the Southern Zone and the each zone would only have one vote on the Executive. Seconded. Discussion Held. Motion Called. Three objections. Motion Passed. These zones do not come into effect until after the 2004 Annual General Meeting as elections of zone councillors will have to take place. Members of the Branch are reminded that they can attend any zone meeting they wish.

10.5 Environmental Health Technicians • A position statement has been drafted both

provincially and nationally; these will be posted on their respective websites.

• We cannot start defining what a tech is as we have no control over this issue what employers call our positions.

• We want to have a position on what qualification a PHI has and disapprove of hiring of someone no certified to do a PHI position.

Continues

10.6 Environmental Health Week • EH Week is January 5 – 11, 2004,and National has

some plans, which will be communicated to the Branches.

Continues

10.7 Award Presentations • President’s Award - Kristen Kliciak • 25 year membership – Norm Carlson, Gary Butler,

Robert Phillips, Neil Williams, Lawrence King-Hunter • 50 year membership – Roy Griffiths and James

Hoskin, they will be presented at the Awards Banquet at the National Conference in Edmonton

• Life Member Award Nomination – Rob Elliott nominated.

• Q: Can members buy back years of membership that missed? A: There is currently no allowance for buying back years of service under National Bylaws.

Closed

10.8 Oath of PHIs • A member questioned if under the Code of Ethics

section on the application from if we should loyal our employer vs. loyal to our profession and its mandate. As we could be placed in a situation which conflicts with our employer.

Victor


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Action: This will be referred to National Executive Council. 10.9 Branch Logo

Proposed to switch logo from current to the AEC logo, removing the 2003 and putting in Alberta Branch. Motion to accept Cheryl’s design with minor modifications. Seconded. Keith Lee opposed. Carried

Cheryl & Victor

10.10 Membership in Good Standing • What does it truly mean and why should I pay my

dues on time if each member has the same benefits?

• The difference is members in good standing have the right to nominate. If you are only a member you only have the right to vote.

• Membership enforcement is done during the meeting by the Secretary, those noted unqualified to nominate or vote will be asked to refrain from doing so.

Action: Clarify meaning to the membership.

Tony, Simon & Phi

10.11 Fall General Meeting • Location – Edmonton, first week in October. • May combine other activities with the meeting

Closed

10.12 Branch Gifts • Ideas for this years membership gifts -ball hats,

shirts, CIPHI stickers template, shot glasses

Executive

11.0 Adjournment 2:15 PM 2:15 PM


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Annual General Meeting May 31, 2003

President’s Message The National Executive Council (NEC) has just completed compiling its strategic marketing plan survey. The purpose of this exercise was to help guide the NEC in a direction that would provide direction as to how best to serve the membership by concentrating on five pertinent goals that captured CIPHI’s vision. These goals are: increasing membership satisfaction, increasing membership numbers, increasing the organisation’s profile, increasing corporate partnerships, and finally, securing additional revenues. CIPHI has awarded it first recipient, Ms. Stacey Kelly from Perth Andover as its first CIPHI/NEHA exchange recipient. Ms. Kelly will be going to Los Angeles, California to learn about how our colleagues are involved in bio terrorism measures and then present her experience next year at the 70th CIPHI AEC in PEI. CIPHI is in the process of finalizing details with Denmark for a Twinning Exchange program. CIPHI is finalizing its position paper for presentation at the CIPHI AGM on the hiring of non-holders of the CPHI(C) designation. Once the document is completed and approved by the membership, it will be posted on the website. CIPHI has declared the first week in January of 2004 to be Environmental Health Week. The National Executive Council (NEC) will be looking to develop a promotion package for each of the Branches. CIPHI has developed a conference binder that will be a work in progress. The document is to aid future committees as to what to consider when hosting a CIPHI conference. The 69th AEC will begin in 23 days … WOW! The committee has put in countless of hours in pulling off one of CIPHI’s most successful conferences yet. I hope you will be able to attend and see some of the outstanding speakers that have been brought in, visit our 38 exhibitors and sponsors, bid on some fabulous silent auction items or attend one of the many social events that have been booked. This is one event you don’t want to miss! I look forward to seeing everyone there. Respectfully, Victor Mah President, Alberta Branch


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Vice President’s Report It is hard to believe it’s already May 31, 2003. It seems it was only a few weeks ago I was hacking away on my old ‘486, coming up with ideas for the Vice President’s report, last fall. Now summer is in the air, the birds are chirping and the golfers are chipping. I suppose I could discuss the impact of SARS, the implications of BSE or even, how many mosquitoes I intend to slaughter this summer. A recent trip to Ontario reminded me of the insidious nature of blackflies and how driving the QEW at 4 pm is akin to the latest Fear Factor episode, but I digress (or is that digest). This upcoming AGM should result in some very interesting discussion. With the recent changes to RHA boundaries the Alberta Branch is faced with redrawing our own zone boundaries and possibly reallocating the zone councilor positions. If the membership has opinions on this issue, the AGM will be a great opportunity to bring them forward. As well, the Alberta Branch has completed a position statement on the use of PHI technicians. Of note is the fact that the Ontario Branch is facing a similar challenge and CIPHI national is also taking a position on this issue. The membership should also be aware that the Alberta Branch has placed recent ‘position statements’, on the website. This has generated some interesting feedback and discussion. The exchange of information and opinions is always a good thing. Hopefully, 2003 will be another good year for social events, beginning of course with the annual golf tournament on June 22. No doubt a certain golfer, formerly of Camrose, has been practicing his cart driving skills, all winter long. If you haven’t heard the Alberta Branch and CIPHI national, are drawing up plans for an “Environmental Health Week”, in January 2004. The intent is to increase the exposure and recognition of our profession. If anyone has ideas or wishes to participate, step up and be counted. The “new” Alberta Branch news has been receiving great accolades from across the province and is available for download from the Branch website. Speaking of which, the website continues to be very popular service provided by the Alberta Branch and a valuable communications tool. Congratulations this year go out to Craig Nowakowski, for winning this year’s Hockey Pool. Also posted on the website is the 2002 Salary Survey, which has been extremely useful to many undergoing arduous salary negotiations and/or reclassifications. On a final note, I look forward to seeing many members at the upcoming National Education Conference in Edmonton. The timeliness of this conference goes without saying, and it promises to be a great success and will likely generate a fair amount of attention. The amount of work that goes into planning an event of this calibre is awe-inspiring, yet the volunteers continue to work undaunted. Our congratulations and accolades go out to everyone on the committee, your tireless efforts continue to be a great benefit to our profession. Respectfully submitted, David Crowe Vice President

Box 1674

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TREASURER’S REPORT

2002 September 01 – 2002 December 31 General Account Balance 2002 September 01

$ 24,642.12Revenue Membership Dues $ 1,627.00 Interest/Investments $ 273.37 Awards/Tournaments/Social $ 930.00 Promotional Items - Thermometers $ 1,914.25 Total Revenue $ 4,744.62 Expenditures Administration - Phones $ 55.44 - Office Supplies $ 14.98 - Postal/Courier $ 197.71 - Liability Insurance $ 421.40 National Executive Meetings/Activities $ 476.42 Board of Certification Meetings/Activities $ 332.55 Provincial EHS Meetings/Activities $ 149.25 Promotional Items - Thermometers $ 2,953.20 Awards/Tournaments/Social $ 660.44 Donations $ 154.00 Total Expenditures $ 5,415.39 General Account Balance 2002 December 31 $ 23,971.35 Term Deposits/G.I.C.s $ 11,219.42Branch Scholarship Account (2002 December 31) $ 3,097.93Branch Workshop Account Balance (2002 December 31) $ 39,440.78Inventory (100 Thermometers) $ 615.25CIPHI Conference 2003 Seed Money Owing $ 2,157.44 Total Branch Financial Assets $ 80,502.17 Respectfully submitted, Keith Lee, Treasurer 2002 December 31

Box 1674

Drumheller, Alberta T0J 0Y0


TREASURER’S REPORT

2003 January 01 – 2003 May 30 General Account Balance 2003 January 01

$ 23,971.35Revenue Membership Dues $ 5,581.45 Interest/Investments $ 137.54 Reimbursements $ 19.69 Awards/Tournaments/Social $ 689.00 Promotional Items - Thermometers $ 7,719.00 - Ball Caps $ 10.00 - Pamphlets/Documents $ 53.25 Term Deposits/GICs Cashed $ 11,219.42 Total Revenue $ 25,429.35 Expenditures Administration - Phones $ 197.70 - Postal/Courier $ 356.38 Branch Executive Meetings $ 524.70 Branch Zone Meetings $ 207.94 National Conference Activities (Seed Money) $ 10,000.00 Promotional Items - Thermometers $ 5,684.92 Awards/Tournaments/Social $ 739.69 Term Deposits/GICs Purchased $ 20,000.00 Total Expenditures $ 37,711.33 General Account Balance 2003 May 30 $ 11,689.37 Term Deposits/G.I.C.s $ 20,000.00Branch Scholarship Account (2003 May 30) $ 2,598.44Branch Workshop Account Balance (2003 May 15) $ 39,440.78Inventory (202 Thermometers) $ 1,242.81CIPHI Conference 2003 Seed Money Owing $ 12,157.44 Total Branch Financial Assets $ 87,128.84 Respectfully submitted, Keith Lee, Treasurer 2003 May 30


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Secretary’s Report Well the emails are flying these days trying to keep with SARS, BSE and WNV. The Alberta Branch I am proud to report is doing its best to keep the membership up to date on the new challenges to our profession. If you have any questions about the information being sent, please do not hesitate to contact either Victor Mah, Alberta Branch President or myself. The work on the bylaws and constitution is slow going but is progressing, hopefully by the next general meeting we can have this issue settled once and for all. Advance thank you’s to Stephen Parker, Jim Meagher and Dan Richen for all their hard future work. ☺ The next challenge will be reorganizing everyone into his or her new zones once decided at the Annual General Meeting. The zone councillors will have to get to know their new members and what issues are present for those individuals or offices. As eluded to above, email certainly makes communication between the Branch and membership easier and quicker. If you would prefer your correspondence sent to a home email address, please drop me a line at [email protected]. Another project to get underway soon is of more historical importance to the Branch. Old branch documents are going to be reorganized and interesting tidbits will be posted on the Alberta Branch website. Along side, a better listing of years of service for members will be attempted. So stay tuned! Finally, a big high 5 to Mr. Phi Phan, for all his outstanding work on creating the Alberta Branch News and keeping the Alberta Branch Website up to date. His dedication and creativity is greatly appreciated. Three cheers for Phi! Respectfully submitted, Merry Turtiak Alberta Branch Secretary


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Arctic Zone Report

Spring, as usual, has been very busy for us in the Arctic Zone, especially in Hay River. This spring the Town of Hay River flooded and then unusually high turbid spring run off prompted the issuance of a Boil Water Advisory so needless to say I have been extremely busy the past few weeks. In Inuvik early this spring Chris Beveridge and Bob Mellet moved into their new office space in the new hospital in Inuvik. Chris has been busy traveling to communities outside of Inuvik and Bob is busy holding down the office while Chris is gone. In Yellowknife, they have been involved in developing a plan to deal with West Nile Virus should it become an issue in the NWT. We don’t expect the virus to reach us up here despite the overwhelming mosquito population however they have been working with RWED (Wildlife) and the CMHO's office to develop fact sheets for the public, media releases and information sessions for health care workers etc. Other than that we are happy the snow is gone, (or going) and the flowers are starting to come up. That’s all from The Land Of The Midnight Sun… Respectfully submitted Rhian Harrison Arctic Zone Councilor


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Northern Zone Report

A Northern Zone meeting was held in High Level on February 27 and 28, 2003. A range of topics were discussed and presented. Kevin McLeod made the long trek north to give us an update from Alberta Health and Wellness. Topics of interest included water issues such as blue-green algae and sampling, regulations, chronic wasting disease and changes in the collection of biomedical waste. An Occupational Health and Safety Officer was on hand to make a presentation and the Infection Control Specialist in High Level provided us with a review of a mumps outbreak in the Northwestern Regional Health Authority. Special thanks go out to Keith Orlaw who did a great job at organizing the workshop.

We have 100% CIPHI membership in the northern zone this year. Way to go! Tony Thepsouvanh ended up winning the free membership for the northern zone. There were reportedly impartial witnesses to the draw when it was made, so we’ll let it go this year. Congratulations Tony! Regional Updates Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority Gwen Elliott accepted a position in Goose Bay, Newfoundland Labrador. Best wishes to Gwen and her family. She made the move in March resulting in a vacancy in Slave Lake. Robert Kielly has taken on managerial duties in the newly created health region, known as Peace Country Health. He will be closer to home these days splitting his time between High Prairie and Peace River. Marilyn Dahlgren has taken a leave of absence to attend to union duties. She is expected back mid-August. Mistahia Health Region Mike Melanson left the region in January to work back home in New Brunswick. Good luck to Mike. The vacant position in Grande Prairie was filled in April by yours truly, Koreen Westly. Jim Meagher was appointed Director of the Environmental Health Program for the new health region. A pool course was held in Grande Prairie on May 5 and 6, 2003 for pool operators throughout the region. Fourteen people attended the course. Foodsafe is scheduled for June 2 and 3 in Grande Prairie.


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Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (Alberta Branch) Elmer Spilchen and Merry Turtiak are both presenters at the 2003 CIPHI Annual Educational Conference in June. Elmer will be speaking on dealing with stress as public health inspectors and Merry will be sharing her expertise on work camps. Congratulations to Tony Thepsouvanh and Sarah (nee Hoffman) who were married in California on March 24,2003. Best wishes to Tony and Sarah! Peace Health Region There is currently a vacant position in Peace River. Foodsafe courses have been offered three times since the new year. Northwestern Health Region Keith Orlaw continues to plug along in High Level. Congratulations to Keith who recently became certified! Northern Lights Health Region Darcy Garchinski accepted the position of Director of Environmental Health for the region. He is currently busy recruiting for vacancies and mentoring two students from Concordia. Heather Thomas is on maternity leave for the next year and expecting on May 25, 2003. Best wishes to Heather and her family. Amalgamation As of April 1, 2003 there were several regional changes within the province. Mistahia Health Region, Peace Health Region and a portion of Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority joined to form Health Region 8. After spending a brief stint answering our phones for “Health Region 8”, a name was chosen from a list of suggestions from the staff and public. We will now be going by the name “Peace Country Health Region”. Northwestern Regional Health Authority and Northern Lights Regional Health Authority also came together with the April amalgamation. This vast health authority will be known as “Northern Lights Regional Health Authority”. Respectfully submitted, Koreen Westly Northern Zone Councillor


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Capital Zone Report A zone meeting was held at the beginning of May with 26 members attending. Congratulations were given to Dwayne Cherlenko, winner of the membership raffle, and to Ken Fujioka, winner of the free registration to the AEC 2003. Capital Zone welcomed new members to the zone due to regionalization on April 1, 2003; Carol Sobkow Alloway, Blair Bartley, Victor Mah, Raymond Desmit, Candace Fraser, Colin Charest, Warren Boychuk and Frances Fong. This summer, Capital Health has two practicum students, Marcy Iwanyk and Kosoo Ng, both from Concordia University College of Alberta. Everyone is gearing up for the busy summer getting ready for festivals and special events and of course the biggy this year, the CONFERENCE! The organizing committee has been putting the details in place with Shauna Dimock and Bill Hohn as co-chairs. By the way, Bill married his first daughter off the long weekend in May! Something is in the water again in the Capital Zone …Karen Hislop and Sharon Milroy are expecting in the fall. Speaking of babies….Victor Mah and his wife gave birth to their daughter, Lienne Meirene Mah on April 30. All are doing well with the exception of some sleep deprivation. Glenn Jenkins has been busy with the drug scene…there have been three large scale marijuana grow operations that were busted by the RCMP “green team” that he was involved with. These places were rental dwellings that were converted to illegal grows. The mould contamination in these places was quite extreme. Remediation on them has not yet been completed. Edmonton had it’s first major methamphetamine lab fire. The lab exploded and did considerable damage to the Riverbend area home it was set up in. Damage is estimated at over $100,000, remediation has not yet been completed. Since January of this year, 33 condemnation orders and 7 food premise closure orders have been issued in Capital Health. Recent outbreak investigations have included; Norwalk at a convention centre and at a graduation retreat, a suspected botulism case, and a mycobacterium abscessus outbreak at a waterpark. In April, SARs posters were posted in the Edmonton International Airport and now we are ready to confront West Nile if it decides to show up in our area. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Galbraith & Simon Sihota Capital Zone Councilors


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Central Zone Report

As we are all aware, regional boundaries of Alberta health districts were redrawn in April of 2003; this creates a whole new look for the Central Zone. Final zone boundaries will be decided at this year’s annual meeting, but as of printing, the Central Zone includes three modified health regions, spans from Alberta’s Western border to its East, from Red Earth Creek/Chipewyan Lake in the North down to Drumheller in the South. Conveniently, the Capital Zone is tucked firmly in the centre. Former Crossroads, Lakeland, and WestView Regional Health Authorities were split up accordingly, while Aspen, David Thompson and East Central Regional Health Authorities still remain (in name, anyway).

Health Region 4 (David Thompson Health Region): The Environmental Health Program became bigger, taking in all of Crossroads Health Region (inspectors in Drayton Valley and Wetaskiwin), most of Health Authority 5 (Didsbury, Hanna and Drumheller areas), and some of East Central Health (Stettler area). In terms of management structure, Rob Elliot is now the Director of Health Protection, encompassing responsibility over Environmental Health and Communicable Disease Control. Dan Richen has been appointed as the Manager of Environmental Health Services. The Environmental Health Program appears well on its way to consistency. Though the offices remain the same, the bodies occupying the inspector positions have changed, as well. Lucy Beck has moved back into a field position in Ponoka, (because you can’t keep a good inspector out of the field forever!) while Zaheen Nanji slides more North from Red Deer into Wetaskiwin. This internal shuffle has created a vacancy in the Red Deer office, in the Food Safety program. Another vacancy is noted in the Drayton Valley office, as Kelly Kennedy left to fill a position in St. John, New Brunswick. Health Region 5 (East Central Health 5): It appears the Environmental Health program is running as usual in East Central. Some day-to-day details are yet to be worked out, but most policy and administrative functions are being left up to Doug Everett to figure out. Doug accepted the task of functioning as a 0.5 FTE administrator for the Environmental Health Program. First on his agenda is to find a new office location; at present, he is still functioning out of the Stettler office, now part of David Thompson. Good luck, Doug. East Central is close to fully staffed, with Tricia Herridge keeping things afloat in Vegreville, after Lew Skjonsby’s departure. David Fong is now based in the Tofield office, after Michael Walsh


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moved to Capital Health. Pam Williams re-entered the field of public health inspection, after several years away, of which some years included working for Alberta Environment. Pam is now situated in the Camrose office – welcome back. Brian Levine is still based out of Lamont, and is providing some Environmental Health coverage to Aspen Regional Health Authority on a contract basis. Health Region 7 (Aspen Regional Health Authority): The region has grown immensely, with the merging of existing Aspen with parts of former WestView, Keeweetinok Lakes, and Lakeland Regional Health Authorities. Capital Health acquired Sturgeon County, along with Colin Charest and Warren Boychuck, for future considerations and some office furniture. As a result, the Morinville head office for Environmental Health Services disappeared. Only this past month was office space made available in the Village of Onoway (in an old bakery, no less) where Ron Pillidge and Philip Callbeck are now based. Fresh Aspen buns, anyone? The likelihood of a face-to-face inspector’s meeting in Aspen is now slim to none, at best. However, management of the Health Protection – Environmental Health Services program appears solid, with Ron Pillidge appointed as the Regional Environmental Health Coordinator. Doug Drysdale in Hinton, is the West Area Supervisor for Environmental Health Services, and Lynn Bollinger in Lac La Biche, is the new East Area Supervisor to help Ron manage the day-to-day operations of the program, and of course keep the troublemakers in line. And of course, we can't forget the fab five in Stony Plain that have left WestView/Central Zone and have been assimilated by Capital Health, including Raymond De Smit, Candace Fraser, Blair Bartley, Carol Sobkow-Alloway, and of course our el presidente and proud new papa, Victor Mah. Your presence within the zone will be missed. The more things change, the more they stay the same. As widespread as the region is now, so is the inspector coverage, due to multiple job vacancies. Gwen Elliott left Slave Lake to return to Newfoundland, while other vacancies persist in the Athabasca and St. Paul offices. As a result, remaining inspectors are covering their own areas as well as portions of the 3 vacancies. Food Safe courses have been well attended this time around, and have been keeping inspectors busy. Numerous other issues have included several boil water orders and advisories, industrial development input, and legal proceedings for non-compliance on several fronts. Respectfully submitted, Jay Jorgensen Philip Callbeck Central Zone Councillor Central Zone Councillor [email protected] [email protected]


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Calgary Zone Report

Greetings, one and all! My name is Kristen Kliciak, and I have been with the Calgary Health Region’s Service Delivery section since November 2002. I was recently recruited to act as Calgary Zone Councilor and am very happy to represent our wonderful team down here in Calgary. Staff Changes: • Several new faces have joined the CHR. I would like to extend a warm welcome to the following

people: Sean Robison, Nick Suen, Grace Mar, Sylvia Loo, Faye Lux, and Anne Pagnucco. Welcome to Calgary and the Calgary Health Region!

• We said goodbye to several staff members: Norm Krussel is now working down in Canmore; Sean

Robison has recently accepted a position in Lethbridge (didn’t we just welcome him?!); Jaqueline Fischer completed her contract with our Fee for Permit program; Chris Mueller returned back home to the Toronto area; Marcus Ho has retired to Richmond, BC

• Two of our inspectors will be ‘swapping’/have ‘swapped’ sections: Ivan Rukavina will be joining

our Service Delivery section, while Jason Feltham has joined the Planning and Program Development section as a water consultant.

• Two other inspectors have ‘resurfaced’ to the environmental health department of the CHR:

Valerie Davidson has returned after working with Health Canada for four months; Paul Von Schoenberg has returned after spending the last year working in Paraguay. While in Paraguay, he married Noelia Gavilan. Congratulations to Paul and Noelia, and welcome back to Valerie and Paul!

Births: Some of our team have welcomed or will soon be welcoming new additions to their families: Dale and Alison Nelson welcomed Andrew William January 14th 2002, a little brother for big sister Mary; New parents Joan and Gavin Fung welcomed daughter Courtney Allison May 2nd 2002; Jean and Paul Bailey are expecting their first child in early June. Congratulations to all!


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Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (Alberta Branch) Other news: Aside from keeping up with the changes in staff and all of the new babies, we have all been keeping busy with other tasks and events. • Many of us have been involved in tracking down the last ‘stragglers’ who have yet to pay for their

fee for food permit. It has been a long process, but the end is near. Thanks to everyone for all of your hard work.

• The CIPHI 69th Annual Education Conference in Edmonton is coming up soon, and many Calgary

inspectors are looking forward to attending. The Calgary Health Region will have a booth set up at the conference, so be sure to stop by!

• Summer is just around the corner (we hope—no more snow, please!), and along with that comes

the Calgary Stampede. It is sure to be a busy time, but we are looking forward to it. • The social scene in Calgary has been quiet lately, but we hope to organize some group events

later on once the craziness of summer dies down. Respectfully submitted, Kristen Kliciak Calgary Zone Councilor


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Southern Zone Report With West Nile virus (WNV), Bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), Severe Acute Respiratory Sydrome, and a multitude of other arising issues continuing to press in from all directions, the veritable plethora of issues hasn’t yet precluded the stalwart defenders of health in the South from continuing to preserve the public health! Ain’t it all just so romantic? Chinook Sadly, on June 13, 2003 a member of the Chinook Health Protection team will be leaving the Wild West of Alberta to wander into the fruited plains of Ontario. Richard Ovcharovich will be leaving the lovely confines of Lethbridge and heading east to Lindsay to pursue his dream of world domination, although he will have to work his way up from his new supervising position. Coming in to fill the vacated position will be Sean Robison, a recent graduate of Concordia and most recently, Calgary Health Region (the other CHR). Although he has big shoes to fill, Sean at least will have better hair. Palliser Continuing along the merry road known as the Trans-Canada highway, the boys and girl of Palliser Health Region continue to right the wrongs and fight the injustices within the region. At this time there continues to be no movement in terms of personnel, but a position continues to be open in Brooks. Headwaters (now part of Calgary Health Region) With the transition teams in place, the Environmental Health program of Headwaters is looking to mesh their system with that of Calgary. The newest addition to the EH program prior to amalgamation was Norman Kruesel who left Calgary, but in the end couldn’t really get away due to the expansion of Calgary’s region to the BC border. As well, the position in Okotoks has been recently filled. Dana East will be coming from bountiful Brandon, MB and the Branch will certainly welcome her with our world-famous Alberta hospitality when she comes around the mountain (and we can serenade her with the song of the same name). Additionally the grapevine indicates that Jennifer May-Hadford is now expecting her 2nd child and Kori Woodard is getting hitched! How exciting for both! Congratulations! Health Authority 5 (now part of David Thompson Health Region) A change to the regional boundaries has seen HA5 disappear into David Thompson country. Now part of the larger region, changes to the management structure was inevitable, so Dan Richen is now the manager of Environmental Health and Rob Elliot is Director of Health Protection, a department that includes Environmental Health. Even with the expansion, not all of HA5 joined David Thompson, as Mike Gervais found himself cleaved and appended to Calgary. And regardless of boundary changes, birthdays still come and go and warm wishes go to the newest 40 year-old, Keith. Respectfully submitted, Phi Phan Southern Zone Councilor


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Communications Committee Report

Alberta Branch News A full year after taking over the reins of the official Branch newsletter, it would appear most of the kinks have been worked out of the publication process. To date, the membership has seen four issues (Summer 2002, Fall 2002, Winter 2003 and Spring 2003) arrive in their collective mailboxes, whether it be electronic or old-fashioned. And for those interested in useless facts, each season has actually been a thematically correct colour for that season. Although there have been some technological issues relating to operability of the electronic format, for the most part the Alberta Branch News has been well received. It is my hope of that issues can continue to be published, but without more article support, it may become more difficult. However, that situation can be easily rectified with more submissions from the membership! Alberta Branch Homepage (http://www.ciphi.ab.ca) The website continues to be a work in progress. Statistics obtained from the “counter” program show that for the most part people are arriving at our webpage via the National site (through the “Branches” page) and by typing in the address to the website directly. Since the redesign in October of 2002, there have been over 2000 visits to the page. Work continues to make a secured members-only section on the website to allow for content to be provided only to members. However, due to technical difficulties and time constraints this goal has yet to be met. It is hoped construction of the secured area will coincide with a new design for the entire website, but no firm dates have been decided upon. In terms of the 69th AEC website (http://www.ciphi.ab.ca/nec), which resides on the same webspace, there have been over 1200 visits since it first appeared. With continual updates prior to the conference, it appears that this portion of the website will be the most popular, at least for the time being. Respectfully submitted, Phi Phan Alberta Branch News Editor and Branch Webmaster


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Board of Certification Report The Board of Certification held the spring examinations on April 15, 2003 and four candidates participated in the Alberta exams. Carol Alloway, Lucy Beck and Victor Mah agreed to serve on the examination panel, and Keith Lee assisted in the review of reports.

On May 4, the BOC held a teleconference to review the examination results. A total of 30 candidates participated across Canada and 21 candidates were successful. All candidates will have been formally notified of their results by this time.

The examination process has been discussed during the two most recent teleconferences, and will also be addressed at the BOC meetings at the Annual Education Conference. Candidates and examiners have raised concerns regarding inconsistencies in the examination and appeal process, and with communications. Amendments have been made to the Administrative Policy governing examinations to clarify the marking procedure, the appeal process, and communications.

In addition, a report is being developed to promote consistency in the examination process. A draft will be distributed amongst BOC members by the end of May, outlining various options and identifying potential advantages and disadvantages of each option. Options that are being considered include centralizing examination locations (regionally or nationally), formal training of examiners, and hiring external examiners.

A draft set of Practicum Guidelines has been developed, and has been distributed to BOC members for review and comments. The purpose of the Guidelines is to promote minimum standards for student practicum and ensure consistency in training.

Examination dates have been standardized to the third Tuesday in April and October. Changes to the Environmental Health program at Concordia University College will mean that 6 - 12 candidates will sit their orals at each examination. This means that we will need three panels (9 members) to handle the examinations.

If you are interested in serving on an examination panel for the Alberta Branch, and meet basic criteria (minimum five years of experience in the field, no direct association with a candidate being examined), you are asked to contact Dan Richen, at [email protected] or (403) 823-3341.

Respectfully submitted

Dan Richen

Provincial Examination Coordinator


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Membership Committee Report

Alberta Branch membership numbers current to April 10, 2003 are listed in the table below. Branch membership has improved considerably from this time last year, when it was at 82. This may be due to the Alberta Branch hosting the CIPHI Annual Educational Conference this summer. I hope we can keep up the numbers in years to come.

Membership numbers in the zones may vary in future reports as the Executive considers new Zone alignment due to the recent changes in RHA boundaries.

*Regular – Includes members within Alberta Health and Wellness, Health Canada etc. I would like to thank the Zone Councillors for making the Membership Raffle a success and to all those who completed the branch questionnaire. Input from the questionnaire will be compiled and common issues brought to the Executive for discussion. Finally, it has been a pleasure to serve the branch and its members this past year, thank you for your continued support. I hope to see you at the National Conference in June. Have a great summer! Respectfully Submitted, Tony Thepsouvanh Membership Committee Chairperson

Zone Regular* Retired Student Corp./Affiliate Life Total Membership

Arctic 9 0 0 0 0 9 Northern 14 0 1 0 0 15 Capital 32 2 7 2 0 43 Central 29 0 0 1 0 30 Calgary 13 1 0 0 0 14

Southern 19 1 0 0 1 21

Total 116 4 8 3 1 132


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Issues Committee At the time of this report, no new issues have been brought forth by the membership. Members are encouraged to bring to my attention any issues they have either by contacting me by email at [email protected] or phone at (780) 413 – 5650. Respectfully submitted, Simon Sihota Issues Committee Chair


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Concordia Professional Advisory Committee

A meeting of the committee was held on March 14, 2003 at the Gold Bar Campus. The program was pleased to announce that it had received a 5-year accreditation approval from the CIPHI Board of Certification. The post secondary school has also under gone a “branding” exercise to help them identify who they are, to create and leave a positive image in the minds of current and future students. The Environmental Health studies program will be moving to the main campus once the new addition is completed. A letter of support for the program relocation was requested. For the Class of 2003 there are 17 students taking the program. The students have a diverse background from nursing, biology, environmental science, veterinary medicine and food and nutrient. Concordia will have also begun its new intake of students this year in both April and September. This class will not officially have convocation until May 2005. Respectfully, Victor Mah President, Alberta Branch


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Annual General Meeting

May 31, 2003

Council of Managers of Environmental Health

A meeting of the Council was held on March 27 – 28, 2003 at the Eastwood Public Health Centre. Presentations on Regulatory Review, West Nile Virus, Residential Tenancies Act, Concordia College Update and Migrant Farm Worker Program was given. There was discussion among the Council members on Fee for Food Permits. Respectfully, Victor Mah President, Alberta Branch