On Thursday, June 23, members of OAA Council gathered at the OAA Headquarters for the first time in more than two years, as part of a hybrid virtual meeting. In addition to receiving financial statements and hearing from the OAA President and the five Vice-Presidents on updates with respect to their portfolios, Councillors were also updated by the Executive Director on the progression on a governance review project for the Association, which was one of the recommendations of last year’s operational reviews.

Among the other topics explored were the ratification of the mutual recognition agreement (MRAs) between Canada and the European Union, an update on the OAA Contracts Suite program, a decision to more closely link the OAA Design Excellence Awards program with climate action, and planning for future Annual General Meetings (AGMs).

Canada/Europe MRA

Council approved the amended draft Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Regulatory Organizations of Architecture in Canada (ROAC) and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE)—the final step in a long journey.

Back in 2016, Council first approved an MRA between ACE and ROAC’s predecessor—Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities (CALA)—that had been the result of long negotiations between the authorities. At the time, the challenge had been the variance in requirements to practise architecture for each of the 28 countries in the European Union, which was addressed by requiring domain-specific education through a series of online courses. The following year, minor revisions were incorporated and approved by OAA Council.

In March 2018, as part of the final MRA content, the EU group agreed not to request any domain-specific requirements of Canadian architects given the country’s licensing process is homogenous. However, even though the MRA was approved by ACE and CALA later that year, its appending to the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) meant the federal government and the European Union would need to review and approve.

Once these additional negotiations finished earlier this year, ROAC then shared with the provincial regulators the proposed amendments. The terms and conditions for recognition are summarized as:

Requirements for a European Architect to practise in Canada:

• at least 12 years of education, training, and professional experience;

• formal educational qualification meeting the requirements of the

European Directive;

• minimum of four years of professional experience in a European state obtained after registration;

• valid professional registration or licence from a competent authority of a member state;

• being of good character; and

• passing the Canadian domain-specific online course.

Requirements for a Canadian architect to practise in an EU state:

• at least 12 years of education, training, and professional experience;

• minimum of four years of professional experience obtained after registration; and

• valid professional registration from a Canadian province or territory and being a member in good standing.

More information will be shared on the OAA Website in the Internationally Trained Professionals section.

OAA Contract Suite 2021 - Update

As part of its regulatory work in the public interest, the OAA offers access to a suite of free, downloadable standardized contracts to make it easier for architectural professionals and their clients or consultants to enter into fair, balanced business relationships. Committee volunteers and Practice Advisory Services (PAS) have been working on updating these important resources.

Council offered its endorsement of the new OAA 800-2021 (Standard Short Form of Contract for OAA Member’s Services), and the new OAA 900-2021 (Standard Contract Between OAA Member and Consultant). Both of these documents will have “A” and “LT” versions to reflect the two member types of the OAA.

The previously endorsed OAA 600 2021 –long form contract (as well as guides, schedules, and appendixes) can now be found on the OAA Website for use by members and the general public as OAA 600-2021 A (A Standard Form of Contract for Architect’s Services) and OAA 600-2021 LT (A Standard Form of Contract for Licensed Technologist OAA’s Services).

Design Excellence Awards and Climate Action

Although Total Energy Use Intensity (TEUI) is already a submission requirement for Design Excellence Awards, the OAA’s Sustainable Built Environments Committee (SBEC) proposed ways to further emphasize the importance of this metric and reinforce the OAA’s commitment to climate action as part of the strategic plan.

The Committee believes publishing a project’s TEUI not only educates members and the public about good-performing and high-efficiency buildings, but also increases transparency by disclosing that award-winning buildings are those helping address the climate emergency.

Council agreed the TEUI of future award-winning buildings will be on prominent display on the OAA Website, along with all additional communications regarding the individual projects. (You can see existing Design Excellence projects on the blOAAg—the 2022 winners as well as the 2020 winners, which already list TEUI ratings.)

Annual General Meeting

Council made the decision to decouple future editions of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Members from the OAA Conference in order to ensure the business event’s primary intent and function is met with greater effectiveness and efficiency.

In 1999, the once-standalone AGM was combined with the OAA Conference with the goal of having the former’s attendance be increased. Since then, changes were made to the AGM’s format and content in hopes of encouraging more attendees—this includes recognition of Long Standing members, past Councillors, and newly licensed members. Unfortunately, the more robust agenda served more to lengthen the event’s running time than it did increase attendance.

In 2020 and 2021, the AGM was decoupled from the OAA Conference due to COVID and was successfully executed in a virtual format. This year, the AGM was re-introduced into the Conference, which had moved back to an in-person format. However, it was also livestreamed in a virtual format to continue ensuring accessibility for all members. There were approximately 70 people in person at the venue, which included Councillors, staff, and guests being celebrated. Virtually, however, there were more than 200 members in attendance.

This year’s hybrid requirements for viewing and member and proxy voting on motions complicated the technological needs, requiring two teams of organizers and virtual platforms. As a result, there were some technical issues during the meeting. Further, feedback suggests the celebratory recognition of members would be better served at other Conference events rather than the AGM, which requires additional business be conducted.

Following a debrief of this year’s AGM, Council agreed to once again separate the AGM from the OAA Conference moving forward, and keeping it a solely virtual event given its success in attracting attendance and ensuring accessibility in that format. The new AGM agenda will focus on necessary business items to ensure motions and voting is handled effectively and efficiently. As a further benefit, the new timelines mean Honorary Members elected at the AGM could then be invited to the Conference later that year.

Summer Break