DEFEATED - Increased Accountability for Engineering Firms Operating in Rural Alberta

WHEREAS municipalities across the province have been experiencing increasing engineering costs for capital projects in recent years; and

WHEREAS municipalities lack mechanisms or authority to hold engineering firms accountable for their designs and project supervision; and

WHEREAS unlike consumer goods and services, engineering firms do not have online reviews, ratings, or shared experiences available; and

WHEREAS the absence of a review or rating system for engineering firms forces municipalities to take on significant risks when hiring engineering firms; and

WHEREAS engineering services are often among the most expensive third-party services utilized by municipalities; and

WHEREAS engineering firms have considerable discretion in designing infrastructure projects; and

WHEREAS municipalities have limited capacity to assess the soundness and cost-effectiveness of engineering designs unless another engineering firm is hired to review them; and

WHEREAS hiring a second engineering firm incurs considerable additional expenses and does not guarantee success; and

WHEREAS many municipalities have encountered questionable engineering practices resulting in excessive expenses without satisfactory recourse; and

WHEREAS due to the difficulties in recovering expenses for substandard engineering services, municipalities often have no choice but to incur these costs;