Editor’s Message, February 2022

Welcome to the February Issue of the CRPA Bulletin!

At this time of year, after enjoying a break from work and spending time with family, I would normally start implementing plans for the upcoming year. This year, the plans have been made, but the implementation is not quite so clear.

The current COVID-19 situation creates a bit of uncertainty about which desk I’ll use (home or office) and what limits might be in place on the business. For example, will we be dealing with occupancy limits again or will everyone be back on site?) So setting realistic project rollout and completion dates can be a challenge. Perhaps we’ve gotten used to a world where all plans are subject to change due to the pandemic.

In this issue, the theme is change. We have

• an article from Jeff Dovyak about how the pandemic affected the format for the CRPA(R) exam in 2021. He discusses some of the benefits and challenges of a remote professional designation exam.
• an update by David Niven regarding planned changes to Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) regulations is presented. (As an aside, and in keeping with the theme of change, there may be a Class 2 licence regulation discussion paper available early in 2022.) Don’t agree with what was proposed? The TDG regulatory changes were open for public input until February 9. Feedback from professionals like our CRPA members helps clarify and strengthen the final versions of these regulatory changes. (Look for a response from the CRPA executive when the feedback is reported.)
• a message from CRPA President Diana Moscu, who encourages us to acknowledge how much change we’ve already overcome and reminds us that together we are enough.

We also have another “Let’s Be Clear” article from Michelle Boulton that talks about the benefits of using plain language when communicating risk. In her article, Michelle describes risk as “the possibility of something (usually something bad) happening. By its very definition, risk is uncertain.” This was a very timely article as CRPA has been trying to figure out how to manage the risk of our annual conference being cancelled once again because of Covid-19.

When the vaccine charged in on its white horse last year, many of us cheered its arrival and assumed that meant we would soon be returning to some semblance of normalcy. For CRPA, that meant we could begin to plan for an in-person conference in 2022 . . . But the risk remained, and we now find ourselves amid a fourth wave.

When we were planning this issue of the Bulletin, we intended to include information about the upcoming conference in Edmonton, AB. In light of the current Covid situation, the CRPA board has decided to postpone the conference. The next CRPA conference will be held in 2023 in Halifax. Edmonton is scheduled to host in 2024.

One change I know I am looking forward to is turning the corner and moving from pandemic to endemic. Will 2022 be the year?