Update on Proposed Bylaw Changes

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On February 3, 2016, the Board issued a Notice to Members regarding a consultation period on Proposed Changes Related to the Protection of the Public Interest regarding compliance with the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirements and a requirement for the disclosure of a criminal conviction.

During the consultation period, members were invited to submit comments to Lynn Blackburn, director, professional practice and volunteer services. In addition, the CIA held two webcasts (in French and English) on March 10. Both were well attended, with over 600 members taking part. A recording of the webcast is available online.

The majority of the questions during the webcast involved the proposal to create a new "non-practicing" qualifier for members who are not practicing and/or not doing CPD. A few of the webcast participants suggested other options such as the term "not-qualified" or removing the FCIA designation entirely from someone who is non-CPD-compliant. In addition, some participants wondered why the term "retired" was not suggested for use by retired Fellows, instead of the "non-practicing" qualifier.

Dave Dickson, President-elect and one of the speakers on the English webcast, and speaker Maxime-Frédéric Brochu-Leclair, Chair, CIA Committee on Eligibility, stressed that the intent of the "non-practicing" qualifier is to let the public know if an actuary is qualified. They noted that other options were discussed during the development of the proposed changes, but the task force decided that having one qualifier would limit confusion, and that "non-practicing" is a unique qualifier that applies to all who are not CPD compliant, whether they are exempt from CPD, retired, or failing to complete their CPD hours.

One questioner asked why the Institute doesn’t simply increase enforcement of CPD compliance, instead of creating what the questioner considers a second-class designation. M. Brochu-Leclair said that revoking the FCIA designation was initially considered, but in the end the task force decided that the "non-practicing" qualifier would encourage members to do their CPD to avoid having to use the qualifier. Mr. Dickson added that the intent of the proposed change is to let the public know, in as simple a way as possible, if the person is qualified. "It might not be the perfect term, or the best term to describe this," he acknowledged, "but it may result in more members doing CPD which will in turn help the profession."

There were only a few questions regarding the requirement to disclose a criminal conviction, one about whether a DUI conviction, for example, affects one’s ability to be an actuary, and the other regarding whether one must disclose a criminal conviction if one is appealing that conviction. In both cases, one must disclose the criminal conviction, but there will be guidelines in place to determine what kinds of convictions would be considered ones that would affect an actuary’s ability to perform his/her duties. In addition, consideration would likely be given to a member who has been convicted and who is awaiting an appeal of the conviction.

At its March 23 meeting, the Board reviewed comments from members and decided not to proceed with the proposed changes on CPD. The Board also considered member comments on disclosing criminal convictions and decided to proceed with those proposed bylaw changes. For more details on both of these decisions, see the President’s Update, earlier in this (e)Bulletin.

The Board will meet in April to finalize the proposal that will be presented to members during the confirmation period. During this period, the CIA will hold two additional webcasts (one in French, one in English), proxy voting, and the final vote at the Annual Meeting in June.

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