The planning profession will transition to self-governing regulation in Newfoundland and Labrador with the advent of proposed provincial legislation to entrench standards for the practice. The newly tabled Bill 30, the Registered Professional Planners Act, would establish the College of Professional Planners of Newfoundland and Labrador and stipulate that only qualified practitioners can use the titles registered professional planner or candidate planner.

Once enacted, the new College would take the place of what’s now a voluntary professional planners association and have a similar regulatory framework to the self-governing bodies overseeing other professions. Currently, qualified professional planners practicing in the province identify themselves as members or fellows of the Canadian Institute of Planners. The new College would have its own accreditation to accompany their MCIP or FCIP designations.

“The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Professional Planners has long advocated for registered professional planners legislation,” reports Julia Schwarz, the association’s president. “The legislation is critically important to support labour mobility for the profession, and for the protection of the public’s interest in the planning of our rural and urban communities.”

“Protecting the registered professional planner designation recognizes the high standards of knowledge, professionalism and ethical responsibility required of registered professional planners, while giving the public greater clarity and confidence in the qualifications behind the designation,” says Meredith Cooper, chair of the Atlantic Planners Institute.