The Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement between Alberta and British Columbia now covers the two provinces’ professional agrologists.
“With full labour mobility under the TILMA, Alberta and B.C. have opened the door for even greater opportunities in this diverse and growing field,” Alberta’s intergovernmental affairs minister Ron Stevens said in a release Wednesday.
Under the TILMA, which is to take full effect April 1, agrologists can now “maximize their career possibilities through labour mobility” without nearly as much bureaucratic duplication, B.C. Economic Development Minister Ida Chong said in the same release.
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Professional agrologists, who carry the “P.Ag.” designation, specialize in agricultural and natural resources and environmental science. B.C. and Alberta estimated they have about 1,150 and about 2,000 agrologists respectively.
“Our members in B.C. and our Alberta colleagues have long realized the benefits of establishing common ground on matters of professional certification and practice,” said Don Rugg, executive director of the B.C. Institute of Agrologists, in the provinces’ release.
“Harmonizing professional agrologist credential assessments between provinces provides stronger public protection and public confidence concerning professional agrologist competencies,” Alberta Institute of Agrologists CEO David Lloyd said.
The AIA, he said, “is pleased with the model and hopes that one day all provinces are included.”
TILMA’s goal is to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free movement of workers, goods, services and investments between the two provinces, thus creating a market of almost 7.8 million people and Canada’s second largest economy, the Alberta and B.C. governments said.
