Notice to members

Paperless operation

In early November 2022, APGNS Registrants (Members, Licensees, Members-in-Training and corporate Certificate of Authorization holders) will have received a notice and invoice regarding annual renewal of professional registration fees. APGNS has moved to a paperless operation to streamline the renewal process, so, as in previous years, renewals will be emailed to the current address in the Register.

If you have changed your contact information or your email address, please contact the Registrar and update your contact information.

Please note that it is the Registrant’s responsibility and professional obligation to ensure that their professional fees are paid and their annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) reporting is up to date on or before Dec 31st of the current calendar year. CPD reporting is mandatory and, if your CPD reports are not submitted or not accepted, your professional registration may not be renewed.

If you do not receive your renewal invoice your contact information may not be correct; please contact the Registrar and we will correct the Register and re-issue the invoice.

You can pay fees online using this link.

Note that to ensure the security of the system, usernames and passwords are not stored and they are not retrievable. Therefore, please create a new identity to make credit card payments.

In 2022 APGNS has introduced e-transfers as a method of payment. Registrants may pay their fees using e-transfer to the info@geoscientistsns.ca address. Payments may also be made by cheque and regular mail sent to the APGNS office.

For the 2022 registration year Members and Licensees will see that Council has approved an increase of 5% in their professional fees and service charges. This is based on the current Nova Scotia, Cost of Living Index and it represents the on-going cost of operations. Similar increases, in the range of 3% to 8%, have been applied by the majority of other Canadian regulators. In order for the Association to continue to function effectively as a self-regulating professional body, it is important that the professional fees and service charges shall, as far as is practicable, ensure that the Association has the ability to meet the mandate of the Geoscience Profession Act, specifically, to protect the public through the regulation of geoscience practice and the registration of geoscience practitioners.

Registrants should be aware that there are on-going legal costs associated with the revision of the Geoscience Profession Act, the introduction of the Geoscience Practice Regulations, and the development of by-laws. The next steps in that process will include stakeholder consultation, finalizing the documents, and submission of the Act to the Legislature and the Regulations to Governor in Council, all with associated legal consultation. Additionally, the Geoscientists Canada per member assessment fees were increased by 10% in 2021, and there are on-going costs for provision of the 3rd Party Liability Insurance program. These are paid by the Association, as well as the increased costs associated with the assessment of applications for registration, both international and Canadian.

With the approved increase in fees, APGNS members will be paying close to the average fees paid by professional geoscientists across Canada. APGNS is the smallest geoscience regulator in Canada and thus has a smaller member base to draw upon. An important aspect of the Association’s function is to offer the equivalent level of protection to the public and service to you our members.