MALA News

MARTIN CASHTHE Manitoba Association of Landscape Architectshas enough standing in the professional community tohost the Canadian Society of Landscape Architectsconference this week in Winnipeg, with about 300attendees from across the country.But while the local association (with its 200-plusmembers) adheres to the most rigorous standards foraccreditation across the country, unlike its Ontario,Alberta and British Columbia peers, MALA is not arecognized professional body in the province.Bob Somers, a principal at Scatliff+ Miller+Murray inWinnipeg and outgoing president of the CSLA, said itis nagging issue MALA has been working on for theentirety of its existence.“One of our biggest challenges is labour mobility,” hesaid Friday. “Those other three big provinces have itand so they have reciprocal agreements. We are fallingbehind.”While Somers said MALA membership requirementsare just as thorough as those provinces that havelicensure, the reality is professionals from otherprovinces have no problem working in Manitoba, butthe reverse is not true.For example, Glenn Manning, a principal at HTFCPlanning & Design in Winnipeg, said while his firm isdoing work in Yellowknife and Halifax, it cannot workin B.C., nor can it bid on jobs in the U.S., becauseMALA does not have a name act that allows it to beregistered as a professional association.“We have exactly the same rigorous …