Part two of a series on NI 43-101 myths
Ever since NI 43-101 came into effect, people have been drawn to the idea that a “qualified person” bears some outward and visible sign—perhaps an ID card, a secret handshake or a “QP” tattooed on the back of the neck. Regulatory staff have long had to push back on this idea, trying to explain that the QP is not a licence, designation, framed certificate or secret decoder ring, but purely a regulatory concept, which exists in the rule for one reason: to identify the professional taking responsibility for disclosure.
The following dialogue tries to state some of the myths around QPs. And because we love stacking the deck, we’ve stuffed a straw man to assert them and to pose all the questions.
I am a qualified person.
Nobody “is” a qualified person, becomes one or stays one. A professional geoscientist or engineer acts as a QP by taking responsibility for a given item of a company’s disclosure. Not everyone can do that; restrictions in NI 43-101 demand education, experience and professional registration. But the QP is the person that approved a specific item of disclosure.
A P.Geo. or a P.Eng. is a qualified person.
Don’t confuse a licence—the shingle and stamp of a professional—with the QP’s function: taking responsibility for information disclosed to the public. You need the licence or designation to perform the function, but they are always two different things. Equally, don’t confuse meeting each criterion to act as a QP with the right to practise anywhere—they’re not the same.
The professional associations determine who is a QP.
Professional associations determine who holds a licence or registration, in accordance with professional statutes in Canada, or with laws or self-regulating internal rules elsewhere. That is only one of the hurdles a professional must get over before assuming responsibility for public disclosure.
The regulators determine who is a QP. You need to be approved.
Not true. Regulators look at a professional’s background and experience and may challenge a company over that professional’s fitness to act as a QP for a specific item or aspect of public disclosure. But regulators don’t deliver a broad approval or disapproval of the professional; it is specific to the item of disclosure the company wants that professional to approve.
You need five years of experience to act as a QP.
Not exactly. It takes five years of total experience. But enough of that experience must be relevant to the subject matter at hand to show that the professional fully understands the information he or she is approving.
Relevant experience means working in the same commodity, in the same geological setting, doing the same kind of work.
No. Endless subdividing of deposit types, skill sets, target commodities, environments and job functions is not the point of “relevant” experience. How can anyone get identical experience when no two mineral deposits are identical? Slicing and dicing experience, ever more finely, ends with each project having exactly one person on earth that can act as a QP.
The question of relevant experience is not limited to the commodity sought and is better reflected by the integration of the geological setting and the type of knowledge being applied. In exploration and estimation, having experience in similar geological settings matters much more than having experience with the same commodity. In other facets of the work, the commodity may have little or no relevance—think rock mechanics or tailings dam design. Far more important is sticking to the work you’re educated for; too many geologists try to sign off on plant designs and infrastructure.
I need to register as a QP. Where do I go?
No, you don’t need to register as a QP. Rather, you do need to be registered with a professional association. Go forth and register. Meeting the requirements to take responsibility for disclosure (acting as a QP) remains a self-assessment. If you don’t understand the requirements, including registration, you likely should not act as a QP.
Victoria Yehl, P.Geo., is manager of mining at the British Columbia Securities Commission. James Whyte, P.Geo., retired last year from his role as senior geologist at the Ontario Securities Commission. Both authors are writing in their private capacity.
