Dear Members,

The Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) and the Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec have lived together harmoniously for 8 years. Until this year, the two organizations shared a clear vision of their two distinct missions: the OIQ focused on protection of the public and the public interest; the RéseauIQ concerned with the defence of engineers and their socio-economic interests.

March 31, 2010 brings a major change of direction: the agreement in principle between the OIQ  and the RéseauIQ will expire.  From then on, the OIQ will also be offering services.  In other words, it will be competing with the RéseauIQ.

This clearly suggests three questions:

• If we take an optimistic view of the situation, engineers will probably benefit from service offerings at even more competitive prices.  In the short term, this situation could prove advantageous for members.  However, the RéseauIQ lives off the royalties obtained from its services and its ability to offer such services is directly proportional to their use by members.


• What will be the effects of this race for revenues on the primary mission of a professional order – which is, as we know, to protect the public and ensure that members respect their code of ethics.  It was in fact to refocus on its true mandate that the OIQ assigned service offerings to the RéseauIQ some 8 years ago.  What has changed?  The OIQ is not very clear on this subject.  Especially since members will continue to pay dues to belong to the OIQ...


• And what might be the reaction of current and future partners to seeing two organizations like the OIQ and the RéseauIQ fight for commercial services?   For its part, the RéseauIQ remains the reference for services for engineers, as well as Québec associations, and it can count on a stable platform of excellent partners.  Certainly we felt the loss of the partnership with the National Bank, in terms not only of revenues but also of image.  We did everything we could to keep this important partner.  Still, it is tempting to wonder if the return of the OIQ to the services market did not play a role in the National Bank's decision to end their agreement with us.

To conclude on a very positive note:  the recent partnerships with Re/Max Alliance and Planiprêt appear to be very encouraging, given the results just one week after the launching of these services.

A professional order is not an association and vice versa. Which is a good thing.  And you should realize that in this context, the RéseauIQ always remains your reference for services and for representing your interests.

For more information on the latest events concerning the OIQ and the RéseauIQ, click here.