Preamble

 

 

The Professional Affairs Committee aims to support the practice of psychology across all its applied domains (e.g. clinical, school, criminal justice, industrial/organizational) in both the private and the public sectors. In addition, the Committee works with relevant CPA domains such as science, education and training, journals and accreditation.

 

 

The Professional Affairs Committee collaborates with provincial psychological associations and other national psychological associations to help practitioners assert and broaden their influence in the community and the human service systems and the workplace to ensure the availability of quality psychological services for clients and patients. This is achieved by 

 

The Committee is a Standing Committee of the Board of Directors and report to the Board through the Director Responsible for Professional Affairs who is the Committee Chair.

 

Membership

The Committee is composed of the Director Responsible for Professional Affairs and those CPA members who volunteer or who are invited to sit on the Committee by the Chair. The goal is to have a minimum of 10 Committee members representative of the applied areas of psychology and respecting gender and linguistic diversity.

 

Committee Size and Activity 

CPA committees are important membership recruitment and retention vehicles. The goal of each committee chair is to recruit a minimum of 10 committee members from a diverse cross section of CPA members. The Committee needs to be active, with communications occurring at a frequency of once a month at a minimum. Committee membership is a good training and recruitment tool for senior positions within the Association and Committee members are excellent informed ambassadors for CPA and about CPA’s activities.

Responsibilities of Committee Members

The Committee members are responsible for pursuing the vision and terms of reference of the Committee. To this effect, members participate in all discussions pertaining to committee work and work on projects or issues brought forward by the Committee, the Board of Directors, the sections and the members as appropriate.   

Membership Term

Committee members are appointed by the Board of Directors through the Board member responsible for the Committee for one year with the intention that members will serve for a three (3) year term. Membership recruitment and retirement is staggered to ensure continuity and Committee institutional memory.  
 

Meetings and Reporting
 

Throughout the year communication will take place primarily through e-mail. Conference calls will be arranged by the Chair. Meetings are minuted. Regular communication of the plans and activities of the Committee will be provided to the membership through the Committee’s Annual Report to the Annual General Meeting, articles in Psynopsis and information on the web site and to the Board of Directors through reports to each Board meeting by the Committee Chair/Co-Chair.