Dear APPI members, recently, you would have received an email from the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) announcing the CIP Digital Badges to recognize your personal accomplishments. I am sure many of you have seen the posts on social media platforms such as LinkedIn announcing someone’s new certification. 

The Alberta Professional Planners Institute (APPI) wants to take this opportunity to inform all members, and caution Candidate members in particular, on the use of the Candidate member badges. This letter is intended to be informative and cautionary only.   

While CIP is the national body supporting Canada’s planning community, and while the planning profession in Canada has developed and accepted national standards, in Canada, the regulation of labour remains a provincial jurisdiction.  Therefore, APPI is responsible for the regulation of your planning practice within the context of its applicable provincial legislative framework.  As per Section 43 of the Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act (POARA); the provincial legislation that governs the APPI, “no person, except a member of a registered association, shall use a designated title, alone or in combination with any other title, name, description, abbreviation, letter or symbol, in such a way as to represent expressly or by implication that the person is a member of the registered association.”  For APPI, that designation is “Registered Professional Planner - RPP” and it is reserved for fully qualified and certified members of APPI in good standing.    

That section of POARA is relevant to Candidate member and their use of the Candidate member badge. When using the Candidate member badge, a Candidate member is not claiming to be an RPP, they are only stating that they are a Candidate member. However, Candidate member is not an official designation of APPI, nor is Candidate membership a certification. Candidate members are not permitted to use any professional title or designation (modified or otherwise) to denote their membership and affiliation with APPI. 

Candidate members, are entitled to claim this status on their resumes or in a conversation, where they can explain it clearly. However, when a Candidate member posts the Candidate member badge on their social media, it could be interpreted as intentionally misleading the public about their APPI membership status and could lead to an APPI Discipline Complaint.  Therefore, we would strongly caution you in how you use these badges. 

If you would like to learn more about the provincial legislation, the risks associated with utilizing these badges as a Candidate member, or have more questions about the membership process, please visit the page of the APPI website:  https://www.albertaplanners.com/about-appi/appi-regulated-profession-and-rpp, or alternatively contact the APPI Office. 

Sincerely, 

MaryJane Alanko 

APPI Registrar 

cc: APPI Council
APPI Registration Committee
PTIA Presidents and Executive Directors
Chair of the Professional Standards Committee and Professional Standards Board