Provincial Council

The elected Provincial Council has 14 elected positions:

Executive Committee (4 positions):

To deal with day-to-day operations of the association.

• President
• Vice President (position occupied in the second year of President's term)
• Past President (position occupied in the first year of the President's term)
• Treasurer
• Secretary

Contact the Council

Professional Directors (6 positions):

To ensure professional issues are considered.

• Audiology - Public Practice
• Audiology - Private Practice
• Speech-language Pathology - Early Intervention Services
• Speech Language Pathology - Adult Services
• Speech Language Pathology - Schools Practice
• Speech-language Pathology - Private Practice

Directors - Main Committee Groupings (4 positions):

To ensure committees have a direct line to the policy-approving body of the association.

• Area Representative
• Professional Education
• Public Education
• Social Media

The Vice President, and Past President serve one-year terms (alternating). All other members of PC serve two-year terms.

Organization History

Founded in 1953 by three speech therapists, Speech and Hearing BC began as a Speech Therapy Association. Twelve people attended the first meeting, including elocutionists, teachers of the hearing impaired and students.

Work on licensing and establishing of a regulating body, or College, began in 1966 and continued over the next 40 years.

When The College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC) was established in 2010 to regulate speech–language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists, Speech and Hearing BC rebranded as a membership association. Note: the regulatory body is now called the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC (June 2024).

The Association was registered with the provincial government in 1957. The organization’s primary goals were:

Increasing the public's awareness of our professions and the extent of our competencies

Establishing a training program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) which materialized when John Gilbert, Director of the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, arrived in 1967

Creating standards for membership and possible licensing

Governance

Speech and Hearing BC’s governance structure is member-driven and directed by the bylaws of the Association.

We are governed by an elected board, Provincial Council (PC), while various committees provide specific resources, research and representation to members. Minutes of all meetings are available for members to view.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in October at our conference, provides members an important opportunity to determine who will represent them on the Provincial Council.

Nominations for Provincial Council can be sent to Speech and Hearing BC or forwarded to the Committee Chair who will put forth eligible candidates at the AGM. If there are no contested positions (i.e. only one nominee for each vacant position), the nominee will be elected by acclamation. Elected Directors will take office immediately following the AGM.

Important policy document Gov I-12 Election of Directors contains further information. Governance-related documents are accessible via Google Drive.