In her mandate letter to Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, Premier Danielle Smith called for “appropriate governance of software engineers that will not hamper the efforts of tech companies to attract these needed professionals from competing jurisdictions.” Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney is leading the file. (The Logic) 

Talking point: The letter is the government’s first mandated effort to address the dispute over the term “software engineer,” which had prompted Edmonton-based Jobber to threaten relocation. The spat began when the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) started claiming that any person employed as a “software engineer” must earn full accreditation through the organization’s application portal, and filed a lawsuit against Jobber after it declined to comply. Tech companies, for their part, say the requirement would be needlessly onerous and hinder their hiring efforts. In a statement, the Council of Canadian Innovators applauded Alberta’s promise to revisit APEGA’s “job-killing red tape,” but said it needs more details.