Complaint Procedure
Enforcement Procedure

Complaint Procedure
The complaint procedure described below is designed and operated to be fair to all parties involved. All correspondence about the complaint, investigation and disciplinary procedure is kept strictly confidential until a Notice of Inquiry has been served. In case of any discrepancy between this document and the Engineers and Geoscientists Act (the “Act”) or the Bylaws passed under the Act, the Act and the Bylaws shall govern. Full details of the procedure can be found in sections 28 through 39 of the Act .

Investigations of members can also be initiated by the Association’s Investigation Committee pursuant to its powers under subsection 30(3) of the Act. The procedures set out below from paragraph 6 under "Investigation of Complaint" onwards are generally applicable to an investigation under subsection 30(3).

Click here to access the Association's updated Complaint Investigation Procedure.

Initiating a Complaint

Any person wishing to make a complaint ( a "complainant" ) about the professional conduct or behaviour of a member can do so through the following procedure:

1. A complaint initially must be reviewed by the designated member appointed by the Registrar of the Association. The Designated Member is assisted in information gathering and processing by the Associate Director, Regulatory Compliance ( the "Associate Director" ) .
2. A letter setting out the circumstances on which the complaint is based is sufficient, but copies of relevant documents should be included. Complaint letters and enclosures should be mailed to the Associate Director and should be reproducible quality.
3. The Associate Director will write to the complainant to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. The Associate Director may request further information or clarification from the complainant. In appropriate cases, the file may be referred at this stage to the Designated Reviewer, who may determine that it would not be appropriate to proceed with the complaint. Typically this occurs where there is a lack of jurisdiction or where the complaint letter and documents do not disclose a potential breach of the Act or Bylaws.
   
4. In cases where the complaint concerns common strata property and the complainant is not the duly designated representative of the Strata Council, the Associate Director will require written confirmation from the Chair of the Strata Council that the complaint is being made on behalf of all of the owners. In the absence of this, the complaint file will be closed.

Investigation of Complaint

1. Once the required information has been received from the complainant, the Associate Director will write to the member, enclosing a copy of the complaint materials and request a written response to the complaint. A time limit will be set for receipt of the member's response by the Association.
2. Upon receipt of the member's response, the Associate Director will forward the member's response to the complainant and ask if the complainant wishes to make any reply to the member's response or if the complainant is satisfied with the member's response to the complaint and wishes to withdraw it. However, the Association has the power to pursue a complaint even if the complainant wishes to withdraw it.
3. The Associate Director may also request or obtain documents from other sources, as necessary. Once the Associate Director has all the required documents and information, the file is given to the Designated Member to review the complaint documents and any report by the Associate Director.
4. If after the review the Designated Member considers that further investigation of the complaint is not warranted, the complainant and the member are informed, in writing, of the reasons.
5. If the Designated Member considers that further investigation of the complaint is warranted, the Designated Member will submit a report to the Investigation Committee recommending further investigation.
6. The Investigation Committee will consider the report from the Designated Member and may then conduct a further investigation and request additional information from the complainant, the member or others with knowledge of the circumstances relating to the complaint. Failure by a member to respond to a request for information from the Investigation Committee is a breach of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act .
7. If the Investigation Committee determines that the complaint should not go to an inquiry before the Discipline Committee and that the file should be closed with no further action, the complainant and the member are informed, in writing, of the reasons why an inquiry will not be held. The Investigation Committee may also make recommendations to the member.

Discipline Process

1. If the Investigation Committee determines there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the member has breached the Act (including failure by the member to respond to a request for information) or Bylaws or Code of Ethics, or has demonstrated incompetence, negligence or unprofessional conduct, the Investigation Committee will ask the Association's lawyer to review the file materials and, if there is sufficient evidence to proceed, draft a Notice of Inquiry for consideration by the Investigation Committee.
   
2. After approval of the Notice of Inquiry by the Investigation Committee as its recommendation for an inquiry, a member of the Discipline Committee signs the Notice of Inquiry and it is served on the member. The Notice of Inquiry sets out the allegations and the date for a hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee.
   
3. Prior to the inquiry hearing, a Stipulated Order is offered to the member by the Association to resolve the complaint voluntarily without having to proceed to an inquiry. The Stipulated Order is prepared by a member of the Discipline Committee, the reviewing member, who reviews the file materials and determines an appropriate penalty. The Stipulated Order is not negotiable: if the member refuses the Stipulated Order an inquiry hearing must be held.
   
4. If the member decides to accept the Stipulated Order, liability for the allegations contained in the Notice of Inquiry is acknowledged and the penalty determined by the reviewing member is imposed. The Stipulated Order is signed by the member and the reviewing member and is published by the Association on its website. Notice of the Stipulated Order is distributed to municipalities throughout the Province, and is published in the Association's magazine, on its website, and in local newspapers.
   
5. If the Stipulated Order is rejected by the member, an inquiry hearing is held before a Discipline Committee panel (the “panel”) comprised of at least three members of the Discipline Committee.
   
6. The inquiry hearing is conducted in a formal manner generally following the procedures used in a Court. The inquiry hearing is open to the public and there is a court reporter present during the inquiry hearing to transcribe the proceedings
   
7. If the member is found liable for any of the allegations in the Notice of Inquiry, the panel may do one or more of the following:

   (a) reprimand the member;
   (b) impose conditions on the membership of the member;
   (c) suspend the membership of the member;
   (d) revoke the membership of the member;
   (e) impose a fine of not more than $25,000 on the member to be paid to the Association.

8. In addition, if the member is found liable the panel may direct that the costs of the investigation and the inquiry hearing be paid by the member. Similarly, if the member is found not liable, the panel may direct that the Association pay the member's costs.
   
9. If the member is found liable, the panel's decision is published on the Association's website, and notice of the decision is published in the Association's magazine, and in local newspapers. Municipalities throughout the Province are also notified of the disciplinary action against the member.
   
10. The member or the Association has 42 days to appeal the panel's decision to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. (There is no statutory appeal from the decision of the Designated Member or the Investigation Committee to close a file).

• Complaint Procedure Flowchart
• Complaint Procedure (pdf format)
  
  
  
  
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Enforcement Procedure

The Engineers and Geoscientists Act (the Act ) defines the practice of engineering and the practice of geoscience (section 1) and sets out prohibitions on practice and the use of restricted titles (section 22). The Act does not set out a procedure for the handling of enforcement complaints. The following procedure has been developed by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (the “Association”) to deal with enforcement issues in an appropriate manner to ensure that the Association's mandate for protection of the public and the environment is fulfilled.

The Associate Director, Regulatory Compliance ( the "Associate Director" ), investigates enforcement complaints received from members of the public or from members of the Association. Enforcement action may also be initiated by the Associate Director based on information which comes to the Associate Director's attention.

Section 22 of the Act sets out five situations that can represent a breach of Act. Some of these situations overlap and they all consist of unauthorized practice of engineering or geoscience by non-members of the Association and/or unlawful use of restricted titles.

Any person wishing to make a complaint ( a "complainant" ) about unlawful practice or use of a restricted title can do so through the following procedure:

1. The complaint should be submitted, in writing, to the Associate Director. A simple letter setting out the circumstances on which the complaint is based is sufficient, but reproducible quality copies of relevant documents should be attached, if possible.
2. The Associate Director will write to the individual, or the company, stating the nature of the complaint, enclosing supporting materials, if any, and request a written response to the complaint. A time limit will be set for receipt of the response by the Association.
3. Upon receipt of the response the Associate Director will review the complaint, including all documents and information available, to determine if the Association's concerns are satisfactorily resolved by the response.
4. If the response indicates compliance with the requirements of Section 22 of the Act, the Associate Director will write to the individual, or the company, acknowledging the acceptable response and closing the file with no further action.
5. If the response is not in compliance with the requirements of Section 22 of the Act, the Associate Director will write to the individual, or the company, explain why the response is not satisfactory, suggest an acceptable resolution to the issue and request written confirmation of voluntary compliance with the requirements of Section 22 of the Act.
6. If confirmation is received that the individual, or the company, will comply with the requirements of Section 22 of the Act, the Associate Director will write to the individual, or the company, acknowledging the confirmation and, once compliance is confirmed, close the file with no further action.
7. If confirmation is not received and the individual, or the company, continues in breach of the requirements of Section 22 of the Act, the Associate Director will send the complaint file to the Association's legal counsel for review and further action.
8. After the Association's legal counsel has reviewed the file and taken such action as is deemed appropriate, and if the individual, or the company, continues in breach of the requirements of Section 22 of the Act, legal counsel may recommend that an injunction be sought in accordance with Section 23 of the Act.
9. If the Association's legal counsel recommends that an injunction be sought the Associate Director will report to the Director, Professional Practice and Ethics (the "Director" ) on the circumstances relating to the case with a recommendation that Council approval be sought to proceed with legal action in accordance with Section 23 of the Act.
10. The Director, after considering the Association Director's report, may make one of three determinations:
    
    (a) recommendation to Council approval of legal action to seek an injunction in accordance with Section 23 of the Act; or
    (b) further investigation be done by the Associate Director, or the Association's legal counsel; or
    (c) the file should be closed with no further action.
    
    
11. The Council will consider the Director's recommendation to approve the legal action to seek an injunction and, if the Council accepts the recommendation, the file will be sent to the Association's legal counsel with instructions to take the necessary legal action to secure an injunction against the offending individual or company.
    
    
    
    
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Further information regarding the Complaint Procedure, the Enforcement Procedure, and the interpretation of the relevant portions of the Act can be obtained by contacting Bev Mitovic, Compliance Officer, at 604-412-4869 (toll-free at 1-888-430-8035 xt. 272) or by email at bmitovic@apeg.bc.ca