Annual Report 2017

THE PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE: APPEAL BOARD The Appeal Board and the staff who work with it continued to make every effort to ensure the board effectively achieves its mandate. To that end, the board met twice to review its work and how it relates to the work of the Investigative Committee, the Discipline Committee, and the Board of Examiners, which are also tasked with meeting the requirements of APEGA’s self-regulated professions. The board meetings afforded opportunity to review timelines for appeals, examine what legislative and administrative changes were in the works or had been implemented, and review issues and literature related to appeals in a profession that also seeks to protect the public interest. The Appeal Board has gained new members, and the board meetings provide background and information for them in the role they have assumed.

appropriate standard of review. The board can hear appeals related to decisions of the Investigative Committee, the Discipline Committee, or the Board of Examiners. Most cases are related to decisions of the Investigative Committee, for which the Appeal Board has two options: uphold the decision or refer the matter to the Discipline Committee for hearing. The Appeal Board heard appeals under Section 32 and Section 51 of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act. Most cases raise matters of unskilled practice or unprofessional conduct that relate to the public interest. Section 51 appeal hearings dealt with a wide variety of issues, including fracking and water contamination; welds and securing a pipeline; failure to pay wages and remit employee deductions; steam injection; third- party requests for proposal; employee reference impacting future employment; and investment in a building project.

‘ The cases the Appeal Board heard indicate that members and companies with a permit to practice should ensure they engage in clear communications, develop clear written contracts with scope-of-work details, and maintain clear and current Professional Practice Management Plans. These measures will go a long way to prevent complaints and protect the public interest. ’

The cases the Appeal Board heard indicate that members and companies with a permit to practice should ensure they engage in clear communications, develop clear written contracts with scope-of-work details, and maintain clear and current Professional Practice Management Plans. These measures will go a long way to prevent complaints and protect the public interest. APEGA and the Appeal Board have met the responsibilities of self-regulation and served Alberta’s public interest well during the past year. I am pleased to be able to continue working on behalf of the public.

The board has also named two assistant vice-chairs, to ensure chairs are available for hearings in the short-term and provide sound succession planning for the long-term. After examining the potential for appeals, APEGA sought to have a second public member named to share the workload, but was informed that, by legislation, the Government of Alberta may only appoint one public member. Appeal Board panels are selected on the basis of who is available for the date identified for a hearing. Panels are made up of a chair, three other professional members of APEGA who sit on the board, and the public member (unless I must recuse myself). Whether written or in-person, the Appeal Board uses reasonableness as the

Harold Neth

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APEGA Annual Report 2017

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