DRIVING ALBERTA FORWARD
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE This past year, APEGA’s vision was Driving Alberta Forward with courage and innovation. The Discipline Committee (DC) was well positioned to support this vision. It had taken the time over the last couple of years to review its procedures and emerged with strengthened practices to hold registrants accountable for quality practices while continuing to ensure the safety of the public. APEGA’s goal, supported by the DC, was and continues to be to develop and advance a prosperous Alberta. The DC takes its regulatory responsibilities very seriously, knowing how important it is to maintain the good standing APEGA enjoys as a strong, self-regulating professional organization. The committee has four meetings a year. There is a strong educational component at each meeting, with updates and educational information from APEGA administration and the legal profession, as appropriate. Using the technology currently in place has allowed for more robust participation of the members in the meeting deliberations regardless of where they are located across the province. Of course, the downside is the missed opportunity for informal personal conversations on an in-person basis. The DC addresses cases referred to it by the Investigative Committee (IC) in such a way to ensure the registrant facing charges from the IC has a fair hearing or mediative process while ensuring the best interests of the public are served. A recommended discipline order (RDO) from the IC is overseen by an APEGA member of the DC. The IC can also refer charges of unprofessional conduct, unskilled practice, or breach of ethical standards to the DC for a formal hearing, the panel for which comprises a minimum of three APEGA DC committee members and can include the public member depending on the nature of the charges. The best interests of the public are a strong consideration in any deliberation. One of the challenges faced by the DC when there is a hearing is finding dates that work for the large number of people involved in the hearing. Thus, on occasion, there can be a rather long time period from the time the case is referred to a hearing to the initial hearing date being set. Holding virtual hearings has helped to address this to some degree. I have continued to appreciate the opportunity to serve as the public member on a board of such committed APEGA registrants who give many hours of their time on a volunteer basis so APEGA can continue to advance a prosperous Alberta in a professional and ethical manner.
Muriel Dunnigan, M.Ed. Public Member
77 84
apega.ca
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker