THE DISCIPLINE FILE
Date: May 3, 2017 Case No.: 17-002-RDO IN THE MATTER OF THE ENGINEERING, AND GEOSCIENCE PROFESSIONS ACT, AND IN THE MATTER OF THE CONDUCT OF MR. ZAHER SHUKR, P.ENG. The Investigative Committee of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) has conducted an investigation into the conduct of Mr. Zaher Shukr, P.Eng. with respect to allegations of unprofessional conduct and/or unskilled practice pursuant to Section 44(1) of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (“the Act”). The investigation related to allegations that Mr. Zaher Shukr, P.Eng., sold electronic copies of copyrighted material, including 2003 National Professional Practice Exam (NPPE) questions and textbooks, through online advertisements. A. COMPLAINTS 1. The APEGA Director of Examinations forwarded the following matters to APEGA’s Investigative Committee, alleging that Mr. Zaher Shukr, P.Eng., may have engaged in unprofessional conduct and/ or unskilled practice, contrary to Section 44(1) of the Act, by advertising and selling copyrighted material on Kijiji including: a) Electronic copy of APEGA National Professional Practice Examination (NPPE) 2003 Questions; b) Electronic copy of the textbook Practical Law of Architecture, Engineering and Geoscience Second Edition (published by Pearson Canada); c) Electronic copy of the textbook Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics, Fifth Edition (published by Nelson Education Ltd.). B. AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS As a result of the investigation, it is agreed by and between the Investigative Committee and Mr. Zaher Shukr, P.Eng., that:
1. At all relevant times, Mr. Zaher Shukr, P.Eng., (“the Member”) was a Professional Member of APEGA, and was thus bound by the Act and the APEGA Code of Ethics . 2. On January 28, 2016, [Staff Member A], Director of Examinations at APEGA became aware of a Kijiji listing that advertised “sample questions” for the NPPE. He contacted the originator of the listing on behalf of APEGA and requested information. 3. The originator advised [Staff Member A] that he purchased the sample questions on Kijiji from the Member. The originator provided [Staff Member A] with the exam question PDFs, contact information for the Member, and a link to the Member’s Kijiji listing. [Staff Member A] conducted a search of APEGA’s database and determined the Member was an active Professional Member of APEGA. 4. On February 1, 2016, [Staff Member A] confirmed that one of the exam question PDFs sold by the Member was the actual NPPE administered in January 2003. [Staff Member A] further verified that the questions contained in the PDF were identical to the questions in the APEGA Legacy Item Bank, and the format of the scanned exam was identical to the printed 2003 exam. 5. On February 4, 2016, [Staff Member A] determined by reviewing APEGA records that he had previously spoken to the Member on September 24, 2015, regarding his Kijiji listing for “NPPE Prep Materials.” [Staff Member A]’s investigation at that time did not identify any copyrighted material. 6. On February 5, 2016, [Staff Member A], posing as a buyer, replied to the Member’s Kijiji listing. The Member responded with sample screenshots of the material for sale, including a screenshot of the previously administered January 2003 NPPE. 7. On February 8, 2016, [Staff Member A] replied to the Member and inquired if he was also selling scanned pages of the two textbooks (noted in Section A above) used by candidates to prepare for the exam. The Member confirmed that he was selling scans of all pages of both textbooks. 8. On February 9, 2016, posing as a buyer, [Staff Member A] purchased the material advertised by
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