A Professional Engineer member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan pleaded guilty to two counts of professional misconduct before a hearing panel of the Discipline Committee on October 30, 2017.
Counsel for the Investigation Committee and for the member filed an Agreed Statement of Conduct with the panel, which was accepted as an admission of professional misconduct by the member.
The joint submission contained the following admissions:
• that the member admitted that he misinformed a regulatory agency as alleged and further admits that such conduct constitutes professional misconduct; and
• that the member admitted that he advised representatives of his client to not talk to the government during the regulatory agency’s investigation.
The panel determined that these actions by the member were in breach of sections 20(2)(a), (b) and (e) of The Regulatory Bylaws and that this breach constituted professional misconduct as defined in subsections 30(a), (b) and (c) of The Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act.
Counsel for the Investigation Committee and for the member also filed a Joint Submission as to Disposition.
On arriving at its decision, the panel considered the following factors:
• gravity of the offence;
• risk to public safety;
• specific deterrence of the member from engaging in further misconduct;
• general deterrence of other members of the profession;
• rehabilitation of the offender;
• denunciation by society of the conduct; and
• range of sentences in other cases.
The hearing panel also considered the following mitigating circumstances:
• member’s experience;
• member’s intentions to retire immediately and to not practise in the future;
• history of the member’s professional conduct;
• member’s acknowledgement of responsibility;
• previous service history of the member; and
• member’s good character.
Having taken into account all of the above, the hearing panel ordered as follows:
1. That the member’s licence be suspended for one year from the date of the Discipline Hearing (October 30, 2017).
2. That the member shall successfully complete the Law and Ethics seminar and pass the Saskatchewan Professional Practice Exam (PPE).
3. That the Decision and Order of the hearing panel be published on the APEGS website, in The Professional Edge and e-Edge, without names.
4. That the member be assessed costs to a maximum of $25,000, of which 50 per cent shall be paid by the member.
Once all of the above orders are met, the member would be eligible to apply for reinstatement.