January 2006 ISSUE

COMPLIANCE

Court Order Validates APEGGA's Role

Following extensive investigations, APEGGA's Compliance Department and Enforcement Review Committee recently proceeded with legal action under the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act against an unregistered individual, Dennis R. Anderson. The concerns pertained to violations of the reserved practice and reserved title provisions of the act, involving the practice of engineering.

The matter was recently finalized with a court ordered injunction being agreed to and obtained in the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.

This order is, in effect, an important validation of APEGGA's role in protecting the public through self-governance. Only properly licensed individuals and companies can practice engineering or hold themselves out as engineering practitioners.

The following is the official press release on Dennis R. Anderson.

Dennis R. Anderson was ordered by the Court of Queen’s Bench to stop the illegal practice of engineering, the illegal use of a professional engineer’s stamp, the illegal use of the designation P.Eng. and to stop misrepresenting himself as a professional engineer. Legal action against Mr. Anderson was initiated by the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta. APEGGA is responsible for regulation of the engineering and geoscience professions in Alberta.

The EGGP Act authorizes APEGGA to prosecute individuals and firms that misrepresent themselves as professionals or illegally provide engineering, geological or geophysical services to the public.

Justice Carolyn S. Phillips of the Court of Queen’s Bench granted an injunction against Mr. Anderson on Nov. 15.

“The action in the Anderson case was taken because of APEGGA’s regulatory mandate as the administrator of the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act,” said APEGGA Executive Director and Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng. “It is incumbent upon us to protect public safety and well-being.

“One way in which we do that is by ensuring that only persons who are properly qualified and licensed to do so offer engineering and geoscience services within Alberta. As Alberta’s engineering and geoscience regulatory body, APEGGA takes action to prevent individuals and firms that illegally misrepresent themselves as professional engineers or geoscientists or illegally provide these services to the public.”

The largest self-governing professional association in Alberta, APEGGA was established in 1920. Empowered by the Government of Alberta through legislation, APEGGA registers, sets practice standards and determines disciplinary action for over 43,000 members.

ACTIVITY REPORT

Editor’s Note: The following statistics track this year’s Compliance Department activity from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31. The department's job is to enforce the right-to-practice and right-to-title provisions of the EGGP Act Part 1. The Compliance Department's focus, therefore, is on individuals and companies that are not members — those which may be, inadvertently or otherwise, holding themselves out as members or practicing the professions illegally.

*Note: Other files were resolved for various reasons, such as confirmation that an individual or company is already registered with APEGGA, verification that an individual contacted is not living or working in Alberta, clarification that a company is actually a trade name of a member etc.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

Q: If I am a sole practitioner corporation practicing exclusively under the umbrella of another permit holding corporation, do I require a permit to practice?

A: Yes, a permit is required. The Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act does not include an exemption for this situation.

APEGGA’s Council considered this issue and provided the following concession in annual dues:

A permit holder may apply for a 50 per cent reduction in annual dues if:

(a)   The permit holder has only one professional engineering, professional geologist, professional geophysicist or registered professional technologist as a full-time employee or member of the firm, and
(b)   The gross revenues of the firm did not exceed $250,000 in the preceding 12 months.

WEB LINKS

The Engineering, Geology and Geophysical Professions Act
is available at http://www.apegga.org/About/ACT/preface.htm.

Visit http://www.apegga.org/Members/Publications/peggs/WEB01-06/pdf/AndersonCourtOrder.pdf to read the full judgment.