Discipline Notice: Stephen Roderick Ramsay
In 2021, Dr. Ramsay was retained to prepare a geohazard assessment report in support of a development permit application for a proposed single-family home in Hatzic, BC. The report was deficient and did not comply with the requirements set out in the Engineers and Geoscientists BC Professional Practice Guidelines on Legislated Flood Assessments in a Changing Climate or the Legislated Landslide Assessments for Proposed Developments in BC.
In the Consent Order, Dr. Ramsay admitted that he demonstrated professional misconduct relating to the report, and agreed that, among other things, he:
- failed to conduct contour mapping to accurately determine site elevation;
- failed to properly characterize potential geotechnical hazards in the report;
- failed to prepare the report in a manner consistent with the guidelines including adequately analyzing the flood discharge and providing an analysis to support his conclusions in the report;
- plagiarized portions of the report from two other previous studies of the region including the descriptions of geohazard assessment requirements, surface water conditions, and the list of references; and
- prepared the report when he was not qualified by training or experience to do so.
As outlined in the Consent Order, Dr. Ramsay’s registration with Engineers and Geoscientists BC was cancelled. Dr. Ramsay agreed not to reapply for registration with Engineers and Geoscientists BC at any time in the future.
Dr. Ramsay paid $7,000 toward the legal and investigative costs of Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
The full text of the Consent Order can be found in the Disciplinary Notices section of our website.
Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s website contains information on the complaint, investigation, and discipline processes. You can contact us at 604.558.6647 or toll-free at 1.888.430.8035 ext. 6647, or by email at [email protected].