Discipline Committee Member

Purpose:

The Engineers and Geoscientists BC Discipline Committee is an independent Statutory Committee created by the Professional Governance Act, S.B.C. 2018, c. 47 ("PGA"). The members of the Discipline Committee are “judges” at disciplinary hearings, that is, the members of the committee adjudicate disciplinary inquiries into alleged breaches of the PGA, Bylaws, and Code of Ethics by registrants. The Discipline Committee typically has the benefit of an independent lawyer to assist the Discipline Committee at a disciplinary hearing.

In addition, members of the Discipline Committee often participate in the attempt to resolve disciplinary matters prior to hearings pursuant to sections 72-74 of the PGA.

Reporting Structure:

The Discipline Committee members are appointed by Council and report to the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Discipline Committee. The Discipline Committee is assisted by the staff of the Legislation, Ethics and Compliance Department of Engineers and Geoscientists BC.

Duties and Expectations:

• Attendance in-person or virtually is required for disciplinary hearings; and
• Attendance in-person or virtually is required to discuss the resolution of disciplinary matters.

Skills and Qualifications:

All applicants for the Discipline Committee must be a registrant with the ability to engage in Reserved Practice and be in good standing.

Successful applicants must be able to:

• Protect confidential materials;
• Be impartial;
• Be receptive to legal argument and comfortable in adversarial hearings;
• Effectively communicate with strong verbal and written skills, including the ability to question parties and witnesses at a hearing;
• Exercise strong analytical skills to consider arguments and evidence;
• Exercise critical reasoning skills;
• Pay attention to detail and ensure accuracy and completeness in reviewing material presented to committee members; and
• Work efficiently as part of a team.

Per amendments to the Professional Governance Act, a Board Member cannot be a member of a committee or panel of any other regulatory body that comes under the purview of the PGA. Applicants must declare any potential conflicts of interest to Engineers and Geoscientists BC when submitting their applications.

Term of Office:

• Appointments are 3 years normally, renewable twice unless otherwise extended by Council.

Average Time Commitment:

• An administrative/training meeting is held twice per year.
• Discipline Committee members are typically called on approximately 2–3 times per year to sit on a disciplinary hearing panel, and 3–4 times per year to sit on disciplinary resolution panels to resolve disciplinary matters prior to hearing.
• A disciplinary hearing typically lasts for one full day, although on occasion disciplinary hearings span multiple days.
• Disciplinary hearings are either held at the Engineers and Geoscientists BC office, in a boardroom offsite, virtually, or a hybrid in-person/virtual; and
• Food is provided when meeting in-person.

Measures of Success:

The successful Discipline Committee volunteer will be engaged in the issues raised by the investigation process and will use sound judgment in deciding on the outcome. The committee members will provide clear analysis to the public by means of written decisions.

Benefits:

• Service to the profession;
• Consider and discuss interesting ethical and practical concerns arising from the investigation process;
• Authorized travel expenses; and
• Earn credits for CE and Engineers and Geoscientists BC service awards
• Volunteer appreciation

Applications for this role are reviewed on a seasonal basis depending on program needs and position availability. You will be contacted when the next application review takes place. We appreciate your interest and look forward to connecting with you.