PEO has 4 bodies dealing with dispute resolution and hearings. Issues can range from hearing allegations of professional misconduct to mediating fee disputes between clients and licence holders. In this blog, we have provided the necessary information about each one of the four tribunals.
Tribunal types:
PEO’s mandate, as given in the Professional Engineers Act, is to make sure that the public is protected. In addition, it ensures that individuals and companies offering engineering solutions uphold a strict code of professional ethics and conduct.
Among other regulatory activities, PEO works for and protects the public by conducting dispute resolution and hearings.
Let’s move ahead to know the four tribunals:
Discipline:
The Discipline Committee (DIC) hears and determines accusations of professional misconduct or incompetence against licence holders. The licence holder has a P.Eng. licence, temporary licence, provisional licence or limited licence. Besides that, they can be a holder of a Certificate of Authorization.
The DIC’s tribunal acts upon a decision of the Complaints Committee, Council or Executive Committee. It works when any of these three organizations refers a matter to the DIC for determination.
The Discipline Committee also hears applications that licence holders to submit when applying for licences. Besides that, it also hears when they apply for Certificates of Authorization after a prior revocation and suspension. The parties to a disciplinary proceeding are given in the Professional Engineers Act.
Fees Mediation:
The Fees Mediation Committee (FMC) copes with fee disputes between PEO licence and Certificate of Authorization holders and their clients. FMC and arbitration processes are for clients of engineering companies wishing to dispute fees charged for professional engineering services. The committee may either mediate or arbitrate fee disputes between professional engineering companies and their clients. It can work as an alternative to legal action taken through the court system.
Registration:
The Registration Committee does formal hearings between applicants and the Registrar for licensure. An applicant who has received a Notice of Proposal to refuse to issue a licence from the Registrar may request a hearing. The Registration Committee will conduct a hearing for that. (You should hire a Professional Engineers Ontario expert to know more about it if having any confusion).
At a hearing, applicants must demonstrate that the applicant got the Registrar’s Notice of Proposal to refuse fulfils the requirements. These requirements are the ones set out under the Professional Engineers Act and its own regulations. Or, that the applicant should have an exemption and will engage in the professional engineering practice with competence and integrity.
If the applicant proves it successfully, the Registration Committee can order the Registrar to issue a licence to the applicant. The licence can be a PEO provisional, temporary or limited one or a Certification of Authorization as per the case.
Licence applicants fulfilling the requirements for the issuance of a licence may request a provisional licence. Applicants disagreeing with the Registrar’s proposal to refuse to issue a licence may additionally request to the Registration Committee. The request can be for an Order directing the Registrar to issue a provisional licence. The issuance can be at a hearing of the Registration Committee regarding their contested application for a licence.
Complaints Review Councillor:
A complainant may apply to the Complaints Review Councillor (CRC) for a review of the complaint treatment. They can do so after a decision has been made by the Complaints Committee.
Review of the treatment of a complaint:
The Complaints Committee’s decision to refer, or not to refer, a complaint of the Discipline Committee is final. There is no statutory appeal that lies from the decisions of the Complaints Committee. A decision of the Complaints Committee is with a Notice advertising the complaint of the right. The right is to apply to the Complaints Review Councillor (CRC).
Indeed, section 26 of the Act provides that a complainant may apply to the CRC for a review. The review is of the treatment of the complaint after a decision has been made by the Complaints Committee. Furthermore, the Act permits a complainant to apply for a CRC review on a condition. The condition is if a complaint is not resolved by the Complaints Committee. The time period for this is within 90 days after being filed with the Registrar.
The request procedure for a CRC review is by way of application. Remember that the CRC is not under any statutory obligation to take up such a review. Moreover, it may, in certain circumstances, issue a decision not to review or decide not to continue for a review.
It may happen that PEO CRC will actually issue a Notice about its intention to commence a review. A report is the result of a completed CRC review. The CRC, under section 26(4) of the Act, inquires into the actual merits of any particular complaint.
By definition, a review of the treatment of a complaint is a review of the procedures. These procedures start from receiving a complaint to the solution to the complaint. The Complaints Committee solves it and informs the complainant about the decision.
0
Sign in to leave a comment.