COMPLIANCE

Activity Report

Editor’s Note: The following statistics track this year’s APEGGA Compliance Department activity from Jan. 1 to May 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: Compliance files not mentioned above were resolved for various other 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.

Examples

The following is a sampling of recent compliance and enforcement activities:

• One of the major challenges facing the Compliance Department and the Enforcement Review Committee is determining whether or not an activity is the practice of engineering, geology or geophysics, as defined in the EGGP Act. Often after investigation, it is determined that the activity is not the practice.
  
• A company with the word “engineering” in its name was listed in the Alberta Gazette. When we cross-checked the name with our membership database, it was noted that the company did not hold a permit to practice. Upon receiving a written description of the company’s activities, it was determined that they do not constitute the practice of engineering and a permit was not pursued. The matter was resolved when the owner of the company changed the corporate name to remove the word “engineering.”
  
• To verify its activities, Compliance contacted a company employing two APEGGA members and not holding a permit to practice. Through discussions with management, it was confirmed that the company invests in the exploration/development of oil and gas properties as a non-operating partner. Management also confirmed that the company no longer employs APEGGA members. We were also advised that if the company’s activities should change in the future to include the practice of engineering, geology or geophysics, members would be hired and a permit to practice obtained.

The Compliance Department regularly reviews the career pages of newspapers for violations of the right-to-practice and right-to-title provisions of the EGGP Act.

• The Calgary Herald contained an advertisement for a “design engineer,” placed by a company that did not hold a permit. Upon receiving our letter, the owner advised that he was unaware of the requirement. Once the requirement was clarified, the owner submitted an application for a permit to practice, which has now been approved.

The Compliance Department encourages APEGGA members to report incidences of EGGP Act violations by non-members.

• An APEGGA member forwarded the business card of a non-registered individual using the word “engineer” in the job title. After several attempts at contact, the matter was resolved when the individual provided a copy of a revised business card with the word “engineer” deleted from the title.
  
• A small oil-and-gas exploration and production company employing members came to the Compliance Department’s attention. These companies usually require the services of the professional members in their employ, so we suspected a practice issue. Individuals often do not realize that the permit to practice applies to all practice of the professions, regardless of whether the practice is for internal use or traditional consulting practice. We explained that the permit also applies to oil and gas exploration companies, and a permit to practice was promptly applied for.

Individuals relocating to Alberta from another province quite often do not realize that registration with APEGGA is required if they wish to practice engineering, geology or geophysics, or use those titles.

• During the first five months of 2004, 25 individuals previously registered with other associations transferred their registration to APEGGA as the result of contact by the Compliance Department.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

Q. Who requires a Permit to Practice?

A. The EGGP Act requires that all partnerships, corporations and other such entities engaged in the practice of engineering, geology or geophysics in the province of Alberta have a permit to practice. There is a common misconception that the permit is not a requirement for individual corporations and is only required for consultants. This is not so. The EGGP Act does not differentiate between the size of a company or whether it is practicing for internal or external purposes.

A permit is also required by companies using the words engineering, geology or geophysics, or a variation of those words, in their corporate names.