November 2009

PEGNL Board of Directors Holds its First Meeting

Board Chair Darryl Benson, P. Eng. called the first meeting of the PEGNL Board of Directors to order on Friday, October 23, 2009. 

The meeting agenda consisted entirely of regulatory and Board governance matters. With the Engineers and Geoscientists Act 2008 coming into force on July 1, 2009, the former Act was there-by repealed resulting in the repeal of Regulations and By-Laws made under it.

By-Laws

The Engineers and Geoscientists Act 2008 gives the Board the power to make By-Laws to support compliance with the Act and at the meeting the Board considered draft new By-Laws. Because the new Act established a different governance and regulatory framework for PEGNL, the Board chose to restructure the By-Laws to reflect those changes. The By-Laws will now be divided into four components. This will facilitate easy interpretation and could simplify amendments to the By-Laws as the need arises.

• By-Law #1 – PEGNL Administrative By-Law

• By-Law #2 - Professional Liability Insurance By-Law

• By-Law #3 - Code of Ethics

• By-Law #4 - Board of Directors Election By-Law

By-Laws #1 and #2 are now posted on the PEGNL website. By-Laws #3 and #4 are still under review by the Board and will most likely be published in January 2010.

Regulations

The PEGNL Regulations 2009 to be made under the new Act have yet to be approved by the Minister of Government Services. While normally the former Regulations would have been repealed in their entirety, because the new Regulations are not yet in place the former regulations remain in effect to the extent that they are required and as long as they are not inconsistent with the new Act. It is expected that approval of the new Regulations 2009 will be made in late November 2009.

Disciplinary Adjudication

A key change to PEGNL regulatory process, resulting from the 2008 Act, is the introduction of elected professional members and appointed public members to the disciplinary process.

The Board has appointed members to the Complaints Authorization Committee. They are: Darryl Benson, P. Eng., Chair; Terry Parsons, Vice-Chair; Glenn Mifflin, CA; Jennifer Williams, P. Eng.; Rod Churchill, P. Geo.; and Carl King, P. Eng. The Complaints Authorization Committee, which is made up entirely of Members of the Board of Directors, is charged with providing the first formal adjudication of any allegations of conduct deserving sanction against professional members or permit holders.

The Board has also appointed 12 professional members to the Disciplinary Panel. The Minister of Government Services will also be appointing 4 public representatives to the Panel. The professional members appointed are:

Those who have served on the former Discipline Committee:

1. Scott Bennett, P. Eng., Chair

2. Darlene Whalen, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

3. Geoff Emberley, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

4. Bill Newton, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

5. Susan Richter, P. Eng.

Those who have not previously served on the Discipline Committee:

6. Tony Dawe, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

7. Andrew Blundon, P. Eng.

8. Lorne Boone, P. Eng./P. Geo.

9. Baxter Kean, P. Geo.

10. Karen Thomas, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

11. Doug Goodridge, FEC, P. Eng., Past President, PEGNL

12. Stephen Edison, P. Eng.

The Disciplinary Panel will serve as a ‘pool’ from which members will be selected to form adjudication tribunals. These tribunals will hold formal hearings to consider serious allegation against members or permit holders who have been referred to the Disciplinary Panel Chair by the Complaints Authorization Committee.

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador