INNOVATION September-October 2018

P R O F E S S I O N A L P R A C T I C E

engineering and geoscience related project documentation, at least two retention decisions are left up to the professionals: whether to retain project documentation for more than 10 years and, if so, for how long; and how long to retain documents that are unrelated to engineering and geoscience project documentation. LIMITATION PERIODS When deciding how long to retain documents, professionals will benefit from considering relevant limitation periods. A limitation period is a time limit placed on the right to begin a legal claim, after which a court or tribunal can deny a claim regardless of its strength. Limitation periods provide potential defendants with some peace of mind by reducing the likelihood that they will be held accountable for obligations from the distant past. They also help potential defendants identify a time when they will likely no longer have to maintain documents that could potentially become evidence. Finally, they encourage potential plaintiffs to act promptly. Retention policies generally take relevant limitation periods into account. In BC, different statutes establish limitation periods for different types of claims, and some types of claims do not have limitation periods. It is therefore not possible to identify a single limitation period that will be relevant to all circumstances. However, the limitation period for many claims is established by a general provincial statute called the Limitation Act . The current version of the Limitation Act came into force on June 1, 2013, and replaces the former Limitation Act. The current Limitation Act establishes shorter limitation periods than the former act. The current Limitation Act creates a basic two-year limitation period that begins at discovery of a claim, and a 15-year ultimate limitation period that begins when the act or omission on which the claim is based took place. However, complex rules inform which Limitation Act applies to a particular circumstance, when a claim was discovered and when the conduct giving rise to a claim occurred. Accordingly, professionals should seek legal advice on how limitation

WHAT REQUIREMENTS AND OBJECTIVES MAY INFORM A RETENTION POLICY? Professionals must identify the retention requirements and objectives that are relevant to their unique context. Engineers and Geoscientists BC recommends that professionals seek legal advice from a lawyer to assist with identifying relevant retention requirements and objectives. Generally, professionals may consider various elements when establishing a document retention policy. These include limitation periods (for example, those established in the former and current provincial Limitations Acts ), the requirements of Engineering and Geoscientists BC bylaws (as outlined in Section 14(b)(1) of the bylaws), and relevant privacy and other legislation. These general considerations are only a subset of the considerations that impact document retention policies; professionals will likely have many other reasons for retaining or

destroying documents, such as contractual obligations, statutory requirements, and practical business considerations. It is essential that professionals identify the considerations that are relevant to their unique situation. BYLAWS According to section 14(b)(1) of Engineers and Geoscientists BC's bylaws, members and licensees must retain complete project documentation includes a wide variety of documents: correspondence, investigation, surveys, reports, data, background information, assessments, designs, specifications, field reviews, testing information, quality assurance documentation, and other engineering and geoscience documents. project documentation for at least 10 years. Complete

While the bylaws establish a minimum retention period for

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