Innovation Magazine July-August 2019

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

DISCIPLINARY NOTICE: REO PHILLIPS, P.ENG., VICTORIA, BC Engineers and Geoscientists BC issued a Notice of Inquiry in April 2019 to Reo Phillips, P.Eng., regarding his failure to provide the Practice Review Committee with the Practice Review Questionnaire, as requested by the association on numerous occasions. Instead of proceeding to a disciplinary inquiry, Mr. Phillips agreed to a Consent Order dated June 6, 2019. In the Consent Order, Mr. Phillips admitted that he breached section 44 of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act , which states that a member, licensee, or certificate holder must, on request, provide the Practice Review Committee with any relevant information, record, document or thing, and may not refuse to comply with this request on the grounds of confidentiality. As part of the Consent Order, Mr. Phillips agreed that, within 30 days from the date of the Consent Order, he will provide the association’s Practice Review Committee with a revised Practice Review Questionnaire, along with a detailed list of the roles and duties of his current position. Mr. Phillips also agreed to pay $1,500 towards the association’s legal and investigative costs within 30 days of the date of the Consent Order. Mr. Phillips has since complied with all the provisions provided for in the Consent Order. The full text of the Consent Order can be found in the Disciplinary Notices section of our website, at egbc.ca/ archived-disciplinary-notices. DISCIPLINARY NOTICE: AVINDER SINGH, P.ENG., SURREY, BC Engineers and Geoscientists BC issued a Notice of Inquiry to Avinder Singh, P.Eng., in January 2019, regarding his use of the professional engineering seal of a colleague, Karamjeet (Gary) Jatana, P.Eng. Engineers and Geoscientists BC alleged that Mr. Singh forged Mr. Jatana’s signature for the purpose of signing and sealing electrical engineering documents. A disciplinary inquiry was held on February 14, 2019. On April 16, 2019, the panel of the Discipline Committee (the Panel) issued its Determination, which stated the allegations noted in the Notice of Inquiry had been proven and that Mr. Singh’s conduct violated the

values of truth and honesty in the Code of Ethics and that Mr. Singh demonstrated unprofessional conduct. In its Determination, the Panel noted the following. The Panel finds the nature and the gravity of the conduct proven to be very serious. The purpose of a seal is to authenticate documents. It is to provide a mark of reliance and it signifies to the public that they can rely upon the opinions, judgments, and designs that are contained in the sealed documents. A sealed document is visible commitment to the standards of the profession by a professional who is required to hold high standards of knowledge, skill, and ethics. An engineer affixing his or her seal is accepting professional responsibility for the matters under seal. Mr. Singh’s misuse of his colleague’s seal and signature to keep his client happy disregarded the purpose and significance of the seal. His actions were deliberate, dishonest, and at the serious end of the spectrum. This factor favours a more serious penalty. The Panel suspended Mr. Singh’s membership for a period of two months. Within one year, Mr. Singh must undergo a practice review at his own expense, complete the Professional Engineering and Geoscience in BC Online Seminar, and complete and pass the Professional Practice Examination. Mr. Singh must pay a fine of $1,500, and pay $16,288.60 towards the association’s investigation and legal costs. If Mr. Singh fails to comply with any of the requirements under the order, his membership will be suspended until he has done so. The full text of the Determination of the Discipline Committee can be found in the Disciplinary Notices section of our website, at egbc.ca/discipline-notices .

Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s website contains information on the complaint, investigation, and discipline processes. You can contact us at 604.558.6647 or toll-free at 1.888.430.8035 ext. 6647, or by email at complaints@egbc.ca.

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