The court declined to quash the decision of the Discipline Panel of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (the “APEGBC”) which had made a finding of unprofessional conduct on the part of the Appellant as a result of him signing, sealing and submitting structural drawings for a building permit and preparing support design calculations which did not conform to the British Columbia Building Code. The court held that the charge was sufficiently particularized and there was no merit to the allegation that the Panel found misconduct based on elements not enumerated in the charge. While the Respondent did breach a duty to disclose documentation, the Appellant’s right to make full answer and defence was not impaired as a result. It was not unreasonable for the Panel to find that the Appellant demonstrated unprofessional conduct and there was no error in the penalty imposed.

27. July 2007 0
Administrative law – Engineers – Disciplinary proceedings – Competence – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Evidence – Penalties – Suspensions – Judicial review – Administrative decisions – Hearings – Natural justice – Disclosure – Standard of review – Correctness – Reasonableness simpliciter Familamiri v. Assn. of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, [2004] B.C.J. ...

An application for judicial review of an Arbitrator’s decision which held that a police officer was entitled to indemnification under the collective agreement for legal costs incurred in defending a criminal charge despite having pled guilty to a charge of insubordination. The Court held that breach of a rule or directive does not automatically lead to the conclusion that the officer was not attempting to perform his police duty in good faith. The application for judicial review was dismissed.

24. July 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Police Commission – Arbitration Board – Police – Criminal charges – Disciplinary proceedings – Judicial review – Applications – Costs – Legal fees Toronto Police Services Board v. Toronto Police Assn., [2007] O.J. No. 1948, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Divisional Court, May 15, 2007, S.N. Lederman, K.E. ...

The Petitioner applied for judicial review of two decisions made by the Ethics and Discipline Committee of the British Columbia College of Chiropractors, the first dismissing the Petitioner’s complaint against the Respondent, and the second confirming that dismissal. The Court dismissed the petition, finding that the Petitioner did not have standing to require the Court to review the College’s decision. However, the Court accepted the Petitioner’s submission, in obiter, that the College’s interpretation of section 20 of the Chiropractors Act was incorrect.

26. June 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – College of Chiropractors – Disciplinary proceedings – Use of title – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Interpretation of legislation – Jurisdiction – Standard of review – Correctness Pound v. Lunney, [2007] B.C.J. No. 794, British Columbia Supreme Court, April 20, 2007, Halfyard J. The Respondent had ...

The appeal by a nurse (Tomaszewska) of a decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario finding that she had committed acts of professional misconduct was dismissed where the Court held that Tomaszewska had not been denied procedural fairness in the hearing and the penalty was not patently unreasonable

26. June 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Nurses – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Penalties and suspensions – Hearings – Disclosure – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Fresh evidence – admissibility Tomaszewska v. College of Nurses of Ontario, [2007] O.J. No. 1731, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, May 3, ...

The Applicant appealed the decision of the Respondent Association who had found that he had violated the Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice of the Association. The Court dismissed the application, finding that the Association’s decision was reasonable.

26. June 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Real estate agents – Disciplinary proceedings – Penalties – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Natural justice – Failure to provide reasons – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter Rowan v. New Brunswick Real Estate Assn., (in French) [2007] N.B.J. No. 124, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench, ...

A respiratory therapist (“Chaudhary”) successfully petitioned for a Declaration that the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (“the Society”) had no jurisdiction to proceed with a disciplinary action against him given that he was a former member of the Society

26. June 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Respiratory Therapists – Rules and by-laws – Retrospective operation – Disciplinary proceedings – Jurisdiction to hear a complaint – Former member – Judicial review Chaudhary v. Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists, [2007] B.C.J. No. 692, British Columbia Supreme Court, April 4, 2007, Garson J. Chaudhary is a respiratory ...

The Court restored a sanction of dismissal against a municipal police officer who pleaded guilty to several criminal offences. The police officer’s criminal conduct was subject to separate sanctions provided for in the Cities and Towns Act and the Police Act. The majority of the Court held that the sanctions under the Police Act and the Cities and Towns Act overlapped and came into conflict. The Court held that in the case of conflict, the provisions in the Police Act should prevail over the provisions in the Cities and Towns Act as those provisions are more recent and more specific than those in the Cities and Towns Act.

22. May 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Arbitration Board – Police – Disciplinary proceedings – Penalties and suspensions – Judicial review – Compliance with legislation – Statutory interpretation – Conflict of legislation Lévis (City) v. Fraternité des policiers de Lévis Inc., [2007] S.C.J. No. 14, Supreme Court of Canada, March 22, 2007, McLachlin C.J. and Bastarache, ...

The Court allowed, in part, an appeal by the Law Society from an order of the Appeal Panel of the Law Society setting aside decisions of a Hearing Panel of the Discipline Committee

22. May 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Law Societies – Barristers and solicitors – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Penalties and suspensions – Hearings – Interpretation of Evidence – Failure to provide adequate reasons – Witnesses – Judicial review – Procedural requirements and fairness – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter – ...

The Court allowed, in part, an application for judicial review of the Registrar of Mortgage Brokers decision refusing to register the Applicant since his prior criminal record made him unsuitable for registration

22. May 2007 0
Administrative law – Mortgage brokers – Disciplinary proceedings – Professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming – Criminal record – Penalties and suspensions – Public interest – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Registrar of Mortgage Brokers – Judicial review – Jurisdiction of registrar- Standard of review – Patent unreasonableness – Correctness Pugliese v. British Columbia (Registrar of Mortgage Brokers, ...

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Discipline Committee of the Law Society of New Brunswick (the “Committee”) where it found the Appellant guilty of professional misconduct by acting, while in a conflict of interest, as counsel for a married couple who were separating

22. May 2007 0
Administrative law – Decisions of administrative tribunals – Law Societies – Barristers and solicitors – Conflict of interest – Professional misconduct – Disciplinary proceedings – Judicial review – Standard of review – Reasonableness simpliciter O’Toole v. Law Society of New Brunswick, [2007] N.B.J. No. 66, New Brunswick Court of Appeal, March 15, 2007, J.Z. Daigle, A. Deschênes ...