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| This archived statute consolidation is current to November 5, 2001 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here. |
[Updated to May 14, 2001]
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Contents |
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Section |
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Voting at annual general meetings and extraordinary general meetings | ||
Pupil who served outside British Columbia may continue articles | ||
1 In this Act:
"board" means the board of management of the corporation;
"corporation" means the Corporation of Land Surveyors of the Province of British Columbia;
"land surveying company" means a company for which a permit has been issued;
"member" means a member of the corporation;
"member in good standing" means a member who is not in default for fees, dues or costs payable to the corporation, and who is not under suspension, but does not include a member whose name has, after application by the member, been placed on a list of nonpractising members;
"permit" means a permit issued under section 51 and includes a renewal of that permit;
"secretary" means the secretary treasurer of the corporation;
"to suspend", as applied to a member, means to suspend from all rights and privileges of a member.
2 The Corporation of Land Surveyors of the Province of British Columbia is continued as a corporation, and, except as otherwise provided by this Act, has the powers and immunities of a corporation.
3 (1) The corporation may acquire property but the cost to the corporation of land, with fixtures and equipment, must not exceed $1 million.
(2) The corporation may dispose of its property.
4 (1) The corporation may pass bylaws consistent with this Act with regard to one or more of the following:
(a) government, discipline and professional standards of members;
(b) management of the property of the corporation;
(c) exemption of certain senior members or nonpractising members from all or part of their fees and dues;
(d) keeping a list of nonpractising members;
(e) examination and admission of those persons applying to become articled pupils or members;
(f) setting fees for examination and admission;
(g) borrowing money on the credit of the corporation;
(h) equipment and instruments used by members and the standard of their work;
(i) matters which may be necessary or expedient for the general management of the corporation;
(j) insurance that provides indemnity against professional liability claims, including requiring members to maintain that type of insurance.
(2) Bylaws made under subsection (1) may include provisions for their enforcement and penalties for their contravention.
5 (1) Bylaws may only be passed at the annual general meeting or at an extraordinary general meeting.
(2) Despite subsection (1), by resolution indicating the scope of the proposed bylaws, the corporation may delegate the power to pass particular bylaws to the board.
(3) Bylaws passed by the board under subsection (2) are deemed to be bylaws of the corporation.
(4) No bylaw of the corporation setting fees, dues or costs payable to the corporation by members is valid unless approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
6 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the business, property and affairs of the corporation are to be managed, and its powers may be exercised, by the board of management.
(2) The board consists of a president, vice president and 5 other members, to be elected and hold office as provided in this Act, together with the Surveyor General of British Columbia, the last preceding president and the secretary.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, elected officers of the board hold office until their successors are elected.
(4) The number of elective members of the board may be varied by bylaw or by resolution of a general meeting of the corporation, but must be at least 4 and not more than 7.
(5) The board must appoint from among the members in good standing a secretary, who holds office at the pleasure of the board but must not be dismissed except by the votes of at least 3/5 of the members of the complete board.
7 In addition to other powers conferred by this Act, the board's functions include the following:
(a) maintaining the discipline and professional standards of members;
(b) preventing or conciliating misunderstandings between members;
(c) hearing and deciding complaints and accusations against members about their professional conduct;
(d) punishing members found guilty of misconduct or unprofessional conduct as provided in this Act;
(e) issuing and maintaining guidelines, for the use of members and the general public, with respect to fees for professional services;
(f) dealing with applications to become an articled pupil or member;
(g) providing for the term of articles;
(h) providing for examination of applicants;
(i) ordering a member to appear before the board;
(j) preparing draft bylaws to be laid before a general meeting;
(k) preparing and passing bylaws under powers delegated to the board under section 5.
8 (1) Subject to subsection (4), 3 members of the board form a quorum.
(2) All decisions of the board must be made by a majority of its members present at a meeting of the board.
(3) The chair votes as a member of the board and has no additional or casting vote.
(4) For hearings held by the board under sections 60, 61, 62 and 63,
(a) 5 members of the board form a quorum, and
(b) decisions to expel or suspend a member of the corporation require a majority of at least 2/3 of the members of the board present.
9 (1) An elected member of the board who resigns, dies or is absent from British Columbia for more than 6 months, or a member of the board, except the Surveyor General, who ceases to be a member in good standing, ceases to be a member of the board and must be replaced by a member in good standing appointed by the board or, failing an appointment, elected at an extraordinary general meeting of the corporation.
(2) A new member of the board appointed or elected under subsection (1) holds office until a successor is appointed or elected.
10 (1) An annual general meeting of the corporation must be held in British Columbia in January of each year at a place determined by the board.
(2) An annual general meeting of the corporation may be continued from day to day.
(3) Thirty members in good standing form a quorum at an annual general meeting.
(4) If within one hour after the time appointed for an annual general meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting stands adjourned until the next day at the same time and place, and so on from day to day until a quorum is present.
11 (1) An extraordinary general meeting may, and on the written requisition of 10 members in good standing must, be convened by order of the president or vice president, by notice each member in good standing.
(2) Notice of a meeting ordered under subsection (1) must be mailed 15 days before the date of the meeting to each member in good standing at the member's last known address.
12 General meetings are to be chaired
(a) by the president,
(b) in the absence of the president, by the vice president, or
(c) in the absence of both the president and vice president, by a chair elected by the members of the board present.
13 At each annual general meeting the board must submit a report of its operations and business during the preceding year.
14 (1) The elective members of the board are to be elected annually in the manner provided by this Act by votes to be counted at the annual general meeting.
(2) The corporation, by an extraordinary resolution at an extraordinary general meeting, may fill vacancies for elective members of the board.
(3) A person may not be elected a member of the board unless the person is a member in good standing, and was a member in good standing on October 15 in the year preceding the year of election.
(4) Retiring members of the board may be elected again.
(5) An extraordinary resolution is a resolution passed a general meeting if
(a) members are given at least 14 days' notice of the intention to propose the resolution, and
(b) at least 3/4 of the members of the corporation entitled to do so vote in person at the general meeting to approve the resolution.
15 (1) The board must act as a nominating committee and prepare in each year a list of nominees, of at least double the number of the vacancies on the board to be filled, from members whom it considers to be suitable candidates for the board for the ensuing year.
(2) A member is not eligible for election to the board as a nominee of the board unless before October 15 in the year in which the member is nominated the member has consented in writing to the nomination.
(3) A copy of the list of nominees must be mailed to each member in good standing not later than October 15 in each year.
16 (1) Any 6 members in good standing may, in writing, nominate a candidate for the board in any year from members in good standing.
(2) The nomination must be sent to the secretary not later than November 15 in that year, accompanied by the nominee's written consent to nomination.
17 A candidate for the board may not withdraw a consent to nomination except by written notice to the secretary received before November 15 of the year in which the consent was given.
18 Not later than December 1 in each year, the secretary must send each member in good standing a ballot paper in the form provided by bylaw, setting out the names of all nominees, their places of residence and, unless nominated by the board, the names of those nominating them.
19 (1) Sections 15 to 18 do not apply to an election of members of the board at an extraordinary general meeting.
(2) Nomination of candidates may be made orally from the floor at the extraordinary general meeting.
(3) The secretary must distribute ballot papers to all persons at the extraordinary general meeting who have the right to vote.
20 (1) Voting at elections of members of the board at an annual general meeting or extraordinary general meeting is to be by ballot on ballot papers in the form provided by bylaw.
(2) A voter must personally mark his or her ballot paper and fill in the declaration on it.
(3) A voter at an annual general meeting may vote for not more than the number of nominees to be elected.
(4) A voter at an annual general meeting must vote by marking on the ballot paper a cross (X) placed opposite the name of each nominee for whom he or she votes.
(5) For an election under subsection (1), a ballot paper containing more marks than the number of nominees to be elected is invalid and the votes recorded on it must not be counted.
(6) Votes for membership on the board at an extraordinary general meeting must be cast by the voter writing on a ballot paper the names of the nominees for whom he or she votes.
(7) For an election under subsection (6), a ballot paper containing the names of more nominees than there are vacancies to be filled is invalid and the votes recorded on it must not be counted.
21 (1) Except at an election held at an extraordinary general meeting, ballot papers must be delivered to the secretary between December 1 of the preceding year and the start of the annual general meeting.
(2) Ballot papers received by the secretary by post are deemed to have been delivered.
22 (1) The board must appoint 4 scrutineers to act with the secretary, or with another member appointed by the board, at all elections not held at an extraordinary general meeting.
(2) The secretary or other person appointed by the board and 2 scrutineers are a quorum.
(3) The chair at an extraordinary general meeting must appoint scrutineers to act in the same way as those appointed for the annual general meeting.
23 Ballot papers must be opened on the day of the election
(a) by the secretary, or by another member appointed by the board, and
(b) in the presence of scrutineers, who must scrutinize and count the votes and record them in a book provided by the corporation.
24 A voter at an election has the right to be present when ballot papers are opened and scrutinized.
25 (1) At an election of members of the board held at an annual general meeting, the vacancies on the board to be filled by elective members must be filled by the candidates who receive the highest number of votes.
(2) The board elected under subsection (1) must immediately select by ballot one of their number to be president of the corporation and another to be vice president.
(3) At an election of members of the board held at an extraordinary general meeting, vacancies on the board to be filled by elective members must be filled by the candidates who receive the highest number of votes.
(4) If either the office of president or vice president is vacant at the time of an election under subsection (3) it must immediately be filled by ballot of the members of the board.
26 (1) If at an election 2 or more candidates receive an equal number of votes, so that their election remains undecided, the election of the candidates required to complete the board must be determined as provided in subsections (2) to (4).
(2) A scrutineer must at once put into a ballot box a slip of paper for each candidate whose election is undecided, with the candidate's name written on it.
(3) The secretary must draw by chance, in the presence of the meeting, as many slips as there are vacancies on the board still to be filled.
(4) The persons whose names are drawn are deemed to be elected.
27 On completion of the scrutiny and counting of votes and any drawing of lots under section 26, the secretary must at once declare the result of the election and cause the names of those elected to be so indicated on the next list of members published in the Gazette under section 34.
28 (1) The president is the chair of meetings of the board.
(2) In the absence of the president, the vice president is the chair.
(3) If both the president and the vice president are absent, the members of the board who are present may elect a chair.
29 (1) A meeting of the board may be called by the president or vice president.
(2) A meeting of the board must be called by the president or vice president on the request of 3 members of the board.
(3) Notice of a meeting of the board is sufficiently given if mailed to its members at their last known addresses.
30 (1) Meetings of the board must be held in the City of Victoria or another place determined by the board, and may be adjourned.
(2) The board must meet at least annually to admit candidates as articled pupils or members and for other business.
31 The secretary is the registrar of the corporation.
32 (1) Within 15 days after his or her appointment, the secretary must give security of $1 000, either in money or by a bond of a guarantee company, in a form satisfactory to the board.
(2) The security must be deposited with the president of the corporation.
33 The secretary must do the following:
(a) keep a careful record of the proceedings of the corporation and the board;
(b) be responsible for custody of the common seal, records and archives of the corporation and board;
(c) certify copies of documents or extracts of documents from the records, as required;
(d) receive the money of the corporation, deposit it in a savings institution and make all authorized payments;
(e) render accounts to the annual general meeting showing receipts and payments for the year ending on the preceding December 31;
(f) render accounts required by the board;
(g) make and keep among the records of the corporation a register of members, with addresses, giving particulars of deaths, expulsion or suspension from membership and other particulars that the board directs;
(h) generally perform other services specified by the board or the corporation.
34 (1) The secretary must, immediately after February 1 in each year,
(a) provide to the Surveyor General and to the registrar of each land title district in British Columbia an alphabetical list of members in good standing, made up to that day, and
(b) publish the list in one issue of the Gazette in that month.
(2) The secretary, on receipt after February 1 in any year of all money due to the corporation from a member otherwise in good standing, together with a sum sufficient to pay the cost of publishing and providing a supplementary list, must
(a) prepare and publish once in the Gazette the name of each member who has since the publication under subsection (1) paid all money due from the member to the corporation, and
(b) provide a copy of every supplementary list to the Surveyor General and to the registrar of each land title district.
(3) If a member in good standing complains to the board that a name has been improperly inserted in or omitted from a list published under this section, the board must promptly examine the complaint and correct any error.
(4) The board's decision under subsection (3) is subject to appeal under section 67.
(5) Any error in a list published under this section must be corrected in accordance with the decision on appeal.
(6) Only the votes of persons whose names appear on the list of members in good standing at the date of a general meeting may be counted on any vote at that meeting.
(7) Each year the secretary must publish in the Gazette the name of any member who since publication of an earlier list of members in good standing has ceased to be a member in good standing.
35 A person must not be admitted as an articled pupil in land surveying until the person satisfies the board of his or her knowledge of arithmetic, mensuration, algebra, plane and solid geometry, plane and spherical trigonometry, elementary physics, the use of logarithms and any other subjects specified by the bylaws.
36 (1) A candidate for admission as an articled pupil must
(a) apply in writing to the secretary, and
(b) pay the fees specified by the bylaws.
(2) The application must be filed at least one month before any preliminary examination the candidate is required to write.
37 A candidate for admission as an articled pupil who fails his or her examination may take a further examination on complying with section 36.
38 A candidate for admission as an articled pupil authorized to enter into articles must pay to the secretary the fee specified by the bylaws for a certificate of admission.
39 In accordance with and in the form of articles specified under the bylaws of the corporation, a pupil must be articled to a member in good standing.
40 (1) A pupil must serve under articles for a period of not more than 2 years and 9 months as determined by the board.
(2) A pupil's service under articles must include at least 12 months in the field in British Columbia.
41 (1) With the board's consent, a pupil articled to a member may transfer articles to or enter into fresh articles with another member in good standing.
(2) Application for the board's consent must be accompanied by written consent of the member whose pupil applies, unless the member cannot, in the board's opinion, carry out the member's part of the articles.
(3) On a transfer of articles or entry into fresh articles, the time already served by a pupil is to be counted as part of the term to be served by the pupil under section 40.
(4) A pupil who transfers articles or enters into fresh articles must pay to the corporation the transfer fee specified by the bylaws.
42 (1) With the board's consent, an articled pupil of a land surveyor who practises under lawful authority outside British Columbia may transfer articles to or enter into fresh articles with a member in good standing by paying the fees specified by the bylaws.
(2) A pupil who transfers articles under subsection (1) has the status of an articled pupil originally articled in British Columbia.
(3) That part of the time served under articles outside of British Columbia that the board determines counts as part of the term under section 40, but a pupil who has served outside of British Columbia must not serve less than 12 months in the field in British Columbia.
43 (1) An articled pupil in land surveying must not be admitted as a member until the pupil has passed the examinations set by the board in the subjects specified by the bylaws.
(2) A pupil may not take the final examination unless the pupil
(a) satisfies the board of the pupil's sobriety and probity, and that the pupil has for the specified time regularly and faithfully served as pupil under articles in accordance with this Act, or
(b) produces to the board a discharge from the pupil's articles in the form provided by bylaw.
(3) The board may permit a pupil to take the final examination if the period actually served by the pupil is not more than 30 days less than required under section 40.
(4) If subsection (3) applies to a pupil, the form of discharge from articles must be varied accordingly.
(5) A candidate who intends to take the final examination must give the secretary at least 60 days' notice, and at that time pay to the secretary the fee specified by the bylaws.
(6) A candidate who fails the examination may take a further examination on complying with subsection (5).
44 (1) A person who is or was authorized to practise as a land surveyor under the laws of Canada or of another province may be permitted by the board to take examinations established by the board for admission as a member if the person
(a) satisfies the board of the person's competence, sobriety and probity and that the person is or was in good standing in the other province, and
(b) gives at least 60 days' notice of the person's intention to take the examinations, and at that time pays to the secretary the fee specified by the bylaws.
(2) On passing the examinations and paying the further fees specified by the bylaws, the person must be admitted as a member.
45 A person must not be admitted as a member unless the person
(a) is at least 19 years old,
(b) is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, and
(c) satisfies the board that the person has passed all required examinations and has complied with all the prerequisites of this Act for admission.
46 (1) Immediately before admission to membership and before practising as a land surveyor, a candidate for membership must take and sign before a member of the board an oath or affirmation in writing in the form prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The oath or affirmation must be kept among the records of the corporation.
47 An admission to membership is to be effected by resolution of the board and entry of the member's name in a register of members kept by the secretary among the records of the corporation.
48 A person admitted as a member who has complied with every prerequisite of the right to practise as a land surveyor, and has paid the sums specified by the bylaws for a commission and for the entry of the person's name in the register of members, must be issued a commission in writing in the form provided by bylaw and signed by the secretary and at least one other member of the board.
49 (1) On or before January 31 in each year, a member must pay to the secretary the annual membership fee for that year set by this Act or by bylaw.
(2) A member continues to be liable for annual membership fees unless the person has resigned from membership.
(3) A member in good standing or a member whose name is on a list of nonpractising members may resign membership by notice in writing to the secretary, but is liable for the annual membership fee for the year in which the notice is given.
(4) A person who has resigned from membership may be readmitted as a member if the person
(a) applies in writing to the board,
(b) satisfies the board of the person's competence, and
(c) pays the annual membership fee for the year of application.
(5) A member of the corporation may not resign from membership while an inquiry or proceeding is pending under this Act about any act or conduct of that member.
(6) The resignation of a person from membership, and a notice given by the person under subsection (3)
(a) does not affect the exercise of a power of the board or a court under this Act in respect of that person or a matter or thing existing or done while the person was a member, and
(b) does not relieve the person from any punishment, penalty, liability or proceeding to which the person would otherwise be liable.
50 Subject to this Act and the bylaws, a land surveying company may carry on the business of providing land surveying services to the public through one or more persons each of whom is
(a) a member in good standing, or
(b) an employee of the land surveying company under the direct supervision of a member in good standing.
51 (1) The board must issue a land surveying company permit to a company that is incorporated under the Company Act and is in good standing under that Act if the board is satisfied that
(a) the name of the company includes the words "land surveying",
(b) all of the voting shares are legally and beneficially owned by a member or members in good standing,
(c) all of the nonvoting shares are legally and beneficially owned by
(i) members,
(ii) the spouse of a member who is a shareholder,
(iii) [Repealed 2000-24-25.]
(iv) a child, as defined in the Family Relations Act, of a member who is a shareholder, or
(v) any other relative of a member who is a shareholder, if the relative resides with that member,
(d) all of the directors of the company are members in good standing, and
(e) all of the persons who will be practising as land surveyors on behalf of the company are members in good standing or are under the direct supervision of a member in good standing.
(1.1) In subsection (1) (c) (ii), "spouse" means a person who
(a) is married to another person, or
(b) is living and cohabiting with another person in a marriage-like relationship, including a marriage-like relationship between persons of the same gender, and has been living and cohabiting in that relationship for a period of at least 2 years.
(2) The board may refuse to issue a permit under subsection (1) if
(a) the land surveying company has previously had its permit revoked, or
(b) a shareholder of the land surveying company was a shareholder of a land surveying company that previously had its permit revoked.
52 (1) A company that has the words "land surveying" as part of its name must not carry on any business unless it holds a permit.
(2) A land surveying company that holds a permit must not carry on any activities that would, for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada), give rise to income from business, except the provision of land surveying services or services that are directly associated with the provision of land surveying services.
(3) No act of a land surveying company, including a transfer of property to or by the company, is invalid only because the company contravenes subsection (1) or (2).
53 A shareholder of a land surveying company must not enter into a voting trust agreement, proxy or any other type of agreement that vests in another person who is not a member in good standing the authority to exercise the voting rights attached to any or all of the shares.
54 (1) The liability for professional negligence of a member carrying on the practice of land surveying is not affected by the fact that the member is carrying on that practice as an employee of a land surveying company.
(2) The relationship of a member to a land surveying company, whether as a shareholder, director, officer or employee of the company, does not affect, modify or diminish the application to the member of this Act and the bylaws.
(3) Nothing in this Act affects, modifies or limits any law applicable to the fiduciary, confidential or ethical relationships between a land surveyor and a person receiving the professional services of that land surveyor.
(4) The relationship between a land surveying company carrying on business as permitted under this Act and a person receiving land surveying services provided by the company is subject to all applicable law relating to the fiduciary, confidential and ethical relationships that exist between a member and the member's client.
55 (1) The board may, after a hearing, revoke the permit issued to a land surveying company if
(a) in the course of providing land surveying services the company does anything that, if done by a member, would be conduct unbecoming a member,
(b) the company contravenes section 52, or
(c) the company ceases to comply with a condition of qualification for a permit referred to in section 51 or a condition under section 56 (1) (c) or (2).
(2) Rather than revoking a permit under subsection (1), the board may
(a) reprimand one or more of the shareholders of the land surveying company, or
(b) impose a fine on the land surveying company in an amount of not more than $10 000.
(3) If a permit is revoked under this section, the board must inform the Registrar of Companies and the Registrar of Companies must amend the name of the company whose permit has been revoked
(a) by deleting the words "land surveying" from it, and
(b) by making any other amendments to it that the Registrar of Companies considers necessary or advisable.
(4) All shareholders, directors, officers and employees of a land surveying company may be
(a) compelled to give evidence at a proceeding under this Act, other than as a member against whom a proceeding is brought under section 60, or
(b) required to produce all files and records that are in their possession or power and that are relevant to matters raised in the proceeding referred to in paragraph (a).
56 (1) The board may make rules that it considers necessary or advisable for the purposes of sections 50 to 55, including rules
(a) respecting the issue and renewal of permits, including
(i) the establishment of a procedure to obtain a permit and a renewal of a permit, and
(ii) setting fees for the obtaining of a permit or a renewal of a permit,
(b) respecting procedures for revocation of permits, including the adaptation, in a manner that the board considers necessary or advisable, of rules respecting proceedings before the board,
(c) setting conditions that may be attached to permits that are issued or renewed under this Act,
(d) respecting names and the approval of names, including the types of names by which a land surveying company may be known, and
(e) respecting the disposition of shares of a shareholder of a land surveying company who
(i) ceases to be a member, or
(ii) remains a member but is not qualified to practise as a land surveyor.
(2) The board may, as a condition of issuing or renewing a permit, set an amount of insurance that the holder of the permit must carry or must provide to each of its employees for the purpose of providing indemnity against professional liability claims.
(3) The rules under subsection (1) or the amount set under subsection (2) may be different for different permit holders, at the discretion of the board.
57 The bylaws made under section 4 apply to land surveying companies, and the corporation and the board may exercise the powers given by this Act and the bylaws to enforce the bylaws made under section 4.
58 Sections 65 to 69 apply to a land surveying company as though it were a member.
59 (1) A person, other than a member in good standing, must not act or profess to act as a land surveyor or hold himself or herself out to the public or to a member of the public as being a land surveyor.
(2) A person, other than a member in good standing, must not use or display the designation "land surveyor", "B.C. Land Surveyor" or "British Columbia Land Surveyor" or the initials "B.C.L.S."
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence.
(4) This section does not apply to a land surveying company.
60 (1) If the board determines that a member has breached or is in breach of a bylaw of the corporation, the board may do one or more of the following by order:
(a) censure the member;
(b) suspend the member for a period, not longer than 6 months, that the board thinks fit;
(c) fine the member an amount not more than $3 000.
(2) If the board determines that a member has been guilty of unprofessional conduct, the board may do one or more of the following by order:
(a) censure the member;
(b) suspend the member for a period that the board thinks fit or expel the member;
(c) fine the member an amount not more than $5 000.
(3) Unprofessional conduct includes, among other things, falsification of documents and the negligent or improper performance of a professional duty.
(4) The board may expel from membership, or suspend for a period it thinks fit, a member convicted of a criminal offence which, in the board's opinion, involves moral turpitude.
(5) The board may order payment by a member whom it has found guilty of an offence, of the costs of any hearing relating to the offence, including the expenses of witnesses.
(6) The amount of the costs ordered under subsection (5) must be ascertained and certified by the secretary.
(7) The secretary must send a copy of a certificate made under subsection (6) to the offender.
(8) Within 10 days of receiving a certificate under subsection (7), an offender may appeal to the board by notice in writing.
(9) A decision of the board under subsection (8) is subject to further appeal under section 66.
(10) The board may, by order made at any time, suspend an offending member until the member pays any costs which the board has ordered the member to pay.
(11) The corporation may recover the costs as a debt by action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(12) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised against a member while the member is under suspension.
61 (1) Before censuring, suspending, expelling or fining a member, the board must summon the member to appear before them by summons signed by the secretary, or, in the secretary's absence, by 2 members of the board, giving the member reasonable notice and indicating with reasonable particularity the matters the member will be called on to answer.
(2) If a member fails to appear as required by a summons, the board may proceed in the member's absence and make any order or decision it could have made if the member were present.
62 (1) By a summons issued in the same way as a summons under section 61, the board may require
(a) the attendance of a witness at a hearing involving the conduct of a member, and
(b) the production of any records.
(2) The board may examine witnesses under oath.
(3) A summons issued by the board has the force of a subpoena issued out of the Supreme Court.
(4) A witness who disobeys a summons issued by the board or refuses to be sworn or give evidence is liable, on application to the Supreme Court, to attachment, fine or other punishment the court thinks fit.
63 (1) The board has full power to inquire into a suspected breach of a bylaw or unprofessional conduct by a member, and, without any complaint having been made, may summon the member to appear before the board for examination as to the matters specified in the summons.
(2) On return of the summons or at an adjournment of the hearing, the board may examine the member on oath.
(3) If a member is summonsed under this section, the board may punish the member under section 60 if the member
(a) fails to appear before the board,
(b) refuses to be sworn, or to answer questions put to the member to the board's satisfaction, or
(c) is found by the board, on examination or on the evidence of witnesses, to have been guilty of breach of a bylaw or of unprofessional conduct.
(4) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised against a member while the member is under suspension.
(5) In proceedings under this section a member of the board is not disqualified merely because the board proceeded on its own motion or at the instance of a member of the board.
(6) In proceedings under this section all members of the board, whether initiators of the proceedings or not, are entitled to sit and adjudicate at any hearing.
64 Any number of offences or of alleged or suspected offences may be dealt with at one hearing and disposed of in one order.
65 If a member has been expelled from membership or suspended
(a) the secretary must enter the suspension or expulsion against the name of the member in the register of the corporation, and
(b) a notice of the suspension or expulsion must be published in the Gazette within 15 days of the board ordering the suspension or expulsion.
66 An order or decision of the board under section 34, 60, 61 or 63 may be appealed, by the member affected or by a complainant, to the Supreme Court.
67 (1) An appeal to the Supreme Court under section 66 must be made by service of a notice of appeal, containing the grounds of appeal, within 30 days from the date the appellant first had notice of the board's order or decision, or if notice of the order or decision is published in the Gazette, within 30 days of the publication.
(2) The notice of appeal must be served on the board and on the complainant or member against whom the complaint was made, as the case may be.
(3) Within 10 days after service of notice of appeal, the appellant must
(a) set down the appeal for hearing as though it were a trial,
(b) deposit a record of all proceedings before the board for the use of the court, and
(c) provide a copy of the record to each respondent.
68 (1) On the hearing of an appeal, the court must proceed on the record of the proceedings before the board, unless the court, for special reasons, directs further evidence to be received.
(2) On the hearing of an appeal, the court may review the decision of the board on the facts and the law, and reverse or confirm all or part of it, or remit the proceedings to the board for a rehearing.
(3) The court may reverse a decision only if it appears that substantial justice has not been done.
(4) On the hearing of an appeal, the court has a discretion like that of the board and may
(a) make any order which the board should have made,
(b) modify a penalty imposed, or
(c) impose the penalty which the board should have imposed.
(5) Appeals must be heard in the City of Victoria or of Vancouver, unless otherwise agreed by the board and the parties concerned.
69 An order or decision of the board must not be quashed or reviewed by any means other than an appeal as provided in this Act.
70 On application of the board and on being satisfied that there is reason to believe that there is or will be a contravention of this Act, the Supreme Court may grant an injunction restraining a person from continuing or committing the contravention, and, pending disposition of the action seeking the injunction, the court may grant an interim injunction.
71 An action may not be brought against the board or a member of it for anything done in good faith in pursuance or intended pursuance of this Act.
72 Copies of records of the corporation certified under the signature of the secretary and the seal of the corporation are admissible in all courts in British Columbia as evidence of the original records.
73 All fees, fines, penalties and costs receivable or recoverable under this Act, other than under section 59, or a bylaw are the property of the corporation.
74 Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or to the bylaws of the corporation.
Copyright (c) 2001: Queen’s Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada