Bill 31 (Legislature 6, Session 2)

L6 S2 9114

Alberta — Bills

BILL No. 31 of 1928.

An Act to Provide a Board to Deal with the Discipline of Professions. (Assented to ,1928.) HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as "The Professional Discipline Act." 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- (a) "Appropriate Act'" shall mean that one of the Acts, mentioned in the

schedule hereto, which controls the profession or calling of the person whose conduct is being inquired into, under the provisions of this Act; ( b) "Disciplinary power" shall mean the power to re move or strike off the name of any member of any profession from the register, or to expel any such member or to forfeit his license or to !'\trike him from the roll or to dismiss him or to erase his name 01' to revoke his certificate or in any other way to prevent him from practising his profession or call ing, either permanently or temporarily; or to sub ject him to any pecuniary or other penalty; (c) "Governing body" shall mean the body to which, by any Act in the

schedule hereto, the general govern ment or control of a profession or calling'is com- mitted. , 3. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint a Board of such number of persons as may seem proper to him, which shall be known as "The Professional Discipline Board," and shall have such powers as are conferred upon it by the provisions of this Act. 4. The Board may at any time, formulate a rule defining unprofessional conduct, with reference to any of the Acts mentioned in the

schedule hereto, or setting out that any conduct described in the said rule does or does not constitute unprofessional conduct, which rule upon being published in The Alberta Gazette, shall notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, render the conduct therein described un professional conduct or not, as the case may be, within the meaning of the appropriate Act.

2 5. Where the appropriate Act confers no discipli~ary powers, the Board shall have power, either of its own mo tion, or upon complaint of any person, to deprive, either temporarily or permanently, any member of any professio;n or calling of the privileges granted by the said Act, upon finding him guilty of unprofessional conduct, or otherwise unfitted for any reason whatsoever, to practise his profes sion or calling. 6.-

(1) Where the appropriate Act contains disciplinary powers, then if any complaint is made to the Board that any member of any profession or calling dealt with by such Act has been guilty of unprofessional conduct or is other wise howsoever unfitted to practise his profession or calling, the Board shall refer the complaint to the governing body, if any, of such profession or calling, for investigation, and for such action within its powers as may appeal' to such governing body to be propel'. •

(2) The Board may also, of its own motion, refer any similar case to the said governing body.

(3) When any such case is l'efered to any governing body, it shall as soon as possible, inquire into the same, and shall make a report to the Board of the facts of the case as found by it, and of its finding, and action with respect thereto. . 7.

If it appears to the Board th{1t any complaint coming before any governing body whether upon a' reference by the Board or· not was not duly investigated, or that the disciplinary powers of the governing body were inade~ quate to deal satisfactorily with the case, or were exercised too leniently, then it shall have power of its own motion, and at its uncontrolled discretion to find, after due investi gation, the person complained of guilty of unprofessional conduct, or otherwise unfitted to practise his profession or calling, and shall have power to deprIve him, either tem porarily or permanently, of the privileges granted to him by the Act by Which his profession or calling is controlled, and to fine him the sum, of not more than one thousand dol lars; either in addition to or in lieu of any such deprivation. 8.

Any person whose conduct has been inquired into under the provisions of this Act 01' of any of the Acts men tioned in the

schedule hereto, shall have such right of appeal as is given by the appropriate Act: Provided, however, that if any governing body has exer cised its disciplinary powers in respect of

an act not in volving moral turpitude, on the ground that such act con stitutes unprofessional conduct, then in lieu of taking any such appeal the person disciplined may within one month from the date of such exercise of disciplinary powers, notify the governing authority that he intends to appeal to the Board, and the said governing authority shall, if it has not

3 already done so, make a report to the Board of the facts of the case as found by it, and of its finding and action with respect thereto, whereupon the Board shall, notwithstand ing the provisions of any other Act, have power to decide whether such conduct does or does not involve moral turpi tude, and whether it in fact constitutes unprofessional con duct or not. 9.

Notwithstanding the prOVISIOns of any other Act, whenever the Board exercises its disciplinary powers so as to permanently deprive any person of the privileges granted to him by the appropriate Act, such person shall not be restored to the privileges of his profession or calling, until the said Board has inquired into the case and directed such restoration. 10. The Board shall have authority to hear or determine all questions of law or of fact. 11.

The Board shall, as respects the administering of oaths, affirmations or declarations, amendment of proceed ings, the summoning of: witnesses, the enforcement of their attendance, and the compelling of them to give evidence, the production and inspection of documents, the enforce ment of its orders, the payment of costs and all other mat ters llecessary or proper for the due exercise of its juris diction or otherwise for carrying any of its powers into effect, have all such powers, rights and privileges as are vested in the Supreme Courf of Alberta. , 12.

The person complained of shall be a compellable witness. 13. The Board may in its discretion accept and act upon evidence by affidavit or written affirmation or by the report made by any governing authority or any other p~rsons or person to whom the Board may delegate the auty of,report ing to it. 14. All hearings and investigations before the Board shall be govel'l1ed by rules adopted by the Board and in the conduct thereof the Board shall not be bound by the tech nical rules of legal evidence .. 15.

No person shall be excused from testifying or from produciJ1g any book, document, or paper in any investiga tion 01' inquiry, by or upon the hearing before said Board, whell ordered so to do by the Board, upon the ground that the testimony or evidence, book, document or paper required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to dis ciplinary powel'S, or may tend to establish his liability to a civil proceeding at the instance of the Crown or of any per-

4 son or to prosecution under any statute, but the answer so given if it be such as tends to criminate' him shall not be used or receivable against him in any civil proceedings or in any proceeding under any other Act of Alberta. 16. There shall be no appeal from any decision of the Board nor shall the same be questioned in any court of law. 17. The Board shall have the power in hearing anYI case submitted to it under the provisions of this Act, to request any member or members of the profession or calling of which the accused is a member, to sit with the said Board as an assessor or as assessors. 18.

The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall have power to place any Act in the "Schedule, and to add any Act to the schedule, and to remove any Act from the schedule. SCHEDULE. 1 ................................................. . 2 ........... , .................•.•..•••...•.•.•.••... 3. 4 .............. . etc.

No. 31. SECOND SESSION SIXTH LEGISLATURE 18 GEORGE V 1928 BILL

An Act to Provide a Board to Deal with the Discipline of Professions. Received and read the First time ................. " .. Second time ............. , .... , Third time .... , " ' ...... , .... . HON. MR. HOADLEY. EDMONTON: W. D. McLEAN, ACTING KINO'S PRIHua A.D. 1928 Title: 1928 (6th, 2nd) Bill 31,

An Act to Provide a Board to Deal with the Discipline of Professions

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L6 S2 9114
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L6 S2 9114
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	33599b5f99d0635f481cd738ba6526b552b70f91

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