The impact of capital gains changes on engineering firms. An engineer was suspended for unprofessional conduct in relation to engineering services. Engineers call for more building-plan checks in wake of Moncton engineer's suspension. These were the most-read stories in the Daily Media Report at the beginning of July.
The impact of capital gains changes on engineering firms. The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC-Canada) has expressed concern to the federal government about changes to the capital gains inclusion rate, which it says will have a disproportionate impact on small, employee-owned consulting engineering firms. ACEC says these changes could directly impact its members who own shares in their firms, discourage employees from ownership and complicate firms’ succession plans.
Suspension for unprofessional conduct. John Van Dyk, P.Eng., admitted that he demonstrated unprofessional conduct in relation to the engineering services he provided for the inspection and approval of formwork and falsework for a building in Colwood, BC. Van Dyk relied on incorrect drawings, failed to inspect the formwork and falsework immediately before the concrete pour, authenticated a field review report when he had not visited the site that year, and failed to create or maintain adequate documentation of his inspection of the Project site. His license has been suspended for three months, he must successfully complete educational courses, and he has paid $3,000 in legal fees to Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
Engineers call for more building-plan checks. Engineers call for more independent reviews of building plans, particularly from single-person firms, to help catch potential mistakes. This topic has received a lot of scrutiny following the suspension of an engineer in Moncton, whose work had serious deficiencies. Building plans are approved by municipalities and checked during construction, but engineers say more P. Engs should be reviewing building plans. They feel that municipalities typically don't have the staff or resources to provide scrutiny, such as checking a set of drawings to determine if the concrete is thick enough and if there's enough reinforcing steel.
