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Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics, Fourth Edition
by Gordon C. Andrews
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\
Canadian
Professional Engineering
and Geoscience
Practice and Ethics
Canadian
Professional Engineering
and Geoscience
Practice and Ethics
FOURT H EDITION
Gordon C. Andrews
University of Waterloo
NI=L~nN / 1= nile A TID N

AB OUT THE COVER AND
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: an, dl. n Prof sslonat Engine eri ng and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics. Fourth Edition
by Gordon C. Andrew s
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UT THE COVER AND FRONTI SPIE CE
ONTISPIECE -CANADARM2 P R EFA CE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

~ fronti spi ece is a ph ot o graph o f th e C a n ad ia n robot arm on th e
ern a tio na l Spa c Sta tio n (ISS), which is in orbit ab out 400 km (250 mil es)
ive th e ear t h . Th e techni cal n am e fo r t he robot arm is the Spa ce Stat io n
n ot e Manipul at or Syst nn (SSRMS); its wo rki ng n ame is Ca na d a rm2, and it
. lar ger ve rsio n o f I he a na da rm- t he robot a rm in st all ed on the America n
ice ~ h u t l le s . T h e a nada rm Z is p art o f C a n ad a 's co n t rib u t io n to th e
crua tlon al Spa ce Sta tion a n d was designed for the Ca n ad ia n Spa ce Agen cy
;A) by M I) Robot lcs of Bram pt on, O n tario. . . .. .
Th e robot an n is .sscn fial for asse m b ling the space sta tio n and identlfics
nad a as a ke y partn e r in th e pr oj ect. Ca n ad a co n t rib u te d th e Mobile
v ic ing Sys te m (MSS), w hi ch is m ad e up o f three pa rts: a m o vable base,
led I he Mo bi l ' Ilase Syste m (M ilS); the Ca na da rm2; a n d the Spe cia l Purpose Thi s textboo k introduces e ngi nee rs a n d geoscien tists to the st ruc t u re, pra c-
x t ro us Ma nlp u lato r (SI'DM), kn own as Dextre. Ca n ada also co n t rib u te d the lice, and et hics of their profession s a n d e nco urages them to apply et h ica l co n-
nadlan Spa ce Visio n Sys te m (CSVS), which permits obj ect s outside th e c .pts in th eir professional liv es. It is a comprehensive reference for e n gi nee rs
IC ' sla tion 10 he locat ed acc u ra tely by t h e Ca n ad a rm 2 o pe ra to r. Ca n ad ia n a nd ge o scie n tists in an y branch of these professions, in an y provin ce or terri-
a c Age lICY astro na ut h ris Hadfield in stalled the Ca na d a rm2 o n the space lory of Ca n ad a. Th e book is intended for practising professionals, rece n t grad-
tlon ill Ap ril DOl. uat es, se n io r undergraduat es, a n d immigrants w ho wish to pra cti se e nginee ring
Th e p ho togra ph shows Ca n ad ia n as tro n a u t a n d mi ssion specialis t Dave or geoscie n ce in Ca n ad a . Th e book is a n excellent stu d y gu ide for the pr actice
ill la m s, represent ing the Ca n ad ia n Space Agen cy, a nc hored o n the foo t a nd e t h ics pa rt o f the Professional Practi ce Exa m ina tio n (I'I'E) required for
uralnt of th e C llwd a rm2 as h e participat ed in the secon d sess io n o f the licensing in every province a n d territor y.
Ira Veh ic u la r Activ i ty (EVA) for mi ssion STS-11 8 o n Au gus t 13, 2007.
sisti ng Will iam s was Ric k Ma str acchio (who is out o f the frame) . During the ORGAN IZ AT IO N AND OUTLINE
ho u r, 2H-lll illllle space wa lk, th e tw o rem oved a faulty co n t ro l m oment
ros co pc ( tvH;-:{) wit h a m ass o f 600 kg (1,320 lbs.), a nd in stall ed a n ew Thi s text is o rga nized into five pa rt s, covering four key as pects o f pr acti ce a n d
vI J . Th e new gyro scope is o ne o f four CM Gs th at are used to co n t ro l the
(,thi es, and a fin al part d escribing t he p rof ession al practice exa m .
hit al a tt it ude of t he sta t io n . Williams to ok part in t h ree of the four space-
Ilks, t h e hi gh est nu m ber of space walks performed so far in a single mi ssion, P rt On e-Pro f e s s io n a l Licensing and Regulation
Id s pe lll a tnt al o f 17 h ours and 47 minutes in EVA ac tivity, a Ca n ad ia n Th e first five ch a pters d escribe th e hi story, st ruc t ure, a n d ad m in istr a tio n of
: o rd . I'lig inee rin g a n d geoscie nce in Ca na da. A licence is required to practise these
Th e s pace s ta tio n is a trul y intern ati on al pr oj ect , co ns t ruc te d b y the p ro fessio ns, a n d thi s part d escribes the licensin g Acts (or laws), th e
l it -d Sta te s, Russia, 11 Euro pea n co u n tries, Ja pa n, Brazil, a n d Ca n ada. In Assoc iat io n s esta b llsh ed .to e n fo rce those Act s; t he licensin g p ro cess, a n d th e
turn for anada's co n tr ib u tio n , Ca n ad ia n research e rs will h ave proportional ,1\ adc m ic a n d ex pe rie nce requ iremen ts fo r ad m iss io n. Th e Ac ts require
e o f the statio n . O nce a ll o f th e co m pone n ts a n d so lar panel s h ave been llrvn sed p ro fessio n als to maintain th ei r co m pe te n ce, and eve ry Asso ciation
sta lled, th e space sta tio n will h av e a m ass of 450 tonn es and will co ve r an lias a (ma n da to ry or voluntar y) co m pete nce assuran ce program . Th l'
ea eq u a l to a Ca nad ia n football field . . Asso .iat io n s al so have the authori ty to di scip line unethica l, n egltg uu t , o r
Th e Intern ati onal Space Stati on ha s been occupi ed by astronauts since luco m pc te n t pra ctitione rs. Associations ar e n ot techn ica l so cie ties , hut sllci-
ove m ber 2000 a nd or b its the ea rt h a bo ut every 92 minutes. It is visible with I,tl('s a re impo rtant, as t hey assis t professio na ls by stim u la t ing r .scarch a nd
ic naked ey e as a m o vin g star in th e ni ght s ky. The CSA w eb site pllbli shi ng new th eor ies, techniques, a n d sta nda rds . In additi on , III 'St' ch a p-
vww.s pace.gc.ca> provides lin ks to o rb it d at a a n d sighting times (u n der the It'rs i nc lude t h e follow ing:
u cr natlo na l Space Sta tio n h eadin g), a n d much m or e information a bou t
d nuda's sa te llites a n d sp ace program .
CIUlI)ters 1 and 2 (Introduction and Regulation) d escr ibe th e
In spiri ng ac h ieve me n ts o f both professions in Ca nada, m a rred o n ly by til e
Iragi c case hi stories t hat c rea ted public demand for regu lati on-th e Q ue bec
Itd ll",. ("(\ I I ~' I\ \': /l :,, 1£1 th n Itrf\ _V f l··.ll ll t
: ACE TO THE FOURT H EDITIO N PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDIT IO N ix
ChalJter 3 (Continuing Professional De v elopment) ex plai ns th e Part Thre e-Pro f e s s io n a l Ethics

im por tan ce o f profession al co m pe te nce, a nd ho w to ac h ieve it th rou gh These four cha pte rs ex plain th e basic princ iples o f ethics and justi ce, appl y
co n tin u ing professional develo pme n t (CPD). I hem to co m mon em ploy me n t, man agem ent, a nd co ns ulting sit uat io ns, a nd
Chapte r 4 (DiscilJlinary Powers and Procedures) defin es profes-
Illustrate th em with 16 case st ud ies a nd three case hi stories.
sio na l misconduct a nd revi ews th e disciplinary process. Th e ch a pte r co n-
cludes wit h the case history of th e Burnaby su pe rmarket roof collapse, Chapter 11 (Principles of Ethics and Justice) explains four well-
whi ch led to cha nges in th e licen sin g laws. es ta blish ed et h ica l th eor ies and the basi c prin ciples of ju sti ce. The
Chapfer 5 (Technic al Societies) di scu sses the key ro le of technical c ha pter di scu sses and co m pares the Codes of Ethics mandated by th e
societies, lists man y societies by disciplin e, includin g chari table, honor ary, licensi ng Assoc iatio ns, a nd proposes a six-s te p st rategy for so lving eth ical
and stude n t soc ieties, an d describes th e Iron Ring a nd Earth Sciences Ring prob lems. Mos t read ers find this ch apte r en ligh te n ing, as it links th eor y
ritu als to we lco me new me m be rs in to our pr ofession s. to pract ice.
Ch a p t e r 12 (Et h ics in Professional Employment) exa m ines ethica l
issu es in profess iona l em ploy me n t, suc h as unethical man agers, lab our
rt Two-Professional Pr actice
activities, a nd co n flicts of in te rest. The cha pte r includes five case stud ies,
ese five cha pte rs give esse n t ial, basic, pra ctica l knowled ge need ed by pro - and closes with t he Cha lle nger sp ace sh u tt le ca se hi st ory-a dis ast er
sio na ls. A wid e variety o f relevant topi cs are g ro u ped un der a ppro p riate caused wh en an eng ineer's advice was ov er-ru led by a manager.
adin gs. • Chapte r 13 (Ethics in Management) exam ine s typical issue s in man -
age me n t, suc h as ad herin g to th e licen sing Act, hiring, di smi ssal ,
Chapter 6 (Basic Concept s of Professional P r u c t fce ) describes pro-
review ing performan ce, an d co n flict of interest. Th e ch apte r includes six
fessiona l wor kin g co nditio ns , sa la ry ex pec ta tio ns, respo nsi b ility levels,
case stud ies, as well as th e case hi sto ry o f th e Vanco uve r Seco n d Narrows
promotio n op tio ns, the sign ifica nce of th e p rofession al seal, and ho w and
Bridge co llapse, illu str ating th e importan ce of chec king plan s and calcu-
wh e n to use th e sea l. lat ion s t horo ug h ly.
Ch a p ter 7 (Prfvate Practice, Co nsu lti n g, and nusiness) describes
• Ch a p t e r 14 (Ethics in Private Pra ctice and Co n su lti n g ) exa mines
th e ben efit s o f priva te practice; encourages th e pro fessio nal to co ns ide r pri-
eth ica l issu es in co ns ult ing, suc h as clien t-consu lta n t relatio ns h ips, adve r-
va te pra cti ce as a caree r; an d ex plains th e basic ste ps in do ing so, including
tising, co m pe titive bidding, co n fide n t iality, con flict o f interest , an d more.
licen sin g, bu sin ess form at s, assistan ce availabl e, a nd th e Qua lity -Based
The chapte r includes five case stud ies, as well as th e inspi ring case hi story
Selec tio n (t lIS) process for co nsu ltan ts. of co n su ltan t William LeMe ssurier a nd th e Citic o rp Tower.
ChnlJte r H (linzards, Liability, Sta n d a rds, and Sa fety) gives
hu po rra u t adv ice for avoid in g ha zard s a nd liabilit y by usin g sta n da rds to
vn surv saf -ty. Safely is a cr it ica l matte r for professionals, so thi s cha pte r p, rt Four-En v iro n m e n t a l Practice and Ethic s
lnc lud vs a co m p re he n sive sec tio n o n Occu pa tio na l Heal th a nd Safety l'lrcse three cha pte rs di scu ss th e pro fessional 's d uty to protec t th e env iro n-
(O i lS) Il'gisla lio n, a nd two import an t case hi st ori es-the Rivt o w Mar in e uu-nt, an d illust rat e th e impor tan ce of ethica l decision s by describing present
i1 IH I i l u- Wesl ray Min e-in w h ich unsafe pr acti ces led to fina nc ia l loss , II III pot ent ia l env iro n men ta l threat s, a nd exa m in ing seve ra l we ll- kn o w n
and deali l. r-nvi ro n me n tu l d isast er s. Sus tai nab le th inkin g is the key to e ns ur ing th e
Ch n p ter 9 (Com lnaters, Soft w a re, and Int ell e c tual P roper-ty)
lul urc q ua lity o f o u r env iro n me n t:
cx p lnius liabil ity a nd et hica l probl em s rela ted to co m pute rs, a nd gives
ad vice for IIsin g co m me rcial softwa re and avoidin g softwa re pira cy. Th e ChalJter 15 (Environmental Ethics) rev iews th e professiona l's dill y
ch a p te r su m ma rizes intell ectua l property laws, includin g co py righ t, 10 prot ect th e en viro n me n t, the vari ou s laws and guidelin es tha t appl y,
pat ents, indu stri al de sign s, int egrat ed circu its, and trademarks. Case hi s- an d th e dut y to report un ethical beh aviour, often ca lled "w h istI '-
tories o n th e Ha rt fo rd Arena co llapse and pat ent in frin gem ent illu str at e bl ow i ng. "
th e co nce pts. ChalJter 16 (Envi r o n m e n t a l T h r e a ts and Disasters ) d 's rib es
Chapter 10 (Fa i rn ess a nd Eq u ity in the Professional WorklJlace) Ina ny th reat s to Ca nada's env iro n me n t. Th e cha pte r closes wit h two very
exp lai ns th at ha rassme nt and discrimi na tio n a re n ot accepta b le in o ur I horo ug h case hi sto ries o n toxic polluti on and nucl ear safe ty, sho wing
profession. Suc h behaviour is illega l under th e Ca nad ian Crim inal Code how un safe practi ces ca n eas ily lead to traged y.
a nd human righ ts legislati on. The ch apte r includes th ree case st ud ies co n- Ulilpter l7 (Envi ro n m e n tal Sust a in a b ilit y ) defines susta inability
a III I J,:iv , . a bri ·f hist o ry of susta ina ble thinking; reviews climate change,
:EFACE TO THE FOUR TH EDITI ON PREFA CE TO THE FO URTH EDITION xi
the depleti on of fossil fuels, and how to m ake o u r lifest yle sus ta ina ble; C-Cod es o f Eth ics from man y technica l so cieties;
a nd closes with the Lad yfern Natura l Gas Field case h ist ory. D- NSPE guide lines on work ing co nd itio ns fo r professiona l e m ployees;
• E-Over o ne hundred mo re ass ign me n ts a nd d isc ussion topics, orga n ized
by ch ap te r;
art Five-Exam Preparation F-Twe n ty -five d eta iled cas e st ud ies, with t he aut hor's recomm end ed
Ch a pte r 18 (Writing the Professional Practice Ex a m ) d escribes so lu t io ns; a nd
th e Professi onal Practice Exa m ina tio n (PPE) sy lla b us a n d fo rma t, b u t G-Two art icles: "Reducing Hazard s in Des ign" and "Getti ng Sta rted in
shou ld be o f valu e to anyo ne pr ep aring to w rite a n y et hics ex a m. The Co nsulti ng."
cha p te r sugges ts a ge ne ra l technique-the EGAD! strategy - for writ in g
essay- ty pe et h ics exa ms , an d includes abo u t 30 practi ce q ues t io ns , many
with a ns wers. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wo u ld like to t hank the ma n y crea tive peo ple w ho provid ed assis ta nce o r
EATURES adv ice in w riting th is textbook, as we ll as everyone who gav e permission to
publi sh co py righ ted m at eri al.
'h is co m p rehe nsive textbook is a referen ce fo r pra cti sin g eng inee rs and geo -
I wou ld a lso like to acknow ledge many others who assiste d m e in writ ing
de n t ists, and is su ita ble for individua l study o r classroom use. Th e Fourth
tltl' three ea rlier ed itio n s o f thi s text book . I a m indebted to th e followin g for
.clition ha s the followin g features: past ass istance: Scott Du nca n, Sara h Du nca n, Sema reh Al-Hilla l, Su Mei Ku,
The writing sty le is logical and readable. lohn D. Ke mper, Ken Na uss , G ra n t Bou ndy, Ste p he n j ack, Geo rges Lozano,
Th e coverage includes every pro vince and territ or y in Ca nad a. Wl'lIdy Ryan-Baco n, G.A. Bernard, E.IC Co rne ll, Den nis Broo ks, John Ga rtne r,
Th e topics have been com p lete ly reorgani zed to gro up t he m logicall y. ( :, Pet er j on es, Ha rold Mack lin, Go rdo n Siemon, AI Schu ld, Ke n t Fletc her, Elvis
All chap te rs have been revised, updat ed , a n d th o rou ghl y rew ritten. 1(i IlU X, Richard Fu rst, An ita Direnfe ld, Larr y G ill, Lau rie Mac do na ld, C h ris
A new cha p te r on t he im po rtan t topi c o f e nviro n ment a l sus ta ina bility has I. O il, Jerr y M. Whiting, Norm an Ball, Dick van Heeswijk, Judith Dlmi t riu .
been ad de d. I)avid Frost, Gilles Y. Delisle, Richard Th iba ult, Andrew Latus, Debora h Wol fe,
The cha p te r o n eth ical th eories ha s been ex pa nded to incl ude principl es I arc n Ma rtinso n, Ma rie Ca rte r, Marc Bourgeoi s, David Bu rn s, th e lat e Ala n
o f justi ce. I\'i1 e, lIeth Weckm an , He rb Ratz, Ro yd on Fraser, Dw igh t Ap lev ich, t he lat e
Thirtee n case hi st o ries of ac tua l eve n ts illu st rat e that un ethical pr acti ces I oi l hy Rocn spi ess, Evelyn Veit ch, An tho ny Rezek , Joanne Sut he rla nd, Terr i
ca n lend to pe rso nal tragedy or di sast er. ltorhm an , Susa n Calvert, and Matth ew Kudelka.
Ov er 20 cas e stud ies pose reali sti c ethica l p robl em s, ask rende rs to sugges t I a m indebted to many reviewers who read th e Third Editio n a nd co n-
the appro p ria te co u rse of ac tio n, and th en rc o m mend a so lu t io n . I rlh u tcd adv ice, opi nion s, and eva luatio ns t hat were cr it ica lly important in
Abou t :W ty pical ex a m inati o n questi on s, from seve ral provinces, ass ist llilpin g th e cha pte r organi zation and co n te n t o f thi s Fourt h Ed it io n . The
read ers wh o are pr ep aring fo r th e Professional Pract ice Exa m ina tio n. «-vlcwcrs were Judith Dim itriu of Ryerson University, David Frost o f McGill
Per son al advice is in clud ed to gu ide yo u ng professionals in p la n n ing th ei r t iu lvc rsu y, Gilles Y. Delisle of t he Un iver sity o f Ottawa, IIrian Orcnd o f th e
ca ree rs. I Iu lvcrsity of Water loo, A.O.A bd EI Halim of Ca rleto n Un ive rsity, and N.S.W.
Professional pra cti ce is illu str at ed from seve ra l persp ect ives, with the eng i- (Nor m ) Wi lliam s. I a lso app reciated th e ext e ns ive inp u t from Milt Petruk,
neer o r geoscien tis t as em ployee, as manager, or in pri vat e pra cti ce. ~ \' u l a g l' r, Exa minat ion s, APEGGA, a n d th e m ember s o f th e Profcssionul
Top ics for furth er study and dis cu ssion are at the e nd o f eac h cha pte r, and 1'1 utl cc Exa m Co m m ittee, wh o reviewed th e d raft manu script.
many more are available o n th e textbook's web sit e. Slucc rc th a n ks a re direct ed to th e licen sin g Associations and Ordres for
1'lIgll1l'e rillg a nd geos c ie nc e in eve ry prov ince a nd te rrito ry fo r th eir kind
l'h e web sit e accompan ying th e textbook (www.andrews4e.nclson .com ) co n-
II slsta ucc, and to Eng inee rs Ca nada, wh ich p ro vid ed useful sta tistics. III pa r-
.a ins over 300 addi tional pages of material, includin g: lind aI', I wou ld like to thank Debora h Wo lfe, Director, Ed uc a tto n, O utreac h
A-Links to all provin cial and territorial licen sing Assoc iatio ns ; ,11 11 1 kescnrch : Sa ma n t ha Co lasa n te, Manager, Research; and Marc Bourgeo is,
B-Im porta n t excerp ts from th e Acts that regu lat e e ng ine ering and geo - ~ \' lI l a g e r, Co m m u n ica tio ns . Mu ch-appreciat ed informa tio n O il th e h istory o f
science, in cluding Co des of Et h ics, admission crite ria, d efini tions of pro- 11 11' Ca nad ia n o u nc il o f Professiona l Geoscie n t ists wa s received fro m
fessio na l mi scon du ct , a n d di sciplinary po wers fo r a ll p ro vin ces a nd 1)1 , (; orc!OIl n. W illia ms, form er presid ent o f CC PG. Wanda Ilo we o f CC O I IS
" p r ri t () ri p ~ ' 1111 1 St -uhanie G rav o f A E ulad lv resn ondcd to ren ucsts for info rma tion .
EFA CE TO THE FOURTH EDITIO N
c h a rd Furst o f PEO a n d Harry McBrid e, form erl y of APEGBC, p ro vided ge n- C O N T EN T S

o us advi ce for past ed itlo ns . included again in thi s ed it io n .
Chapte r 10 wa s co n t rib u ted by Dr. Moniqu e Frize, P.Eng . O .c., Professor
I th e Facult y o f Engin ccr ing, U n iversi ty o f O tta wa and Ca rle to n Uni ver sit y,
id form erl y t he NSEI{C/No rte l Ch a ir for Wom en in Scienc e a n d Engineering

)ntario) . Dr, Ro yd on l'r ascr o f th e U n ive rsi t y of Waterloo co lla bo ra te d in
rilin g h api cr 17, a n d De n n is Burnin gham , a p etrol eum e nginee r in
rilain , co n t ri bu ted m an y useful in sights for that ch apter. I a m very gra te fu l
ir th eir help . I received ad v ice and e n co u rage m e n t from Wat erloo co lle ague s
w ig h t Ap lcvl c h a n d Ca ro lyn Ma cgr egor, and from co lleagues Dr. Harold
'av is, P.Eng. (UII ), Steve n Brow n , P.Geo. (Calga ry) , Toi vo Roht (Ma n o tick),
nd Jo n Legg (O t tawa) .
Th e co n t ribu tio n o f Ne lso n Edu cation Ltd . staff m embers was c ritically
np ort ant a nd 11111 h a p p rec iate d . Although I ha ve not per sonall y m et all o f
ic p .o pl ' in vo lv ed in ac q u isitio n , development, photogr aph s, permissions, I"ART ONE- P ROFESS IONA L LI CENSING AND REGULATION
[lpy ed iting, cove r design. p roduction, and marketing, [ th ank th em for their
rent i vc a n d pr o fession al wo rk . [ se n d spec ia l thanks to El ke Price, Senior Chal, t e r 1 Introduction to the Professions 1
icvcl opm cut ul Ed ito r, w ho provide d exce ll en t co m m u n ication a n d su ppo rt An In spiring Legacy 1
uri Ilg t h e un exp ect edl y length y rewriting, and to Paul Pam , Exec u ti ve Ed ito r, Eng ineerin g a n d Ge oscie n ce in Ca n ad a 8
Iigh ' I' Ed u 'a tio n , w ho m onitored and reso lved seve ra l key probl ems during The Tec h n ica l Team 12
he gestut lo n o f th is ed itio n . Int rod uct io n to Case Histori es 15
Fina lly, I wo u ld like to ex p ress m y thanks and a p p recia t io n to m y wife, I )isc ussio n To pi cs a n d Assignments 25
so be llc, for h er co m pa n io ns h ip a n d unwavering su p por t during the writing No tes 26
nd rev isio n o f th ' m anusc rip t.
Chap t e 2 Regulation of En g in ee r in g a nd Geoscie n ce 29
The Evolu tio n of Engi nee ring and Geo scie nce Licen sin g 29
i o rdo n . Anclr 'ws Provin cia l and Territorial Act s 33
ul y 1, 200 1-1 I.('ga l Defin iti o ns o f Enginee ring a n d Geosc ience 34
Provi nc ia l a n d Territori al Associa tio n s 37
Ad m issio n to Eng ine e ring 38
Ad mi ssio n to Ge osc ie n ce 45
( :ana dia n a nd Intern ati onal Mobility Agree men ts 46
t.kcn sin g of Corpo ra t io n s 47
Co ns u lt in g Eng inee rs 48
Tilt, Professio na l Sea l 49
I ht ' Co d e o f Et h ics 41
En force mc n t a nd Disci p line 50
Engi nl'c rs Ca n ada . I
« 'a nnd ia n Co u n cil o f Professional Geoscie n tists (C C PG) 52
( )vl' rv iew o f Relatio n sh ips 52
Illsc uss io n Topics a nd Assignments S6
No les 57
C:h lll' l e r 3 Co n t in u i n g Professional Developmenl 59
( :arl'e r Mo m e n t um ve rsus O bsolesce n ce S9
Ik sp o n sibi lity for o n ti n u ing Co m pe te nce 60
NTENTS CONTENTS xv
- ----- --------------
»npct cn ce Progr am Requirements 61 Addit iona l Licen sin g a n d In sura n ce Requ irements 124
o fessio na l Develo p me n t Activ ities 62 Select ing a Business Forma t 127
-po rt in g a n d Aud iti ng 64 Assista nc e for Cons u lta n ts 129
ie EIC Co n ti n u ing Educa tio n Program 66 Co m pe n sa tio n for Co n su lta n ts 132
istgradu at c St ud ies 66 Sta rtin g a Privat e Practi ce o r Business 133
los ing o rn m .n ts 68 Eva lua tin g Your Potenti al as a Cons u lta n t 134
iscu ssion To p ics and Assig n me nts 69 Ge tti n g Your En terp rise Started 136
o tes 70 Discuss ion Topics a n d Assig n me n ts 137
( No tes 138
hapt e n 4 Discil)linary Powe rs and Procedures 71
ur oducti o n 71 Ch a l)t e r 8 Hazards, Liability, Standards, and Safety 139
1 Iorc c ruc nt: Unl ice nscd Prac t itio ners 71 Sou rces o f Professional Liability 139
isci pi i ne: Licen sed Practi t ion er s 72 Prof essio na l Liability-To rt Law 140
n Ove rview o f til e Discip linary Process 74 Prod uc ts Liability 143
isclp llu c a nd Alte rna te Dispute Resolutio n (AD lq 76 Design ing for Safety 146
iscu ssion Topi cs a n d Assig n men ts 86 Hazard Red ucti o n 149
o les R7 Na tio n a l Standards: Th e Sta nd ards Co unc il of Ca nad a (SCC) 151
Inte rna ti o na l Standards: The In te rn ati o n al Or ganizatio n for
h apt e r 5 Technical Societ i es 89
Sta n d a rd s (ISO) 153
h e Rol e o f Tec h ni ca l Societies 89
Go ve rn m e n t Co des and Standards ISS
h e Evo lu tio n o f Tec h ni ca l Soc ieties 89
Occu pa tio n a l Health and Safet y (OI'IS) Laws 156
.h oosi n g a Tcchn ica I Soc ie ty 90
Wor kp lace Hazardous Mat eri al s In fo rm a tio n Sys te m (W HM IS) 161
'a n ad ia n St ude n t Societi es 94
Discuss io n Topics a n d Assig n me n ts 165
.h a rita b lc a nt! Ho n o ra ry Societ ies 95
No tes '\ 165
he Iron Ring- A Ritua l for Eng inee rs 98
h e Eart h Scie nce Ring- A Ritu a l fo r Geoscien t ists 99 ChaPte(~ Co m p u t e rs , Software, and Intellectual
usc ussto » To p ics and Assign me n ts 100 Property 169
lo tes 101 The Role o f Co m pu te rs in Engi nee ring and Geoscience 169
Liab ility fo r Softwa re Errors 172
Soft wa re Develo p me n t 173
'AnT TWO- I)ltOFESSIONAL PRACTI CE
IIsing Co m m e rcial Software 175
:IUlI)te r 6 Basic Co n ce p t s o f Professional Practice 103 Co m p ute r Sec ur ity 177
nt e rin g th e Pro fessional Work For ce 103 l'rcvcntt ng Soft wa re Piracy 178
.pp lyin g for a Licence 104 Co py rig h r, Pat ents, Trademarks, and Design s 180
>ocum en tin g You r Exper ie nce 105 I rlscu ssio n Topics and Assignm ents 189
.eve ls o f Professional Resp on sib ilit y 106 No tes IR9
alary Expect ation s for Professio na ls 108
Chupter 10 Fairness and Equity in the Professional
'ro fessio nal Working Co n d it io n s 109
Workplace 19 1
Js in g You r Professiona l Sea l 110
I'll ilievin g Fairness and Equity II I
'ro m o ti o n to Specia list o r Manager 1 17
Ill'finitio n o f Discrimination 192
J isc ussio n Topics a n d ASSig n men ts 11 9
Th e Ca n ad ia n C h a rte r of Rights and Freed oms 192
-Jo tes 120
(I.lII"o llme n t Patterns in Un ive rsity Pro gr am s 193
:h UI)t e r8 Privat e Practice, Co n su lti n g , and Uusiness 123 .'ocia liza tio n in Early Ch ild h o od 195
;o llsllil i ng O p po rt u n it ies 123 It('tcnt io n Issu es 196
clIlsld ting Activ ities 124 Wha t Un iver sities Ca n Do 197
IN TENTS
----- ---------- CONTE NTS xvii
I h a t Is Sex ua l Har assmen t? 197 Co n fide n ti a lity in Privat e Pra cti ce 288
h e Ben efits o f Diver sity 199 Co n flic t of In ter est in Private Prac tice 289
lim in a ti n g Discrim inati on 200 Review in g th e Work o f Ano t he r Profession a l 289
air Pra ctices in th e Wo rkp lace 20 1 O wne rs h ip of Desig n Ca lcu la tio ns 290
rt cgratln g lrnm lgrant s in to the Professions 203 Neg lige nce and Civ il Liabi lit y 29 1
.o n clud i n g o mments 205 Cod es o f Ethi cs for Co ns u lta n ts 29 1
itscussto n To pics and Ass ig n me n ts 209 Eth ics in Foreign Con su lti ng 292
Iot cs 211 Discuss io n Topi cs a nd Assignm ents :~ 0 5
No tes 306
'ART T H R m~- I) ROFESSIONAL ETHICS
PART FOUR-ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE AND ETHICS
:Im l, t c r 1 1 P ri n d l, l cs of Et h i cs and Justicc 2 13
I
.t h ics a n d Probl em So lv ing 213 V Ch a p t e r 15 Environmental Ethics 309
o ur Et h ica l T h eo ries 214 The Duty to Soc iet y 309
.gr ecmcnt a n d o n tra d iction in Et h ica l Theories 218 The Du ty to th e Emp loy e r (And Its Lim its) 310
'rin ci pi es 0 1' .1 list ice 222 Ca na d ia n En viron me n ta l Law 3 11
.odcs o f Et h ics as G ui des to Co n d uct 226 Env iro n me n ta l G uid elines for Engi ne e rs a n d Ge o sc ie n tis ts 3 15
\ St ra tegy for So lving orn plex Ethi cal Prob lems 2:n En viro n me n ta l G u ide lines fo r Corpo rat io n s 316
: o nci lld ing o nu ne n ts o n Eth ics and Ju sti ce 236 The Dut y to Report-Wh istle-Blowing 3 17
) isc uss io n To p ics a nd Assig nmen ts 237 The Et h ica l Di lemm a of W hi stl e-Blowi ng 3 19
-lo tes 238 A Disse n t ing View of th e Dut y to Soc iety 320
Discu ssio n Topi cs a nd Ass ig nm e nts 328
: Im p t c r 12 Ethics in Professional Employmcnt 239 No te s 329
lech n lca l a nd Man agem ent Au t hority 239
'ro fessiona I Em plo yee G u ide lines 243 Ch a p t e r 16 Environmcntal Thrcats and Disasters 331
>ro fess io na l Em p loy ees and Labour Un io ns 243 Ca nad a's Env ironmental Hea lth :B I
J n e t h ica l Ma nage rs and W h istle- Blowing 244 Crcc n ho usc G <lS Emissio ns 334
~ o n fl i c t o f Int er est- An Overv iew 245 Ene rgy Co n se rva tio n and Nuc lear Pow er 335
ntroducti on to Case St ud ies 248 Waste Dis posal 337
iscussion Topi cs and Ass ig n me n ts 261 Air Po llu tio n 338
" ot es 262 Acid Rain 340
Wate r Po llut ion 34 1
Ch a p ter 13 Eth ics in Managemcnt 265 Ex po ne n ti<l l Popu lation G ro w t h 34 1
<\dherin g to th e Lice ns ing Act 265 O ppo rt u n ism a n d t h e Tra ged y of the Co m mo ns 3 4 :~
Hiring a nd Dism issa l 266 No tes 356
Review ing Wor k a n d Evaluating Co m pe te n ce 268
:::o n flic t o f Inte rest in Management 269 Chu p t e r 17 Environmcntal Sustaimtbility :i ~ 9
Disc rim in a tio n in Professiona l Emp loyment 269 A I>e fin itio n o f Susta ina bility :15')
Discussio n Topics and Assignments 283 A Brief Histo ry of Sus ta in a b le T h inki ng :IW
No tes 284 ( :lIma te C h a nge :16:1
( (H I a nd Gas Depleti on :170
Ch a l, t c r 14 Et h ics in Private Practicc and Co n su lti n g 285 ril l' Et h ics o f Cl ima te C h a n ge a nd Peak Oi l :~ n
ril l' lien t- Consultant Relationship 285 ril l' C rit ica l Nee d fo r Soci eta l C h a nge :H 5
Adw rt isi ng for Ne w Proj ect s 286 Susralnubi llty fo r Professiona l Eng in ee rs a nd Geo sc ie n tists :H 6
( 'o illfll'titive Bid d ing for Ne w Proj ects 287 I i lscu sslon Topi cs a nd Ass ig n m e nt s :~ H:~
1I'1 1l~ Co m nct cn ce 288 No tes :~ 8 4
l NTENTS
'ART FIVE-EXAM PREPARATION

:~IJtcr 18 Writing thc Profcssional Practicc Exa m 387
Chapter 1
xa m in atio n Syllabus and For mat 387
Jatio na l Profession al Practice Examina tion (NP PE) 388
390
Introduction to the Professions
inrari o and British Co lu m bia
'h e Egad ! St rategy for Et h ics Questio ns 390
'reviou s Exam ina tio n Q uestio ns 392
~o t es
406
\I)PENDIX A-I)rovincial and Tcrrit orial En g incc ring/

Whe the r yo u are e ntering eng inee ring or geosc ience, welcome to a challeng ing,
C;coscicncc Ass o ciatio ns 40 7
creative, and rewa rdin g career! Eng inee ring and geosc ience are hi ghl y respected
Wch AIJpcndixcs profession s th at gua rd our health and safety, improve th e qu alit y of our daily
l'he website acco m pa nying th is textbook (www.an dr ews4e.n elson.com) co n- lives, an d gen erate great wealth . Chapter I begin s with a review of many engi-
.lsts of ove r 300 pages of add itional inf ormati on in th e following a ppe nd ixes: neering and geoscien ce ach ieve me n ts, and gives a brief overview of th e profes-
sio ns in Canada. The chapter co ncludes with a description o f th e tragic 190 7
C\I)I)ENI>IX A-PROVINCIAL AN D TER RITOR IAL co llapse of th e Q uebec Bridge, a key eve nt in th e hi story of th e profession s.
ENG INE ER IN G/ GEOSCI ENCE ASSOCIATIONS Today, good engine erin g an d geoscie nce design are fou n d eve rywhe re,
C\PI)ENDIX IS-EXCERPTS FR OM T HE ACTS, R EGULATIONS, AND from t he sleek lines of a new auto mo bile, to th e d igital acc urac y of electronic
CODES OF ETHICS eq uipmen t, to th e gracefu l structure of a brid ge a nd in the wealth th at flows
APPENmX C- CODES OF ETHICS FOR VAR IO US TECHNICAL from ou r min es, oil, natural gas, and othe r resource developments. Th e im por-
SOCIETIES tance of eng ineer ing and geoscience is especia lly eviden t in th e infrastructure
AI)I)E NmX D- NSP E GUIDELINES T O EM PLOYMENT FO R of the civ ilized socie ty th at surrounds us, makin g Ca nada suc h a great place to
I)ROFESSIONAL ENG IN EE RS live. Most Canadia ns en joy reliabl e elect ricity; a secure supply of natural gas;
AI)I)ENmX E-ADmTIONA L ASSI GNMENTS AND mSCUSSIO N safe veh icles and aircraft ; a nd a dep endabl e su pply of pu re and abun da n t tap
TOPICS wate r. These devices, st ruc t ures , a n d syste ms were design ed by eng ineers
AI)P ENI>I X F-AI>IlITIONAL CASE STUmES ami/o r geoscien tists, an d illu strate th e in genuity, co m petence , pro fessional
API)ENI>IX G-ADI>ITIONA L ARTICLES O F INTEREST au ltude, and d iverse in terests of th e peopl e wh o en ter these profession s.
INDEX 4 11 AN INSPI RING LE GACY
Our h isto ry is an excitin g chron icle of great ach ieve men t in a har sh climat e.
Ca nada is a hu ge coun try, a nd ea rly sett le rs were faced with dense forests,
I flug h an d rocky terrain , and vast di stan ces th at obst ructed travel, trad e, set-
I k ille n t, an d ag ricu lture . Eng inee rs a nd geoscien t ists respond ed willin gly
lot he ch allenge. For ex am p le, th e Rideau Ca n al, built in 1832 to co n nect
( It lawa and Kingston, was Ca nada's first megaproj ect . Th e ca na l is an ingen -
Ious link age of dams, locks, wa terwa ys, rivers an d lakes, exte n di ng for 202 km
(I ' () mil es). The Ca nal was built by m anual lab our in o n ly five yea rs- a
n-ruarka b lc ach ieveme nt, co nsiderin g th e primitive tools of th e tim e.
III 200 7, t he Un ite d Nation s Ed uc atio na l, Scientific a n d C u ltur al
(hga n iza tio n (UNESCO) designated th e Rideau Can al and th e fortifi cati on s in
I Illgs\o n (FOri Henry a nd the Martello tow ers) as a Wo rld Heritage Site o n th e
17 th nn nlv .rsa ry o f th eir co m pletio n. The Rideau Canal joins 800 ot her sites
Chapter 1
Introduction to the Professions
Whether you are entering engineering or geoscience, welcome to a challenging,

creative, and rewarding career! Engineering and geoscience are highly respected
professions that guard our health and safety, improve the quality of our daily
lives, and generate great wealth. Chapter 1 begins with a review of many engi-
neering and geoscience achievements, and gives a brief overview of the profes-
sions in Canada. The chapter concludes with a description of the tragic 1907
collapse of the Quebec Bridge, a key event in the history of the professions.
Today, good engineering and geoscience design are found everywhere,
from the sleek lines of a new automobile, to the digital accuracy of electronic
equipment, to the graceful structure of a bridge and in the wealth that flows
from our mines, oil, natural gas, and other resource developments. The impor-
tance of engineering and geoscience is especially evident in the infrastructure
of the civilized society that surrounds us, making Canada such a great place to
live. Most Canadians enjoy reliable electricity; a secure supply of natural gas;
safe vehicles and aircraft; and a dependable supply of pure and abundant tap
water. These devices, structures, and systems were designed by engineers
and/or geoscientists, and illustrate the ingenuity, competence, professional
attitude, and diverse interests of the people who enter these professions.
AN INSPIRING LEGACY
Our history is an exciting chronicle of great achievement in a harsh climate.

Canada is a huge country, and early settlers were faced with dense forests,
rough and rocky terrain, and vast distances that obstructed travel, trade, set-
tlement, and agriculture. Engineers and geoscientists responded willingly
to the challenge. For example, the Rideau Canal, built in 1832 to connect
Ottawa and Kingston, was Canada’s first megaproject. The canal is an ingen-
ious linkage of dams, locks, waterways, rivers and lakes, extending for 202 km
(126 miles). The Canal was built by manual labour in only five years—a
remarkable achievement, considering the primitive tools of the time.
In 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) designated the Rideau Canal and the fortifications in
Kingston (Fort Henry and the Martello towers) as a World Heritage Site on the
175th anniversary of their completion. The Rideau Canal joins 800 other sites
NEL 1
2 PA R T O N E • P R O F E S S I O N A L L I C E N S I N G A N D R E G U L AT I O N
on the world heritage list, such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall
of China. The Rideau Canal is the only North American canal system of its era
that remains in use today, with almost all of its original structures intact.1
The “Top Ten” Canadian Engineering and Geoscience

Achievements
The Rideau Canal is only part of a great legacy that still inspires us today. A
jury of prominent Canadians identified the “top ten” engineering and geo-
science achievements in 1987, the centennial year of the Engineering
Institute of Canada (EIC). The ranking was based on the significance of the
achievement, the contribution to Canadian well-being, international recog-
nition, management required, and, of course, originality, ingenuity, and cre-
ativity or uniqueness.2 Over 110 projects were nominated, and each project
selected has a social or political significance that goes far beyond mere tech-
nical success. Using any measure of impact, cost, or size, these projects are
critically important, are uniquely Canadian, and most are simply massive!
Photographs of a few of them are in this text, and many more are in the
impressive pictorial history book by Norman Ball.3 Also, more information is
readily obtained from The Canadian Encyclopedia.4 These successes are only a
sample of thousands of projects in which we may all take pride.
THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY NETWORK (CPR)

The importance of (and the huge investment in) the transcontinental railway
cannot be overemphasized. The railway connected the country from Atlantic
to Pacific, making Canada a viable social, economic, and political entity. The
federal government signed a contract with the Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR) in 1880, and by 1885, the “last spike” had been hammered in. The first
train from Montreal arrived in Port Moody, British Columbia, in July 1886.
THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

The St. Lawrence Seaway (also known as the Great Lakes Waterway) permits
ocean-going ships to travel up the St. Lawrence River and through the Great
Lakes, an almost unbelievable distance of almost 3,800 km (2,400 miles).
Construction began in August 1954, and the Seaway was open for commer-
cial ships in April 1959. The Seaway made the Great Lakes accessible to
industry and trade, and is a major route for shipping bulk products, such as
grain, iron ore, coal, petroleum, cement, and rolled iron and steel.
THE POLYMER/POLYSAR SYNTHETIC RUBBER PLANT IN SARNIA

During the Second World War (1939–1945) the shortage of natural rubber led
to the rapid construction of the Polymer synthetic rubber factory in Sarnia,
Ontario. The plant was incredibly successful and efficient, and helped the
Allied forces win the war. It became a Crown corporation after the war ended,
was renamed Polysar in 1976, and was eventually sold. Bayer AG of Germany
now owns it.
NEL
CHAPTER 1 • Introduction to the Professions 3
THE ATHABASCA COMMERCIAL OIL SANDS DEVELOPMENT

The Athabasca oil sands in Alberta contain bitumen, the heaviest, thickest form
of petroleum. In fact, Alberta has more petroleum than the entire proven oil
reserves of the Persian Gulf. However, in its natural state, bitumen is so dense
and viscous that it is suitable only for paving roads. Creating oil from bitumen
is expensive and complicated. Compared to conventional crude oil, bitumen’s
carbon-to-hydrogen ratio is too high, so special refining processes had to be
invented to remove the mineral content and to adjust the carbon–hydrogen
ratio. The successful research in separation methods in the 1950s, and the first
successful large-scale commercial plant at Fort McMurray in the 1960s, proved
that oil extraction was viable. These methods opened the deposits to satisfy oil
demands that will become even more intense in the 21st century.
THE HYDRO-QUÉBEC VERY-HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Electric power is critically important to our standard of living, but transmitting
electricity over long distances from remote hydroelectric generators can be
costly and wasteful. Energy loss is proportional to the square of the current, so
voltage must be high and current low. When the 735 kV Manicouagan trans-
mission line was electrified in 1965, Hydro-Québec became the first electrical
power producer to transmit electricity at voltages over 500 kV (AC). Proving
that power lines are safe and stable at such high voltages is very promising for
future electrical distribution.
THE CANDU NUCLEAR POWER SYSTEM

The CANDU nuclear power system produces electricity using natural ura-
nium, moderated by heavy water. The uranium does not need enrichment,
thus making the system safer in many respects than other nuclear generators.
The first CANDU Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor was built in
1962; a 200 MW Douglas Point prototype was built in 1966, which delivered
electricity to the grid; and four commercial 500 MW Pickering-A units came
into service from 1971 to 1973. Although nuclear power is controversial, as
discussed later in this text, it has many advantages over coal-fired generators.
THE DE HAVILLAND BEAVER DHC-2 AIRCRAFT

The Canadian-designed and built De Havilland Beaver DHC-2 first flew in
1947. It could carry six passengers and cargo, in addition to the pilot, and
could take off and land in very short distances. When equipped with floats or
skis, it could fly into remote locations. The Beaver was a crucial aid to devel-
oping northern Canada.
THE ALOUETTE I ORBITING RESEARCH SATELLITE

In 1962, Canada became the third nation to have a satellite in orbit (after the
Soviet Union and the U.S.A.). Alouette I was designed and built in Canada,
and was launched on a U.S. rocket. It completed its mission successfully,
investigating the ionosphere as part of ISIS (International Satellites for
Ionospheric Studies) from 1963 to 1969.
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THE BOMBARDIER SNOWMOBILE

Joseph-Armand Bombardier started experimenting with snow machines in
1922, and in 1937, he invented the endless-track vehicle that we know as the
snowmobile. Its speed over snow-covered ground makes it essential in remote
parts of Canada, and it has changed the hunting methods of the Inuit. The
snowmobile changed winter life in most of Canada, although concerns about
noise, environmental damage, and safety led to laws restricting snowmobile use.
THE TRANS-CANADA TELEPHONE NETWORK

The Trans-Canada Telephone System (now known as Stentor) is an associa-
tion of telephone companies that was formed in 1931 to integrate national
telephone service. Previously, Canada relied on U.S. transmission facilities for
most cross-Canada communication. Stentor was expanded in 1969 to include
Telesat Canada (Canada’s sole domestic satellite carrier). In 1972, Anik A-1
was launched, followed by Anik A-2 in 1973, and Canada became the first
country in the world to use satellites for domestic communications.
Significant Achievements of the 20th Century
The five most significant Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th

century, chosen using objective criteria by the 1999 National Engineering
Week committee, are listed below.5
THE CPR ROGERS PASS PROJECT (1989)

The CPR transcontinental railway, built in 1885, crosses the Rocky Mountains
via the Rogers Pass, but avalanches (since snow reaches 15 m [50 ft.] per year)
and steep grades were constant problems. In 1989, the CPR completed the
34-km (21-mile) Rogers Pass project, including six bridges and two tunnels.
The Mount MacDonald Tunnel under the Rogers Pass is 14.7 km (9 miles)
long, making it North America’s longest railway tunnel.
THE CONFEDERATION BRIDGE (NORTHUMBERLAND STRAIT)

The Confederation Bridge links New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
across the Northumberland Strait. The bridge opened to traffic in May 1997
and is 12.9 km (8 miles) long, which makes it the world’s longest saltwater
bridge subject to ice hazards. The distinctive arches provide a clearance of
60 m (197 ft.) for seagoing vessels.
THE CANADARM REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEM

Canadian engineers, from many disciplines, designed and developed the
Canadarm for the U.S. space shuttle. The Canadarm was used to deploy and
retrieve satellites from the shuttle cargo bay. The arm was installed and flew
on the second shuttle flight in 1981. A larger version, the Canadarm2, is part
of Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station and was installed
on the space station by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield in
April 2001.
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Photo 1.1 — The Mountain Creek Bridge, BC. The Mountain Creek Bridge on the Canadian Pacific Railway
line in the Selkirk mountain range in British Columbia was erected in 1884, and is a tribute to the ingenuity, skill,
and determination of the builders of the transcontinental railway. The bridge was 50 m (164 ft.) high and 331 m
CHAPTER 1 • Introduction to the Professions
(1,086 ft.) long, and contained an immense amount of locally cut timber. It was the longest bridge on the CPR
transcontinental railway, but within two decades, the wood had deteriorated, and was replaced by steel.
Source: photos.com/JUPITERIMAGES.
5
THE IMAX SYSTEM (MOTION PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY AND PROJECTION)

Canadian mechanical engineer William Shaw perfected the “rolling loop”
film transport mechanism in the IMAX projector, which photographs and
projects images that are 10 times the size of conventional motion-picture
images onto huge screens, without vibration or streaking.
THE HOPPS PACEMAKER

Canadian electrical engineer Dr. John A. Hopps, working with medical col-
leagues at the Banting and Best Institute in Toronto in 1949, discovered that
a gentle electrical stimulus would restart a heart that had stopped beating.
In 1950, Hopps developed the first heart pacemaker at the National Research
Council. The pacemaker helps millions of people to lead normal, healthy
lives. Dr. Hopps was in the vanguard of biomedical engineering in Canada.
The Challenge of the 21st Century
Today’s engineers and geoscientists have knowledge and assistance that pre-
vious generations could barely imagine. Every design office has computer
hardware and software for analysis, design, and visualization that are
unmatched in history. The tools to carry out the designs are also more pow-
erful and versatile than ever before, from giant excavators and cranes, to
numerically controlled machine tools, to satellite communication. However,
your generation will face one of the greatest challenges ever: countering the
effect of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming. This challenge is dis-
cussed in Part 4 of this text, but a brief overview is appropriate here.
In 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published
their fourth report.6 The report concludes that global warming is unmistak-
able and inevitable; moreover, most of the increase in global temperature
since the mid-20th century is very likely due to human-caused greenhouse
gas emissions. The effects of global warming occur slowly, but will alter life as
we know it.
Unless changes are made in our greenhouse gas emissions, the gradual
rise in surface air temperatures will increase severe weather events, such as
heavy rainfalls, heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, and so forth, and will even-
tually melt Arctic and Antarctic ice, and raise sea levels. Insect-borne diseases
will be able to move further north, and many animal species will face extinc-
tion. Fish stocks may be seriously depleted, creating food shortages in some
nations. To avoid the most serious effects, the report indicates that the
average global temperature rise must be kept below 2°C. The challenge will
be to see if we can reverse the trend without experiencing a devastating
impact on our standard of living.
Every nation in the world is affected, so political, economic, and social
changes will also be necessary if populations are to be convinced to reduce
their consumption. However, a huge task will likely fall on engineers and
geoscientists—key professionals who know how to reduce emissions by
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Photo 1.2 — The Blackberry ® Handheld. The Blackberry ® is a well-known

Canadian communications invention that converges the features of a wireless tele-
phone, computer, and geographical position sensor (GPS) into a single, hand-held
personal digital assistant (with calendar, to-do list, and telephone book). The
Blackberry sends and receives secure e-mail immediately, permitting users to remain
instantly available, wherever they may be. The handy device proliferates in all levels of
industry and government. Research in Motion (RIM) the Waterloo, Ontario inventor
and manufacturer, reports that over 21 million Blackberry owners subscribe to the
RIM service (as of February 2008).
Source: MAGNUM/Peter Marlow.
increasing efficiency of existing processes, machinery, buildings, and infra-

structure. We must reduce energy waste, especially energy wasted in trans-
portation, in heating buildings, and in electrical production and delivery, and
we must increase efficiency by re-using materials and recycling waste into
useful energy or products.
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The IPCC report gives an extensive list of areas where engineers and geo-
scientists should change technology or where new technology should be
developed. Part 4 of this textbook discusses these topics in more detail. A
challenging task awaits the engineers and geoscientists of the 21st century,
but with the knowledge and tools at your disposal, you are well equipped to
meet that challenge!
ENGINEERING AND GEOSCIENCE IN CANADA
Engineering and geoscience are recognized as professions in Canada.

Engineering was first regulated as a profession during the 1920s, and geo-
science (specifically, geology and geophysics) was first regulated in Alberta in
1955. All provinces and territories now recognize, license, and regulate both
professions, with a few minor exceptions. The two professions are closely
related, so most provinces and territories regulate them under the same laws
(as explained in detail in Chapter 2).
Provincial and Territorial Licensing Laws
Each province and territory of Canada has passed a law or “Act” that estab-
lishes engineering and/or geoscience as a profession. Each Act, in turn, creates
an Association of Professional Engineers and/or Geoscientists (in Quebec, the
Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec or the Ordre des géologues du Québec). These
Associations are the licensing bodies that are responsible for setting and
enforcing high standards of practice in engineering and geoscience. That is,
the Associations enforce the qualifications for admission into the profession,
set standards of professional practice, and discipline members who fail to
meet these standards. They also prevent the misuse of titles and/or the illegal
practice of the profession by unqualified individuals.
Entering the Professions
Academic and experience requirements are very high to enter either engi-
neering or geoscience. Obtaining a licence in Canada typically requires both
a four-year university degree and an internship—usually four years of accept-
able experience. (See Chapter 2 for a detailed explanation of admission pro-
cedures.)
Distribution of Engineers and Geoscientists in Canada
In 2006, about 160,000 practising professional engineers were licensed in

Canada, according to Engineers Canada.7 The number of professional geosci-
entists increased sharply in recent years, from about 6,500 in 2001 to approx-
imately 7,700 in 2007, and is expected to reach 10,000 in a few years,
according to the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG).8
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The numbers of both engineers and geoscientists are both approximate: Many
individuals (about 12 percent) are licensed in more than one province or ter-
ritory, or are licensed as both engineers and geoscientists, and professionals
born in the 1945 “baby boom” are now rapidly retiring. The distribution of
professionals is also changing, as resource developments in Alberta, British
Columbia, and Saskatchewan attract them.
The distribution of professional engineers across Canada, shown in
Table 1.1, is not uniform: Most are clustered in the industrially developed
regions of Ontario (39 percent) and Quebec (23 percent), with the next-largest
number in the resource-rich province of Alberta (17.6 percent). When we com-
pare the coasts, we find that British Columbia (with 9.09 percent) has many
more engineers than the four Atlantic Provinces combined (5.9 percent).
TA B L E 1 . 1 — Licensed Professional Engineers and Geoscientists in Canada
Professional Engineers Licensed Percentage of

Engineers in 2006 Total Engineers
Ontario 60,987 39.22%
Quebec 35,368 22.75%
Alberta 27,422 17.64%
British Columbia 14,137 9.09%
Saskatchewan 3,559 2.29%
Manitoba 3,556 2.29%
Nova Scotia 3,548 2.28%
New Brunswick 3,391 2.18%
Newfoundland & Labrador 1,814 1.17%
Northwest Territories 894 0.58%
Prince Edward Island 413 0.27%
Yukon 396 0.25%
Total—Professional Engineers 155,485
(See note 1) 100.0%
Total—Professional 7,700 (Estimate for 2007)
Geoscientists
(See note 2)
Note 1: Professional Engineers: The number of professional engineers does not include non-practising
engineers, engineers-in-training, or engineering students, but includes some duplicate members, since
about 12 percent of professional engineers are licensed to practise in more than one jurisdiction.
Note 2: Professional Geoscientists: The number of professional geoscientists is approximate because

three jurisdictions (Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia) recently passed legislation regulating geoscien-
tists, licensing has increased sharply in recent years, and the distribution of geoscientists is changing.
Source: Engineers Canada, 2006 Membership Survey, June 2007. Data reproduced with permission of
Engineers Canada.
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Saskatchewan and Manitoba together (4.6 percent) have about a quarter of

those in Alberta, the adjacent province. The Yukon and Northwest Territories
have very few (about 0.8 percent), even though Nunavut is included in the
Northwest Territories’ total.
Branches of Engineering and Geoscience
Universities offer degree programs in recognized disciplines (or branches) of

engineering and geoscience. These programs have well-identified course
requirements, but more importantly, the programs are accredited (for most dis-
ciplines, in Canada), so they are guaranteed to be acceptable for licensing.
However, licensed engineers and geoscientists may practise in any discipline for
which they can justify their competence, regardless of which discipline they
studied in university. (The responsibility for competence is explained later in

this text—for example, see “Responsibility for Continuing Competence” in
Chapter 3 and “Ensuring Competence” in Chapter 14.) Many branches or dis-
ciplines are accredited for education and licensing:
• Engineering. The most general branches are civil, electrical, mechanical,

industrial, and chemical engineering, but many more exist, from
Aerospace Engineering (at Carleton and Ryerson) to Water Resource
Engineering (at Guelph). In fact, the 2007 Canadian Engineering
Accreditation Board (CEAB) report lists about 80 accredited engineering
programs that are currently offered at Canadian universities (including
about 24 French engineering programs offered in Quebec). Some newer
disciplines, such as Mechatronics and Nanotechnology Engineering, are
awaiting CEAB accreditation, and are not yet listed.9
• Geoscience. The Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG)
recognizes that acceptable geoscience education and experience is usually
obtained in three main areas and recognizes professional practice in
Geology, Environmental Geoscience, and Geophysics.10
Employment Prospects
In spite of recent economic turmoil (in 2008–2009), two factors show

employment prospects for graduate engineers and geoscientists are still very
positive. First, the retirement of the “baby boom” generation (born after the
end of the Second World War in 1945) will begin to peak in 2010. Many
senior engineers and geoscientists will be retiring, creating opportunities for
promotion. Second, a drive for increased efficiency, new energy sources, and
alternative (less-polluting) energy sources will stimulate research, invest-
ment opportunities, and jobs. Engineers and geoscientists are essential if we
are to sustain and improve our standard of living while competing with
other countries and adapting to the evolving threats of climate change and
peak oil. The employment history of the past few decades is also reassuring,
although history is not necessarily a predictor of future trends.
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• Engineering. The documented employment history for engineers is

fairly stable. The unemployment rate for engineers was typically around 1
percent in the decade prior to 1982, indicating very secure employment.
During the recession of 1982, unemployment reached a peak of 7,000
engineers, or about 6 percent of registered professional engineers.11 It
declined gradually until it was typically below 2 percent by 1997 (when
the national average Canadian unemployment rate was 4.8 percent).12
The collapse of the “dot.com bubble” in 2000, the terrorist attacks of
2001, and the recessionary effects of scandalous bankruptcies in several
giant American companies, including Enron and WorldCom, had an
impact on the entire global economy. As a result, the unemployment rate
for engineers rose to about 3 percent in 2002 (when the national average
was 7.5 percent).13 The outlook for engineering in 2009, as estimated by
Job Futures, the Government of Canada’s National Career and Education

Planning Tool, shows that most engineering disciplines have unemploy-
ment rates in the range of 1 to 4 percent, as compared to the national
average of 7 percent.14
• Geoscience. Geoscience has fewer practitioners than engineering, so his-
torical employment data are not easily found. The Job Futures statistics
categorizes geoscientists, with several unrelated professions, under the
heading of Physical Science Professionals. The 2007 unemployment rate is
only 2 percent for this category, as compared to the national average of
7 percent.15 In view of the rising demand for fossil fuels, the demand for
geoscientists should continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
Professional engineers and geoscientists therefore have good employment
prospects. However, if economic turmoil claims your job, remember that
the technical societies (discussed in Chapter 5) provide good contacts.
Alternately, consider upgrading your qualifications (as discussed in
Chapter 4) to prepare for a better job.
A Brief Discussion of Professional Status

The general public holds the engineering and geoscience professions in high
regard. In Canada and the United States, opinion surveys consistently show
engineers near the top for honesty and integrity (and this ranking would
include geoscientists, although they are rarely identified as a separate group).
But are engineering and geoscience really professions?
To answer this question, we need to define the term “profession” more
precisely. What is a profession? How does it differ from a job? The following
dictionary definition of a profession helps to answer these questions:
Profession: A calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive prepa-
ration including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical, or
scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, maintaining by force of organiza-
tion or concerned opinion high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing its
members to continued study and to a kind of work which has for its prime purpose the
rendering of a public service. (Copyright © Webster’s Third New International Dictionary)16
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Engineering and geoscience certainly require “specialized knowledge,”

“intensive preparation,” and “instruction in skills and methods as well as in
the scientific, historical, or scholarly principles underlying such skills and
methods.” In fact, licensing Acts now require engineers and geoscientists to
complete at least four years of formal education and three to four years of rel-
evant work experience before they can practise. This equals the preparation
required in medicine and law (two professions that serve as a useful basis for
comparison).
Engineering and geoscience also have a “force of organization,” in the
form of laws and regulations. These have been enacted in every province and
territory in Canada (except Prince Edward Island and Yukon, where geo-
science is not yet a regulated profession). The Acts, laws, and regulations
include Codes of Ethics committing practitioners to “high standards of
achievement and conduct” (as discussed in detail in Chapter 11).

Significantly, engineering and geoscience (like medicine and law) are
“self-regulating” professions. That is, the government delegates the respon-
sibility for admission, for standards of practice, and for discipline, to the
members of the profession. Some differences exist. Unlike medical doctors
and lawyers, who are generally self-employed and work with clients on a
one-to-one basis, most engineers and geoscientists are employees of large
companies, where they work in teams. Moreover, it is a basic fact of life that
engineers outnumber every other self-regulating profession (including
geoscientists, whose numbers are still rather exclusively small). However,
these are minor differences; engineering and geoscience clearly have profes-
sional status.
THE TECHNICAL TEAM
Today’s complex projects need specialized skills and knowledge, so most engi-
neers and geoscientists work on technical teams. A recent survey of engineers
and geoscientists, sponsored by Engineers Canada, showed that the majority
(79 percent) worked on teams. Most of the teams (three out of four) were
formed on a project-by-project basis. Engineers were the main team members
(69 percent), but almost half of the teams (46 percent) included a technician
or technologist, and a quarter of the teams (25 percent) included a non-
engineering technical person.17
This data confirms that, while engineers and geoscientists are the vital
link between theory and application, they must work effectively with other
team members. Respect for each team member’s expertise is essential for a
productive work environment. The full technical spectrum includes research
scientists, geoscientists, engineers, architects, technologists, technicians, and
skilled workers, as described in the next few paragraphs.
• Research scientist. Scientists develop ideas that expand the frontiers of

knowledge—ideas that may not have practical applications for many
years. A doctorate is typically the basic educational requirement, although
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a master’s degree is often acceptable. A scientist is rarely required to super-

vise other technical personnel except research assistants, and usually is a
member of several learned societies in his or her particular field of interest.
Basically, the task of the research scientist is to generate new knowl-
edge, whereas the task of the engineer and geoscientist is to apply that
knowledge. The roles of the scientist, the geoscientist, and the engineer
overlap, and in some projects, the boundary may be invisible. It is some-
times only the goal of the work that differentiates the two, not the actual
duties. Most scientists work in government agencies, universities, or insti-
tutes, and their results are usually published in scholarly technical jour-
nals. Such new knowledge is occasionally very valuable to industry, and it
is often free to anyone who knows where to look for it.
• Geoscientist. Geoscience is a fairly new name for the well-established
fields of geology, geophysics, and their many related subdisciplines.

Geoscientists are mainly concerned with the study, measurement, and
analysis of the earth and the many systems, such as petroleum and
hydrology, which operate within the earth. The main role of the geosci-
entist is the practical application of scientific ideas, not the study of nat-
ural science. For example, geoscientists analyze seismic, gravitational,
magnetic, and other data to discover minerals and fuels, locate stable
foundation sites for structures, and identify dangers related to the
dynamic movement of our Earth. Geoscientists are licensed (usually under
a provincial Geoscience Act) in order to practise. A bachelor’s degree in
geoscience (typically geology, geophysics, or related disciplines) is the
minimum educational requirement. It is important to note that geoscien-
tists and engineers play a key role in any exploitation of the earth (such
as resource extraction) that affects life, health, property, or the welfare of
the public, because a “qualified person” (as defined in Chapter 2) must
approve such activities.
• Engineer. Engineers are mainly concerned with the practical application
of science. They link theory to practice, so design is a key area of
employment—that is, creating plans for devices, systems, and structures
for human use. Many engineers are also involved in construction, testing,
manufacturing, and a few in the discovery and distribution of natural
resources. In these activities, engineers make many decisions that affect
life, health, property, or the welfare of the public, so they must be licensed
(usually under a provincial Engineering Act) in order to practise. They
must have extensive theoretical knowledge, the ability to think creatively,
and a knack for obtaining practical results. A bachelor’s degree in engi-
neering is the minimum educational requirement.
• Architect. Architects are mainly concerned with the planning, aesthetic
design, and construction management of buildings, including residences,
offices, and institutional and industrial buildings. Architects, geoscientists,
and engineers often work together, since each has a specialty that may apply
to such buildings. For example, an architect may conduct the aesthetic
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design and layout plan for a large building; may engage professional geosci-
entists to assess the foundation design and seismic problems; and may
engage professional engineers to design the structural steel and internal
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Architects also make
decisions that affect life, health, property, or the welfare of the public, so they
must be licensed (usually under a provincial Architects Act) in order to prac-
tise. These Acts typically contain several clauses that define the boundary
between the responsibilities of engineer, geoscientist, and architect. A bach-
elor’s degree in architecture is the minimum educational requirement.
• Technologist. Technologists work most closely with engineers and geo-
scientists, and often perform key aspects of engineering or geoscience
practice, such as design, testing, computing, solving problems, super-
vising, project management, and so forth, under the direction of a
licensed practitioner. The basic educational requirement is usually a

diploma from a technology program at a community college, CEGEP
(Collège d’enseignement général et professionel ), or CAAT (college of applied
arts and technology), although many technologists have a bachelor’s
degree (usually in science, mathematics, or technology). Technologists
often supervise the work of others and are encouraged to have qualifica-
tions that are recognized by a technical society.
In fact, the province of Alberta regulates professional technologists

under the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act, and
technologists are represented on the Association of Professional Engineers,
Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) Council, Board of
Examiners, and other relevant committees. Alberta has taken the lead in
making the boundary between engineers, geoscientists, and technologists
less rigid. The technologist designation is a “right to title.” That is, the pro-
fessional technologist designation confers the right to use professional
technologist titles, but does not limit the right of unlicensed technologists
to practise as technologists. It is a positive step, since more effective use of
technologists will likely increase productivity.
Associations of engineering technicians and technologists have been
established in all 10 provinces (although not in the territories) to certify
the qualifications of technologists. The provincial technician/technologist
associations are, in turn, members of an umbrella organization, the
Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT), which is a
federation of the 10 provincial associations. CCTT was established in 1972
to coordinate activities and facilitate exchanges of information among the
provincial associations of technicians and technologists.
In 2007, the 10 provincial associations within CCTT represented more
than 49,000 registered technicians and technologists across Canada.18
However, since certification is voluntary, there were probably many more
people actually practising as technicians or technologists. The total
number is estimated to be roughly equal to the number of professional
engineers and geoscientists practising in Canada (over 160,000).
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Certification as a technologist requires an assessment of the candidate’s

educational background. The candidate also must document at least two
years of relevant experience. Certification is voluntary and is not required
in order to work as a technician or technologist in Canada; however, only
certified technologists are entitled to use the following designations:
Certified Engineering Technologist (CET), Applied Science Technologist
(AScT), Registered Engineering Technologist (RET), or Technologue
Professionnel (TP). Which title is used depends on the province in which
certification is granted. In recent years the certification of technologists and
technicians has been assisted by provincial Associations of Professional
Engineers. In fact, the organization of the provincial technology associa-
tions and CCTT closely parallels that of the provincial engineering
Associations and Engineers Canada, as described in the next chapter.
• Technician. Technicians usually work under the supervision of engi-

neers or technologists in the practical aspects of engineering tests or
equipment maintenance. The basic educational requirement is usually a
diploma from a program at a community college, CEGEP, or CAAT. This
program is usually shorter than for technologists. In most provinces the
title Certified Technician (C.Tech.) may be awarded by the provincial asso-
ciations of technicians and technologists after the applicant completes the
appropriate education and acquires two years of appropriate experience.
Certification is not essential to work as a technician.
• Skilled Worker. Typically, skilled workers apply highly developed manual
skills to carry out the designs and plans of others. Master artisans train
skilled workers, and the quality of a worker’s apprenticeship is more impor-
tant than the worker’s formal education. Each type of trade worker (electri-
cian, plumber, carpenter, welder, pattern maker, bricklayer, machinist, etc.)
comes under a different certification procedure, which varies from province
to province.
In a large project, each group in this technical spectrum will be required,

at different times. Each has a different task and has different skills, knowl-
edge, and training to offer. Knowledge of each group, and mutual respect for
their expertise, are the keys to successful projects and a cooperative, produc-
tive working environment.
Engineers and geoscientists are usually the key link between scientific
theory and practical applications but, as we see in Chapter 2 of this text, legal
definitions are required to delineate their roles, and to separate them from
natural scientists and architects.
INTRODUCTION TO CASE HISTORIES
As Canadians, we can be proud of many spectacular achievements, from the

construction of the transcontinental railway in 1885, to the flight of the Avro
Arrow in 1958, to the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. We tend
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to take success for granted when well-designed structures and devices work
properly. In contrast, when structures or projects fail, we focus our attention
on the failure. We ask why it happened and how similar failures can be
avoided in the future.
When a failure is costly, in lives or in money, an investigation panel or
Royal Commission studies the failure impartially and publicly. As a result, we
often learn more from failures than from successes, although the lessons are
learned at a great cost. Remember that failure itself is not proof of unethical
or incompetent practice. Many projects push the limits of knowledge. New
projects always involve risk, and even determined, ethical professionals
cannot guarantee success every time.
The case histories in this textbook involve engineers and/or geoscientists,
and concern ethical aspects such as negligence, incompetence, conflict of
interest, or corrupt practices. Many of the cases are fairly well known,
occurred in Canada, and are tragic, but some good may result if we can learn
from them and avoid similar tragedies in future.
CASE HISTORY 1.1
THE QUEBEC BRIDGE COLLAPSE

The first case history tells the story of the collapse of the Quebec Bridge in
1907, and the negligence that led to that collapse. This case is important,
even a century later, because many lessons were learned (as summarized at
the end of this chapter) and Canadians were made aware of the need for the
professional licensing of engineers.
An Overview of the Project
The Quebec Bridge, which had its official opening in 1919, is the longest can-
tilever span in the world, with a centre-distance between supports of 549 m
(1,800 ft.). The massive size of the Quebec Bridge makes it a very impressive
structure. In fact, you must see it in person to fully comprehend its grandeur.
However, the Quebec Bridge is infamous for the many lives lost in the har-
rowing accidents that occurred during its construction. The Canadian
Encyclopedia Plus summarizes these tragic losses succinctly:
Québec Bridge Disasters: Construction on the Québec Bridge, 11 km above
Québec City, officially began in 1900. On 29 August 1907, when the bridge was
nearly finished, the southern cantilever span twisted and fell 46 m into the
St. Lawrence River. Seventy-five workmen, many of them Kahnawake (formerly
Caughnawaga), were killed in Canada’s worst bridge disaster. An inquiry estab-
lished that the accident had been caused by faulty design and inadequate
engineering supervision. Work was resumed, but on 11 September 1916 a new
centre span being hoisted into position fell into the river, killing 13 men. The
bridge was completed in 1917 and the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) offi-
cially opened it 22 August 1919.19
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The residents of Quebec City advocated building a bridge over the

St. Lawrence River as early as 1852, and a site had been chosen where the river
narrowed just upstream of the city. Designs were prepared, but serious work
did not begin until 1900. The success of the cantilevered Forth Bridge, built
in 1890 in Scotland, was a factor in the choice of a cantilever design for the
Quebec Bridge. The Forth Bridge, the first bridge built entirely of steel, has
two spans of 521 m (1,710 ft.) each. At the time, these were the world’s
longest unsupported (cantilevered) bridge spans, and they would remain so
for 27 years, until the Quebec Bridge was successfully completed.
At the time of the 1907 accident, four parties were directly involved in
constructing the Quebec Bridge superstructure:
• the Government of Canada, which had provided subsidies and a guar-
antee of bonds to
• the Quebec Bridge & Railway Company (known simply as the “Quebec
Bridge Company”), which had responsibility for the complete structure,
and which had contracted with
• the Phoenix Bridge Company in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to design
and construct the superstructure, and which had subcontracted with the
• the Phoenix Iron Company, to fabricate the steel components.
The Quebec Bridge Company employed a chief engineer, Edward Hoare,
on the site, and a consulting engineer, Theodore Cooper of New York, as well
as many hundreds of erection and inspection staff. In technical terms,
Cooper was highly competent: “In the extent of his experience and in repu-
tation for integrity, professional judgement and acumen, Mr. Cooper had few
equals on this continent.” Early in the design work, it was decided that
Cooper’s decisions on technical matters would be final. Cooper insisted on
this, so the government gave him full technical authority, in writing, as an
order-in-council.20 Astonishingly, although Cooper was the ultimate tech-
nical authority, he visited the Quebec site only while the supporting piers
were being built and was never on site thereafter. Furthermore, over the
many years that the bridge components were being fabricated, he visited the
Phoenix Iron Company shops only three times.21
Norman McLure was the Quebec Bridge Company’s inspector of erection.
Cooper had appointed him, with Hoare’s agreement, and McLure received
instructions from both of them. He reported to Hoare mainly on “matters
regarding monthly estimates, and to Cooper on matters of construction.”22
The Phoenix Bridge Company’s chief engineer was Mr. Deans, who was an
experienced bridge builder but was more accurately described, after the acci-
dent, as its “chief business manager.”23 The design engineer was Mr. Szlapka,
a German-educated engineer with 27 years of experience in designing many
similar projects. Szlapka was responsible for generating the design details and
had the full confidence of Cooper.24
A competition for the design was held in 1898. Cooper reviewed the sub-
mitted plans and recommended the Phoenix Bridge Company’s design,
which showed a span of about 488 m (1,600 ft.) between the supporting piers.
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The contracts for detailed design and construction were signed, and work
began in 1899. Cooper requested further investigation of the riverbed to
ascertain the best locations for the supporting piers. After much study, he rec-
ommended that the piers be located closer to shore, thus lengthening the
unsupported span to 549 m (1,800 ft.).
The First Collapse
In 1907, with the first span of the cantilever now reaching out over the water,
it became obvious that some parts of the structure were deforming in unex-
pected ways. This was communicated to Cooper in New York. H. Petroski
summarizes these fatal days concisely in his highly readable book Engineers of
Dreams:
The south arm of the Québec Bridge had been cantilevered out about six hun-
dred feet over the St. Lawrence River by early August 1907, when it was dis-
covered that the ends of pieces of steel that had been joined together were bent.
Cooper was notified, by letter, by Norman R. McLure, a 1904 Princeton grad-
uate who was “a technical man” in charge of inspecting the bridge work as it
proceeded, who suggested some corrective measures. Cooper sent back a
telegram rejecting the proposed procedure and asking how the bends had
occurred. Over the next three weeks, in a series of letters back and forth among
Cooper, chief engineer Deans, and McLure, Cooper repeatedly sought to under-
stand how the steel had gotten bent, and rejected explanation after explana-
tion put forth by his colleagues. Cooper alone seems to have been seriously
concerned about the matter until the morning of August 27 when McLure
reported that he had become aware of additional bending of other chords in
the truss work and, since “it looked like a serious matter,” had the bends meas-
ured; he explained that erection of additional steel had been suspended until
Cooper and the bridge company could evaluate the situation.
Yet, even as McLure went to New York to discuss the matter with Cooper,
Hoare, as chief engineer of the Quebec Bridge Company, had authorized
resumption of work on the great cantilever. As soon as McLure and Cooper
had discussed the bent chords, Cooper wired Phoenixville: “Add no more load
to bridge till after due consideration of facts.” McLure had reported that work
had already been suspended, and so contacting Québec more directly was not
believed to be urgent, but when McLure went on to Phoenixville, he found
that the construction had in fact been resumed. Some conflicting reports
followed, thanks in part to a telegraph strike then in progress, as to whether
Cooper’s telegram was delivered and read in time for Phoenixville to alert
Québec.
In any event, the crucial telegram lay either undelivered or unread as the
whistle blew to end the day’s work at 5:30 P.M. on August 29, 1907. According
to one report, ninety-two men were on the cantilever arm at that time, and
when “a grinding sound” was heard, they turned to see what was happening.
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“The bridge is falling,” came the cry, and the workmen rushed shoreward amid
the sound of “snapping girders and cables booming like a crash of artillery.”
Only a few men reached safety; about seventy-five were crushed, trapped, or
drowned in the water, surrounded by twisted steel. The death toll might also
have included those on the steamer Glenmont, had it not just cleared the bridge
when the first steel fell. Boats were lowered at once from the Glenmont to look
for survivors, but there were none to be found in the water. Because of the
depth of the river at the site, which allowed ocean liners to pass, and which had
demanded so ambitious a bridge in the first place, the debris sank out of sight,
and “a few floating timbers and the broken strands of the bridge toward the . . .
shore were the only signs that anything unusual had happened.” The crash of
the uncompleted bridge “was plainly heard in Québec,” and the event literally
“shook the whole countryside so that the inhabitants rushed out of their
houses, thinking that an earthquake had occurred.” In the dark that evening,
the groans of a few men trapped under the shoreward steel could be heard, but
little could be done to help them until daylight.25
Photo 1.3 — The Quebec Bridge (1907 collapse). The twisted wreckage of the
Quebec Bridge (Phoenix design) stretches out toward the south pier, after the
collapse on August 29, 1907.
Source: The Québec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River near the City of Québec: Report
of the Government Board of Engineers, Department of Railways and Canals Canada, 1919.
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The Report of the Royal Commission
Within hours of the accident, a Royal Commission was established to determine

the cause. The Commission prepared a thorough report containing lessons—
learned at great cost—that have benefited structural engineers and bridge
designers in Canada and around the world.26 As G.H. Duggan later wrote:
The report of the Royal Commission appointed to investigate the failure of the
Phoenix[-designed] Bridge in 1907 is very comprehensive, and goes beyond the
mere taking of evidence and the investigation of the faults of the bridge, as
the Commission assembled most of the available data on other long span
bridges, illustrated their important features, recorded the tests on large size com-
pression members that had any bearing upon the work, and made a number of
tests to supply some lacking experimental data of the behaviour of large com-
pression members under stress.27

The report concluded that appointing Hoare as chief engineer of the
Quebec Bridge Company was a mistake. Although he had a “reputation for
integrity, good judgement and devotion to duty,” he was not technically com-
petent to control the work. Regarding Deans, chief engineer of the Phoenix
Bridge Company, the report concluded that his “actions in the month of
August, 1907, and his judgement . . . were lacking in caution, and show a
failure to appreciate emergencies that arose.” However, the Commission
assigned most of the blame for the bridge’s collapse to errors in judgment
made by Cooper and Szlapka.28
Design and Communication Deficiencies
The Commission’s report identified several serious deficiencies in the bridge’s

design and in the construction methods followed. Specifically, the design
loads were underestimated, and the engineers failed to investigate, even when
the bent members showed that very high compressive stresses existed.
The stresses were originally calculated by Szlapka using an estimate of the
total dead weight of the bridge—an estimate made by Cooper at the start of
the design process. However, as the detail design progressed and as the pre-
cise shapes of the members were determined, the dead weight changed. The
stresses should have been recalculated using more accurate estimates of the
dead weight. This was not done. It is especially noteworthy that the bridge
span had originally been specified as 488 m (1,600 ft.), but Cooper later rec-
ommended moving the supporting piers, which increased the span to 549 m
(1,800 ft.). When the bridge’s span was increased, the dead weight increased
significantly, yet this increase was not included in the calculations. This point
is explained more clearly by Petroski:
In short, what Szlapka had done was to let stand an educated guess as to the
weight of steel that the finished bridge would contain. Such guesses, guided by
experience and judgment, are the only way to begin to design a new structure,
for without information on the weight of the structure, the load that the
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members themselves must support cannot be fully known. When the loadings
are assumed, the sizes of the various parts of the bridge can be calculated, and
then their weight can be added up to check the original assumption. For an
experienced engineer designing a conventional structure, a final calculation of
weights only serves to confirm the educated guess, and so such a calculation
may not even be made in any great detail. In the case of a bridge of new and
unrealized proportions, however, there is little experience to provide guidance
in guessing the weight accurately in the first place; a recalculation, or a series
of iterated recalculations, is necessary to gain confidence in the design. . . .
According to the findings of the commission, “the failure to make the neces-
sary recomputations can be attributed in part to the pressure of work in the
designing offices and to the confidence of Mr. Szlapka in the correctness of his
assumed dead load concentrations. Mr. Cooper shared this confidence.” Since
Cooper was well known to have a “faculty of direct and unsparing criticism,”
his confidence in Szlapka’s design work went unquestioned. . . .
The underestimation of the true weight of the bridge had actually come to
Cooper’s attention earlier in the design process, but only after considerable
material had been fabricated and construction had begun. At this time, a recal-
culation of the stresses in the bridge led Cooper to consider that the error had
meant that some stresses had been underestimated by 7–10 percent. All struc-
tures are designed with a certain margin of safety; he felt the error had reduced
that margin to a small but acceptable limit, and so the work was allowed to pro-
ceed. In fact, some of the effects of the underestimated weights were, in the
final analysis, of the order of 20 percent, and this was beyond the margin of
error that the structure could tolerate.29
Other human failures also contributed to the collapse, and addressing

them might have prevented the tragedy or lessened its consequences. Because
of advancing age and declining health, Cooper had been unable to visit the
construction site during the two final recent years of construction. Also,
Szlapka criticized Cooper for making the bottom chords curved “for artistic
reasons” and for failing to visit the Phoenixville plant where the bridge parts
were being fabricated. The Royal Commission’s report commented on
Cooper’s role and on the design deficiencies and communication problems:
Mr. Cooper states that he greatly desired to build this bridge as his final work, and
he gave it careful attention. His professional standing was so high that his
appointment left no further anxiety about the outcome in the minds of all most
closely concerned. As the event proved, his connection with the work produced
in general a false feeling of security. His approval of any plan was considered by
everyone to be final, and he has accepted absolute responsibility for the two great
engineering changes that were made during the progress of the work—the
lengthening of the main span and the changes in the specification and the
adopted unit stresses. In considering Mr. Cooper’s part in this undertaking, it
should be remembered that he was an elderly man, rapidly approaching seventy,
and of such infirm health that he was only rarely permitted to leave New York.30
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Cooper’s distance from the construction site and his inability to travel cre-
ated a communication problem that played a critical role in the days leading
up to the disaster. Nevertheless, even today, when cellular telephones (capable
of sending photos), fax machines, e-mail, and overnight courier service
permit design work to be conducted off-site, it is unimaginable that the key
consulting engineer would neglect to ever visit the construction site—
especially when that engineer has ultimate technical authority of the sort that
Cooper wielded.
Organizational Deficiencies
The Royal Commission also criticized both the Quebec Bridge Company and
Cooper for the way in which the project had been organized:
Mr. Cooper assumed a position of great responsibility, and agreed to accept an

inadequate salary for his services. No provision was made by the Quebec Bridge
Company for a staff to assist him, nor is there any evidence to show that he
asked for the appointment of such a staff. He endeavoured to maintain the nec-
essary assistants out of his own salary, which was itself too small for his per-
sonal services, and he did a great deal of detail work which could have been
satisfactorily done by a junior. The result of this was that he had no time to
investigate the soundness of the data and theories which were being used in the
designing, and consequently allowed fundamental errors to pass by him
unchallenged. The detection and correction of these fundamental errors is a
distinctive duty of the consulting engineer, and we are compelled to recognize
that in undertaking to do his work without sufficient staff or sufficient remu-
neration both he and his employers are to blame, but it lay with himself to
demand that these matters be remedied.31
This problem persists even today, as shown by the 1988 Burnaby super-
market roof collapse (discussed in Chapter 4). Moreover, in the case of the
Quebec Bridge, it seems that this lesson was not fully learned by the govern-
ment’s Board of Engineers. When the bridge reconstruction began, the Board
spent more than two years and half a million dollars preparing specifications
for the bridge. But then, having expended so much time and money, it
expected engineering companies to prepare detailed competitive bids within
four months with no remuneration.32
Redesign and Reconstruction
In 1908 the Government of Canada, recognizing that the bridge would be a

key link in the transcontinental railway, decided that the demolished bridge
should be redesigned and reconstructed. The government established a
three-person Board of Engineers to prepare plans and specifications and to
supervise the reconstruction. The Board’s duties and powers were clearly
defined.
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Having reviewed the earlier plans and the report of the Royal
Commission, the Board adopted a modified cantilever structure with a wider
base, and with straight lower chords. Removing the twisted steel and debris
from the 1907 disaster took two years. After that, new supporting piers were
built that went down to bedrock. Under the Board’s direction, the super-
structure was designed, manufactured, and erected by the St. Lawrence Bridge
Company, Ltd., of Montreal. In the new design, the compressive chords were
significantly larger than in the original design.
From the published data, it appears that the Phoenix bridge, with less effi-
cient compressive chords, must have been a very slender design, compared to
the Firth of Forth Bridge. Cooper designed the steel cross-sectional areas of
the original Phoenix design to be slightly larger than those of the Forth
Bridge. However, the Phoenix compressive members were rectangular; the
Forth Bridge has circular cross-sections.

Circular cross-sections always give a larger resistance against buckling
(moment of inertia), but more importantly, circular sections do not require
latticework or cross-braces. These secondary members add a great deal of
weight. Circular chords were considered for the Quebec Bridge, but rejected
as uneconomical. Circular sections could be built easily in Scotland, where
shipyards were accustomed to large structures, and had the knowledge and
machinery to fabricate curved surfaces. In North America, at that time, facil-
ities for projects of this magnitude were scarce.
The final (St. Lawrence) bridge design was intended to instill confidence
in the structure: the massive compressive chords are almost 2.5 times as heavy
(per unit length) as those on the Forth Bridge.33
The Second Collapse
During the reconstruction, a second disaster occurred. The original (Phoenix)

erection plan was to construct the bridge entirely in place by building each
cantilever out from the riverbank until the two met at mid-span. For the
second (St. Lawrence) design, the erection plan was to build the cantilevers
only partway out from the shore. Meanwhile, the central part of the span
would be assembled onshore. At the appropriate time, it would be floated out
and raised into position. On September 11, 1916, the weather and tides were
suitable for floating the middle span to the bridge and raising it into place. All
went smoothly, and by mid-morning the span had been lifted about 7 m
(23 ft.) above the water. At about 11 a.m., a sharp crack was heard and the
centre span slid off its four corner supports into the river. Thirteen men were
killed and 14 more were injured.
An investigation conducted by the St. Lawrence Bridge Company and the
Board of Engineers found that the accident was unrelated to the design and
was caused by a material failure in one of the four bearing castings that sup-
ported the central span temporarily while it was being transported and
hoisted. The St. Lawrence Bridge Company assumed the responsibility for the
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Photo 1.4 — The Quebec Bridge (1916 collapse). The collapse of the centre
span of the Quebec Bridge (St. Lawrence design), photographed at the instant it hit
the water on September 11, 1916.
failure, a second span was constructed, and the design of the support bearings
was changed from a casting to a lead “cushion.” The new middle span was
successfully lifted into place, over three days, in August 1917. The bridge was
opened to traffic in 1918, and a formal ceremony attended by the Prince of
Wales was held on August 22, 1919.
Aftermath: Some Hard Lessons Learned
In the decade following the Quebec Bridge disasters, the first Acts to license
professional engineers were put into law. The Ritual of the Calling of an
Engineer (described in Chapter 5) was instituted, and even today the chain
and iron rings used in that ritual are rumoured to be made from the actual
steel that claimed the lives of so many men in the cold waters of the
St. Lawrence. There are many lessons to be learned from Canada’s worst
bridge disaster, such as the importance of the following:
• Providing adequate capitalization for large-scale projects.

• Hiring capable and competent professionals.
• Defining clearly the duties, authority, and responsibility of personnel.
• Discussing design decisions and technical problems openly.
• Reviewing details, especially in the iterative task of engineering design.
• Monitoring work on the site adequately.
• Ensuring that communication is rapid and accurate.
• Providing adequate support staff and remuneration for professional people.
Provincial regulation of engineering helps achieve these goals. The profes-

sional engineer’s stamp on engineering plans and specifications identifies unam-
biguously who is responsible for the accuracy of the documents and for the
computations on which they are based. These lessons were learned at great cost.
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Photo 1.5 — The Quebec Bridge (completed structure). A view of the

completed bridge from the north shore, in 1919.
Where to Learn More
The two-volume book cited below describes the Quebec Bridge in impressive
detail. The book is a classic of project documentation, and is well worth
reading, even a century after the disaster, by anyone interested in structural
design. It is available in most university libraries. More reading suggestions
for Canadian engineering history are listed in Appendix E.
The Québec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River near the City of Québec: Report of the
Government Board of Engineers, Department of Railways and Canals Canada,
printed by order of the Governor General in Council, 31 May 1919.
DISCUSSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
1. The section “An Inspiring Legacy” in this chapter summarizes over 15

Canadian engineering and/or geoscience achievements. Select one of
these achievements, and investigate it in more detail, using the Internet
or your library. Write a brief description of the project (not more than
two or three pages). Be sure to include: the motivation for the project;
the name of the key person or group responsible for the project; any
major technical or financial problems facing the designers or builders.
What was (or is) the major impact of the project on Canada?
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2. The Avro Arrow, a supersonic interceptor aircraft designed and built in

Canada in the 1950s, is not included in the section “An Inspiring
Legacy” in this chapter, but it should be. Although the Arrow was
decades ahead of other military interceptor aircraft of the time, it was
cancelled in 1958. Write a brief description of the project (not more than
two or three pages), using the Internet or your library. Be sure to include
the factors listed in the previous question, as well as an explanation of
the reason why the Arrow was abandoned, and the effect of the cancel-
lation on the Canadian aircraft industry.
3. The RIM (Research in Motion) Blackberry® wireless communicating
device is a Canadian invention, and a phenomenal success story for
the 21st century. The Blackberry is used by millions of people and
organizations around the world, because it provides secure wireless email
and communications. Using the Internet, write a brief description (not

more than two or three pages) of this device, how it works, the patent
problems that RIM has faced, and RIM’s potential for the future.
Additional assignments can be found in Appendix E.
NOTES
[1] Parks Canada, “Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada,” available
at <www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/rideau/plan/plan3_E.asp> (May 11, 2008).
[2] Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), “Engineering Centennial and
Achievements,” Article 12 in History and Archives, available at
<www.eic-ici.ca/english/tour/article12.html> (May 11, 2008).
[3] N.R. Ball, Mind, Heart, and Vision: Professional Engineering in Canada 1877 to
1987, National Museums of Science & Technology, Ottawa, 1987.
[4] The Canadian Encyclopedia, available at <www.canadianencyclopedia.ca>
(May 11, 2008).
[5] Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), “Engineering Centennial and
Achievements.”
[6] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Fourth Assessment Report,
“The Physical Science Basis” (by Working Group 1, February 2007); “Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability” (by Working Group 2, April 2007); “Mitigation
of Climate Change” (by Working Group 3, May 2007); “Synthesis Report”
(by Working Group 4, November 2007). All reports available from the IPCC
website: <www.ipcc.ch> (May 11, 2008).
[7] Engineers Canada, Welcome page, Ottawa, March 2006, available at
<www.engineerscanada.ca/e/> (May 11, 2008).
[8] Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists (CCPG), Press Release, March 29,
2007, available at <www.ccpg.ca> (May 8, 2008).
[9] Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), Engineers Canada, 2007
Accreditation Criteria and Procedures, Ottawa, 2007, p. 28, available at
<www.engineerscanada.ca/e/pu_ab.cfm> (June 15, 2009).
[10] Canadian Geoscience Standards Board (CGSB), a committee of CCPG, Geoscience
Knowledge and Experience Requirements for Professional Registration in Canada,
May 2008, available at <www.ccpg.ca> (June 15, 2009).
[11] Task Force on the Future of Engineering, Engineers Canada (formerly Canadian
Council of Professional Engineers—CCPE), The Future of Engineering, Ottawa,
1988, p. 33.
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[12] Engineers Canada, The Future of Engineering.

[13] Engineers Canada (formerly Canadian Council of Professional Engineers—
CCPE), National Survey of the Canadian Engineering Profession, 2002, Ottawa,
2003.
[14] Services Canada, Job Futures, National Career and Education Planning Tool,
available at <www.jobfutures.ca> (May 7, 2008).
[15] Services Canada, Job Futures, National Career and Education Planning Tool.
[16] Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged © 1993 by
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Reprinted with permission.
[17] Engineers Canada, National Survey of the Canadian Engineering Profession, 2002,
p. 10.
[18] Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT), About Us, available
at <www.cctt.ca/home.asp> (May 11, 2008).
[19] H.A. Halliday, “Québec Bridge Disasters,” The Canadian Encyclopedia Plus,
McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1995, available at <www.canadianencyclo-
pedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006593> (May 11, 2008).
Used by permission, McClelland & Stewart, Inc., The Canadian Publishers.

[20] Canada, Royal Commission, Québec Bridge Inquiry Report, Sessional Paper No.
154, 7–8 Edward VII, Ottawa, 1908, p. 49.
[21] Ibid., p. 50.
[22] Ibid., p. 50.
[23] Ibid., p. 51.
[24] Ibid., p. 52.
[25] H. Petroski, Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of
America, pp. 104–105. Copyright © 1995 by Henry Petroski. Used by permission
of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
[26] Canada, Royal Commission, Québec Bridge Inquiry Report.
[27] G.H. Duggan, The Québec Bridge, bound monograph, prepared originally as an
illustrated lecture for the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, January 10, 1918.
[28] Canada, Royal Commission, Québec Bridge Inquiry Report.
[29] H. Petroski, Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of
America, pp. 108–109. Copyright © 1995 by Henry Petroski. Used by permission
of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
[30] Canada, Royal Commission, Québec Bridge Inquiry Report, p. 49.
[31] Ibid., p. 50.
[32] Petroski, Engineers of Dreams, p. 115.
[33] Duggan, The Québec Bridge.
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hapt er 2
Regu lation of Engineering
nd Geoscience
1\ key role of government is to protect the publ ic. Th erefore, wh en th e gov-

«ru mcn t co n fers professiona l status on a reco gni zed profession, th e public
wel fare mu st be prot ected by licen ces and by regulations th at
ad m it o n ly qu alified people to the profession ,

establish stand ard s of professiona l pract ice and Codes of Ethics, and
disci pline n egligent, in compet ent, or un scrupulou s practiti oners (whe n
necessary).
This cha pter describes th e licen sin g process an d gives an ove rview o f othe r
IJasic regulations. Since yo u a re (or likely will be) a licen sed member of a "self-
Il'gulating" profession, yo u sho u ld read this ch a pte r critica lly. How wo uld
/ou regu late you r profession ?
HE EV O LUT IO N OF ENGINEERING
AN D G EO S CIEN CE LICENSING
I)ro f e ssional Engineering
EIfor ts to place enginee ring o n th e same profession al foo ting as law a nd med -
lcln e bega n as ear ly as 188 7, wh en the Ca nad ia n Soc iety of Civil Eng ine ers
(CSCE) h eld its first ge n era l m eeting. Th e ca m paign to regu lat e th e e ng i-
uocrtn g p ro fession was led by th e CSCE (wh ich in 1918 becam e th e
I:,ngineering Institute of Ca nad a, or EI C). In th e years after Co n fed eration,
1I10St of Ca nada followed th e British mod el: eng inee rs e nte red th e profession
alter a pe riod of apprentices h ip, and few engine ers were university grad uates.
However, from its very start, th e CSCE took it upon itself to esta blish and
mnin tain hi gh sta n da rds for admi ssion to th e SOCi et y, with th e go al o f
Improvin g professional eng ineering practices. Appli cants were requi red to be
II leas t 30 years o f age an d to h ave at least 10 yea rs of experience, wh ich cou ld
Include a n a ppren ticesh ip in a n e ng inee r's office o r a term of in structi on in a
school o f eng inee ring accep tab le to th e CSCE Co un cil. Each ap plica n t also
had to sho w "responsible charge of wor k" for at least 5 yea rs as an e nginee r,
design ing a nd dir ecting engineering wor ks. '
o PART ONE ' PROFESS I ONA L LI CENSIN G ANO REGULATION CHAPTER 2 • R egu/atio~ of. Engineer ing and Geosci e nce 31
In spite of th is early Ca n ad ian initi ative, the United States wa s, in fact, th e professi on is n ot "se lf-reg u la t ing ." State go ve rn me n ts appoint lice n sin g
first co u n t ry to reg u late th e practice of eng ineering . T he State of W yoming board s to license e ng inee rs, a n d th e gove rn me n ts es ta b lish th e regu lati on s
e n ac ted a law in 190 7, af ter m an y in st an ces o f gross in compet en ce wer e I hat e n g in eer s must fo llow . Th er efor e, po liti cian s typ ical ly playa more sig-
o bserv ed in a ma jo r irr igatio n p ro ject .s In Ca nad a, the d ead ly co lla pses that nlfi ca n t ro le in es ta b lis h ing a n d e n fo rcing regu lations in th e U.S. sys te m
occurred d urin g th e co n st ruc ti o n o f t he Q ue bec Brid ge em p h at ica lly rein- Ihan t hey d o in Ca n ad a . An oth er sig n ifica n t differ en ce is th at a Ca n ad ia n
fo rced the n eed to reg u lat e th e professio n. (Ch apter 1 d escrib es th e Q ue bec licen ce con fers both th e right to pr acti se th e profession, as we ll as th e right
Bridg e d isast ers.) In th e titl e (p.Eng. o r P.Geo) . In th e U.S., licen sin g co n fe rs o n ly th e right to
How ever, it wo u ld be man y years befor e Ca nad ian eng ineers ove rca me pro- lise the title . As a result , a nyo n e ca n pr acti se . For exa m p le, thi s loo p h o le, we ll
fessiona l riva lries, bu sin ess co m pet it io n, cla ss barriers, and o the r imped im ents kno wn in e ng inee ring as th e " industri a l exe m pti on, " perm it s e n ti re i nd us-
and agreed on proposa ls to impro ve p rofessio na l sta n dards-an d , indirect ly, Id es to funct io n with unlicen sed e ngin eers.
th e status o f eng inee rs. In Aug ust 191 8, at a ge ne ral m eeti n g o f th e CSCE h eld In so m e co u n tries, eng inee ring is not a licen sed profession , a n d a nyo ne
in Saskatoon, an Albe rta engin eer n amed F.H . Pet ers ca lled o n th e Socie ty to may use the term "en gin eer." In th o se co u n tries, th e po ssession o f a d egree or
see k licen sing legislation . In his view, enginee rs had d eveloped t he nation's membe rsh ip in a techni cal soc iety may be th e o n ly gu ide to th e per son 's co m-
reso ur ces bu t h ad ye t to recei ve th e remun erati on and th e resp ect th ey pl'len ce. In Britain, for exa m p le, licensin g is n ot co m pu lsory a n d th e titl e o f
deserved .' At that tim e, th e First World War was dr awing to an en d , and th e I'IIsil/eer often m ean s m eclumic-s-uv: sign" Eng in eer o n Duty" h an gs o uts ide
floo d of returni n g so ld iers-some o f whom had b een in vo lved in ya rio us man y ga rages. Britis h e ng inee ring socie ties a ward th e titl e of C h a rte red
asp ects of mi lita ry en gi ne ering- was dr amaticall y in cr ea sing th e nu mber o f I':ngin eer to members wh o join vo lu n ta rily an d meet the Soc iety's ad m issio n
en g in ee rs. Th is was de pres sing sa la ries, in creasin g co m pe titio n, an d quality Il 'q u i rcrn en ts.
was at risk.
Th e CSCE (w h ich h ad just cha nged its name to th e EIC) dr aft ed a Model I'rofession a l Ge o s ci enc e
Act, and pu bli sh ed it in th e me [ ournal , In Sep te m be r 191 9, th e lourna l The licensing o f pr ofession al geoscien tis ts h as fo llow ed rou ghl y th e sa llie
an no u n ced that 77 percent o f EIC mem be rs had app roved th e Model Act by pal h as th at o f pro fession al e ng inee rs over th e past 80 years. Th e fo llow ing
ma il ba llot. By t h e spr ing o f 1920 , a ll provinces exce pt O n ta rio, Saska tc hewa n , quote gives a bri ef hi story:
an d Prin ce Edward Island h ad passed licensin g laws. In O n tario, a joint advi-
so ry co m m ittee red raft ed th e bill , a n d it becam e law in 192 2. Th e laws The engineering professions were regulate d in Cana da in t he early decades of th e twen-
en ac ted in Briti sh Co lum bia, Manitoba, Q ue bec , New Brun swick, and Nova tiet h century. From th e out set. it was recognized th at the work of many geoscientist s
Scot ia were "closed," wh ic h m ea n t tha t eng inee rs would req u ire a licence also affect ed th e public welfare t hroug h their involvement in oil, gas and ore reserves
eith er to p racti se engi nee ring or to use the titl e o f Profession al Eng inee r estimation, exploration and mining activi tie s, and const ructio n of major engineering
(p.Eng.) . In Alberta an d Onta rio, th e laws we re "open," whi ch limited th e use works such as dams and bridges. More recently, geoscientis ts have become major players
o f th e P.En g. title, b ut licensing was vo lu n ta ry, so unlicensed peop le co uld st ill in th e broad area of environment al pract ice.
p ractise eng in ee ring. Albe rta a me n d ed its Act to close it in 19 30; O n tar io Initially, geoscienti sts whose work impacted th e welfa re of th e public were licensed as
closed its Act in 193 7.4 enginee rs, usually as mining enginee rs. In Albert a, John A. Allan, a prominen t geosci-
In th e years tha t fo llowed, all o f Ca na da 's provin ces and territori es an d all entist and founder of t he Geology Departm ent at t he Universit y of Albert a, took an
of th e Amer ica n sta tes a me n de d or passed licen sin g law s to regulate the engi- act ive role in esta blishing th e Association of Profession al Engineers of Alberta (APEA) in
n ee ring professio n a nd the titl e o f Pro fession a l Eng ineer. Prince Ed ward the 1920 s an d became its president in t he 1930s. In th e 1950s, the discovery of oil and
Islan d , in 1955, was th e last provi n ce to en act closed legislation . Th er e is a key gas in Alberta focussed attention on th e geoscience professions, with th e result tha t
differen ce betw een th e Can ad ian an d Am eri can engineering law s. In Ca nad a, geologists, and the practice of geology an d geop hysics were explicitly identified in th e
th e e ng ine e ring p ro fessio n is "self-reg u lating": eac h province or territory ha s Engine ering Act in Alber ta in 1955. Separa te designations for geologists and geophysi-
pa ssed an Act to crea te an Assoc ia t ion o f profess io na l engineers, whi ch in cists (P.Geol. and P.Geoph.) were intr oduced in 1960 and, in 1966, APEA cha nged its
turn reg u lates t he professio n . name to become t he Associat ion of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geop hysicist s
Th e impo rtan ce of se lf-regu la tio n ca n no t be o ve re mp has ize d. Eac h of Alber ta (APEGGA).
Asso ciation's gove rn ing co u nc il mu st enfo rce th e Act, regu lati on s, a n d
by laws, b u t th e licen sed m ember s of th e Assoc ia t io n e lec t (m o st o f) the Following t he pattern in Alber ta, geoscientists are now licen sed in most Canadian
Co u nc il members . T his ensur es th at we ll-in fo rm ed e n gin eers are in vol ved provinces and territories by Associatio ns of enginee rs and geoscienti sts, established by
in th e regu lation of t he profession . By contras t, in the Un ite d Sta tes , the legislative acts covering t he professions of engineering an d qeoscience."
PART ONE. PROFESSI ONAL LICEN SI NG AND REGULATION 33
Th e Bre-X fraud, ex posed in 199 7, spur red t he regu lati on of geoscientists I 1I0 VINCIAL AND T ERRIT O R I A L ACTS
in th e sa me way t h at the collapse o f the Q ue bec Bridge, 90 year s ea rlier,
I II\' provinc ia l a nd territori a l go ve rn me n ts regula te e ngineering a nd geo -
spu rre d th e regul ation o f engineers. In 2000, th e Walkerton traged y rein-
rlv nce by Acts of prov incial legisla tures (in t he pro vin ces) o r legisla tive co un-
forced th e Bre-X lesso n. Seven peop le died an d over 2,300 became ill from
111\ (in th e territori es). These Act s are extreme ly im por tan t, since th ey are th e
co n ta m ina te d drinking water in Wa lkerton , Ontario. A Public In q ui ry
Il'l'ill basis for all professiona l regulat ion s.
reveal ed "o m issio ns o r failu res to tak e ap pro p riate acti on " o n th e part of
Eight p rov inces o r territories regu lat e engine er ing and geosc ience in t he
O n ta rio's Mini str y o f t he Environm ent, whi ch is responsibl e for monitoring
lill I ' Act, a nd three provin ces regulate eng ineering and geosc ience in sepa-
th e o pe ratio n o f mun icipa l wat er systems."
I Ill' Acts. Two jurisdi ctio ns (PEl and Yukon) regulate eng inee ring, but do not
Sho rtly t hereafter, O n ta rio pa ssed th e Professiona l Geoscie n t ists Act
1'1'1 regulate geoscience .
(2000), Quebec passed th e Geologists Act (Lai desgea/aglles-200 1), and Nova
Scotia passed th e Geosc ience Profession Act (200 2). However, Prince Edward
Alber ta Eng inee ring, Geo log ica l and Geo phys ica l
Islan d an d Yukon do n ot yet regu lat e geo science. (A case hi story of th e Bre-X
Professions Act
fraud is located at th e e nd of thi s chapte r.)
Uritish Co lumbia Engin eers and Geosc ien tists Act
Mnn it o b a Engin eerin g a n d Geoscie n tific Prof ession s
Qualified Persons-An I m p o r t a n t Ro l e
for Engineers and Geoscientists Act
New Urun swick Engin eering and Geoscience Professions Act
Some of th e regulati ons made aft er the Bre-X fraud and th e Walkert on tragedy Newfo u n d la n d & Engineers and Geoscient ists Act
in t rod uced th e term "q ualified person" (Q P). This term is now appearing in tab ra d o r
legisla tio n an d regu lati on s, and usu ally refers to profession al eng ineers o r North w est Engineering and Geoscience Professio ns Act
geoscien tists, as ap pro pria te. Territ o ri es
For exam ple, th e Ca n ad ian Securities Administrator s (CSA), an umbrella Nova Sc otia Engineering Prof essio n Act a nd Geosc ience
bod y for p rovin cia l securit ies regu lators, issued a do cumen t titl ed National Pro fession Act
Instru ment 43- 10 1, wh ich came into effect o n February I, 200 1. This docu- Nunav u t Engin eers and Geoscien tists Act
ment spec ifies th e (m and ato ry) format for providing o ra l st ate me n ts o r Ontario Professiona l Enginee rs Act and Th e Pro fes-
w ritten disclosur es o f scien tific or tech n ical inf ormati on to th e publ ic co n- sio n al Geosc ient ists Act
ce rn ing minera l p roject s. Th e do cum ent is ext reme ly spec ific- it even lists I>rince Ed ward Eng ineering Profession Act
th e headings for technica l reports. Th e CSA also stat es th at o n ly a Q P ca n dis- Islan d
close scien tific o r technical in format io n to th e pub lic regarding a m in era l (!u ebec Eng inee rs Act (Loi des ingeniellrs) and Geo logists
project. Th e CSA defin es a QP as an in d ividu al wh o: Act (Loi des geo/OSlles)
a) is an eng ine er or geosc ien tist with at least five yea rs o f ex pe rienc e in min - Snska t c h e w a n Engin ee rin g an d Geoscienc e Professions Act
erai explo ra tio n, min e develo pm en t or opera tion or minera l pro ject assess-
Yuk o n Engin eerin g Professio n Act
ment , or any co m bina tion o f these;
b) has ex pe rience relevant to th e sub ject matter o f th e min era l p roject and the
( cm t ents o f the Acts
techn ical report; and
c) is a member in good sta nd ing o f a profession al assoc iat io n. ? IlI l 'SI' Acts a re extre me ly important, as mention ed ab o ve, beca use th ey estab-
If peop le wh o are not q ua lified (under th is de fin itio n) assist a QP to pre- II II tile legal basis for enginee ring an d geosc ience as profession s. Th e Act s
par e a techn ical rep o rt, th e Q P m ust assum e respon sib ilit y for th e rep ort, an d d('lln ' basic terms; create th e Associati on as a legal e nt ity; define th e ex te n t
II I Its powe rs; a nd set sta nda rds for ad m issio n, pra cti ce, and di scipline o f pro-
mu st ens ure that all inform atio n is correct. A Q P mu st alway s visit th e site o n
wh ich the report is based . h'ssio nals. The fo llowin g clauses a re typi cal in each Act :
The restoration of "brown fields " (contam inated properties) also req uires The pur pose of the Act (wh ich, in every case, is to protect th e pu blic).
th e supe rvisio n and a pp roval of a Q P. Severa l prov in ces ar e developing legis- The lega l de fin itio n o f e ng ine ering and/o r geos cience .
latio n to monitor th e decontaminat ion of brown field s, and so me provincia l The a uthor ity to estab lish a provi ncia l (or terr itori al) Associati on .
Associa tio ns have a lso issued guide lines defining th e respon sibiliti es of pro- The pur pose (or o b jects) o f th e Associati on.
fessionals undert ak ing th e role of a Q P.8,9 Sta nd ards for gran ting licences (or for ad m issio n to th e Associatio n) .
34 PART ONE. PROFESSI ONAL LI CENSI NG AND REG ULATIO N CHAPTER 2 • Regu lati on of Enginee ring and Geos cie nce 35
- " Procedures for es tablish ing regu lati ons to gove rn profession al pra ctice. F,ngin ee ring n o w includ es hu n d red s o f br a n c h es, su bd isc ip lines, a n d
Procedures for establish ing bylaws to go ve rn th e Associatio n itself. 1"'('1alt ies- so man y, in fac t, t hat it is so meti mes h a rd to see th e boundar y
__ " A Code o f Eth ics [ 0 guide the personal actio ns o f the Licen sees (or members). lut wccn the pro fession s. Co nsid er th is sim p le ex am p le: Arch itec ts, gco sc ien -
Disciplina ry procedures. II Is, a nd e ng inee rs m ay coo pera te in th e d esign o f a new h ig h -r ise buil ding,
Every Act is avai lab le o n th e In te rn et, via t he Web pages fo r th e pro vincia l 1111 1 p lay d iffere n t ro les. Th e a rch itec t may d esign its art istic a p pea ra n ce a n d
a n d territo rial Associa tio n s. (Appen d ix A lists th e Web pages, and App end ix B 1111111 1 layout , th e geosc ien tis t ma y ca rry o u t t h e so il a nd site a na lys is, but th e
reprod uces key excerpts fro m a ll Act s, fo r easy refere nc e .) l'llgl llce r m ust a p p ro ve th e size o f th e st ruct u ra l stee l. Professio n a ls m ust
IIlIl W th eir ro les in a n y p ro ject; a u th or ity a nd resp on sibi lit y mu st be clea rly
" 1'lllled .
Self-Regulation of the Prof e ssions
IJA IIO NA L D EFI N ITI O N
Th e Acts esta b lish en g ine ering a n d geo scien ce as self-reg ula t ing pr ofessions,
like law, medi cine, a n d dent istry. Th e term "sel f-regu la tin g" means th a t th e Ill gln ee rs Ca n ad a (form e rly ca lled Th e Ca n ad ia n Co u nc il o f Pro fession al
licen sed mem ber s elect (most o f) th e ~ i a ti o n 's Co u n ci l. w ho a c!Jll!Db!~r I llgillcc rs) propo sed a nati on al definiti on for lit he practi ce of pr o fession al
th e Act. Thi s e n su res th at t he best -i n fo rm ed peop le a re in a po sit ion t o ~) l'llglnce rin g." Th e go a l is to assist gov e rn me n ts to ado pt co ns iste n t d efin l-
1IlI IIS in the ir Act s, a nd thu s pe rm it eng inee rs to p ractise across Ca nad a more
lish a n d e n fo rce t he sta nda rd s o f pr act.i ce, Co des of Eth ics, an d di sg . i line
I ' ixlly. The Eng inee rs Ca n ada n ationa l d efin itio n is as fo llows:
j;';;;ced u res th at p rot ect pub lic safety a n d th e en viro n me n t. The pub lic a lso
be n efits becau se t h ~o ci ati o n s ru n w it ho ut govern me n t fund in g. Lice nsi n g The Practice of Professional Engineering: any act of planni ng, designing, composing,
fees pay ad m in ist ra tiv e staff, a nd licen sed members se rve vo lu n ta rily o n th e rvaluatinq. advising, reporting, directing or supervising, or managing any of t he foregoing ,
ad m issio n , d iscip lin e, a n d ot he r co m m ittees . Ihat requires the application of engineering principles and that concerns th e safeguarding
of life, health, propert y, economic int erests, th e public welfare or the environment. [An
A Note about Nom enclat ure .idditional paragraph exempts natural scientists from t his definition .po
" O n tario uses t he ter m " license d" but o the r jur isd icti o ns use "registe red " to Th is is ac tua lly a circu la r definiti on , since it uses th e term "e ngin eering
ind icat e adm ission to the pro fessio n . The term s ar e eq u iva len t, but this text [u lnclp le»," w h ich n eed s fu rt h e r ex p lana ti o n . Th e d iffere nce be tw een ellsi-
1I1'I'ti Il S p rinc iples a nd scienti fic or technological p rin cip les h in ges o n th e pur-
uses "licens ed " to avoid any m isunderstand ing th at m e m be rsh ip is vo lu n -
tar y, o r tha t th e Association s ar e t rad e uni o ns o r spe cial interest gro u ps . pllSl' a n d d e pt h o f t h e st u dy, as ex p la ined in th e Ca nad ia n Eng inee rin g
" Th e term s " lice nsee," "practiti on er, " a n d "m em ber " a re in terch an gea ble . \, rrcdlta tio n Board' s crite ria for accred ita tio n :
" Th e term " p rofe sslo na l Act," "p rov in c ia l Act," o r sim p ly "Act" refers to th e l.nqinee rinq science subjects normally have their root s in mathemati cs and basic sci-
relevant Ac t or law (as listed a bove) in each p ro vin ce o r territor y. ouces, bu t carry kn owledge furt her toward crea tive applications. . .. Application to
• The term "Asso cia t io n" refe rs to th e Associat ion o f Profession a l En gin eers ill ntification and solution of practi cal engineeri ng problems is stressed. l l
a nd /o r Geoscie n tis ts (o r Ordre des il/s el/ iel/ rs o r Ordrc des s eoloSl/es) crea ted
un d er t h e Act, in ea ch pro vin ce o r terri tor y. In o the r words, eng inee ring invol ves a lm o st an y act tha t puts sc ience an d
1I1i11 hcrn at ics to crea ti ve, pr acti ca l use, an d tha t co nce rns th e safegua rd ing o f
llt«, health, proper ty, eco no m ic inter est s, the pu blic welfare, o r th e e n v iro n-
LEGAL DEFINITIONS OF ENG IN EER I NG A N D GEOSCIENCE 1111 '111. Th is is a very br o ad d efi n it io n; man y Acts add fu rt he r cla uses to clar ify
Definition o f Eng ineeri ng 1I Il' bo u nda ries wit h sc ie n tis ts a nd arc h itects.
Th e terms eng i neer a nd il/ s elll /it F co m e from th e sa me Lati n root , ingenium, II AL DEF I N IT IO N
w h ich mean s talen t, ge n ius, clevern ess, o r n at ive ab ility. An cien t Roma n ar mies Ihl' most im porta n t d efin iti o n o f eng inee ring is in th e Act for yo u r provin ce
marched with a co m p leme n t of eng inee rs to design a n d bu ild road s, fo rtifica- I I I territory, becau se t h a t d e fin ition ap p lies to yo u. Mo st Acts ad opt so me -
tio n s, a nd weap o n s o f war. Ove r th e ce n turies, non -mili ta ry o r civil eng inee rs liling sim ila r to t h e n ati o n a l d e fin it io n (above), but n ot id en ti cal. A few
eme rged, to d esign and bui ld th e st ructu res that a re esse n t ia l to a modern, pro vi nces list th e typ es o f m achin er y o r st ruc t u res (such as rai lways, bri d ges,
peacefu l soc ie ty. Today, th e rol e o f th e eng inee r has ex pa nde d. Ca nada sti ll h igh ways, a nd ca na ls) th at ar e withi n t h e e n ginee r's area o f pr actice . This
n eed s eng inee rs for wa r, regret tab ly; but all eng ineers a re co m m itte d to protect mak es th e d efin ition ve ry clea r a n d spec ific, bu t a lso very lo n g an d d ifficu lt
th e public, to build a bett er world, and to generat e prosperity. III r 'ad . As tun c passes, suc h lists beco m e o bso le te, as o ld co m po ne n ts (such
CHAPTER 2 • Regulation of EnJin eering. and Geosci en ce 37
l6 PART ONE . PRO FESSI ONAL LICENSI NG AND REG ULATION
"11 11 11 im um co nte n t" that sho uld be in clu ded in a defi ni tion o f profession a I
as stea m eng ines) d isa pp ear a nd n ew a rea s (suc h as nan otechn ol o gy
I'llscience.
e ng inee ring) emerge. Th e shor te r defi n itio n s a re easier to read , but are very
ge ne ra l (to th e poi nt o f being vag ue ). Th e definiti o n in O n ta rio's Act is prob- Th e following defini tion was developed by a ta sk gro u p of th e CC PG a nd
Ii IS bee n a p pro ved fo r c ircu lat io n by th e Ca na d ia n Geosc ience Sta nda rds
ably clo sest to th e natio nal definiti on :
lluard an d th e Board of Directo rs o f CCf PG:
The Practice of Prof essional Engineering: Any act of designing, composing, evalu-
The "pract ice of profe ssional geosci ence" means the performing of any activity th at
at ing, advising, reporting, directing or supervising wherein th e safeguarding of life,
requires application of th e principles of t he geological sciences, and that concerns t he
health, propert y or th e public welfare is concerne d and that requires t he application of
safeguarding of public welfare, life, healt h, property, or economic interests, including,
engineering principles, but does not include practising as a natura l scientist. [An addi-
but not limit ed to:
tional paragraph exempts natur al scientists. jl 2
(a) investigations, int erpret at ions, evaluatio ns, consulta tions or management aimed at
In Alberta, th e defin itio n is sim ila r, but n o t identical :
discovery or development of met allic or non-met allic minerals, rocks, nuclear or
"Practi ce of En gineer ing " means fossil fuels, precious sto nes and water resources;
(b) invest igations, interpretati ons, evaluations, consulta ti ons or management relati ng
(i) reportin g on, advising on, evaluating, designing, preparing plans and specifications
to geoscientifi c properties, conditio ns or processes t hat may affect the well-being
for or directing t he construction, technical inspecti on, maint enance or operati on of any
of t he general public, including th ose pert aining t o preservation of t he nat ural
st ructure, work or process
environment. I I,
(A) th at is aimed at the discovery, development or utili zation of matt er, materials or
energy or in any other way designed for the use and convenie nce of humans, and
The CC I'G definition in cludes a n exe m ptio n fo r ea rth science o r ea rt h
(B) th at requires in t hat reporting, advising, evaluating, designi ng, preparatio n or
vystcms sc ience, wh ich m ay in clude act ivity in fie lds suc h as a tm osp heric
science, m e teor o logy, a nd ocea nog raphy ; th ose a reas presentl y fall o uts ide
direction th e professional application of the principles of math emati cs, chemist ry,
the sco pe o f regulat ed prof ession al geosc ience in a ll Ca nadian juri sdi cti on s. IS
physics or any relate d applied subject , or
(ii) teaching enginee ring at a university.P

PROV I N C I A L AND T ER RI T O R I A L ASSOC I ATIONS
No te th at th e Alber ta defi niti on d oes not say th at th e eng inee r is resp on-
I':ach pro v in ce o r ter rit o ry h as a se lf-go ve rn ing Asso ciatio n of Prof essio n al
sible for protect in g the life, health , safet y, a nd we lfare o f t he publi c. However,
I':ng in eer s a nd /or Ge osc ien tis ts , w h ich ad m in iste rs th e Act. (Qu eb ec ha s an
th e Alberta Co de o f Et h ics a nd the Act state this clea rly. (Th e lega l defini tion s
un lte, rath er th an a n Asso cia ti o n) . In e ig h t juri sd icti on s, th e Associa ti o n s
for your provin ce o r te rrito ry are in th e Act, found o n yo u r Associa t io n 's web-
include e ng inee rs, geo scien tists, geo logists, a nd geo p hysicists, bu t in so me
site , a nd exce rpts a re in Appe nd ix B.)
[uris d ictio us, e ng inee rs a n d geoscien tis ts h ave se pa rate Associati o ns. A list
As a closing co m me n t, we sho u ld em ph as ize th at th e "facto r of safety"
of a ll Asso cia tio n s a n d O rd res, t he ir ad d resses, a n d wcbsites, is loca ted in
(t h e rati o o f load ca pacity to ex pecte d load , o n a co m po ne n t, syste m , o r
Appe n d ix A.
st ruc ture ) is typ ically the o ne ca lcula tio n th at su m ma rizes w heth er a design
As state d ab ove, th e go ve rn me n ts delegat e th e resp on sibilit y for impl e-
p ro perl y protect s th e " life, hea lth , p rope rt y o r t h e p ub lic we lfar e." Th e
me n ti ng eac h Act to the prov inc ial o r territ ori a l Assoc iatio n . Each
d u ty o f th e pr o fession al eng inee r is to e ns u re th at th e fact or of sa fety is
Assoc iatio n, in turn, has developed regu lat io ns, bylaws, and a Co de o f Et h ics
adeq uate, and is co rrec tly ca lcu late d . Un q ualified peo pl e ca n not as sume
(or has assisted in th eir develo pm ent, su b ject to fin a l approval by th e go v-
t h is resp o n sibili ty.
ern m en t). Variations ex ist in so me pro vin ces, bu t t he following definiti o ns
are usefu l:
Definit io n of Ge o sci e nce • Reg u la t i o n s a re rul es t ha t cla rify t he Ac t, an d typi cally in clude ad m is-
sio n req uirem en ts, profession al co nd uc t, a nd d isciplinary p rocedures.
Every p rovince an d te rrito ry (exce pt Prince Ed wa rd Island and Yukon) has an
By la w s are rul es for runni ng th e Associatio n itself, and typica lly in cl ude
Act t ha t defin es th e term "p rofessio na l geoscience" (incl ud ing geo logy or geo-
elec tio n proced ures, fin an cia l matters, co m m ittees, and meetin gs.
physics). Th ese defi nitio ns d raw th e boun dari es betw een geo science and engi-
neerin g, and between bot h of th ese and o the r professio n s. The defini tion s • Th e Co de of Ethics is a set o f rules o f personal co nd uct. Eve ry e ng inee r
a nd geoscie n tis t m ust be fa m ilia r w it h thi s co de and e ndeavo ur to
va ry sligh tly a mong th e provinces an d ter rit ori es; h o wever, th e Ca na d ia n
fo llow it.
Co u nc il o f Profession a l Geoscien tis ts (CC PG) has proposed w hat it ca lls th e
38 PARTON E • PROFES5IO NAL LI_C_E_
NS_I_N_G_A_N_D_ R_
EG_U_L_A_T1_0_N _
39
Th e regulations, bylaws, and the Code of Ethi cs obtain t h eir aut h or ity from Req u ire me nts va ry sligh tly ac ross Ca n ad a . Th e fo llowi ng paragr aph s give
th e Act. As m enti oned earlier, t h e p rofessions a re "self-regu lating" because 1I1 11 1'l~ d et ai ls, but if yo u a re ap p lying fo r admi ssion, check yo u r Associa tio n' s
m embers, who ar e licen sed professio na ls, estab lish a n d e n fo rce th ese rul es. In WI'I> page for recen t c ha nges.
ad ditio n, m e mbe rs se rve vo lu n ta rily o n the ad m ission, d iscipli n e, a nd o the r
co mm itt ees; m em be rs e lec t th e m aj ority of th e Asso ci ati on 's govern ing
co u nc il (th e gove rn me n t also a p po in ts so me co u nc illo rs); a n d m ember s usu - A de m ic Requ ire m e nt s
a lly must co n firm (by ba llot) a n y regu lat ion s recom m e nded to t h e govern-
\\ ndc rn ic q uali ficati ons a re the m ost important req u ireme n t for admission .
m ent, and by laws passed by th e co u nci l. Obv io us ly, for se lf-reg u lat io n to work
\ pp lica n ts m ust sub m it origi na ls (o r certified copies) of all transcri p ts and
effective ly, mem ber s m ust be willing to se rve in these vo lu n teer a n d elected
IIIher aca de m ic doc u me nts fo r eva lu a t io n by t h e Associat ion 's Boa rd of
po siti ons.
I .nm tne rs (o r Academ ic Requi rements Co m m itt ee).
t I An - ACCREDITED DEGREES G rad ua tes o f accred ited uni ver sit y e ng inee ring
ADMI SS IO N TO ENGINEERING 1" lIgram s ar e exempt fro m techn ical exa m s, but m ust wr ite th e Professio na l
The sta n dards for ad missio n to the e ng ineering p rofession a re very sim ila r, l'rar tice Exa m . Th e Ca n ad ia n Engi nee ring Acc reditation Boa rd (CEAB) pub-
a lt ho ug h not identi ca l, across Ca n ad a, a n d ge nera lly follow t h e gu ide line for II II 's a list of accredited progr ams. A few in te rna tiona l deg ree prog ra ms a re
ill II C EAB-acc red ited .'7
e n gin ee rin g ad m iss io n pr ocedures, pub lish ed by Engin eer s Ca n ad a .l v T h e
fo llowing cond it io n s mu st be sa t isfied to become a lice n sed profession a l
e n ginee r: Mu ru ALLY RECOGNIZED DEGREES Eng in ee rs Ca n ad a has n ego tiat ed inter na-
lillllal agree m e n ts w it h abo ut 10 co un tries. These agree ments recog n ize t hat
• Education. The a pp lica n t must h ave adeq ua te aca de m ic qualificati ons. t .uiad ian a nd fore ign accred ita tio n procedu res (for t hese co u nt ries) ar e sub-
A uni ver sit y d egr ee from a n acc re d ite d un iver sity e nginee rin g progr am (or IlIlI tiall y eq u iva le n t a n d sa tis fy th e academi c requirem ents for ad m issio n
th e eq u ivale n t) is requ ired . III pro fessio na l e ng inee ring. For exa m p le, th e Accr ed ita t ion Boa rd for
• Exper ience. T h e app lica n t m us t sat isfy the experie nce requirem ents. I lIl'in eering and Tec h nology (ABET) ac c re dits un ive rsity e n g inee ring p ro -
Mo st jur isd ictions now req u ire fo ur yea rs of sui table ex perience (Q ue bec 1I1111S in the Un ited Sta tes. O ne ag ree me n t recogn izes en gin ee ring d egrees
requires t h ree years of ex pe rience) . At least o ne year o f ex perienc e must be 1111111 ABET-acc red ited p rog ra ms as eq u ivale n t to Ca n ad ia n degrees. Grad ua tes
in a Ca n ad ia n e nviro n me n t. ,' pplying under th ese ag ree me n ts m ust provide co m p lete aca de m ic reco rds.
• Knowledge o f professio nal practice a n d e t h i cs . Typ ically, every l luwcver, if t h e Assoc ia tio n's Board of Examin er s jud ges a n a p p lican t's aca-
a p plica n t must wr it e a n d pass the profess io na l pr acti ce exa m on Ca n ad ia n oI" llIle reco rd to be deficien t, the Board m a y st ill ass ign exa m s. (See the list of
law and e t h ics . 1" lIlItries below, un d er "Mobi lity Agree me n ts.")
• Language. Th e a p p licant must be abl e to co m m u n icate effective ly,
bo t h o ra lly a n d in writ in g, in th e workin g la n g u age of th e pr o vin ce o r JlClN - ACCREDITED DEGREES App licants w ith e ng inee ring degrees t ha t lac k
te rr ito ry. " I rvdita tio n a re n ormall y required to w rite co n fir m ato ry or techni cal exa ms .
• Character. T he a p p lica n t mu st be o f good c haracter, as determi ned 1111 ' Board of Examine rs exa m in es each cas e ca re fu lly. Th e exa m p rogra m (and
m ain ly from refe rences. Evid ence of cr imina l co nviction, fraud , or false II purpose) may var y, as explai n ed below .
sta te me n ts o n a p p lica tio ns m a y affect ad missio n.
• Citizenship . All p rov in ces (excep t Q ue bec) req ui re Ca na d ian cit ize ns h ip
o r la nd ed immi grant sta t us, but a lso issu e temporar y, for eign, o r no n - I I rnat io n a lly Educated Graduates
resid e nt licen ces. 1IIII y in te rn a tio n ally ed uca ted engine ering grad ua te s fin d t h e e ngin ee rin g
• Residence. Most provinc es ar e elim inati ng res idency req ui remen ts . Suc h Iii I'rlsing pro cess tim e-consum ing a nd frustrating. In 2003, Eng in eer s Can ada
require me nts imped e m obilit y an d are n ot in di cati ve of com pete nce, 1" 'H,"1 a proj ect called "Fro m Co n sideratio n to Integra tion " (FC2!), to see how
a b ility, o r c ha rac ter. Pro vin ces with this requ irem ent issu e te m p orar y 1111 ' Irans itio n into the Ca n ad ia n work force ca n be sim plified . Th e Assoc iations
licen ces to n on -resid ent eng inee rs. I I I II ~ I assess th e qu alifi cati ons o f all a pplica n ts, a n d th ey ca n no t lo wer sta n-
• Age. Th e applicant must h ave reached the legal age o f m aj ority, w hic h is oI ,lId ~, hut th ey ca n provid e more gu ida nce (us ua lly th rou gh eas ily accessib le
18 yea rs in m o st of Ca nad a. d ixlt cs). So me bridging programs are being esta b lish ed, and the Asso ciatio ns
40 PART ONE · PROFESSIO NA L LICE NSI NG AND REGULATI ON CHA PTER 2 • Regulation of Enginee ring and Geo sci enc e 41
a re loo kin g at ways to sim plify t he licen sing process.!" The p rocess for int ern a- \ overi ng basic co nce p ts o f enginee ring (with 120 basic ge neral q uestio ns in a
tio na lly ed ucated eng inee ring grad uates usually follow s th is pa th : luu r-hour morn in g sessio n, fo llow ed by 60 di scip lin e-specif ic q uesti ons in a
luu r-h ou r afte rnoo n sess io n ). T he FE Exa m is t he first step to Prof essiona l
APPLICATION An a p plica n t ed ucated in a fo reig n co llege o r u n iversity mu st
Fllginee ring licensing in a ll U.S. states. AI'EGG A arra nges fo r th e FEex a m to be
p rovide t he Associat ion wit h or igina ls (or certified co pies) and no tar ized tra ns-
lu -Id in Albe rta o n spec ific da tes. Mor e in for mati on about th e FE Exa m is ava il-
lati o ns, if need ed , o f a ll tra nscripts a nd di plo mas. The Associati o n' s Boa rd o f
dille fro m APEGGA o r from the NC EES web site at <www.ncccs.o rg» .
Exa min ers (o r Acadcm ic Req ui rcrn en ts Co rn m ittce) assesses th ose docu rn en ts.
App lica n ts wh ose eng inee rin g d egrees a re jud ged no t to be eq u iva le n t
W he n a n a p plica n t's d egr ee is from a n on -accr edited pr o gr a m, th e
III the Sylla bus o f Exa m ina t io n s pub lish ed by En g inee rs Ca nad a m ay sti ll
Asso ciatio n m ust o bta in a nd eva luate o the r ev ide nce in order to justi fy ad rn ls-
vu tc r the eng inee ring p rof ession , bu t will be requi red to write tech ni cal exa m-
sio n . A request fo r co rro bor a ti ng evid e nce o f acad em ic ab ility docs not im pl y lnut io ns, as descr ibed belo w.
a n y lac k o f resp ect for t he in di vi d ual , o r th e indi vi d ual 's un iver sit y. T h e
Associatio n eva lua te s eac h case ca refu lly, and gives cred it fo r m an y relev a nt
fcchn ic a l Examinations
factors, leadi ng to seve ra l possible o utco mes . The fo llowin g three ca tegories
a rc o n ly a rou gh su m mary . App lica n ts w ho have n on-accredited e ng ine ering d egrees, o r e ng inee rin g-
n -larcc l d egr ees (such as th e B.Tec h . o r B.Sc.) , or th ree-yea r tec hn o lo gy
QUALIFICATIONS ACCEPTED Several fo rma l ag reem e n ts (su c h as th e mob ility d iplo ma s, may en te r th e e ng inee ring profession by wr itin g techn ica l exa ms,
agr eem en ts) recogn ize a few for eign q ua lifica tio ns a nd uni versity p rogra m s as based o n th e Eng ineers Cana d a sy llabus. 1'1
eq uivale n t to accred ited Ca nad ia n un iversity p rogram s, a nd th us g ran t fu ll For eac h b ranch o f e ng inee ring , th ere are between 14 a nd 18 three-h ou r
exe m p tio n fro m the exa m program . How ever, if a n a p plica n t's degree is not tvch n ica l ex a m inatio ns. Afte r a det ai led eva lua tio n o f th e a p plica n t's aca-
acc red ited, the ro utine p rocedure is to assign co n firmatory exa ms. Unde r ce r- demic tr an script s, the Asso cia tio n assign s a subse t o f techn ica l exa ms to m ake
tai n co nd itio ns, t he Asso ciatio n m a y wa ive th ese co n firm a to ry ex a ms , as lip aca de m ic deficiencies. Asso ciatio ns norm a lly do not ad m it a p plica n ts to
ex pla ine d belo w. Ihe ex a m p rogram if th e su bse t exceeds 9 ex a ms . So me Associati on s permit
app lica n ts to tak e eq uiva len t u n ive rsity co u rses in lieu of the assigned ex ams .
CONFIRMATORY EXAMS REQUIRED Asso c iat io ns usua lly ask in tern a tion all y
The po ssessio n of a po stgraduat e d eg ree m ay reduce t he number o f exa ms
ed uc ated applica nt s to write a set o f from t h ree to five co n firmato ry exa ms .
assigne d, but postgrad uat e d egrees from o the r di scip lines arc rarely releva n t.
Th is decisio n is requi red , eve n when t he app lica nt's acad em ic record fro m the
Moreo ve r, accredited enginee ring p rog ra ms teach th e important eng ineering
non -accr edi ted u n ive rsity a ppe a rs to be eq u iva le n t to th e Syllab us o f
sub jects in th e ir undergraduat e co u rses, and t hi s kn o wled ge is esse n tial fo r
Exa m ina tio ns pub lished by Engineer s Ca nad a. Co n firma to ry exa m s cove r th e
licensin g.
adva nced top ics in a sm a ll port io n o f th e full eng inee ring program . If th e
Pe rm issio n to en te r the exa m ina t ion syste m va ries sligh tly across Canad a.
app licant o bta ins good g rades o n the first tw o exa m s, t he n th e Associat io n
Enginee rs Ca nada reco mm end s th at an applica n t sho uld ha ve at lea st IS yea rs'
norm ally wa ives th e rest o f th e ex a ms.
ed uca tio n, includi ng a bachelor 's degree. For exa m ple, in O n ta rio, th e exam i-
In th e case o f a se n io r, ex pe rie nced for e ign a pplicant, t he Associatio n m ay
nat ion syste m is o pen to th ose who ho ld, as a min im um, o ne o f t he fo llow ing:
be " loo king to exem p t" the a pplica n t fro m exa ms, but so me additiona l evi-
a th ree-yea r eng inee ring techno logist d ip lom a from a co llege of ap plied a rts
d e nce m ust be pr ovided . Associa tio ns norma lly inter v iew sen io r ap plica n ts
and techno logy; a techn ologist-level certificate from th e O nta rio Associatio n of
(wit h ov e r 10 yea rs o f ex pe rience) to eva luate th eir academ ic q ua lifica tion s
Ce rtified Engineering Technicians and Tech nol ogists ( OA CI~ I T) ; or eq uiva len t
a nd engine ering ac h ievem e nt s, an d m ay the n wa ive so me (o r a ll) o f a co n fir-
acce ptable ed uca t io n as d eterm ined by the Associatio n .
m at or y ex am progra m .
T he ex a m inatio n syste m pr ovid es a n a lte rnative ro u te into t he p rofessio n,
Mor eo ve r, Associatio ns may wa ive so me co n firma to ry exa m s if a pp lican ts
but it is not a n easy ro ute, becau se a pp lica n ts must p repar e th emselves to
ca n provid e o the r evid ence o f e ngineering co m pe te nce. For ex am ple, app li-
write and pass t he ex a ms. The Asso ciati o ns d o not o ffer classes, labo rato ries,
ca n ts w ho ca n sho w t ha t t hey h ave co m pleted a m aste r's d egree (or eve n
or cor res po nde nce co u rses .
so me adva nc ed un de rg raduat e co u rses) at a n accred ited Can ad ian u n ive rsity
m ay receive fu ll or pa rt ia l exe m pt io n fro m t he co n firm atory exa m s.
In Albe rta, enginee ring applica n ts assigne d co nfirm ato ry exa m inat ions by
Pro f e s s io n a l Practice Examination
APEGGA's Board of Exa m iners have the o pt ion of satisfying thi s requi rem en t by Almos t all a p plica nts, w ha tev er th eir aca d e m ic qu alifi ca tion s, mu st pass a
writi ng th e Fu nda men tals o f Eng ine ering (FE) exa m inat io n, admini stered by Pro fessio n a l Pract ice Exa mi na t io n (PPE) in p ro fessiona l pr act ice, law, co n-
the U.S. Natio na l Co u ncil o f Exam iners for Eng inee ring a nd Su rvey ing (NClmS). trac ts, liability, a nd eth ics. British Co lu m bia a lso requires a pplica n ts to a tte nd
. . - . _" . I .• . . _ .. . : . " . : . ~ 1-. . I ., . . • 1.• • • : H. l • . " ••• : .... -1- : •••
.2 PART ONE . PROFESSI ONAL LICE NSI NG AND REGULATIO N CHAPTER 2 • Re gu l a ti on o] Eng in e e ri ng and Ge o s ci en c e 43
" lIgi n ee ring jo b-th e Ass oc ia t io n m a y requi re a dd itio na l e x pe rie nce o r

FIGURE 2.1 - The Licensing Process for Graduates of Accredited rukli tio nnl st ud ies before g rant ing a licen ce. In ad d it io n, so me jobs m ay h ave
University Prog rams lrui lar descripti on s bu t, depend in g o n t he activ iti es performed , may h ave dif-
11'1'1'n t c red it as e ng inee rin g ex pe rie nce. An appli cant sho u ld n ot pr esum e th at
l iI ~ or h e r ar ea o f e m p lo y me n t w ill a u to ma t ica lly be acce pted (or reject ed ) as
1. Application
received by the vulld e n g in ee ring ex pe rie nce.
Association In pa rt icu lar, a n a pplica nt w hose e m p loy m e nt fa lls in to o n e of the 1'01 -
low lng ca tego ries sh o u ld co ns u lt t h e pr o vin cial Associa tio n for m ore spec ific
nlvi ce:
Teach in g (at a ny lev e l)

2. Evaluation of 3. Professional 4. Evaluation of 5. Final
ACAD EMIC Practice WORK APPROVAL Sa les a n d m arketing
QUALIFICATIONS EXAMINATION EXPERIENCE Milita ry se rvice
Pro jec t m a n ageme n t
O pe ra t io n s a n d m ainten ance
Co m pu te r e ng ine e rin g
6. LICENCE
AWARDED DURATION OF EXPERIENCE
lnce 1993, a lm o st eve ry juri sdi cti on h as h ad a fou r-year ex pe rie nce req u ire-
ruc n t . T he exce ptio n is Q ue bec, w h ic h in 2002 rai sed its ex pe rie nce req u ire-
1I 11'n t fro m two yea rs to three.
se m ina r is a lso ava ila b le o n C D for th e co n ve n ien ce o f th o se unable to attend .
App licants tran sferri ng t heir lice n ces from e lsew he re in Ca n ada do not need ( URR ENCY OF EXPERIENC E
to wr it e t h e I'I'E b e cause o f m ob ility agr eem ents n egot iated between ril e Asso cia tio ns co ns ide r it im po rta n t that th e app licant 's ex perie nce must
Ca n ad ia n Asso c ia tio ns , based o n eq u iva le n t admission sta n da rds . I ll ' rece n t, becau se e ng ine e ring evo lves . O f co urse, theory ev o lves s lo w ly; p ro -
Fig ur e 2.1 s h o ws the t yp ical a d m issio n process for g ra d ua tes o f C EAB- l l'd u res a n d sta n d a rds c h a nge m ore qui ckl y; a n d co m p u te r a p p licat ion s
acc redited un iver sity e n ginee ring p ro gr ams. Howeve r, it is adv isab le to sta rt \ ha nge ve ry fast. An a p plica n t m ust show t ha t ex pe rie nc e obta in ed at t h e
th e lice n sin g process as soo n as po ssibl e. Man y Assoc ia t io n s p ro vide assis- , Ia rt o f a ca ree r is still rel evant.
tan ce, intern ships, m entorin g, and ad vice to hel p th e a p p lica n t.
OUAlI TY O F EXPERIE NCE
Experience Requirements ,""a c h a p p lica n t mu st pr epar e a n ex pe rie nce res u m e a n d ex p la in h o w t ha t
vxpc rie n ce sa t isfies five quali ty c rite ria:
Satisfa c to ry wor k ex pe rie nce is required for o bta in ing a licence. App lica n ts
must su b m it a su m m a ry o f t heir ex pe rie n ce for t he Associa tio n 's Ex pe rie n ce Ap p lica tio n o f t heo ry
Requi rem ent s Co m m ittee (or Bo ard o f Examin er s, d ependin g o n th e Prac t ica l ex pe rie nc e
p ro vin ce) to assess. Associa tio ns ge ne ra lly use th e sta nda rds for enginee ring Ma n age me n t o f e n g inee ring
ex pe rie n ce dev e loped by Engineer s Ca na da, w it h minor modif icatio ns.e" T h e Co m m u n ica tio n skills
n at ure, d u ra t io n, c u rre ncy, and qualit y o f th e a pp lica n t's ex pe rie nce are Soc ia l imp licati on s of e ng in ee ring
im po rta n t. As a n exa m p le, a co n de n sa tio n o f th e O ntario ex pe rie nce require-
m e n ts, ba sed o n th e En gi nee rs Ca n ad a gui de line, foll ow s.e! The a p p lica tio n of theo ry is a m andatory req ui re m e n t, a n d it must a p pe a r
In a su bsta n ti a l pa rt of t h e ex pe rie nce peri od (t h o ug h not necessaril y a ll o f it).
NATURE OF EXPERIENCE l'hcory mu st be su p p le me n te d by ex pos u re to, o r ex pe rie nce in , th e
Enginee ring ex pe rie nce is normall y in th e sa me ar ea as th e app licant's n -m al ni n g four cr iter ia. So m e Associ ati on s m a y p lace a slig h tly d iffere n t
ac a de m ic stu d y. Wh en th e ex pe rie nce d iffer s from t h e academ ic study- fo r vm ph as ls o n eac h of th ese cr ite ria, so co n su lt yo u r Asso ciati on 's g u ide line s
ex a m ple, if a m ech ani cal e ng in ee ring g rad ua te is working in an e lect ric a l whe n yo u pr e par e ex pe rie nce d o cum entati on .
44 PART ONE . PROFES SIO NAL LI CENSING ANO REGULATION
_._. __._--_..
CHAPTER 2 • Reg uLatio n of Enginee ring and Geoscie nce
~--_._-_.,'_._-------_._------_._----
PRE-GRADUATION EXPERIENCE 1II '('llk ati ons, plans, reports, o r ot he r documents. Pro visional Licen ces give
Mo st Asso ciation s gr ant up to 12 months' cred it for work ex pe rience obtained 1llIld('r s a n o ffic ia lly recogni zed sta tus during th el 2-m onth Ca na d ia n ex per t-
before univer sity g rad ua t io n . The pre-graduation ex perie nce (pref erab ly I III (' pe riod .
o bta ine d afte r the midpoint o f the ac ade m ic program) must sa tisfy the quality
sta n da rds a bove . Q ue bec permits the three-y ear ex pe rie nce requirement to be
UM IS SION TO G EO SCIEN CE
reduced by as much as eigh t months if the ca n d ida te co m plete s a n optiona l
spo n so rsh ip progr am, which involves a se ries o f m eetings with sen io r engi- 11 11' Ca n ad ia n Ge osc ie nce Sta n da rds Board (CGSB) ha s pr epared recom-
n eer s to di scu ss specified topi cs, including skills, respon sibility, eth ics, and uu-nd cd min im u m requirem ents for admission to the pr acti ce of professional
social co m m it me n t. • "Ilscie nce, w h ich a re very sim ila r to the e ng inee ring requirements a bove.
1111' reco m m e n da tio n s a re not binding o n the provin cia l a n d territorial geo-
CANADIAN EXPERIENCE I k-nee Asso cia tio n s, wh ich make final d ecisions o n all a pp lica n ts, a n d m ay
All Asso ciati on s require all applicants to o bta in 12 months' work ex pe rience Itillpl, mod ify, o r reject th e gu id el ines. A co n de nsed su m m a ry o f th e CGS B
in a Ca nad ia n en viro n me n t. Thi s usu all y means working in Ca n ad a under the Il''l "l remen ts fo llows:
directi on o f a licensed professional en gin eer. However, except for Q ue bec, the I{n o wlcdgc Qualification s. Minimum kn ow led ge qualifi cati on s a re
work m ay be o uts ide Ca na d a- fo r exampl e, in a Ca n ad ia n co m pa ny with for - sl m i lar to Ca n ad ia n uni ver s ity d egr ee progr am s in ge oscie nce. A uni-
e ign co n t rac ts, wh er e th e applicant is working with Ca n ad ia n en gine e rin g ve rs it y h on ours Bach el or o f Scie nce (B.Se.) Ge osc ie nce progr am in
law s, practi ces, sta n d a rds , cus to ms , co des, co nd it io ns , a n d climates. (Queb ec
Ca n ad a t ypi cally require s four year s o f st u dy. In Q ue bec, univer sit y
req uires 12 m onths of work ex p er ience in Ca na da .) hon ou rs B.Se. progr ams ar e three yea rs, a fte r g rad ua tio n from a C EG EP.
Ho w eve r, the CGS B recomm end s that n o specific uni ver sity p ro gra m be
POST G RADUAT E EXPERIENCE .k-sig n a ted as a sta n d a rd . In st ead, a numbe r o f minimum kno w ledge
Most provin ces g ra n t 12 m onths' work ex pe rie nce for co m p le ti ng a post- n-quire rnen ts mu st be sa tis fie d , as d efined in a CGS B G u ide lin e. Each
gra d ua te d egr ee in e ng inee ring. In fact , so me provin ces permit eve n m ore ip pli can t mu st su b m it tran scripts and docum entati on . Th e Associatio n
c red it (up to th e total time spe n t in post gr aduate st ud ies ), d epending on how n -vicws t hese d o cum ents a n d co m p a res th e courses with t h e C GSB
wel l t he po st graduate ex pe rie nc e sa tisfies the fiv e quali ty criteria d escribed ( ;llideli n e. 22
ea rlie r. l(x l,cricncc Qualifications. A minimum of 48 month s o f c u m u lati ve
ui d progres sive geoscie nce work ex pe rie nce is requ ired . At least 12
month s o f work ex pe rie nce sho u ld be in a Ca na d ia n work e nviro n ment.
Non resi dent, Tem porary, and Provisional Lice nces
Work m us t be reasonab ly c u rre n t (pref er abl y within th e pr ecedin g
Mo st provinces and territories offer other form s of licence, d ep ending on I() yea rs). Su m me r work, co -o p work, or sim ila r geoscience work ex pe rt-
lo cal n eed s a n d practi ces. For exa m p le, Asso ciati ons typi cally offer licences vncc ga in ed be fo re sa tis fy ing the kn owled ge requirement is acce pta b le, up
(m embe rships) for resid ents, and temporary licen ces fo r n onresid ents. The 10 a max im u m of 12 month s. Associ ations shou ld eva lua te ex pe rience in
p ro cedures for o bta in ing a n onresid ent or temporary licence va ry sligh t ly postgr ad uate st udy, univer sity research, or tea chin g o f geoscie nce in th e
across Ca n ad a . Typi call y, th e applicant must be licensed in a no the r province sa m e way as industrial, cons ult ing, o r go ve rn men t ex pe rience. G ra d ua te
or te rritory, qua lifi ed to work on a s pe ci fic proj ect, a n d famili ar w it h th e dl'g ree s sh o u ld receive n o more than 24 m onths of ex pe rience cred it.
a pp lica ble co des, sta n da rds , a n d law s. Usua lly the n onresid ent must be co l- I','ofcssi o n a l Practicc Ex a m i n a t i o n . A Professiona l Practice Exa m
labor ating with a m ember o f the Association o n the p roj ect sp ecified for the (I' I'E) is a requirem ent for regi strati on .
te mpora ry licen ce . However, this last requirement is waived for hi ghly quali- t.a u guage. Com pe te ncy in a language o f co m me rce of th e juri sdi cti on o f
fied a p p lica n ts . lI'gistra Lio n is necessary.
Severa l p ro vinces recent ly introduced Pro visional Lice nces for app lica n ts (;o od Ch a r a ct er , Ap p lica n ts for licensure mu st be o f good ch a rac te r a n d
w ho ha ve sa tis fied all o f the a p p lica tio n requirements (in clud ing expe rie n ce), n-putat lon .
except the requirement th at th e applicant must o btain ] 2 m o n ths o f ex pe ri- No Ca n a d la n Crtfzc n s h t p or Rcsidcncy Rcqufremcrrt. In co rn pll -
ence in Ca n ad a. Pro visional Licen ces en tit le the h older to practi se profes - a lice wi th internation al agr eements o n the m obility o f professiona ls, rcsi-
sio nal enginee ring, but o n ly under th e su pe rv isio n o f a lice n sed p ro fessio n al dl' lICy in Ca n ad a a n d /o r Ca n ad ia n c it ize ns h ip is not re q u ire d. So nu-
engineer. The su pe rv ising p rofessional e ng ineer must sign all fina l dra wi ngs, p ro vin ces d esign at e n on -c iti zens as Foreign Licensees.
46 PART ONE · PROFESSIO NA L LI CE NSI NG AND REG ULATIO N CHA PTER 2 • Regulat ion of Engineer ing and Geos cien ce
CANADIAN AND INT ERNAT IONA L M OB ILITY AGR EEMENTS I:n,ncc/Cunudu: Ag ree me n t w it h Fra n ce t hat u nd er gr adu a te e ng i-
Nat iona l Mobility Ag reem e n ts uccr lng p ro gram s a re substa n tia lly eq u iva le n t. Th e ag ree me nt also pro -
vides m ech a n ism s fo r th e recipro ci ty o f " ln gc n lc u r dipl om e " a n d
ENGINEERS T h e 12 Associa ti o n s t h at licen se pro fessio n al e ng inee rs h a ve " I'. Eng ./ ing ." desig na tio n s.
signe d a n ag ree me n t for m u tua l m ob ility o f t h eir m ember s. An y profession a l
e n g inee r w h o a p p lies for reg istratio n w it h a no t h e r Asso c ia t io n s ha ll be I OSCIENCE The Ca nad ia n Co u nc il o f Pro fession a l Ge osc ien tis ts (CCPG), th e
acce p ted , if t h e a p p lica n t satisfies t h e co n d iti o n s below. u.nlonn l o rga n iza t io n in Ca n ad a fo r ge oscie nce lice n sin g, a n d th e fo llowin g
' II ga n izat ion s h ave ag ree d to coo pera te , since th e ir o b jectiv es co nce rn ing th e
GEOSCIENTISTS Sim ila rly, th e 10 Asso ciat io n s th at licen se pro fession a l geosc i- IlIol cssio na l p rac tice o f th e ge o log ica l sc ie nces a re sim ila r. Th e ag ree m e n t
e n t ists have s ign ed a n a lmos t ide n tical ag ree me n t for mutua l m obi lit y o f th eir tll'lillls a re o n t he CC PG web site.26
m e m be rs. An y pr ofess iona l geo sc ie n tist, geo log ist, or ge o p h ys ic is t wh o
Thc American Institutc o f P rofess ional Gc o lo g is ts (AIPG)
a p p lies for regi strati on w it h a no t h e r Asso cia t io n s ha ll be acce p te d, if t h e
Thc Austrulusiu n Institutc o f Mini ng a srd Mctullurg y (AusIMM)
a p p lica n t sa t isfies th e co nd itio ns be low.
Aust r a tia n Insti tutc of Gc oscicntists (AIG)
Ell ro p cun Fcdc rution o f Gc o logists (EFG)
CONDITIONS Th e a p plica n t is a p rof ession a l e nginee r, geo scie n tist, geo log ist, Th c Gcologicul Socicty o f Lo ndon (GcoISoc)
or geo p hysicist in go od sta n d ing , a nd In stitutc o f Gc o logists o f I r eland (IGI)
• Has n ot been di sciplin ed (eith e r past o r pending); Nattoua! Ass ociatfon o f State Boar- ds of Gcology (ASUOG)
• Provides a ll o f th e requi red d ocum cntati on;
• Permit s th e Asso cia tio n s to exc h a n ge files; li CENSING OF CORP ORATIONS
• Ag rees to m eet th e ru les for co n t in u ing co m pe te n ce in th e new Associa tion;
• Ag rees to sa tisfy a n y la ngu age requirem ents for t he n ew Asso cia tio n .2 :1,2 4 1\ r o rpo ra u o n , as a lega l e n t ity, m ay o bta in a lice n ce to p racti se e n gincc ring
' I I' geosc ie n ce . Ho we ve r, t he purpo se o f licen si n g is to pr ot ect th e publi c
IIgains t Inco m pe te nce, n egli gen ce, a nd pr of essio na l mi sco ndu c t, a n d th ese
DUE DILIGENCE Alt ho ug h ad m issio n requirem e nt s a re sim ila r ac ross Ca n ad a,
11 11' qua lities o f hum an beings. Th e s im p le q uest io n a rises: W h o is bei n g
professio na l regist rat io n is a p ro vin cia l (or territoria l) resp on sibi lit y, so app li-
lkvn sed to pr o vid e t h e e ng inee ring o r geoscie nce se rv ices'!
ca n ts m ust sa tis fy th e ad m issio n requirem ents se t by t h e pro vin cia l (or terri-
In a lmos t eve ry pr o vin ce a n d te rr ito ry, th e Act so lves thi s p rob lem by
torial) Act . Mob ility ag ree m e n ts th er efo re in cl ude " notw it h sta n d ing " cla uses
u -qulr i ng eac h co rpo ra t io n to o b ta in a Pe rm it to Pra cti se (a lso ca lle d a
to d eal wit h exce ptio n a l cases. Th e fin a l decision co n ce rn in g a n app lica n t's
I :I' rl ifica te o f Au t hor iza ti o n ). To o b ta in thi s permit, t h e co rpo ra tio n mu st
ad m issio n , o r tran sfer o f licen ce, lies w ith th e Assoc iatio n .
" III pl oy a pr o fession al e ng inee r or ge osc ie n tis t w h o ac ts in a su pe rv isory
I upa c it y, a n d w h o ass u m es per son a l resp o n s ib ilit y for th e se rv ices pro-
International Mobility Agre e m ent s vide d by th e co r po ra t io n . T h e cor pora ti o n mu st a lso obta in liabi lit y in su r-
ENGINEERING En g in cer s Ca n ad a, o n be h a lf o f a ll C a n ad ia n c ng inee ring unrc . In a d d it io n, th e co r po ra tio n 's e ng inee rs a n d geosc ie n t is ts mu st
Associat ion s, h as ag reed w it h seve ra l for ei gn co u n t ries for reci p rocal rccogni- norma lly parti cipa te in a co n ti n u ing co m pe te nce pr o gr am (a s d isc ussed in
lio n o f q ual ificati on s. Ca nad ia n e ng inee rs w ho wish to wo rk in t h o se co u n - ( :ltap te r 3) .
tries (o r im m igra n ts to Ca nad a from th ese co un t ries ) ma y be inter ested in A p ro fess io na l e ng inee r o r geosc ien tis t wor ki n g for a co rp o ra tio n th at
learnin g more a bo u t th ese ag ree m e n ts from Eng inee rs Ca na d a.2s .ilrcad y h as a pe rm it to pr actise (or ce rtifica te ) d oes not have to a p p ly fo r a n
Indiv id ua l pe rm it a nd, o bv io us ly, a co rpo ra t io n th at does not o ffe r suc h scrv-
• Unitcd Stutcs/Cun ud u: Agree m e n t with th e Acc redi ta ti o n Bo a rd for In 's to t he p ub lic does not n eed a per m it.
Eng inee ring a n d Techno logy (ABET) . Howev e r, so me pro vin ces, suc h as O n ta rio, req u ire t ha t eve ry e n tity- be
• Thc Wus h i n gto n Accord: Agree m e n t wi th e ng inee ring orga n iza tio ns Ii an in d iv id ua l, a pa rtn e rsh ip, o r a co rpo ra t io n - t h a t o ffer s o r p rov id es
in t he Un ited Sta tes, Irelan d, th e Uni ted Kingd om , Aust ra lia, New Zeala nd , prof essio na l e ng inee ring se rv ices to t h e pu bli c requires a C e rti ficat..£...Q[
Hong Kon g, a nd So ut h Africa. i\ lIt h o riza tio.!l27 An e ng inee r w h o p la n s to prov id e se rv ices to th e pub lic
• NAFfA Ag rccmcn t : Agree m e n t w it h th e Un ited Sta tes and Mexi co in III list d isc uss t h is issu e w it h th e p rov in cia l Asso c iati o n befo re p ro vidi n g suc h
accorda nc e w it h th e No rt h Am e rica n Free Trade Agree me n t. INU rE: Th is xvrv iccs. An e n g in ee r w ho "m o o n lig h ts" a t n igh t o r wo rk s o n w eek e n d s
agrec mc n t h as n ot bee n irn pl e rnen ted .I wit ho u t a pe rmi t (or ce rti fica te ) m ay be br eak ing t he la w.
+8 PART ONE . PROFESSIONAL LI CENSIN G ANO REGULATI ON CHAPTER 2 • Reg ula t io n of Engin eering ond Geoscien ce 49
CONSULTING ENGINEERS li E P RO FES S IO NA L SEAL
At pr esent, O n ta rio is th e o n ly juri sdi ction in Canad a th at regulates th e des- Wile n a n Assoc iatio n aw ar d s a licence, it a lso in cludes a "sea l" (usua lly a
ign ati on o f Co ns u lt ing Engineer. 211 To q ua lify as a co ns u lt ing eng inee r, a 1I 111IJer sta m p), wh ich th e eng inee r o r geosc ien t ist uses to ap prove d ocum ents.
m ember mu st 1111' professio na l mu st sign, sea l, a nd da te a ll fin al dr awings, spec ifica tio ns,
plans, repo rts, a nd sim ila r do cu m ent s before releas ing th em fo r actio n . Write
• have been co n tin uo us ly eng age d fo r at least two years in pri vat e pr acti ce, 1'11111' Signa tur e a nd th e d ate n ext to th e sea l, b u t d o not o bscu re th e sea l.
• h ave at least fiv e ye a rs o f sa t isfac to ry ex perience since becoming a Wilen two o r more pr o fession als co llabo ra te o n d ifferen t aspects o f a project ,
mem ber, a nd 111 1111 sea ls a re ap plied . Eac h p rofessiona l specifies hi s o r her a rea uf resp on sl-
• pass (o r be exem pte d fro m) ex a ms p rescr ibed by t he Assoc iatio n Co u nc il. hllll y in wr iti ng, next to th e sea l.
Since a pplica n ts fo r th e Co ns ult ing Enginee r d esign ati on mu st be e ngaged Th e sea l has important lega l sign ifica nce- it m ean s th at yo u ap proved t he
in pri vat e pr acti ce, a nd th erefore o ffering th eir services to th e publ ic, th ey dll('um e n t. A sea l identi fies theperson resp on sibl e, an d assures th at it was
mu st a lso be holder s o f a Ce rtificate o f Au thor izatio n in O n ta rio; or th ey must 111111 pet en tl y p rep ared CQ.!!ly_ l UwLd ocum en ts.arc-seaica Preliminary docu-
be associated w ith a partnership o r co rpo ratio n th at is a ho lder o f a ce rti fica te. IIH 'lItS a rc not sea led; th ey mu st be mark ed " p re lim ina ry" or " no t for co n-
u nctio n ." Cost ly erro rs ca n occ u r wh en pr e lim inary do cum ents a re mi st a ken
" " approved fina l d esign s.
O n ly the engineer o r geo scien tist who prepa res o r a pproves a docum en t
hould sea l it. The sea l implies an intimate knowled ge of a nd co n t ro l ov e r th e
dllrllm e nl. Do not use th e sea l casually.
A p ro fess io nal who kn o win gly signs o r sea ls a do cum ent th at has not been
I'I'rsona lly pr ep ar ed (o r pr ep ar ed by assista n ts und er su pe rv isio n), m ay be
I hurgcd w it h professiona l mi sconduct , a nd m ay a lso be liabl e fur d am ages if
111l' mi srep rese n tat ion results in a loss.

A po te n t ia l probl em a rises w hen a su pe rio r asks yo u to "ch ec k," sign, and
I'al doc u men ts prep a red by so me o ne else. Such do cumen ts sho u ld ca rry th e
"a l o f the eng inee r who p re pa red the m, o r who su pe rvised thei r prep a rat io n .
II . 1 no n profess io nal pr ep a red th e docu ments, t hen perhap s he o r she sho uld
h.ivc bee n wo rking und er the su pe rvisio n of a n eng inee r. Ma n y di sc ipl in ary
I d\l'S have a risen becau se p ro fessionals sign ed a nd sea led docu m en ts pr epared
II ' oth ers th at later pro ved to have se rious flaws.

Th e wo rk required to "check" a do cu m en t is d efin ed in C h a p te r 6. A
!,Iop er check might req u ire co m plete duplication of th e analysis. O f co u rse, if
\'1111 d u plica te th e ana lysis, th en it is ap prop riate for yo u to assu m e rcsp onsi-
hl lt ty for it. However, never a p p rov e a do cum ent unti l yo u tho rou ghl y a nd
huh-pen de n t ly review it. (C ha pte r 6 gives mu ch more informati on o n sea ls,
III III d isc usses electronic sca ls.)
Photo 2.1 - The Confederation Bridge. The Confederatio n Bridge opened on

I HE CO D E OF ETHICS
May 3 1, 1997, and links Prince Edward Island to New Brunsw ick. It is 12.9 km
(8 mil es) long and has a navigab le clearan ce of 60 m (19 7 ft.) above the wat er. 1111' Cod e o f Et h ics defin es a hi gh stan da rd o f persona l profession a l co nd uc t,
The central portion (11 km; 7 miles) has 44 spans, typi cally 25 0 m (820 ft.) long . 1l'!Iuired by eve ry provin cia l and territor ial Act. Th e Code o f Ethi cs in curpo-
The PEl approach bridge has 7 spans (5 80 m; 1, 903 it .), and th e NB appro ach Idles co m m o n se nse, na tur a l justi ce, and basic eth ica l co nce p ts. I!.le co de
bridge has 14 spans (1, 300 m; 4, 2 65 ft. ) . The Confederation Bridge is th e world 's c11'1 lues, in ge ne ral term s, th e duti es o f th e p rofessional to th e publi c, to t he
longest bridge over ice-covered wat ers. It carries two lanes of tra ffic 24 hours a day, "Illp lo ye r o r c lien t, to fellow professio na ls, to th e profession , a nd to o nese lf.
seven days a week. 1111' co de pro tect s th e p u bli c by requiring p rof ession al beh aviour, a nd is t he
Source: CP/And rew Vaugh an. 1t,I\i s for di scip lini ng u n scru pul ous p ract itio ne rs.
iO PART ONE' PROfESSIO NAL LICENSING AND REGU LATIO N
51
Every professiona l should read a n d understa nd t he co de , but it is n ot ne c- «rlou s infraction of the Assoc iatio n's Code of Eth ics. Therefore, it is ver y
essa ry to mem o rize it. Mos t professio na ls use co mmo n sense in their ethica l uup o rtant to distinguish between yo ur Associati on 's Code of Ethics (Whic h is
behaviour, follo w th e code intuitively, and neve r fea r cha rges of professiona l ' " forcea ble und er th e Act) a n d th e cod es of et h ics en do rsed by man y
m iscondu ct. Th e Code of Et h ics for eac h Act is in App endix B. Chapter 11 dis- II ', hn ical soc ieties, since th e soc ieties' codes arc actua lly vo lunt ary guides to
cusses t he et hica l bas is for t he codes, an d m an y cases stud ies in thi s textbook , OI lldu ct.
cite t he codes. Th e disc iplinary process has three stages: informati on gatheri ng o r in ves-
In add itio n to th e Co de of Ethi cs, th ere is a much o lder vo lun tary oath, IIllli lion , pee r review, and fin all y, hearings fo r members cha rged with mis-
written by Rudya rd Kipling and first used in 1925, called th e Obligatio n of th e r nud uc t. A Disciplin e Co m m it tee, appoin ted by co u nc il, makes fin al
Engineer. The iron rin g, worn o n th e wor king h an <:C eas ily iden t ifies eng triee rs oI'-" sio ns. (Ch apte r 4 descr ibes th e pro cess in det ail. )
w ho ha ve taken th is oath . In rece nt decades, ea rth scien ce rings, created for
geoscien tists, ar c part of a ce re mo n y comparable to th at of t he iron ring.
(These cere mo n ies a re described in mor e detail in Ch apte r 5). Wearing an iron I N G I N EERS CANADA
ring or an ear t h science ring does n ot mean th at th e wea rer received a degree,
Ill glneers Ca n ada (for me rly ca lle d th e Ca na d ian Co u nc il of Profession al
but ind ica tes that h e o r she participated in th e ring ce rem o ny and ha s vo l-
Ill gineers o r CCPE) is a fed erati on of th e 12 Associat ions th at licen se engi-
untar ily swo rn to maintain high sta n da rds in professional work.
111 '1' 1'5 in eac h pro vin ce and territory across Ca nada. Establishe d in 1936 as a
Altho ugh th ey ha ve th e same purpose, do not con fuse th e Ob ligat io n and
I,'d,'ration o f the Associa tions, Engineers Can ada does no t have individua l
th e Code of Eth ics. The Ob ligat ion is a vo luntary com mitment to high s ta I~
1I1l'llIlJers; howeve r, every licen sed engineer is in di rectl y a member. i ''
dard s, but th e Co de of Ethics requires high stan dards. Infraction s of the Code
Ellgine ers Ca na da coo rd ina tes th e eng ineering profession o n a nati onal
of Eth ics are su b ject to discipline, under th e Act.
, Iii\' by pro mo ting co ns iste ncy in licen sin g a nd regul ati on . It develop s po li-
, It '~, gu ide lines, and position sta te me n ts. Altho ug h th ese are not binding, th e
ENF O R C EM EN T AND DISCIPLINE \ vocia t io n s are enco uraged to review and adopt th e poli cies. On be half of
Iii ,' Associatio ns, Eng inee rs Ca na da holds th e Ca nad ian trademarks for eng i-
To pro tec t th e public we lfare, th e Associatio ns mu st ens u re that on ly qualified
"" ,'ring titl es suc h as P.Eng., Pro fessio nal Engin eer, Engin ee r, Engi ne ering,
indi vidua ls arc pra cti sing. In addition, it is sometimes necessa ry to disci plin e
uu r ] Co nsu lti n g Eng ine er (and o the rs), as well as t h e Fren ch eq u iva len ts.
th e few eng ineers o r geoscien tists wh o co m m it professiona l m isco nd uct. To
IlIgln eers Ca n ada has tw o impor ta nt co m m ittees (CEAB a n d CEQ B), as
enforce th e Act, eac h Assoc iation ha s a staff th at receives complaints, pro se-
01, '\' rlbed belo w.
cutes peo ple pract ising under false pret en ces, and administers an y co m plain ts
aga inst licen sed members. These func tions are ex plaine d in det ail in Cha pte r
4, but a re su m ma rized briefly, as foll ow s. 4 nadia n Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB)
111l' Ca nad ia n Engin eer ing Accred itatio n Board (CEAB) eva lua tes und ergrad -
Enforcement
cng tneertng programs offered by Canad ian universiti es. CEAB develop s
li ll i, '
Each Associatio n e n forces th e Act by prosecuting unlicen sed individuals who IlI lIdcm ic crite ria, arra nges accreditation team visits, co m pares eng ineering
practise e ngi neer ing o r geoscience, o r who use th e titles o f Pro fessiona l I',ogram s aga ins t th ese criteria, a nd recommend s (for o r aga ins t) acc red ita -
Engin eer, Professio na l Geoscien tis t, Prof essio nal Geo log ist, o r Professiona l 1101 11. Accred itatio n ens ures th at uni versit y acad emic standards are adeq ua te
Geo physicist (o r th e Frenc h eq uiva len ts). To use any o f th ese titl es, a person Ill, professiona l enginee ring registration across Ca nada. C EAB accre d ita tio n is
m us t o bta in a licen ce fro m a pro vincial o r territoria l Association of engine ers hupo rta n t to universit ies, and parti cu larl y important to Ca n ad ia n eng i-
and /or geosc ien tis ts (in Quebec, t h e Ordre des inginieurs du Quebec or th e Ordrc 11"I 'rill g g rad ua tes , who qua lify acad em ica lly for licen sin g as p ro fessiona l
des ge%glles du Qllebec). , 'Igillcers .
Prof e ssional Misconduct and Discipline f n adian En g i n e e r i n g Qualifications Board (CEQB)

Each Act requires th e Associatio n to reprimand, sus pe nd, or ex pe l members 111l' Ca nad ia n Eng ineering Q ua lifica tio ns Board (CEQ B) devel ops n ati onal
who are guilty of pro fessiona l mi sconduct. Each Act typi cally defin es profes- ulrtclln cs for p ro fession al e ng inee ring to p rom ote co ns iste n t lice nsin g,
sio na l misconduct as negligen ce, in compet ence, or co rruptio n , including a lI'glslra tio n, and o t he r regu lation s across Ca na da . CEQ B also main tai n s
PART ONE ' PROFESS IONA L LICE NSI NG AND REGULATI ON
CHAPTER 2 • Regulation of Engin eering and Geo scien ce 53
52
th e Sylla b us o f Exa m inat io ns, w h ic h d escribes techni cal ex am pr o gr am s

IGURE 2.2 - The Relation ship of t he Licensed Prof ession al Eng ineer or
fo r 19 e ng ineer ing di sciplin es, as we ll as basic a nd co m p le me n ta ry st ud ies.
Geoscienti st to th e Provincial Associati on and Related Bodi es
T he Sylla bus is th e key d ocum ent for eva luat ing qu a lifi cati on s o f a p p li-
ca n ts w it h n on -accr edited eng inee ring d egr ees, a n d for assignin g exa m
prog ram s.
CANADIAN COUNCIL OF PROFESSIONAL

G EO S CIENT IST S (CCPG)
T he Cana d ia n Cou nc il o f Prof ession a l Geoscie n tis ts (CCPG), in corpor at ed
in 199 6, serves th e sa me purpose for pr of essional geoscie n tis ts as Eng inee rs
Prov incia l
Ca na da plays for pr ofessional e ng inee rs. How ever, CC PG is more recent , so Association of
its st ruc tu re is evo lv ing. CC PG's m andat e is to co o rd ina te th e geoscie nce Professiona l Canada
profession o n a n at ion a l sca le b y prom ot in g co ns iste ncy in lice n sin g Eng ineers
and/or Geoscient ists BOARD S AN CO M M ITIEES
and regu lati on . It provid es un ify in g advi ce to th e geosc ie nce lice n sin g
Asso ciation s. T he Ca n ad ia n Geosc ie n ce Sta nda rds Boa rd (CGSB), a su bc o m- CEAB
LICENCE Eng ineering
mittee o f CC PG, d ev e lo ps nati ona l gu id el in es a nd exa m ina tio n sy llabi for
Accredit ati on
pr of essional regi str ati on in th e geoscie nces, assesses geosc ie nce ed uca tio n LICENSED
ac ross Ca nad a, m a kes thi s informati on av ailab le to th e Asso ciati on s, and ENG IN EER O R
p rov ides adv ice regar din g th e nati onal m obilit y o f geosc ie n tis ts. CC PG a nd GEDSCIENT IST CGSB
CGSB po lic ies, gUide lines, a nd po siti on sta te me n ts a re not bindin g o n th e Geoscie nce
Associa t io ns , but t hey a re enco ur age d to review and ado p t th ese d ocuments, Standa rds
M EMB ER
w he re ap pro p riate. Seve ra l geosc ie nce gu ide lines a re ava ila ble o n th e CC PG
website.I"
CEQ B
Technical
Eng ineeri ng
Societies
OVERVIEW OF RELATIONSHIPS Exam Syllab us
Figu re 2.2 il lu st rat es how profession al e ng inee rs a n d geosc ie n t ists in te ract

w it h th e va rio us orga n iza t io ns m enti on ed in thi s c ha p ter. As a p ro fe s-
sio na l e ngi nee r o r geosc ie n tis t, yo u o b ta ined yo u r licen ce from yo u r c ASE HIS T O RY 2.1
p ro vincial Associ a t io n , a nd yo u like ly join ed at least o ne techni cal society
(as di scu ssed in C ha pte r 5) . Th e m ember s o f th e Associa tio n (incl ud ing 1111. BRE-X M INING FRAUD
yo u) e lec t th e co u nc il, w h ic h hires th e sta ff a n d a p po in ts th e co m m ittees .
Th e Associ a tio n 's sta ff member s co m m u n icate with yo u regardin g admi s- III t hc sp ring o f 199 7, Bre-X Mine rals Limit ed , a minin g co m pa ny based in
sio n, professi ona l pr acti ce, di sc ip lin e, p rof essiona l d ev elopm ent , a n d so I ,dga ry, bec a me th e fo cu s o f a spec tac u la r minin g fraud, apparentl y perpe-
1100 1l'd by a t least o ne geo log ist. Th e fraud co n vinced Ca na d ia ns t hat geo logy
forth.
In most pro vin ces, th e Associat ion licenses both e ng inee rs and geosc ie n- 11I'I'lIed profess io na l regu lati on . Bre-X claimed to have mad e a go ld strike that
t ists . All eng inee ring Assoc iatio ns ar e fed erated member s o f Eng inee rs Ca nad a IV, I\ riche r t ha n a ny go ld di sco ver y in hi st or y, a n d Bre-X stoc k pri ces soa red .
(the nati on al body for eng inee ring), a nd all geoscience Assoc iat io ns are linked l lowcvcr, afte r a myst eri ou s deat h, th e fraud began to unravel. Th e resulting
to CC PG (t he nati onal bod y for geoscie nce) . 1,llldal ruined the repu ta tio ns o f almost eve ryo ne in vol ved . Mo re se rio us ly,
Alt ho ug h both Eng inee rs Ca na da and CC PG a re important bodies, they 111l' fraud caused fina nc ial ca lam ity for tho usands o f investo rs, so me of who m
affect yo u o n ly ind irectl y. They p robabl y assessed o r accred ite d yo ur un ive r- 11 ,1l1 sta ked th eir life sav ings o n th e Bre-X geo log ists' reports. An indep endent
sity p rogram , and th ey assist th e pr o fession across Ca na da; however, they 11 '01111 of investigato rs from Strat hco na M ine ra l Serv ices lat er sta te d: "The
adv ise th e Assoc iatio ns and rarel y inter act dir ectl y wit h m embers. Illil gnitude of ta m perin g wit h co re sa m ples . .. is o f a sca le and ove r a per iod
PART ONE ' PROFESSIO NAL LICEN SI NG ANO_ RE~A T_IO N
55
54
of time and wit h a pr ecision that, to o u r kn owl ed ge, is without pr eced ent in 1111111 t hc Indones ian govern me n t, becam e pa rtners with Freeport-McMo Ran
the hi st or y of minin g an ywhere in th e world .":'! III 1I,'vl'lop the find . Freeport cha lle nged th e go ld esti mates , so Strat hco na
1II Il'ra i Services of Toronto was hir ed to give a n im partial ana lysis.
' I r.u hc o na soo n di sco vered th e fraud. T he go ld, a lleged ly a typ e fo und in
Back g r o u n d Information
III, ,II rive rs, had been ca ref u lly added to the sam ples to create a false image o f
For o ur purpo ses, th e story begin s in Ma y 1993, wh en Dav id Wa ls h, th e I11 I prop osed mine's go ld co n te n t. "Th e resu lts had to give a ve ry specific
founder, chairm a n , a nd C EO o f Bre-X Min era ls, an nou nced the di scov er y o f 11111'" di me n sio na l picture o f a plausibl e d ep o sit. The wh ol e pi cture had to
a go ld d eposit in Busan g, In d o n esia . On e site , dri lled pr evi ously b y a n 111 11 1,' se nse . It had to be very we ll-p lanned and wc tl-exccut cd. rV Moreov er, a
Au stra lia n compan y, was report ed to co n ta in an es t im a ted on e m ill ion 11 11,01 1 br each of acc ept ed pra cti ce was d iscover ed . Wh en d rill co res ar e
o u nc es of reco ve rabl e go ld .:n Thi s m o dest estimate wa s to esc alate as t he II mo ved fro m th e gro u nd , th ey are o rd inarily saw n in half alo ng t he cen tre-
m onths passed, ca using a fren zy t hat pu shed Bre-X stock prices from pe n n ies lit II' , t inc ha lf is tested but the ot he r half is d ocu m en ted a nd stored, in case it
in March 1994 to the eq uivalen t o f over $200 per sha re in September 1996. ·\3 I 1I" ,'ded for do ub le-checking. How ever, Bre-X did not follow t h is pra cti ce.
II I' ( ion fo r t he salti ng th er efore fell on De Guz m an, since he wa s t he se n io r
Sequence of Events I" I 1)11 res po nsible for the dri ll co re sam ples a t the Busan g site, sen t th ou-
The ro les played by va rio us Bre-X geolog ical staff are not co m pletely clear. 1111 1\ o f the m to a lo cal labora to ry to be assa yed, and had th e knowled ge
jo hn Pe ldethof. a 19 62 geology grad uat e of Dalho usie Un iversity, was th e ch ief "' "II,'d to pe rpe trate th e frau d .
geo logist" o f I\re-X Min erals, alt ho ug h he h as since decla red th at hi s ro le was
th at o f an administrat or or co m me rcial ma nager. Mich ael de Guz ma n, a geo l- rma t h - Ch a o s on the Stock M a r k e t
og ist from th e Philippines, was "Bre-X's No . 2 geo log ist." De Guz m an was run-
ning four Bre-X ca m ps in Indon esi a, so a fellow Filipin o geo log ist, Ces a r ""1 Ihe fraud was di scov er ed, Bre-X hired an in vesti gative team , Foren sic
Puspos, rep ortedl y supe rvised mu ch o f th e work at t he Busang site : l S III ','\ l iga t ive Asso c iat es (FIA), to perform an independ ent a ud it. Th e FIA
Wal sh was active ly in vo lved in ra isin g fund s in Ca lga ry. Meanwhi le, " 1" " 1, published in October 199 7, exo nera ted Bre-X's sen io r sta ff and sta ted
Fclde rhof was in j akarta a nd de G uzm a n a nd Puspos we re in Busang. In add i- i1111 1 PI A ha d "reaso na ble and probable gro un d s" to co nclude that de Guz m an
l ll
tion, abo ut 20 o th ers wo rked as ge o log ists or proj ect m an agers for Bre-X in 11 111 II I hers at th e Busang site we re resp onsibl e for th e ore sa lti ng.:
Indonesia. Man y Bre-X em plo yees pro fited persona lly by se llin g sha res th ey had pur -
A repu ta b le Austr alian dr illing co m pa ny was hired to dr ill co re sa m ples 1111 I'd wit h stoc k option s. The FIA report estimated th at de Guz m a n receiv ed
to eva luate the go ld co n te n t of th e Busang site. In March 199 6, Bre-X rep orted I m illlo n in stoc k sales, Puspos, $2 .2 mi llion, and Walsh, about $36 mil -
estim ates of 30 mil lion o u nces of go ld at t he Busa ng site; thi s soo n increased 111111 ,1'1 l'elde rho f reported ly so ld about $30 mil lion of hi s shares (lat er esti-
to 70 mi llion oun ces, w ith the potential for 100 mi llion o un ces. In ear ly 199 7, '"1111 '11 at $8 4 milli o n).
Fc ldcr ho f ra ised th e "officia l" rese rve es t im a te at Busa ng to 200 millio n III Ma rch 199 7, ju st before th e frau d revel ati o n , t he Pro sp ectors and
o un ces o f go ld. :lli II , vvlo pc rs Assoc iation o f Ca nad a nam ed Feld e rh o f as Prospect o r of the Year.
How ev er , th e go lde n glow began to tarnish in januar y 199 7, w he n a IIll' award was in honour of t he Busan g d iscover y, beli eved at that tim e to be
sto rage building co n ta in ing th e core sa m ples at the Busan g site bu rn ed down, i1 11 wor ld 's larg est single go ld d eposit. A few months lat er, Felderhof agreed
allege d ly destroying th e records o f the drilling resu lts. The unravellin g fra ud I I u-Iuru the awa rd . He was asked to resign from Bre-X, and h e now resid es
attract ed world a tte n tio n on March 19, 199 7, wh en d e Guz ma n co m m itt ed III 1111' Cay m an Islands. Bre- X wa s de-listed from the stoc k exch ange, and its
su icide by jumpi ng from a helicopt er. In h is su icid e note, h e ex plaine d tha t lIull's are esse n tially wort h less. Many investors a re p ursuing law suit s, on the
poo r heal th d ro ve h im to su icide. A bo dy recove red fro m th e Ind on esian 10 I I that th e corpo ration a nd t he in di vidu als w ho co ntrolled its geo logi ca l
jungle was con firmed to be his . At t he time, de Guz m a n had bee n en ro ut e to u rlvlt lcs sho u ld have shown greater dili gence in co n tro lling the assay sam-
a m eeting with a geo log ical team to dis cu ss di screpancies in t he test res ults . 1'10 uud ve rifying the go ld est im ates. Th e Ontar io Securit ies Com m issio n
Freep ort-M cM oRan Co p per & Go ld, In c., a compan y in partn er ship w it h 1I11l g\'d Fe lde rhof for illega l in sid er trading a nd for issuing new s releases that
Bre-X, had drilled additiona l test hol es n ext to the Bre- X drill holes an d t he II' II11uld have kn own were mi sleading, but the co ur ts di sm issed th e case in
result s were quite different from th e glow ing resu lts quoted by lire-X. lill i , IIre-X pr esid ent David Wa lsh di ed in 1998 .
Feld er hof regu lar ly visit ed t h e proposed lIusang mille site, a nd made th e II,slimal es o f th e total loss to in vesto rs beca use of th e Bre-X fraud run as
pub lic esti m ates of go ld co n te n t. His fina l figu re of 200 million o unce s was III II as $6 bi llio n . Th e Bre-X scanda l se rio us ly d am aged th e Ca nad ia n mining
wo rth abo u t $7 0 bi llion (at the 199 7 go ld p rice). To d eve lop th is immense IlIoI lIsl ry. junio r mining co m pa n ies-eve n th o se with no lin ks to Bre- X-
1 I {' ! _..J 11_ _ V __ ......... ,..I .... ~ I !-l.,.ro. .,~ ...; ..... " .....r n r'\f· , 1' 11"n n r r f'\ n ... n ~ln\! ~ n rl u nr lr-r n r(H~~l l n l!-..a..-JI " lI l1 d il t1iffi r ll lt In r :li c;: p r ~lf...i t a l
CHAPTER 2 • RegLJ lali0 "-!!l. Engin ee rin g and Geosci ence 57
56 PART ONE. PROFESSIO NAL LI CENSIN G ANO REGULATI ON
:-V h ich is sim pler to adm in ister"? Wh ich is fa irer to th e app lican t"! W h ich
Comment s on the Bre -X Fraud
IS bet ter for protecti ng t he publi c"? W h ic h criterio n o f effec tiv eness sim-
The Bre-X sca nda l is a case of skilled geo log ica l fraud, a p pa ren tly perpet rated plicit y, fai rn ess, o r prot ecti on sho uld ta ke preceden ce'! ' .
by de Guzm a n . If he we re still a live, de Guzma n wou ld be facin g crim ina l I , ' I~h e d efinitio n of e ng ine e ring (or e nginee rin g pr acti ce) va ries acr oss
cha rges for fraud , as well as di scipli ne for pro fessio n al m isco n d uct. In the face Can ada, as descr ibed in thi s chapte r. Co nsu lt th e defin iti on in yo ur Act
of suc h del ibe rate fraud , it may see m trivial to refer to th e Code o f Et h ics. Th e (o n yo ur Assoc iat io n's web site o r in App end ix B) a nd review t he defini-
per pet rat o r ign or ed th e code, ca m e to a bad end, th ou sa nds o f people suffered li ~lll S for a t l ~ a s t two .o t he r prov in ces or territories, as we ll. Do t hey ag ree
serio us fina ncia l ha rm, and a n e n tire indust ry was held in co nte m pt. With th e na tio na l de fini tio n o ffered in th is c ha pte r"? Selec t th e definiti on
T h is case a lso sho ws th at acc ura te, u na mbi gu o us dut ies a nd tit les a re yo u co nside r "best " a nd ex plain why, bri efl y.
import an t. T he c h ief geo logist was rep or ted ly Felderho f. I ll' certa in ly seeme d I. Rep ea t th e abov e qu estion fo r geosc ience .
to co ns ide r h im self q ualified for th is title whe n he m ad e esti m ates of the go ld
\ ddi lio nal ass ign me n ts ca n be fo und in App en d ix E.
co nte n t in Busang and when he acce pted th e Prospector o f th e Year award,
a lt ho ugh he lat er claim ed to be mer ely a n ad m in istra to r. In a ny case, t he ch ief
geo log ist-whe the r Felderho f o r so me o t he r perso n- had a respo nsib ilit y to
NO T ES
sho w du e dil igen ce in safegua rd ing t he co re sam ples a nd ensu ring th at th e
go ld assay was co nd uc ted prope rly; t hat th e go ld co n te n t, ba sed o n t he sa m- III .I ;R' . ~ .i ." a r d : T ile Mosler Spi ri t o( l l le Ase: C~ I ~ IOtli{l/ 1 HlIs i ll eers anti tlu: Pollt ics o(
I Wf <.\ .\ IlI IIOlI sl1l: 188 7-1 922 , Un ive rsity 0 1 lo ron to Press, Toront o , ! 9 HH.
ples, was accu rately ca lculated; and t ha t doub le-ch ecks were m ad e to co n firm
1'\ I L.A. ~a c Ke n Z l e [o pen ing add ress for t he d e ba te o n t he Prof essiona l Engi nce rs
th e resul ts. As not ed abov e, geo log ists usu all y split cor e sa m ples befor e testing Act, I 96 H-69 I, O n ta rio , Leg islature, Deb at es.
th em , and sto re ha lf of each sa m ple for furt her co n firm a tio n, if necessar y. The Milla rd , T il e ,'-'l lISl er Spir it oithe l is e.
Bre-X geo log ists did no t do thi s. Secu rity was loose, a nd a single indi vid ua l Ihid .
co nt rolled t he testi ng of a ll of th e Busan g sa m ples. Th is ex plains wh y sa lt ing v~.N . Pea rson a nd G .D. W illia m s, Projcssionat Uesisl m !ioll o( Gcosci clll isl s ill
CIIII' lI lo , Ca n ad ia n Co u n c il o f Pro fessio nal Geo scient ists, Z00 4, av a ilab le a t
co uld proceed u ndet ected for m onths. < w ww. ~:pg . ca / n ews/ p ro fe ss i o n a l_ reg i s t ra t i o n_ge osci e n t i s t s . h t m l > (Ma y 10 , ZOOH).
Stock prom ot e rs who un wittingly enc o uraged the in vest me nt o f billions D.R. 0 Co n n o r, Ucporl of tlu: Wo lkerloll In qui ry : The Events o( M ay 20 00 and
o f doll ars in a frau d may need to q uesti o n t he sta nda rds o f d ue d iligence in Ut'l" lc el IsSI/CS (par i O ne: A Su m m a ry), pu bli sh ed by O n tar io Mi ni st ry o f th e
their ow n profession as we ll. The Bre-X case is a forcefu l rem ind er th at the Att or ne y Ge ne ral, Co py righ t © Q uee n 's l'rintc r for O n tari o ZOOZ.
mi ni n g a nd resource ind ustri es m ust in sist o n pro fession al peo ple wit h h igh II (;a n~t~l i a ll S~cur i t ies Ad m iui st ra to rs (CSA), Standards or lJ i.: c1osl/re fil l' Mi nera l
I W /(( 1.\, N at iona l lnstrutuen! 43 -10 I. Do cu m ent N I 4:{- ! 0 I ca n he Io und h
eth ical sta nda rds . sea rc h in g t he CSA web s itcs in IIC -cwww.bcsc.bc.ca » : O n la rio y
-cwww.o sc.go v.o u .ca >: Q ue bec -cwww.la u to rt tc.q c.ca» : or Albe rta
D I S C U SS IO N TO P IC S A ND ASSIGNMENTS c www.a lbc rt asccu rtt tcs.co m » (Ma y 10 , ZOOH).
I'r~Jf~ S s io: l a l ,E I ~~ i n : ~ rs (~ Il .ta r i~J (PI:?), t'rotcssionat Engineers I'rOl'idillS ucports 0 1/
I. W ho sho u ld be m or e co nc erned abo ut th e we lfare of t he public: th e pro- M /l I( /(/1 1IO/,ull( .\ , I I~O G u id e line, lor o n to , Sep te m be r, ZOOZ, ava ilab le a t
fessio na l pe rso n o r t he ave rage perso n'! Does professiona l status impose -c www.pco .o n .ca> (May 10 , ZOOH).
ad d itio na l respo nsib ilit ies'! Sho u ld peopl e in posit io ns of grea t t rust, Na /~olla ~ II/S II'lllI ~CIII 4 3~ lO I -SI(// lIlard~ .rilr tlu : Dlsclosun: o( Mineru l Pt nicct».
who se actio ns co uld ha rm th e pu blic, obey a h ighe r code of eth ics t ha n i) ~JCl: mc nt N ~ 43- 10 1 IS o n th e Ca nad ia n Co u nc il o f I'ro fessional Geosc ie n tists
(~ ,CI G) we bsite a t -cwww.cc pg.ca» (May 10, ZOOH).
t he ave rage person o beys'! If so, wha t is t he best wa y to impose suc h
1101 1 ': n g.lIl ee ~·s Ca nada, Guidctiru: Oil till' l)cfill iliclll o( tlu : Pntctice o(l'rofi'ssiOl/(/1
requirem e n ts? 1:1'SII tccruIS, O t t a ~a , ava ilable a l <www.enginee rsca nad a.ca/ e/ pu_guid e lines.cfm>
2. Co m pare the U.S. and Ca nad ia n syste ms for regu lati ng professions. For (I,u ne 15, Z(!09). Excerpt reprod uced with perm ission o f Eng inee rs Ca nad a.
exam ple, mu ch inf orm ati on is ava ilable abo ut profession al eng ineers in 1I II (,;~ I.l<~ d.l a n. 1·, n g.lI~ ee~·i n g Accr ed itat io n Bo a rd (CEAB), Eng in eers Ca n ad a, 2007
bot h co un tries. In the U.S., sta te boa rds, ap poin ted by th e state go ve rn- II , crcditation Criteria iu ut Procedures , O tta wa , Z00 6, p. IZ, ava ila b le a t
ments, regu lat e professio ns. Enginee rs a re req u ired to write two sets of < w w w. e n g ~ n ~ e rsc a n a d a . c a / e/ p u_a b . cf m > (lu ne IS, Z( 09 ). Exce rp t re p ro d uc ed
with pc rnu ssio n 0 1 En g ineers Ca nad a.
exa ms for ad mi ssio n . Everyo ne, rega rdl ess of ed uca tio n, mu st w rite t he
11'1 ~'~vfi,.~.\ io! /I/ l 1:"Sil/ c('fs I l cl , Revised Sta tu tes o f O n ta rio, 1990 , c. I'ZH, s. l.
exa ms. In Ca nada, th e profession is self-regu lated by Associa tio ns of engi- II Ii 1111' 1:IISI/I('cnIlS, Gcolog ica l in u! Gcopnvs ica l Proicssions Ac l, Revised Sta tut es o f
neers a nd/or geo scientists. Gra d uates of accred ited programs a re exe m pt Albe rta, ZOOO, C ha p te r E- I I, Sec tio n ! (q) .
from techn ica l exa ms . Stat ist ics show th at o n ly abo ut IS percent o f the 1111 ( ;al~a.(~ i,a n~o u ~ lc ~ 1 o f I' ~o fes~ i o n al Geosc ie n tists (CC PG), /) cfilli liol/ o( l ht'
" • 11( II(• I of I lO(o .\ lIIlIa l Geoscience , a p p ro ved . [a
t n ua
t ry 11 , 1999 • AIso
' .IIl C Ili t IC( I 111
'
people practising enginee ring in th e U.S. have licen ces, whe reas abo ut RS .
(' ,I'OSC/CIICl' KII~l\ l'iI', (~e ani ! J:X/'('fil'IICI' Uel}l/ il'l'III('III S f ill' I'mf i'ssicJl II/1 Ut's isl ral iOlI ill
percent of the people practisin g engine ering in Ca nada have licences. In (,I I/ II/ela , p ubl ish ed by CC PG, May ZOOH, ava ila b le at <WWW.ccpg.ca>
58 PART ONE ' PROFESSIONAL LICE NSI NG AND REG ULA TIO N
11 5\ Ca nad ian Geoscie nce Standards Board (CGSB), a co m m itt ee o f CC I'G, "Ou tlin es
o f Required Knowledge," Appendix 3 of Recommended M in i /III/ III Requlremcnts o(
Geoscience KllolV ledge 01111 Work Experien ce [o r Protcssional Practicc. ava ilab le at
apt er 3
<www.ccpg.ca> (Jun e 15, 2009).
Jl 61 Ca nad ia n Engin ee ring Q ua lification s Board (CEQ II), Eng inee rs Can ada, Guidel ine
Oil Admission to th e Practi ce o(ElIs illeeri llS ill COll ado, O ttawa, 200 1, ava ilab le at
( ntinui ng Professional
I) velop ment
<www.en gin eersca nada.ca/e/ pu_gu idelines.cf m> (Jun e I S, 2009 ).
\ 171 Engin eers Ca nad a, 2007 Accredi tu tion Cri ter ia andPtuccdurcs, p. 27.
118 1 Engi nee rs Can ada, Fnnn Consideration /0 lntcgrati on, O tta wa, ava ilab le at
<fc2 i.eng inee rscan ada .ca/e/ index .cflll> (Jun e 15, 2(09).
11 91 Engineers Ca n ada, Engineer» Canada Examination Sytlubus, Ot tawa, ava ilable a t
<www.en gin ee rscan ada.ca/e/ pu_syllab us.cf m> (Ju ne I S, 2009) .
120 1 Engineers Can ad a, "Co mponent s of Acceptable Eng ineer ing Work Exper ience ,"
In terpreti ve Guid e I V, O ttawa, ava ilab le at <www.ccpe.ca/e/fi les/guideline_ad m is-
slo n j n tgu tdc .pd f> (May 10, 2(08).
1211 Professio na l Engi n ee rs On ta rio (PEO), Guide to J<eljllired Experience (ur Licensing as III lnccrlng and geoscience are co ns ta nt ly adva nc ing, so keeping up is a cha l-
a Pro(essiollal Engi neer ill Cmtnri», Toro n to, 2002, avail abl e at -cwww.peo .o n .ca>
(May 10, 20(8). I' l l I ' , New techniques, th eori es, so ftwa re, a nd hardware eme rge every yea r.
1221 Canad ian Geoscie nce Sta nda rds Board (CGSB), a co m m ittee o f CC PG, Geoscience 11 " w does a p rofession al stay up -to-dat e? Engineers Ca nada p ub lished a guide-
Kll olVledse anil Experience /le11ll irell /ell ts (or Proiessinna l Registra tion ill Caniu la, lilli' proposi ng t hat licensed m em be rs sllOuld parti cipate in a wide ran ge of
May 2008 , ava ilable at -cwww.ccpg.ca> (Jun e I S, 2009 ). I, /I II lin g activ ities, and rep ort th ese ac tivit ies to th eir Associati on s ann ua lly. All
1231 Eng inee rs Ca n ada, As reelJlm t Oil M obi lity or Protessionu ! Ellsilleers wit hi n Catuulu, 1Ill'II sing Associa tio ns are now foll owing thi s guide line (o r beginning to foll o w
ava ilab le a t <www.e ngineerscan ad a.ca> (May 10, 2(08) .
III Th is cha p ter gives an ove rview o f th e need fo r co n ti n uing co m pete nce, th e
1241 Ca nad ian Co u ncil of Professio n al Geo scien tists, As reelJlell t Oil Mob ili ty or
Protessionu! Geoscientists within Canada, j u ne 2003, ava ilab le at -cwww.ccpg.ca> I lIldl'li ne requi reme n ts, a n d a su m mary of ty pical ac tiv it ies th at meet the
(May 10, 2( 08). Ii qu lrcments. Fort una te ly, m o st professiona ls rise to th e cha lleng e, easily.
1251 Enginee rs Cana da, " In tern atio na l Mo bi lity ", ava ilable at
<www.enginee rscan ada.ca> (Jun e IS, 20( 9).
1261 Canad ia n Co u nci l o f Professional Geoscie n tists (CC PG), int em ationa! Cooperation REER M O M ENT U M VERSUS OBSOLESCENCE
AsreelJlm /s, avai lab le at -cwww.ccpg.ca> (May 10, 2008).
1271 Professional Engi n eers O n ta rio (PEO), Guidel ine to I'ro (essi(}/lt/ I Practi ce, Toronto , Ili lHlua tes br ing n ew idea s into th e workplace a n d are en th us ias tic to learn
1998, p. 15, ava ilab le at -cwww.peo .o n .ca> (May 10, 2( 08 ). 11 11 Il l ' , Th is posit ive atti tude is th e start of a success ful ca ree r. Ho wever, yo ur
128 1 Ib id . 1Ii11'llclo r's d egree is like a radioacti ve mineral that d ecays ov e r time , In pre-
1291 Enginee rs Can ada, llotn e I'age, O ttaw a, ava ilable at <www.e ngin eerscanada .ca> IIII I S decad es, th e half-life o f a u n iversity degree was abo u t 10 yea rs, but in
(Ma y 10, 20(8).
Canad ia n Co u nc il o f Professio na l Geoscien tis ts (CC I'G), HOlli e I'ase, ava ilab le at III )\il-tech di scip lines, it is eve n sho rte r. Even if yo u wer e at th e top o f yo ur
<www.ccpg.ca> (May 10, 2(08) . r.uluat in g cla ss, yo u w ill even tua lly be o u t of d at e with out p ro fessio n a l
A. Willis a nd D. Go o ld , "Bre-X: Th e One-Ma n Scam," Globe and M ail, july 22, Ii nvwal . Keep your skills up -to -dat e, becau se professiona l development m ain -
1997, AI. lill lIs yo ur ca ree r mo me nt u m. Mo re im porta n tly, most provinces no w h ave
j . Stac kh o use, 1'. Waldie, and j . McFa rland (wit h files fro m C. Donnelly), "Bre-X:
1111 ar e mov ing to ) m and at ory pr o gram s, a nd b y n eglectin g p rofession al
The Un to ld Sto ry," Glohc li nd Ma il , May 3, 199 7, Ill.
A. Spae th, "The Scam o f th e Cen tu ry," Time, Canad ian cd. , May 3, 1997, p. 34 . dl'Vl'lo p m en t (or failing to d ocument it) yo u ca n risk th e loss o f yo ur p rofcs-
J. Wel ls, "The llre-X lIust," Ma cleall \ , April 7, 1997, p. SO. IlI lIal licence.
Stac kho use ct a l., "Bre-X: Th e Un to ld Story," Ill. A recen t su rvey asked Ca na d ia n engineers and geoscien tists to ide n ti fy the
Wells, "Th e IIre-X Bust," p. SO. 11 115 needed for a success fu l ca ree r (in add it io n to t heir basic professiona l
Spaet h , "The Scam o f th e Ce n tu ry," p. 34. © 1997 Tim e In c. I rlucat io n j. ! Th e top three wer e negoti ati on skills (ide n ti fied by 30 percent o f
1'. Waldie, " De Guzma n l.ed Tam pe ring a t Go ld Site ," Ti, e Glo lle 01111 Ma il ,
1111 ' res po n de n ts), bu sin ess sk ills (27 percent), a n d personn el m an agem ent
Octob er 8, 1997, AI.
139 1 Ibid . I Ills (20 perce n t). Engi neers Ca nad a recomme nds developin g sim ilar skills
III th ei r Guide line o n co n t in u ing co m pe te nce . O bv io us ly, yo u must d evelop
111 1ls I of these key skills o n yo ur ow n, beca use ve ry few o f th em are in th e
und erg rad ua te eng ineering a nd /or geoscie nc e cur riculu m (u n less your uni-
vi-rslty permi tted optio na l or min or co urses in m an agem ent).
60 PART ONE · PROFESSI ONAL LICENSING AND REG ULATION
_ _~C H. :A
.:PTER 3 • Continuing Professiono l De vel opm ent 61
Non-Technical Skill s
1IIII Il'ssio na l co m pete nce. O f those tak ing the ex tra tra in in g, m ost (fo ur o ut of
• Co m m u n icat io n (writte n a nd ora l) 11 1'1 ') received so me financial su ppor t fro m em ployers, and hal f received so me
• Interpersonal Skills (cultura l se ns it ivity, wo rking wit h subo rdi na te s, 111111 ' off." Ca reer develo pm en t, tod ay, su pe rsedes th e job sec ur ity of th e past.
negoti ati o n, delegati on , decision makin g, etc.);
• P roject Managcmcnt (sche d u ling, est im ating , budget in g, qu ality assu r- IIrllVERSITIES AND TECHNICAL SOCIETIES SHOULD LEAD THE WAY Un ive rsit ies
anc e, etc.) 1101 1'\' a n o bvio us respons ib ility to provid e releva nt co urses, sem in ars, an d co n-
• Pro b le m Solving II 1I 'lIces, but technical societies a lso play a key ro le in h elping yo u to m ain-
• Management (recru iti ng, tr a in in g, perfo rm a nce eva lua tio n, hu m an I ti ll yo u r professiona l co m pe te nce. Technica l societies bring togeth er peop le
right s, m o tivati on a l m eth ods, me n to ring, harassm ent issues, etc.) 11 11 sim ilar professiona l inter ests, an d crea te a vast wealth o f kn owled ge,
• Lifc lo n g Lcarning II I'.I/"ch , co des, sta ndards, a nd tech n iqu es. A pract isin g professiona l sho uld
• n u si n css (co n trac t nego tiat io n , fina ncial acco un ti ng, risk ana lysis, law, 111111 al leas t o ne soc iety to ben efit fro m th e help tha t th ese soc iet ies di st ribu te
ctc .) II 11I·e1 y. It is sim pie co m m on sense . (Chap ter 5 di scu sses tec h n lea I soc ieties
II I dl'tail.) .
Technical Skills
• Dangcrous /hazardous m a t crials m ana gement • UM P ETE NC E PROGRAM REQUIREMENT S

• Enviro n m cn ta l rcgulatio ns
Illlml' Associa tio ns introdu ced co n ti n uin g co m pe te nce requirem ents, th ey
• Codcs a n d stand a rd s 1III Iined o the r profession s in Ca nada. Law, m ed icine, acc o un t ing , a nd a rchi-
• Rcgula tory comp tia n ce [such as t he Build ing Co de j.2
10 l ime have o ne th ing in co m m o n: co n tin u ing pro fessional develo pm e n t is
I I,,"d ard expec ta tio n. So me licensin g boards in th e Un ited Sta tes are also
RESPONSI BILITY FO R CONT I N U I N G C OMPETENCE 111111Il!uc ing sim ila r req u ire m en ts.
I'll enc o u rage Assoc ia tio n s to develop co ns iste n t prof essiona l deve lop-
O f co urse, yo u are respo ns ible fo r ma in ta in ing yo ur co m pe te nce . The good
1111 ' 111 progra ms, ~ng i nee rs Can ada pu blish ed a gu ide line in 1996 (reissued in
news is tha t main taining co m pe te nce is a win -win a rrangem ent: it he lps yo u r
'111)'1), Eng in ee rs Ca nada e nvisages four m a jor requirem ents fo r co m p lete
ca ree r by kee p in g yo u prod ucti ve and co m pet itive, but it is also a qu a lity , uran cc o f co n tin u ing co m pete nce, sum m a rized as follo ws:
ass ura nce measure t ha t pro tec ts t he publi c.
Contin u i n g Profcssional Dev elopm e n t (CPO) . Each Asso ci at io n
PROFESSIONALS ARE RESPONSIBLE Each of th e licensing Acts co n tains a cla use sho uld have (at a minim um ) a vo lu nta ry co n tin uing professional devel-
(usually in th e Co de of Eth ics) requiring co n tin uing co m pe tence. For exa m ple, u pmc n t program, whi ch advertises Co n tin uing Profession a l Developm ent
the Eng inee rs Ca nada Code o f Eth ics (wh ich is a nati onal model co de) sta tes ( ;1'1) ac tivit ies to h elp members acq uir e new knOWled ge, skills'a n deKjJ F "
th is q uite clearl y. Professio nal eng inee rs shall "keep t hemselves in form ed in rtcn ce. CPD act ivities (as defin ed below ) in clude a wide range o f act ivities,
orde r to ma in ta in thei r co m pe te nce, strive to ad va nce th e body of kn o w ledge includ ing p rofessional practice, fo rma l co urses a nd inf o rm a l st udy.
wit h in wh ic h th ey pr actise a n d provid e o ppor tu n it ies for t he prof essio na l Itc p o rting and rccording . Th e Associati on s sho uld m ak e it easy to
developme n t o f th eir subord ina tes .":' rlo cumc n t o ne's CPD activit ies, prefe rably by o n line electro n ic reporti ng.
Th is means t hat yo u mu st co n tin ua lly assess yo ur co m pe te nce and keep e:o lll p li a n cc stat ement. The Associatio ns shou ld as k licensed mem bers
ab reast of new theori es, eq uipme n t, a nd methods. Ho weve r, yo u ca n no t do it III make a n ~n nlla l declarati on that they h ave co m plied wit h th e CPt)
alo ne ; yo u need he lp a nd guida nce. rvquire me n ts. -. - - - -
'·rncticc Rcvicw. To che ck th at all m embers m ain tain co n t in uing co m-
EMPLOYERS ALSO HAVE A ROLE To retai n the to p talent, em ploye rs m ust h elp p\'!ence, th e Asso cia ti ons sh o u ld a ud it co m p lia nce decl ar ati on s by
emp loye es ac h ieve th eir full po ten tia l. Professiona ls wa nt to wo rk hard, but \1'1.cu n g a sm a ll, ra n dom sa m ple of m ember s to under go a pra cti ce
th ey a lso wan t ass ig n m e n ts t h a t c h a llen ge t h em , a n d o p po rtu n it ies fo r It'view.s
cutti ng-edge co u rses, wo rksho ps, a nd co n ference s to keep their skills sh a rp, I ~ n g i n eers Ca nada recom m en ds th at a ll four as pec ts of th e co n ti n uing
Em p loy ers ar e acce pti ng t h is ro le, A recen t survey by Eng inee rs Ca n ada IIlllJll'le nc e progra m sh o u ld be ma ndator y a n d th a t Associa tion s sho uld
showed t hat 64 pe rce n t of lice n sed eng inee rs and geoscien tists had tak e n 1111 lion mem bers who are un willing or un abl e to co m ply. As o f Ma y 2007,
ad d itiona I t ra in ing in th e pa st Ih ree yea rs to m ai n tain or up g rad e t hc i 1_

' ......_ _ 11 provin cia l a nd territ ori a l Associat ion s have ado pted the Guide line, o r a re
,_
PART ONE . PROFESSION A L LI CENSI NG AND REGULATION
CHAPTER 3 • Cont inu ing Professiona l Developm e nt 63
62
i n va rious stages o f ado p t io n. So me program s are vo luntary an d so me are I l urm a l or Sel f -Dire c t e d Activity
m and ator y. AI' EGGA (A lberta) introduced i ts m an dato ry C I'D pla n i n 1998, 1IIII III n ai activ i ties m ay qu alify, if th ey ex pan d y o ur know ledg e, ski lls, o r
and was t h e first Assoc iat io n to respo nd fu ll y to t h e Eng i nee rs Ca n ada IlIdWlll'nl. Exam ples in clude: self- d irected st udy; atten d in g co n ferences and
6
Guidel ine, al t ho ug h Quebec has had a vo lu n tary C I' D po li cy si nce \ 982. T he IlI dll,lry tra de shows, sem i n ars, tech n ical presenta tio ns, talks an d half-day
program s m ay be classi fie d as fo llows: 1111 sho ps: atte n d ing meetings of techni cal, pro fession al, or m an ageri al soci-
• Ma n d ato ry CPD Programs: A lbe rt a (AI' EGGA), ew Brun swick I lit ', ; and st ructured techni cal o r profession al di scu ssion w i t h one's peers. Keep
(A I'EGNS), New fo un d lan d & Lab rado r (I'EG-N L), O n ta rio (A I'GO), Pri nce Ill. lid s of suc h study, attenda nce, or even ts. Alberta (A pEGGA) cred its o ne I'D I-I
Edward Island (ApEI'EI), Quebec (OGC), Sas katc hewa n (A I'EGS). 111 1 ('01 1'11 ho ur o f in formal activit y, to a m aximum o f 30 I'DI-Is per year.
• Vo lun t a ry CP D Programs: Bri tis h Co l u m b ia (A I'EG BC), Ma n itoba

(A I'EGM), Nort hwes t Terr i tori es (NA I'EGG), Nova Scot ia (A I'ENS), Nova l lcl p ation
Scot ia (A I'GNS), O n ta rio (PEa), Quebec (0 1Q), Yuk on (A I' EY).
I Ilvlties t h at pro mote interacti on an d /or promot e di scussion o f new id eas or
Program requ ir em en ts vary w idely . Some req ui re fu ll repor ti n g, co m pli- II' hu ol ogy are ben efi cial to t h e pr ofession and th e pub li c. Fo r exam ple, m en-
an ce, and possib le pr acti ce revi ew, w h ereas m ost o f th e vo lun tary pro grams 111 11 11).; m embers-i n -t rai n i ng ; pr ovidi n g techn ical serv ice t o pub li c bodi es;
h ave n o practi ce rev iew. Each Associat io n h as a profession al developm en t I I vi II).; o n co m m i tt ees for tech n ical, professio na l o r m an agerial soc ie t ies; pro-
web page, brochure, or guidel i ne that defin es th eir pr ogram . Visi t th e websi te 1011 11).; co m m un it y serv ice, suc h as an elected pub li c serv ice a t any level; an d
to see t h e C I' D an d co m pliance proced u res t ha t appl y to yo u. (A ppend ix A I I I oI).;i ng in active serv ice for ch ari tabl e, rei igi ou s, or serv ice organ izat ion s,
l ists yo ur Associat io n's Web add ress.) Ill ' valid parti ci patio n . A lberta (AI' EGGA) cred i ts o n e I' D I-I for each h our o f
l lill lll'i patio n, to a ma xi mum o f 20 PDl-ls per year (bu t o n ly \ 0 l' Dll s m ay be
llll ll ill un i ty serv ice).
PROFE SSIONAL DEVELO PMENT ACT IV ITIES
T he re are m an y ways to ma i n tain co m pete nce. T h e fo llowing suggestio ns use I cnta t io n s
th e same six classificat io ns as t h e Alberta pro gra m." si nce several Associat io n s
fo llow th e Alberta format .
1.'( l i n lea l or p rofession al p resentati on s at co n fe rences, mcet i ngs, co urses,
.111 sho ps, o r sem i na rs are eligible for cred it, w h et h er in-ho use o r sponsored
III' 01 te ch n ica l o r pr o fessio n al or gan izat io n . (Presen tat io n s give n several t im es
Pr o f e s s io n a l Practice IIIIInl only o nce.) Alberta (AI' EGGA) cred i ts o ne I' DI-I for each hour o f pr epa-
I ,ll Ion or deliv ery, to a m axi mum of 20 l' Dll s per year.
Your o n-the- job eng i neering o r geoscience experience, i n progressively more
cha llengi ng tasks, is importan t for m ai nt ain in g co m petence . In Alberta, t he
Association (A I'EGGA) allows o ne h our o f I'DH cred i t fo r 15 h ours of profes- ou t r tbut lo n s t o Knowledge
sio na l pr acti ce, t o a m ax imum o f 50 I'D I-I per yea r. Ho w ev er, som e
r t lvi l ic s suc h as w ri t i n g o r co- au t h or i n g journ al papers, pat ent s, m o n o-
Associatio ns (suc h as ApEGBC) au to m at ica lly give cred it fo r professio n al pr ac-
," pI1 S, book s, codes, st an dards, an d so forth o n eng i neering o r geoscience
ti ce, an d red uce ot he r C I' D requirem ent s acco rdin gl y. Chec k wi t h yo u r to pic s ex pan d th e t ech ni cal k no w ledge base o f t h e profession s. Alberta
Associatio n in case t he weigh t i ng is differen t for t hi s activity. I \I 'F,(;CA) allows a m aximum cred it o f :{ O I')) I-Is per year, but gives d ifferent
r ux ll t fo r each typ e o f achi evem ent, usin g t h e fo llowi ng cl assificati on:
Formal Activity I icvc lo pl ng codes anc! stan dards: O ne ho ur o f co m m i tte e-work eq uals o ne
Some for m al activ i ty sho u ld be in clu ded in yo u r pro gram . Form al co urses, 1'1)I I.
wo rksho ps, and i n-h ou se in str ucti o n are excelle n t, parti cu larl y i f perma n en t A pa te n t awa rded or a pap er in a peer-r evi ew ed tech ni cal jo u rn al : 15
records show th e can d ida te's eval uatio n and perform an ce. C I' D p rogram s 1'1 )( Is.
m ay be prov ide d by a uni versit y, co llege, techn ical society , o r an in t ern al t i nc th esis at th e Ma sters or Ph.D. level, (aft er defen ce a nd app roval) : 30
indu str y ed uca tio na l pr ogram (i n cl ud i ng v ideo or in t eracti ve Intern et 1'1 )( Is.
courses). Alberta (A I'EGGA) cred its o ne I'DI-\ fo r each h our o f course atte n- l'uhlica t io n o f a book: 60 I' )) )-Is, claimed over two years.
da nce to a m aximum o f :{O I'D I-Is per year. (For co urses rated in co n ti n ui n g Art lc le in a no n -revi ewed journ al or co m pany report : 10 I' DI-Is (max : \ 0
education units or CEUs, o ne C EU eq ua ls 10 PDI-Is.) 1'1)1Is/ year)
64 PART ON E · PROFESSIO NAL LICENSI NG AND REG ULATION ~ P~ 3 • Continuin g Prof essi onal De vel opm en t 65
• Reviewin g articl es for publi cati on : O ne h o ur eq uals o ne I'Df-[ . (Max : 10

PDl-l s/year).
• Ed it ing pap ers for publi cat ion: O ne ho ur eq ua ls o ne PDH.B
REPORTING AND AUD ITING
Reporting and Complianc e
Me m be rs typica lly rep ort th eir C I'D activ it ies a n n ually, wh en lice nces are
ren ewed . At th at ti me, the mem ber subm its a sta te me n t listing t he activities
comp leted during t he p reviou s yea r. Thi s process requires personal recor d
keepin g. In most provin ces, members report the ir CPO act ivities elect ro n i-
cally o n the Association website. In so me provinces, members sim ply assure
that th ey have co m plied wit h t he CI'D requi rem ent, a nd keep th ei r reco rds
fo r poss ible future review.
Time Commitment
Each Associa tio n typicall y pro vides bot h a weighting syste m for CPD activ i-
t ies a nd a recomm end ed a nn ua l su m req ui red . Th e requi rem ents var y, so
/'/11110 3. 1 - The CANDU Reactor. The CAN DU (CAN ada Deuterium Uranium)
check yo ur Associat io n website (listed in Appendi x A). The unit of measur e
is impressive. In 198 7, it was j udged one of Canada's top ten
111 /111'01' reactor
ma y be eithe r t h( professio na l developm ent hour (I'Df-[ ) o r th e co n tin u ing
Ilil /ineering design achievement s. The newest CAN DU installation is the Darlin g ton
ed uca tio n u ni t (CEU). T I ~ CEU is the unit co m mon ly used for fO!!'l)a l co urses
M /I lear Generating Plant ab out 70 km east of Toronto. Darlington consists of four
but J!)e_PDH is mo re usefu l for in fo rmal ac t ivities. The fo llowing eq ua t io ns
I " NOU reactors, wit h a to tal electric output of 3,5 24 megawatts, which satisfies
perm it a co nve rsio n :
,,110111 20 percent of Ont ario 's electricity requirements. The photo shows the four
• The PDI-I is eq ua l to o ne co n tac t h o u r of learn ing. I -INt U reactors (in the four larg e, windowless buildings behind the cylindrical
• The CEU is eq ua l to 10 co n tac t hours of learn ing. uc uum building). The long building behind the reactors is the tur bine hall, which
1'"I/\/'s the electrical generators. The heat from the reactors creates steam in the
ALBERTA APEGGA suggests 240 PDI-! s o ve r three yea rs, with ac t ivit ies in /'l/1/ us atop the reactors. The steam is pip ed to th e turbin e hall, where it drives
three of th e various categor ies (above) per year. Th is implies a n ave rage of uuhlnes coupled to the generators. The electricity produced by the generators flows
80 PDll/ycar, AI'EGGA red uces t he requi rem en ts for special cases, a nd non- ", I onsumers via the transmission lines.
practisin g members a re, of co urse, exe m pt fro m th e CI'D pro g ram .') Seve ral uurce: Courtesy of On tario Pow er Generati on .
jurisdicti on s fo llow th e Alberta sta nda rd .
BRITISH COLUMBIA AI'EGBC has a " reco m me nde d but not ma ndator y" pro- APEGBC a llo ws a maximum o f 20 I'DI-! in a nyo ne catego ry in a calendar
gram , and th e requirem ents dif fer sligh tly fro m th e Albert a model. Cred it is " oil , Mem bers ca n sim ply co n firm th eir co m plia nce each year, o r ma y use
1'1':< ;1\C's C PD O n-line Rep orti ng Ce ntre. Kee p su ppo rting docu men ts fo r
alread y in cluded for professio na l pr acti ce, so APEGBC as ks members to co m-
111111' yea rs, for aud it purpo ses. You ma y tran sfer su rplus PDHs to future yea rs,
plete 90 PDf-[ o n a t h ree-yea r ro lling average, or an ave rage of 30 I'DI-l / year,
1111 1 mu st claim th em wit h in th ree yea rs o f th e act ivity. 10
in a t least two of th e followi ng four ca tegor ies:
• Forma l Acti vities (struc ture d co urses , tra ini ng, ce rtificatio n , etc.)
K mpti o n s and Deferments
• Info rm a l Activ ities (o n-the -jo b tra in ing, self-d irecte d study, etc .)
• Parti cipation (me nto ring, service to tech nical an d pro fessiona l societ ies, I I','ry provinc ial Association a llow s spec ial co ns ide ra tio n for special cases. For
e tc.) , ample, reti red o r non -pr acti sin g mem bers a re exe m pt fro m th e CI'D pro-
• Present ati on s a nd Co n tribu tio ns to Kn o wled ge (writi ng, presen tin g, o r 1 101 11 1, if th e member co n firms th a t he o r she is not practi sing. In additio n,
reviewin g co des , standards, research pap ers, etc. )
........._ -nu-mbers o n mat ern ity leave, stud ying full-t im e, wo rking o utside o f th e
66 PART ONE' PROFE SSIONAL LI CENSIN G A~D REGULATIO~ _ CHAPTER 3 • .i0nti nu;ng Pro!essio no..l Devel opment 67
---- - - - - - -
province, em ployed part-time, unem pl oyed, o r disabled ma~ req ues~ ex e l~l p Illplllg a d ead- en d job. For example, it is genera lly easier to en te r a sp ecialty,
tio n or d eferment, as ap propriat e. A wr itt en request for spec ial conmleratlOn III iI as bio me d ica l enginee ring, throug h a master's program .
is necessary. " co m m o n rule of th umb is th at a postgraduat e degree ex te nd s a p ro fes-
1111101 1 ca reer by as m uc h as 10 yea rs, over a bac h e lor's degree. Howeve r,
ul .uu'ed deg rees can be ex pen sive, eve n wh en ta ken part-t ime, a nd a half-
Practice Review 11I 1111\'d in te rest is risky. To avo id wastin g va luab le yea rs, yo u must weigh the
Engi ne e rs Ca nad a reco m me n ds rand om chec ks to e ns u re. tl~a t th e se lf- II 1\ ami bene fits, defin e a clear go a l, a nd be det ermined to ac h ieve it.
assessm en t is fair and ho nest. In m o st p rovinces, th e Associat io n selec ts a Jil l' bes t tim e to thi n k abo u t po stgraduate st ud y is wh ile yo u arc sti ll in
sm all sa m ple o f m embers eac h year, and ve rifies th at t he reco rds su b m it ted 11I1 'l'rsity, be cause yo u ca n get advice fro m p ro fesso rs. Mor e importa n tly,
ar e acc ur ate and proper ly eva luated . Thi s aud iting process h as ge nerated so me 1111ra u ap ply fo r resea rch grants an d ass ista nts h ip s, wh ic h may be cruc ial.
di ssen sion, since it requ ires ti m e and effo rt by the Associat io n and by the III 1,111'1' yea rs, fam ily, job, o r fina ncial pressures m ay tak e p riority over study.
licen sed members. 1111I ' mo st read ers of thi s textbook are recen t graduates o r se n ior u nder-
I uluat es, the best tim e to think abo ut postgraduat e stud ies is probab ly right
111 1\ I
THE EIC CONTINUIN G EDUCATI O N P ROG RAM
The Eng inee ringJI}5..tJ! u ts gL Ca nada (EIC) is ~ se(lll l~ace to sea rcl~p ro
~:iate C PO cOl~es . Th e EIC, Ca nad a's o ldes t technical soc i e~y, I~a s tak en o n .Im lssion Requiremen ts-M aster's Degree
t he task o f coordi natin g C PO ac t ivities provid ed by o t he rs. [, IC IS a m embe r Uulversi t ies typi call y awa rd e ng inee ring a nd geoscien ce mas te r's degrees in
o f th e In te rn a t io n a l Asso cia t io n fo r Co n t in u ing Educa tio n a nd Tra in ing 1I111ll'd sc ie nce (MASc), sc ience (MSc), o r eng in eering (MEng). Ad m ission
(lAC ET) in Wash in gt on, O.c. "' I'i1 rl'me n ts vary, b ut yo u must usua lly have a B av erage, or better, fro m an
EIC does not o ffer courses, but it selec ts th e m, va lidates th eir q ua lity, and II I II'dited u ndergrad ua te p ro gram . If yo u have been o ut of universi ty for
lists th em o n the EIC web sit e. II The co urs es are no t (usua lly) degree cred its, 111 11'1' or more yea rs, you may qua lify as a mat ur e studen t. Adm ission stan-
but all provid e acce p table C EUs. More im por tan tly, EIC ve rifies t hat over 30 IlIlh arc more flex ibl e for m atu re students because t hey arc more goa l-
co u rse p rovider s d eliver C PO program s tha t me et establis hed qU~l it y st.an- 1I 11'1l 1l'd, more orga n ized, a nd th us m o re effectiv e in th ei r stud ies.
dards. The provider s are en t itle d to use t he EIC logo to sho w th e 1, IC va lid a- l'r ogram s th at include a th esis ("researc h m aster's") usu all y have highe r
tion . They include: 1I 11 11 1ss io n st a nd a rd s th an th o se th at a re m ain ly co u rses ("co u rse-wo rk
• Technical so ci et ies that arc members of t he EIC. EIC has seve ral co n- 11111 trr 's"). Thes is p ro ject s typi call y ex plore a part o f th e supe rvisor's resea rch
st ituen t members, includi ng th e Ca nad ian Society for Civil Eng inee ring, 1'111 11 and may in clu de pay as a resea rch ass ista n t. A mast er's degree takes a
Canad ian Geo tec h n ical Soci ety, Canad ian Society for C hem ical Eng ineer ing, mlulmum of o ne academ ic year, bu t 16 to 20 mont hs is typ ical. Mo st uni ver-
Canad ian Socie ty for Mechanical Engineering, IEEE Canad a, an d o thers (see 1111'\ hir e master's cand id ates as pa rt-time labo ratory tutors or teach in g assis-
1111 1\, if neede d .
Chapter 5). . ..
• Universities and other teaching institutions. Man y uni versiti es
parti cipat e, through out th e year, as courses become ava ilab le. . ,Im l ssion Requi reme nts-Doctora l Degree
• Industry associations with expertise in specific areas. s ev.eral
indu str y o rgan izat io ns part icipate, in clu d in g the Can ad ia n Nuclea r SOCIety, I ill' usua l e ng ineering or geoscie nce d o ctoral degree is th e Do ctor of
Ca nad ian Da m Associa tio n, a nd o the rs. l'lllloso phy (.!2hJ2.).
• Ot h e r organizations. Ma ny o the r orga n izat io ns a nd in stitutions lin k Iiocto ra l ca nd ida tes usua lly m ust ra n k in t h e u pp er qu arti le o f t he ir
to EIC for speci fic co u rses or co n fere nc es. II lldl'rgrad uate class es, an d have a mas te r's degree in a rela ted a rea of study.
1I111l' ca nd id a tes en te r th e d o ctora l p ro gram direct ly fro m th e ba c he lor's
10 I'. ' l'l', bu t this is not co m m o n in Ca nad a. How ev er, ma ster 's st ud en ts wh o
POSTGRADUATE STUDIES lI11 w exc ept io na l abi lity often tra nsfer into doctoral programs.
A po st graduat e d egr ee is usefu l in mainta ining co m pe te nce '. It . wi.ll lik e l:, 1\ thesis is required for a doctorate. Alt ho ug h the su pe rviso r gives guid -
adva nce yo u r ca ree r, parti cu larl y if yo u r goal is to be a spec ialist 111 e n ~ l- 11111', the ca nd id ate defines th e the sis topic, which must make an ori gina l,
neering o r geoscience. Th e d egree (or more acc ura te ly, wha t yo u .I ea rr~ wh ile IlIdl'pl'nden t co n trib utio n to th e discipline. Co ns id er seve ral research proj ects
achi ev in g th e d eg ree) ma y be vita l for ch a ngin g yo ur caree r direction . o r_ ..a......:.;I~l lI d seve ra l s u pe rv iso rs) befo re maki ng a co m m itm en t- yo u r doc tora l
68 PART ONE · PROFESS IONAL LICE NSI NG AN O REG ULATIO N CHAPTER 3 • Contin ui ng Profe ss iona l De ve lop ment 69
resear ch will s h a pe th e rest o f yo u r ca ree r! The doct ora te ta kes a m in imum o f I II I h-ncc advocacy organi zations a re rare; the Assoc iatio ns, wit h th eir esiab-
t hr ee yea rs beyo n d the bach elor's d egree (or two years beyo nd th e m aste r's II 111'd co m m u n ica tio n links, a re in a uni qu e positi on to encou rage a nd advcr-
d egree). Ho wever, th e len gth is typi ca lly a yea r lo n ge r, parti cu lar ly if th e do c- II I ' ( :1'1 ) co u rses and ac t ivities. The Associa tion s must ass ist in o rga n izing these
toral ca nd id ate works as a part-t im e lectu re r or researc h assi sta n t, or if t he I "Ills, eve n th ou gh th is task may be at the lim it o f th eir regu latory duti es.
research p roj ect is es pec ially ch a lle ng ing. l'hc e ng inee ring and geoscie n ce facu lt ies of o ur un iversit ies a nd co lleges
II II have a n o b liga tio n to p ro vid e mo re ev e ni n g, part-t im e, and In te rnet
1lII IWS to sa t isfy t h e need for co n t in u in g ed uca t io n . Un ive rsiti es mu st
Making a Cost-Benefit Analysis
1I1lll irage professio na l em p loy ees to enr o ll in po stgraduate co urses o n a part-
A po st gradua te d egree usu a lly justi fies a hi gh er sa la ry th an a ba c he lo r's 111111 ' basis.
degree. Mor e im port a ntl y, a po stg raduat e de gree m ay in cr ease you r job sa tis-
faction, ex te n d yo u r p rofe ssio na l ca ree r, a nd give yo u m or e yea rs o f work at I I US SI O N T O P I CS A N D A SSIGNMENT S
peak sa lary. However, th e degree tak es t im e a nd cos ts m on ey, so yo u ma y n ot
break eve n for severa l yea rs. Th e ea rly yea rs ma y a lso requ ire so me sac rifice; Use t he Internet to exa m in e th e requi rem en ts for th e con tin uin g co m-
fami ly tim e m ay be lim ited. You m ay ha ve to dela y a n ew ho me or ca r p u r- petence progra m (o r C /' D pr ogram ) in yo ur provin ce o r te rr itory. As an
ch ase . Alt ho ug h th e cha llen ge o f post g raduate study m ay be attractive, yo u exerc ise, co m pare th e C PD requirem ents for yo u r provi nc e or te rritory
mu st weigh fut ur e be nefit s aga inst pr esen t cos ts. Before yo u ma ke a co m m it- with th e ru les for Albe rta (Not e 7, be low) and British Co lu m b ia (No te 10,
m ent, decid e: Wi ll th e effort pay off for yo u'! bel ow). (Albe rta a nd Briti s h Co lu m b ia rcs ide ru s s ho u ld s u bs t it ute
ano the r prov ince.) Wh at sim ila rities a n d d iffer en ces do yo u observ e in
these thr ee se ts o f rul es'! W h ic h is most d e m a n d ing, a nd w h ich is least
Choosing a University dema n d ing '!
If yo u wa n t to ex p lo re th e possibility fur ther, gath er info rmation a nd d efine Before Eng ine e rs Ca n ad a d eveloped th ei r mod el for C PD, so me
yo u r goa l. Un ive rsity ca ta logues ar e o n th e In tern et. Th e mo st im porta nt fac- Associa tio ns co nside red th e pr oposa l tha t professio na ls s ho u ld writ e a
tors a re yo ur e n t h us ias m for yo u r stud y topi c (or resear ch proj ect), th e qua lity for m a l exa m ina tio n eve ry five to ten yea rs to mainta in co m pe te nce.
of th e su pe rv iso r who will me ntor yo u, a nd t he co m p u te r an d lab oratory Co m pa re thi s form a l exa m inatio n propo sa l with th e Eng in ee rs Canada
faci liti es th at w ill be ava ilab le to yo u . You sho u ld d efin e yo u r resea rch in te r- C PD mode l, based o n per son al assess me n t. In yo ur opi n ion, w h ich is
es ts, c hec k o u t th e research er s in that a rea , co n tac t th em , a nd d ecid e for vasler to adm in iste r, w h ich is sim pler fo r th e Associatio n me m ber, and
w ho m yo u wo u ld like to wor k, es pecia lly if th e degr ee requires a t h esis. Ask whic h is mo re likely to p rotect the p ublic'! W hi ch crite rio n sh o u ld take
ab out resear ch gra n ts and ass ista n ts h ips. precede nce'! In you r an swe r, co m pare the pe rso na l sel f-assess me n t process
in th e Eng in eers Ca n ad a mo d e l with th e we ll-k now n se lf-assess me nt
process for in com e tax. Are th ey sim ila r'! Are th ey effective'! Ex p lain and
CLOSING COMMENTS sum m arize yo ur ans we rs o n o ne o r two pages.
Unde r th e Act, yo u r Associa tio n mu st mo n ito r p ro fession al co m pe te nce
Co n tin uing co m pe te nce program s h ave grow n rem a rka bly in the pa st d eca de ,
to protec t th e pu b lic. Ho wever, as in all sel f-regu lating p ro fessio n s, the
but not wit ho u t so me crit icism. For exa m p le, fo rm e r Profession al Eng in ee rs
Assoc iat io n 's mem ber s mu st a pp rove (b y a vote) t he mo ni tori n g process.
O nta rio (PEO) pr esident Rich ard W. Braddo ck sa id (in 2 (03) that h e su p po rts
Yo ur o p in io n is th er efore importan t. Discu ss yo ur Asso ciatio n's C PD o r
CPD acti vities, ca lling th em "d esirab le and necessa ry," but h e ha s se rio us co n-
cont in u in g co m pete nce pr ogram , as publi sh ed o n th e ir we bsi te (listed
ce rns a bo u t m andat or y co n ti n u ing co m pe te nce program s.l -
in Ap pe nd ix A). In yo u r o p in io n, is th e p rogra m margin a l, ad eq ua te, or
Asso ciati o ns must seek a ba la n ce in mandat or y co n t in u in g co m pe te n ce
excess ive'! In cl ude yo u r resp on ses to t h e fo llow ing q uestio n s:
program s by recogn izin g th e m an y form s o f C PD and g iving cre d it w h er e it is
du e . The do cum entati on a nd ve rificat io n p rocess must be sim p le and un in- a . W h at co n ti n u in g co m pe te nce require m e n ts protec t the publ ic best"!
t rusivc, and m ust recognize th at so me form s of ac h ieve me n t, ex pe rience, a nti Is co n t in u ing professio na l d evelop me n t (C PD) the best indi cator o f
ed ucat io n may be d ifficu lt to do cum ent. In so me cases, pr act ica l ex pe rien ce co m pe te nce'! If n o t, wha t is be tter'! Co n ve rsely, do es th e ab senc e o f
(eve n bad ex pe rie nce) m ay teach m or e than forma l co ur ses . C PD ac tiv ity indi cat e in compet ence'!
Provin cial a nd terr itorial Associat ion s m ust show in itiative in providing C P\) b. Sho u ld C PD reporting be m andat ory'! Re portin g a n d a ud it ing ta ke
ac tiv ities. APEGGA (Alberta) see ms to have been successfu l in th is proa ctiv e ro ll' tim e an d ef fo rt, so at wh at point d oes th e expe n se (to t h e p ro fes-
a n d has se t a sta n da rd for o the r Associa tion s to foll o w. Eng inee ring an(:.;.I....._ _ sio n als and to th e Asso ciat io n s) o u tw e igh th e ben ef it to th e p ubl ic'!
70 PART ONE · PRO FESS IO NAL LICEN SIN G ANO REGULATION
----------------
c. Sho uld perfo rm ance be sel f-asses sed by the p rofession al, o r sho uld
em ploye rs and clients jud ge professiona l per for mance and rep ort it
to th e Associ at io n ? Co n verse ly, sho uld "free m ark et " co m pe tit io n be
apt er 4
enc o urage d, so th at competen t mem bers will succ eed, but in compe-
ten t mem bers will fail an d be elim inated? Ho w does th e Associa tio n Disciplinary Powers
det ect a lco ho lism or laziness, wh ich m ight be as ha rm ful as in com-
pete nc e? fnd Procedures
d. Sh o u ld ra nd om pra ct ice revi ew s be sta nd a rd proced ure? Sh ou ld
Assoc iatio ns revoke the licences o f membe rs who refuse to enga ge in
(or ref use to d ocum ent) CPO ac t ivity?
Sum m a rize yo ur resp onse on o ne or two pag es. Co ns ider send ing it to
yo u r Associa tio n if yo ur response co n firm s, or mi g ht impro ve, thei r
present proced u res.
I1II cha pter defines the typical e n for cem en t a nd d isciplina ry pro cedu res in
Ad d itio na l assign m en ts ca n be found in Append ix E.
III. I'llgine ering a nd geoscien ce licen sing Acts. Th e self-regu lat ing professions
1,,,, tl'l"l the pub lic by rem o vi ng u n pro fessio n al pract itio ner s. Knowi ng the
NOTES 011 I Iplin ary pro cess and th e ba sis for typical co m pla in ts helps yo u to avo id
II I Eng inee rs Ca nada (Ca nad ian Co u n cil o f Pro fessio n a l Eng in ee rs), filia l Report, III II prob lems in yo ur prof essional care er. Mor eo ver, as a m ember of a self-
2002 Nutional Survey of Professiollal Ellgilleers, Ott awa, Jun e 2 :~ , 20(n, p. 12, " Ida li ng professio n, yo u sh o uld read th e Act crit ically, becau se yo u m ay he
ava ilable a t <www.engineerscan ad a. ca> (May 14, 2( 08). Repor t pr epared by I I l,tI 10 ass ist in the d iscip lin e o r en fo rcemen t processes.
EKOS Research Assoc iates In c.
121 Eng inee rs Ca nad a, "Suggest ed Relat ed Skills," App e nd ix C o f Guideline Oil
Cantinuing Professiclllal Development and Continuing Competence for Protessional I RO D UC T IO N
Engineers (GOS-2004 ), Canad ia n Eng in eering Q ua lificat io ns Board , O ttawa,
ava ila ble at <www.engineersca n ada .ca/e/ pu_gu idelin es.cfm > (Jun e IS, 20(9 ). II' 1 profess io na l eng in eers and geoscien tists a re we ll-ed uca ted individuals
131 Engine ers Can ada, Guideline Oil the Code of Ethics (G03 -200l) , Canad ia n 11 11 l1igh ideals, who wa n t to leave o ur soc iety better th an th ey fo und it.
Eng inee ring Q ua lificatio ns Board , O ttawa, ava ilable at <www.engin eersca nad a. Iilp ractice a nd co rru ptio n are therefor e relatively rare in o ur professio ns. In
ca /e / pu_gu iclelines.cfm > (Jun e IS, 2009).
1111 , th e key message of this textbook is tha t a co m pe ten t, eth ica l p ro fessio nal
14 1 Engineers Ca nada, Filial Rcnort, 2002 National Survey of l'rofessional Engineers, p. II .
15 1 Engineer s Ca nad a, Guideline Oil Continuing t'rofcssionut Development, p. 22 . III vvr needs to worr y abo ut suc h prob lem s. Ho wever, so me d isput es, m isu n-
161 Sununury of Canadian Ellgilleerillg IIl1d Geoscience Continuing t'rofessionu! til I\ la nd ings, and in fractio ns do occ ur, a nd ea ch Associati on has an o bliga-
Devetopmcnt Prognuns, prep ar ed Jun e 2005 , ava ilable fro m th e APEGBC website 111111 to respo nd to co m pla in ts fro m t he public, a nd to resol ve di sputes among
a t <www.a peg.bc.ca/ prodev/ m an d ato rycpd /ccproga ms.h t m l> (May 14, 20( 8). 1l'l'IISed professio nals.
171 Assoc ia tio n o f Profession al Engineers, Geo logists a nd Ge o phys icists o f Alberta
When co m plain ts a re made, the Associa tio ns inv est igate, tr y to m edi ate,
(APEGGA), Continuing Protcssion«! Dcvctopmcn! Program, October 2005, APEGGA
Guide line , avai lable at <www.a pegga.or g/ pd f/Gu iclcl ines/08.pd f> (May 14, 20( 8). Ilid whe re necessary:
181 Ibid ., pp . 4- 7.
enfo rce the Act by prosecuti ng peop le who p ractise un lawfull y, a nd
191 Ibid .
11 01 Associa tio n of Pro fession al Eng inee rs and Geoscie n t ists o f British Co lu m bia di scip line licen sed eng in ee rs and geos cie n t ists who a re found guil ty of
(APEGBC), Continuing t'rotcssionu! Development Guideline, Van co uve r, ava ila b le at professio na l m isco nd uct, negligence, o r inco m pet en ce.
« www.a pcg.bc.ca/ p roclcv» (Ma y 14, 200H).
111 1 Eng inee ring In sti tut e of Ca nada (EIC), EIC co urse provider s, avail a ble a t Th ese cases (en force m en t a nd d iscipline) fo llow di fferen t procedures, as
«www.c tc-Ict.ca» (May 14, 20( 8). , plnin ed below.
11 21 Richard W. Bradd ock, P.Eng., President, PEO, " Is co m pete nce an issue'! ", President's
Message, Ellgil/(w illg Dimensions, published by Profession al Eng inee rs On ta rio
(PEO), Janu ary- February 2003, p. 3, ava ilable at <www.peo .o n .ca> (May 14, 2008). N ORC EM ENT: UNLICENSED PRACTITIONERS
IIII' best way to prot ect th e pub lic is to allow o n ly ed uca ted, ex pe rienced, CO Ill -
1,, 'II'nl professio nals to practi se. Thi s is the purpose of professiona l licensing.
I'l'llple w ho pract ise e ng inee rin g o r geo scie nc e w it ho u t a licen ce, o r who
72 PART ONE . PROFESSIO NA L LICE NSI NG AN D REG ULATION _ _ _ CHAPTER ~ Ois c!!!.linary Pawers and Pracedur es 73
falsel y claim to be lice n sed, are br ea kin g the law (t he Act) . Associat ions a re 1,11'11 o f th ese te rm s is de fin ed bri efl y in th e fo llowing pa ragr a ph s (and key
respon sib le for e n fo rcing the Act by prosecuting offe nders in the law co u rts. I " I pi Sfro m the Ac ts a re lo ca ted in App endix B).
Each Act typi call y states that it is an offence for an unlicensed per son to
• practi se pr o fession al e n ginee ring or professiona l geoscience, o r Ill , ssl o n a l Misconduct

• use a term or tit le to give th e belief t hat the pe rson is licensed , o r III "" "Iolla l mis co n d uct (or u nprofessiona l co n d uc t) is t he m a in type of co m -
• use a sea l t h a t lead s to t he be lief th at t h e person is licen sed . 10111 11 1 made to Associatio ns . In abo u t half o f t h e Acts, t h e term is not d efin ed ,
Most Assoc ia tio ns receive m any more co m pla in ts ab o ut unlicen sed prac- 1111 1 Ihi s p laces a n additiona l burd en o f pro of on th e Asso ci ati on : Th e
titione rs th an a llegat io ns aga ins t licen sed m ember s. Associa tio ns typi cally III lol l ion m us t prove both that th e all eged misconduct occu rre d and that it
e m ploy a sta ff m embe r to receiv e co m p lain ts a n d co n tac t alleged unlicensed II I 1IIIIt es profess io n a l mi sconduct.
offe nder s. Mo st unli cen sed practitione rs ar e sim p ly unaware t h at th ey a re \ lla 'rta, New fo u n d la n d , and Prin ce Edward Isla n d h ave ve ry gen er a l d efi -
co n t rave n ing the Act , and when inform ed, t h ey promptly sto p t h e offe n d ing 11 11 11111". For ex a m ple, Alber ta's Act defi nes "any co n d uc t . . . det rim enta l to
1111 Ill'st interests o f th e public" or that "ha rm s o r tends to harm th e sta n d ing
beh aviour.
Ho wever, so me o ffe n de rs ignore the Associa tio n 's warnings, and per sist in I 1111 ' pro fessio n ge ne ra lly " as unprofessiona l co n d uc t. ' Suc h ge ne ra l clauses
pra cti sin g w it ho ut a licence. In these cases, Association staff m ember s ~a ~ her II 1(',i1l y no t specific e n o u g h to se rv e as g u ida nce in indi vidu al cases
any req uir ed ev ide n ce and, wit h the help of a lawye r hi red by t he As.s~C1atlOn , oIl llIlIlgll t he Asso ciat io n 's Co de of Ethi cs may giv e more specifi c gu id a n ce ).
prosecute unlicen sed offender s in co u rt. A tria l jud ge pr esides a n d, II t h e case \ 1 th e o t he r extrem e, On ta rio 's defin ition of pr of ess iona l m iscond uct
is prove n, the judge usu all y fin es the unlicensed o ffe n de r. Th e typica l fin e is 1110 1111 II 's so m e ve ry specific acts, such as "signin g or sea ling a final drawing . . .
sma ll. For exa m p le, O n ta rio's fin es a re limited to $ 10, 000 for the first offence, 'I I 1II IIIaily prepared or checked by the pr acttti oncr. v- Suc h guidance is clear
a n d $20, 000 for a secon d offence, w h ich a re sm a ll a mou n ts co m pa red to t he lid uu umbiguo us. Ho we ve r, th e regulations cann ot d efin e eve ry po ssible
cost o f th e ed uc atio n n eed ed for a lice n ce. 111 11 1 II I professio n a l mi sconduct, so th ey contain a ge ne ral clause sta ti ng th at
In 2005, a Toronto man wa s jail ed for 30 da ys a nd orde red to pay $2 0, 000 li ll i, ' slo nal mi sco nduct incl ud es a n y ac t that " wo u ld reasonabl y be
costs after h e was fo u n d in co n te m pt o f an O n ta rio Su pe rio r Co u rt order IIdl'd " as unprofesslo na l.I This circu la r definition is rath er ge ne ra l, so an y
(iss ue d in 1995) to o bey the Pro fessiona l En ginee rs Act. The man h ad n ever 11I 1I 00 ,lin t based o n this clause would first ha ve to p ro ve that the person 's
been licensed, bu t was co n victe d o n four se pa ra te occasions, from 199 3 to 11111 1\ we re " u n p ro fessio n a l."
1998, fo r repeat edly mi srepresenting himself as a "structural engineer" or as
"a n e ng inee r" o n pr o ject s in th e To ronto a rea . . , III11I)ete n ce
In e n force me n t cases, the Association assist s th e co u rt to e ns ure that u n li-
ce nse d persons co m p ly with th e law (the Act ). Case Hist or y 4.1, pr esen te d \ (. wo u ld ex pect, incompeten ce is d efin ed in se ve ra l Act s as a lac k o f
1111 I..dge, sk ill, Qr judgment th at d emonstrates tile m ember is un iTtto- ca rry
la te r in t h is chapter, di scu sses a well -known in stance of e n forceme n t.
I I I dill les as a professional. A lice n sed professional mu st pra cti se with in th e
11 11 11 \ Ill' co m pete n ce, and th e pro vincial Act a nd the Cod e of Ethi cs req uir e
DISCIPLINE : LICENSED PRACTITIONERS ' II \11 [udg e yo u r own co mpetence as yo u p rog ress to more difficu lt ta sks.
Under th e Act, each Associa tio n must p rot ect the publi c by resp onding to III II ou move to a new job or pro ject, yo u must see k g u id a nce, t rain in g, o r
co m p la in ts a bo u t licen sed m ember s a n d, wher e n ecessary, taking rem edi(~ 1 I" I h-nce to e ns ure that yo u ar e co m pe te n t in th e n ew a rea . If yo u do so, th e
I I ('S w ide latitude . However, many di scip lin e case s in volve pra ctition ers
act ion . It is th er efor e important to define what beh aviour is su b jec t to tim
11" wi-re jud ged in co mpete nt in a n ew ex pe rt ise, eve n though th ey were
di scip lin e, and wha t rem edia l act ion co u ld resu lt.
Th e pro vin cial and territorial Act s a re very similar (a lt ho ugh definitely n ot 11111 \ (1Il1lpe te n t in th eir usu al fie ld s of pra cti ce.
id entical). Th ey typi call y specify six ca uses for di sciplin ar y ac t io n:
• Pro fession al mi sconduct (a lso ca lled unprofession al co n d uc t)

• In compet en ce 11 111111\1 Acts, " neglige nce" means " c~r~ess,'~ or ca rry ing out work th at is
• Neg lige nce I III IV Ihe acce pte d sta n d a rd, o r a lac k of adequate t h o ro ugh nes s. Howev er,
• Breac h o f the Co de o f Eth ics I Ilg('IICl' ca n a lso include a flagrant di sregard fo r public welfare. Neglige nce
• Ph ysical o r m ental in capacity I 1',llll cul a rly se rio us di scipline co mpla in t w he n it invo lves finan cial lo ss o r
• Co nv ict io n o f a se rio us o ffe nce _ &-_ .u ll ll ll ' to sa fp\J l la rd lifr- h r-a lf h or nr()n"rt"
74 PART ONE. PROFESS I ONA L LICE NSI NG AND REG ULATIO N CHA PTER 4 • Di sci p l in ary Pow er s a nd Pro cedur es 75
Bre ach of t he Code o f Et hics " ').\l's of t he d iscip lina ry process a re norma lly ca rried o u t by three differ ent
1 1111II'S of peo p le . No o n e who par ti ci pat es at a n ea rlier stage is permitted to
In four pro vinces (Albe rta, New Bru nsw ic k, Newfo un d la nd , a nd No va Sco tia), a 11 11 1klpatc (in a decision -m ak in g ca pac ity ) in th e fin a l hear ing a nd judgm e n t.
breach o f th e Co de o f Et h ics is spec ifica lly defin ed in th e Act to be eq u iva len t to 1'1 rc co m p la in ts process is ve ry sim ila r across Ca n ada . Th e ex p la n a tio ns o f
p rof ession a l mi scon d uct (o r un profession al co nd uc t). Th ese codes therefo re IIH' p ro cess, pub lish ed in Alb ert a (APEGGA) S a n d in O n ta rio (P EO) 6 ar e
have th e fu ll fo rce o f the Act. In o t he r provinces (British Colu m bia, Ma n ito ba, 111111 ,sl ide n tica l. He re's w hat happe ns w h en a m em be r of t h e pub lic a lleg es
Prince Edward Isla nd , Q ue bec , a nd Sas ka tc he wa n) a nd th e te rrit or ies, w he re t he 111 1I"o pe r co n d uc t o n the pa rt o f a n e ng ine e r o r geo sc ien t ist.
te rm " pro fessio na l mi sconduct" (or "u nprofessiona l co nd uc t") is und efin ed or
de fine d in ve ry ge ne ra l terms, it wo u ld likely be u nd erstood to in clude t he Code
o f Eth ics, t hu s giving th e co de e n fo rceability under t he respec tive Act. I I,e 1: Ga t h erin g Evi d ence
Ho wever, in O n ta rio, th e Code o f Et h ics is spec ifica lly not e n force a ble unde r 1111 ' Ilrst stage in vo lves co llec t in g in for m ati on. When a n inquiry o r a llega tio n
JJJC-i\ct. Instead, a m or e ~ied(TcH,1ition o f professional""";nisconduct (in t he I lI'I'('ived , a tra in ed Asso ciat io n sta ff m e mber d isc usses it with t h e per son ,
Regu latio ns) co n ta ins m an y co nce pts t hat a re in th e co de , suc h as "fa ilure to act III IVl'rs questio n s, ex p la ins th e Act , and ad vises w h a t m a teria l is esse n tial to
to cor rect or report a sit ua t ion th at th e practitio ner believ es m ay en da nge r th e Ilpport a fo rm a l co m pla in t. In so m e cases , in d e pe nd e n t in for m a tio n m ay be
sa fety o r th e welfare o f the pub lic," as well as failure to di sclose a co n flict o f 1111 '1I('d, a n d t h e Asso ciati o n m a y o bta in it .
inter est, and abo ut 16 add itio na l clauses ." In o ther words, th e O n ta rio Code o f II Ihe ev ide n ce appear s to su p po rt a forma l co mp lain t, t h e Asso cia tio n
Et h ics descr ibes th e id eal p rofessio na l co nd uc t, but th e defi niti on o f professiona l 1,i1 1 mem be r assists t h e co m p ia inan t to prepa re it in a n ap p ro pria te for m at.
111isconduct identifies th e low er lim it o f acce ptable be havio ur. 1I1 11l' ev ide nce d oes not su p por t a form a l co m p la in t, staff m ay sugges t ot he r
IIII ' II IS of ad d ress ing th e co nce rns . Ho wever, indi vidu a ls h ave th e right to
Ph ys ica l or Men t al I n capacity III I I t hat a co m plain t be pursued to t he n ex t ste p. The signe d co m p lain t is
I III 10 th e pra c titi o ner and a respo n se is requ est ed , w it h in a spec ified tim e.
Most Acts a lso in clude a " p hys ica l or m enta l co nd itio n" as a def ini ti o n o f
in compet en ce, p ro vid ed t he co n d it io n is o f a n a ture a n d ex te n t t h at , to pro-
tec t t he in te rests o f t he pu b lic (o r th e p ractit ion er ), th e pr ac titi on e r sh o u ld I I,e 2: I n ve st ig a t io n and Pee r Re v iew
n ot be a llo we d to pr ac tise.
IIII' seco nd sta ge is a n in vestiga tio n and eva lua ti o n of t h e co m p la in t, ca rried
11 11 I, an Inv estiga tive Co m m itt ee (a lso ca lled th e Co m p la in ts Com m ille.s in
Conv icti on o f an Offence
IIIIIl' Acts). Thi s Co m m it tee is co m pos ed o f lice n sed m embe rs, inclu din g a t
Th e Acts a lso pe rm it d iscip lin a ry ac t io n aga in st a practi tion e r wh o is fo u nd " II I o n e o f t h e m ember s appointed to Co u nc il by t h e go ve rn me n t. Th e
gu ilty u nd e r o ther laws. In o t he r wo rd s, if a practiti on er is co nvicte d o f a n I uuun i t tcc review s t h e co m p la in t, th e resp on se from th e practi ti on er, a nd
offe nce , a nd t he n ature of t he o ffence affec ts th e pe rson's suita b ility to practise, 1III Il'ver o t he r ev ide n ce wa s pro vid ed or o b ta in ed , and d ecides wh e th er to
th en the person ca n be fou nd gu ilty o f p ro fession al mi sco nduct. Proof o f t he
Il,re r t he co m p la in t to t h e Discip lin e Co m m ittee for a form a l h earin g, o r
co nv ictio n m ust be p rovid ed to th e Disci p line Co m m ittee. Th is cla use is used
lor a "s t ipu la te d order " (if th e pr actiti on e r asks to plead g u ilty, usu all y to
rela tively rar ely, since co nv ictio ns for m inor off en ces (tr affic vio lation s, local
01 less-se rio us c ha rge);
or di na nce vio la tio ns, a nd so for th ) do not affect o ne 's su itab ility to p racti se.
IIlsmiss th e co m p lain t if it is cl ea rly fr ivo lou s, vexa tio u s, or if t h er e is
Ho wever, co nv ictio n o f a se rious o ffence suc h as fraud or e m be zzleme n t, w hic h
lusuffi cien t evide nce to go fur ther ;
in vol ves a bet rayal o f t rust a nd q uestion ab le et h ics, co u ld be gro u nds for suc h
('Ild a " Lette r of Advi ce " to warn th e p ract iti o n e r a bo u t ac tio n s th at a re
ac tio n . In a recen t case in O n ta rio, a n e ng inee r's licence wa s revo ked w he n he
ho rt o f pr o fession al m iscond uct, but warrant so me co nce rn; o r
was fou nd gu ilty o f e ngag ing in c h ild porn ogra ph y. Th e sta nd a rd o f co nd uc t
direc t th e Asso ciat io n staff to o btain m ore inform ati on , a nd return th e
for professiona l peo p le is hi gh e r th a n t h a t ex pec te d of th e or d in a ry pe rso n .
('ase to th e In vesti gat ive Co m m ittee .
AN OV ERVIEW O F T HE DI SCIPLI NAR Y PROC ESS

J • 3: The Disciplin e He ari ng
Any m ember o f th e pub lic can m a ke a co m plain t aga ins t a lice n sed e ng inee r
o r geoscien tist, a lt ho ug h co m p lain ts typ icall y o riginate from b u ildi ng o fficia ls, 1111 ' t hird stage is a n in d ependent review and eva lua t io n o f th e co m p la in t by
gove rn me n t ins pec tors, a nd o t he r practit ion e rs. A se rio us co m p lain t usu a lly I l il srt plt ne Co m m ittee. T h is Co m m ittee is a lso co m posed o f lice n sed m e rn -
,P 1", i n n) {) f-jnn ;1 t-hrp p - ,t ;l U (-l n r ()(' p " 'In P l1, I JrP r n ln n lp tp i rn rt a rti a l itv t h p th rpp 1" 1 , incl ud in g a t least o ne o f th e m embe rs a p po inted to Co u nc il bv t h e
76 PART ONE ' PROFESSIONAL LICENSI NG ANO REGULATIO N CHAPTER 4 • Di scip linary Pow er s and Pro ce dur es 77
gove rn me n t, bu t it is totall y se pa ra te fro m the In vesti gative Co m m it tee. Th e Th e firs t tw o stages o f th e di scip lin ar y p ro cess a re co n fide n tia l, a lt h o ug h
Discipline Co m m ittee m ay, a t its d isc reti o n , co n d uc t a form al hearing to h ear hi' \l Ings by t he Disciplin e Com m it tee a rc ty picall y o pe n to t h e pu b lic, and its
the evide nce a n d the respo n se from the accused m embe r, a n d to render a I ul lct s may be pu bl ish ed (w it h o r w ithout n am es) unl ess th e pr actiti on e r is
jud gm en t. 11 11 11It! not g u ilty (or if th er e a rc co m pelling a rg u me n ts fo r privacy). When
Fo rm al hea rin gs a re u su ally h eld a t the Associ a tio n 's o ffices, and follow puhl lcation is a p p ro p ria te, th e case is usu al ly su m m a rized in t h e form al
p ro cedu res sim ila r to a la w co urt, w it h a co urt re po rt er record ing a t ran script. 111,I'tte" of the Associatio n , a n d/or in th e Asso cia tio n 's m o nth ly m agazi n e,
T he In vestiga ti ve Co m m ittee is resp onsible for pro secu ting t h e co m p la in t in IIld/or o n the Assoc iatio n's websit e.
fro n t o f th e Disci p lin e Co m m ittee. Witnesses ma y be called to testify, a n d t he
acc use d m e mber a n d th e p rosecutor (fro m th e In vesti gati ve Co m m it tee ) a rc
lim e Stat i st i cs
e n ti t led to be represen ted by legal co u nsel. Th e Disci p lin e Co m m ittee also has
in de pe n de n t legal co u nsel. T h e Disc ip lin e Co m m it te e ass ign s a penalty, as I III II par ed to o t he r professions, e ng inee ring a nd ge osc ience ra rel y n eed to
di scu ssed belo w, if the acc used m ember is fou nd g u ilty. Ipply t he fu ll di sciplinar y p ro cess. For exa m p le, fairly recent (2002) d at a from
T h e di scip lin a ry p ro cess d escribed a bove a lso a p p lies to h o ld er s of 1'1 ( ) In O n ta rio (Ca nada 's la rgest Associati on) indi ca te th a t PEO recei ves o n ly
Tem po rary Licences, Ce rti fica tes o f Au t horizat io n, Lim it ed Lice n ces, Permits, ihnnt 100 co m pla in ts per yea r, even th ough PEO h as over 60, 000 m e m be rs.
a n d (in O n ta rio) d esignat io n as a Co ns u lt ing Engin ee r. Th a t is, o t her fo rm s o f IIl1f th ese co m p la in ts a rc in vest iga ted, b ut m an y co m p lain ts a re reso lved o r
permit o r ce rtifica te ma y be revoked o r suspe n de d using this pro cess. u lul rawn a fte r co ns u lta tio n w it h PEO staff. O n ly ab o ut 30 to 35 of the co m-
plll ilits a re fo rma lly referred to th e Co m pla in ts Co m m ittee . Th e Co m p la in ts
I uuuui tte c ev a lua tes eac h a n d eve ry co m pla in t and th e resp o n se fro m the
D isciplinary Penalt i es lit " Ilsed mem be r, a nd refe rs o n ly a bo u t \ 0 to \ 2 co m p lain ts to th e Discip lin e
The seve rity o f th e penal ty assig ned by th e Discipline Co m m ittee dep ends, o f I 1I111111ittee each year for t h e fo rma l final sta ge o f the process."
co urse, o n th e circu m sta nces o f th e case . Each pro vin cia l a n d territoria l Act
typ ica lly permits t h e fo llow in g m a xim u m pen a lti es: II rn ate Dispu t e Res ol u t i o n (ADR)
• Re vo ke t h e lice n ce o f th e p ra ctiti on er (o r th e per mi t or ce rt ific a te of luny co m pla in ts in vol ve co n t rac t ual d isp u tes bet ween licen sed practition ers.
a utho rizat io n , if a co rpo ra tio n ). III II ra ses must be weigh ed ca ref u lly a t t h e ea rly stag es o f th e process, becau se
• Suspe n d t h e licen ce (us ua lly fo r up to two yea rs). Ihl' di scipline process is n ot a n alte rn a tive to th e civil co ur ts. Typ ical legal d is-
• Limi t t he p ract it io n er 's professiona l work, by imposin g rest rict io n s o n the 1'" 1.,\, suc h as breac h of co n trac t, revo kin g o ffers, or subs ta nda rd pe rforma nce,
licen ce, suc h as su pe rvisio n o r in sp ecti on of wo rk. II not usua lly p rofessional m isconduct o r breach es o f th e Code o f Eth ics.
• Require th e m e mber to be re pr ima nd ed , ad mo n ished , or co unse lled , a n d III No ve m be r 2005, the O n ta rio Associati on (PEO) introdu ced a vo lu n ta ry
p ub lish th e d et a ils of th e result, w ith or wit ho ut n a m es. 11"1'I1 at ive Disp u te Resoluti on (AD R) p ro ced ur e to resol ve di sput es w h e re
• Req u ire th e pra c titi o n er to p a y th e costs o f t h e in vest igat ion a n d 1'lIlh'ssiona lism a n d co n t rac t ua l m atte rs o ve rla p. Allega tio ns o f p ro fessional
h ear in g . 111 1 \ o nd uc t a rc referred to th e co m p lain ts p ro cess, b ut co n t rac t ua l d isputes
• Req u ire th e prac ti tioner to undertak e a co urse o f st ud y o r write exa m in a- 111 11 1 appea r to be min or br ea ch es o f th e Code o f Eth ics a rc e nc o u rag ed to go
tion s se t by t h e Associa tio n . 1IIIIIIIgh t he ADR p ro cess. The key to t h e pr o cess is co n fide n tia l m edi ati on :
• Have a ny order t h at revo kes or su sp e nds t he lice n ce of a p ractit ioner to be
publish ed , w it h o r w it hout t h e reasons for t h e decision . l'articipa tion in PEO's ADR process is confidential and without prejudice to either party.
• Impose a fin e (u p to $ 10,000 in Albe rta ; up to $5 ,000 in O n ta rio ). Thill is, the Agreement to Mediate confirms that everything said during the mediation
Ii confidential and documents shared during the mediation cannot be disclosed to
,Inyone outside of the mediation, unless that person would otherwise be entitled to the
DISCI P LI N E AND ALTE R N ATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (A DR ) documents. The Agreement to Mediate also stipulates that if the complainant and the
1'1 :0 member are unable to resolve the issues through mediation, the mediator will not
Fairn e ss
Ill' called as a witness, or have his or her notes introduced at any other proceeding.
Disci p lina ry p ro cedures a re im po rta n t. They m ust be fai r, a nd m ust be see n to lIowever, the mediator may disclose to PEOany information disclosed during the medi-
be fa irbo t h by t h e p ub lic a n d by t h e p ractit ion er. Th e Co m p la in ts .uion that the mediator believes raises or might raise a concern about the public
Co m m ittee a nd Disc ip line Co m m ittee a re t h erefor e independe nt, ar e co m- Interest. The mediator may adjourn the mediation to advise PEO of information that
Dosed ma in lv of " pee rs" (other lice n sed p ractitioner s), a n d m ust includ e a t lII iUht give rise to a public interest concern and to obtain guidance on whether the case
78 • CHAPTER 4 • Di s c i p li n a r~ Po w.ers and proce.'! ures 79
T he ADR process in vol ves a m edi ated negoti ation th at m ay lead to a so lu- 1I IlrIly t he reafte r, th e Ordrc des insenieurs du Quebec (0 1Q) filed pen al pro -
tio n satisfac to ry to a ll co nce rned , w he rea s civil co ur ts or d isciplina ry hear - I d lligs aga ins t Micro soft Ca nad a for knowin g ly ca us in g a perso n who is no t
in gs are a lmost a lways a win- lo se a rrange me n t. If evide nce o f p ro fessiona l III' IlIhcr of O IQ to use th e tit le o f engin eer, t hereby co m m itt ing a n o ff~ n ce
mi sco ndu ct is fo u nd du rin g th e m ed iat io n, th e ADR is sto p pe d , a nd th e IlId" 1 ( ucbec 's Professiona l Cod e. In April 200 4, Judge Claud e Millett e Of the
o ptio n o f a form a l co m plain t is co n sidered, so th e p ublic in terest is a lways "' 1",1' co ur t agreed, a nd ru led t hat Microsoft Can ad a co n travene d a pr ()vin _
protected . I rI I'l llfessio nal co de by using t he word "engineer" in its intern ati on a l Soft-
"" rvrt i ftca t to n prog ram . A very sm a ll fin e wa s also lev ied . M icr ()soft
1'1" i1 l'd the decisio n, but in J un e 2005, Ju st ice Ca ro l Co he n o f th e S U P ~ rio r
CASE HISTORY 4 . 1 " " 11 of Q uebec re jected Mi cro soft's a p pea l. Th e O IQ p resid ent, G a~ t a n
t il l O il , Eng., sta ted "Th e O IQ is ve ry sat isfied with the Su perior Co u rt Cleci-
M I SU SE OF "SO FT W A RE ENG I N EER" T ITLE 1'"1, wh ic h co n firm s that t h e ti tl e engineer, a lo n e o r wit h d escri p tOt s is
I IVI'd by the Eng in eers Act ex cl us ively fo r o u r m embers." 1:1 r
In t he 1990 s, th e M icroso ft Cor po ra tio n introd uced a technical co u rse called
NIl oth er p rovin cial Associa t io n ha s a n no u n ced pl an s to pr o se l;,:ute
the Microsoft Ce rti fied So ftwa re En gin eer (MCSE). Th e use o f the term "so ft-
III 10Sllft, b ut u nd er eve ry Act, any MCSE hol d er who pra cti ses eng inee t ing,
ware eng in ee r" ca used so m e co nce rn in Ca n ad a. U.S. sta te laws reg u la te
I \ 111 1 imp lies that h e o r she is licen sed , co uld be pro secut ed . At least o ne
" Pro fessio na l Eng ine er" but do not regu lat e variatio ns , suc h as "software en gi-
neer." Can ad ia n laws are d iffere nt ; th ey clear ly restri ct t he ter m "en gin eer" to 1II IIII IIllity co llege ha s add ed a no te to th e ir M CSE co u rse d e scri pti on
1'IIII Illllg tha t the full tit le ca n no t be used, legall y, u nd er p rovincial la\.y.
lice nsed p rofessiona l e ng in ee rs. For ex a m ple , t h e O n ta rio Pro fessi onal
Eng ineers Act says t ha t a n unlice nsed person who " uses the t itle ' p ro fess io nal
e ng ine er' . . . o r an abb reviat io n o r va riatio n th er eo f as a n occupa t io n a l or
HIST O R Y 4. 2
busin ess d esigna tio n" is guilty o f a n o ffence." Clea rly, t he "so ftwa re en ginee r"
va riatio n is a n o ccu pa tio na l d esign a tio n .
- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - --"--
III I BUR N A BY SU PERM A RK ET RO OF CO L LAPS E
Mor e importantl y, the MCSE ti tl e ma kes co n fusio n pos sible a nd like ly.
Softw are Eng ineering is an accred ited program at m or e th a n 10 Ca nad ian uni - Iii, I'IHH o pe n ing o f th e new Save-o n- Foods su perma rket in Bu rna by, Bl'jtish
versities, 10 a nd a "softwa re en ginee r" wo uld rea so nab ly be ex pec te d to be a ,,1I 1I 1I " la, sta rted well, b ut th en t ile roof co llapsed ! Ever yone was ver y Iticky,
g rad uate o f such a p rog ram , w ith three or fou r years o f accep table ex pe rie nce, I 1 ,11 m ' no o ne was killed, a ltho ugh a few peop le su ffered injuries. A fOI'mal
licen sed a n n ua lly, a nd co nsta n t ly sub ject to p rof essio n al eth ics, d iscip line, "ll lI til in to the co lla pse y ie ld ed so me su rp rising revelati on s, a n d l e ~1 to
a nd co n ti n uing co m pe te nce requ irem ents. Th e MCSE co urse requ ires o n ly 11I 1" lIvl'me n ts in bu ilding d esign a nd pro ject m anagem ent. How ev er, th \:: les-
abo u t 42 wee ks, usua lly in a co m m un ity co llege , a nd cos ts abou t $ 15,000, III were ve ry ex pe nsive. Sur prising ly, t he co llapse bear s so m e sim ila rity to
acco rd ing to a n un confirmed rep o rt in /71J11siness. 11 It a ppe ars th at an MCSE II 1I III II1OUS ea rlier di sast er.
ho lder has no co n t in uing co m pe te nce obliga tion s, alt ho ug h upgrad es m ay Ill'
required fo r n ew spec ialties.
rlpti o n o f t he Co ll aps e
Re p rese n ta tiv es from Engi nee rs Ca nad a a n d seve ra l p rovin cial
Assoc iat io ns met w ith Microsoft Ca nad a in 2001, ex p lained that thei r ti tle III 1'11 1 1988, just befor e 9 a. rn . o n a rain y Satur da y mo rning, a g lea m in g new
co n t rave ne d Ca nad ian law, a nd sugg ested th at MCSE (as an ac ro ny m ) wo uld I III1 ·Foo ds su pe rm a rket wa s opened in th e Sta tio n Sq ua re deve lo pm ok, in
I
be acceptab le. Micro soft Ca nad a ini tiall y agreed to thi s limitati on . However, 11I1111"y. The su pe rma rket had a parki ng lot built o n t he roof, a nd shOPpers
af ter spea king to MCSE hol d ers, lawyers, an d o t hers, Microsoft ap pa ren t! I II ' isked to park th ei r ca rs in the lot and d escend to the ma in flo o r. About
d ecid ed th at the MCSE d esigna ti on wou ld be less va luab le in Can ad a il III) hop pers, m ainl y se n io r citize ns , ca me t o til e o pe n ing of t he Stl
per_
h o lder s co u ld n ot refe r to th e m se lves as en g in ee rs. In 2002, M icroso ft II I II ll'1, whi ch was sta ffed by ab o ut 37 0 em p loye es.
reversed itsel f, an d issued a pr ess relea se stat in g th at th e esti m ate d 35, 000 /\l ll'r an o pe n ing ce rem o n y att ende d by the Burnab y mayo r a n d a hOst o f
Ca nad ian MCSE ho lders sho u ld co n t in ue to use th e fu ll t it le. I " ill dig nitaries, th e sho p pe rs mi lled ab out the store, exam in in g th e gOods
Microso ft' s d ecisio n was regrett abl e since, as o ne Associa tion sa id : "we ,, ' til'. A sud den , sh arp c rac k wa s hea rd , and wat er sp rayed fro m a n over-
wo uld be in co n te m pt o f ou r ow n legislati on if we d id not en fo rce im pro per usc 1II 'Iti sprin kler pipe ncar a co lu m n in th e sto re's prod uce area. Sta rtle d Sho p_
of title." At th e time, o ne provider o f th e MCSE co u rse said that it was unl ikcl 1" loo ked u p to see th at a roo f beam h ad twi st ed se ve re ly, b reaki11g a
tha t th e restrictio n o n th e MCSE tit le wou ld h u rt hi s b usin ess, but "1 thin k il 1'III tlIl'r pipe. A came ra ma n attend ing the o pen ing ce remo ny t o o k a Photo_
h o lrt ~ ;l l o t m o rr- wr- ivh t 10 he a n Ml,SF. if it is Icalledl a n en gineer. . . ." 12 1 u rl I Ill' I Ill' )( ';1111- ;] nh o to or an h th at w o u ld la t e r ;lss ist i n ti ll' i n v e stl «, ..
80 PART ONE · PROFESSION AL LICEN SIN G ANO REGULATION CHAPTER 4 • Di sci p li n ary Pow ers and Pro cedures 81
- -----"~
Ii l'oII'ill gs ove r tw o month s. Fort y-seven witn esses testifi ed , a nd th e hearin gs

\ I'll' b ro ad cast liv e o n ca b le tel evisi on . A final rep ort was publi sh ed in
Il pltst 1988. 14
The report's co ncl us io ns were surprising. Th e eng inee ring design firm was
I I'l'rien ced and we ll esta blishe d, but seve ral basic erro rs had been ma de in th e
ii" 1l{1l ca lculatio ns. Mor eover, th e calculatio ns h ad been th o rou gh ly rev iewed
1'1 ,) seco nd ex per ience d co ns u lting firm . How co uld basic design e rro rs have
1" " '11 misse d by both o f these ex pe rience d e ng ineering firms? An excelle n t
1I11111lar y is presented in the 1990 research paper by Vanco uve r co ns ulta nt
I l'cter Jo nes a nd Professor N.D. Natha n.P Jones and Nathan were engaged
I .ulvisors to Closkcy, Based on th eir investigatio n, they identified nine errors
hI' th e des ign eng ineer (in ass um ptio ns, decisions, judgments, o r mi scalcul a-
1I111 1S) that reduced th e factor of safety. Altho ug h non e of th ese e rro rs, by itself,
uuld have caused the co lla pse, tog eth er th ey led to a fail ure that Jones and
li llian ca lled "in ev itable." Th e eng inee r who reviewed the design evide ntly
1111I 1l' most of t he same erro rs in assumptions, decisions, judgm en ts, and mi s-
Iliin ila tio ns, and ne g lect ed to d isco ver t h e fa ta l flaws . T hese errors ar c
ii" iribcd, in detai l, both in t he Co m m issio ne r's repor t and in th e paper by
I'" \l 'S and Nat ha n, and arc sum ma rized ver y br iefly as follow s:
Photo 4, 1 - Roof Collapse in Burnaby, Be. The Save-an-Foods supermarket in
Burnaby, Be, opened on th e morning of April 23, 1988. A pa rking lot on th e roof of I I mrs in dead load esttmatton. Th e ori gina l design was cor rec t ly carried
th e supermarket p rovided extra convenience to shoppers. However, within min utes 1111 1. Th e roo f co ns isted of two co nc rete slabs se pa rated by a layer of in sul a-
of opening, a main beam supporting th e roof collapsed, dumping 20 automobiles 11 1111 and a wat erproof barri er. The bottom slab was part of a co ncre te/shee t-
int o th e produce section of th e supermarket. Fortunately, no lives were lost. The h'I' 1 roof deck . Durin g th e ea rly design stage, the top co ncrete slab was m ade
subsequent Inquiry discovered basic errors in th e design, which led to changes in lliill 'l'r but th e beam size was not ad justed to resist th e ad de d weigh t. W he n
licensing procedures for engineers. II II' co ncrete slabs we re poured , th e ac tua l th ickn ess was (inadverte n tly) eve n
Source: Photo by Craig Hod ge. Reproduced wi th perm ission of The Tri-City News. 1I ',11 l'r t ha n spec ified. Finall y, a co nc rete walkway o n th e roo f was wide ne d
1'"1 thi s extra weight was ignor ed . These three fact or s in creased the m oment
III 11Il' bea m (ca use d by dead load ) by a bo ut SS percent, e ffect ive ly elim i-
of th e failure . W h ile the wa te r spraye d o ut over a n earby cheese co u n te r, t he '" lllllg th e factor of safe ty.
su pe rmarket staf f asked shop pe rs, over a public add ress sys te m , to leave the I I I ur in beam sp cctftca t fo n . Th e beam was o rigina lly c hec ked fo r
sto re. Alt ho ug h so me shop pe rs wer e relu ctant, those w ho saw th e twi ste d 11l'llgth a nd defl ecti on , a n d th e defl ecti on lim it was th e go ve rn ing case.
beam had no hesitati on. tlu wevcr, th e design eng ineer co nclude d th at a grea te r deflect ion was acce pt-
At about 9:1S a.m ., less than five m in utes after th e ini tial ba ng , a hu ge sec- IItil', a nd a red esign wa s ca rried o ut. Th e Co m m issione r fou nd no records o r
tion o f th e roo f co llapsed, dr oppin g 20 automobiles from th e roof par king lot , II ' II reco llec t io n of this sec o nd design. Neverthe less, subseq ue nt issu es of th e
in to th e produce area of t he store. The re ma ining sh o p pe rs panicked , a nd 1111 l'lura l drawings sho wed th e beam inco rrect ly red uced to a sm a ller-we igh t
people fell as they rushed o utside. A pileup occurred at the exit doors. Abo ut 2 L 11 11011. The revisio n was no t flagged o n the dr awin g, perh ap s ex pla in ing why
peop le were in jured , mai nly fro m inju ries (such as broken bon es) susta ined in II was o ve rloo ked when reviewed later.
th e mel ee. O ne e m ployee was pinned under the fallin g roof beam and suffered I I 'U!" in Iivc load estfmatton. Re-eval uati ng th e area of th e roof th at was
a crus hed pelvis. The injured were rush ed to hospital. Fortunately, no o ne died . Ill'port ed by th e beam also red uced th e live load est im atio n . Thi s was a va lid
11111111 , and a minu scul e redu ction o f ab out 1 per cent was a p p ro p riate .
T he In q uiry and Report l luwever, a n erro r in jud ging the " tributary a rea" resulted in a n erro neo us live
111,111 reduction of 12.6 percen t.
Th e provinc ial governmen t ap po in ted a co m m issio ne r, Dan iel J . Clos key, to 0l lll m is t ic calculation of b cnd ing moment. We usuall y calculate th e
head a n Inqui ry in to t he cause o f th e co lla pse an d to sugges t h ow sim ila r 11l'lId illg mo me n t fro m th e ce ntre-line of a struc tura l-stee l su ppo rt. Ho wever,
f ,:,i l ' lr .cu-' "'I"' •• I..-t I"" r> .... ,, 7,....:.....1 ,.....-1 :~ ...l- ~ C• • L •• _ _ ~P I _ _ ,.....
82 PART ONE· PROFESSION AL LICE NSI NG AND REGULATIO N CHAPTER 4 • Di sc i plin ary Pow er s and Pro cedur es 83
co lum n. Th is o ptim ist ic co nve n tio n was used, sligh tly red ucin g th e ex pec ted
be nd ing mo ment in th e beam .
Opt'imfsfic tests of beam strength. W he n th e (err o neo us) beam sec tio n
wa s a na lyzed wit h t he (e rro neo us ) lo ad dat a, it wa s st ill sligh t ly und er-
streng th. Ho wever, at thi s po in t the eng inee r received " m ill ce rt ificates " fro m
th e steel supplier, sho wing th at th e steel yield stre ngt h was 25 percent greater
l~lZ
~" ,. ".,."."-,-,
than th e streng th used in co m putat io ns . The beam was th erefore judged ade-
q uat e in streng th . However, th e Co m m issio ne r co n clude d th at t h is st rength
est imate, based o n o n ly a few test spec ime ns, was unrealisti call y o pti m istic,
becau se the test spec ime ns were taken from th e we b o f th e beam , wh ich typ -
ically h as a h ighe r st reng th tha n the flanges, and in bending, th e fla nges are " . , ~. - ..
more h igh ly stressed th a n th e we b. ------'--':: "1-- "'- ' -
/\
Lac k of lateral su....ort. To prevent lateral bu cklin g, long, deep bea ms
mu st be suppo rted lat erall y, or load s mu st be red uced . Lateral su ppo rts at t he
failed co lum n we re no ted o n a sho p dr awing at on e point in th e design, but
t he suppo rts were delet ed wh en th e eng inee r was in fo rmed o f th e ex t ra cost.
C lea rly, th e e ng inee r did n ot eva lua te t he redu ced ca pac ity o f th e bea m
ca used by th e lack o f lat eral suppo rt.
No check of column buckling strength. Th e Co m m issio ne r co n clude d
t h at t h ere was n o ev ide nce t h at th e load-car rying ca pac ity o f th e bea m-
co lum n asse m bly was co ns ide red as a possibl e mode of fa ilur e.
The Ca use of the Coll aps e (I/I ~ - -
After hear ing a ll o f t he testim on y, th e Co m m issio ne r co nclude d that th e roof

failu re in vo lved two mod es. Th ese m od es, illu strat ed in Figu re 4 . \, a re
ex plaine d as foll o ws:
• Hearn fa il u re. Th e pr ima ry ca use of failure was th a t th e beam was
under-str en gth for t he im posed bend ing loads, a nd th e laterally unsup-
po rted lo we r co m pressio n-flange o f t he beam buck led at the suppor t ing
co lu m n .
• Co lu m n f a ilu re . In add itio n, th e ve rt ical beam - co lu mn asse m bly likely
buckled sim u lta neo usly, a lt ho ug h t hi s wa s proba bly n o t th e p rim ar y
ca use .
Huck li ng is usuall y a rapid and ca tas tro ph ic occur rence, but in this case,
th e roof d id not cras h down imm ediately. Wh en th e bea m yielded, th e mov e-
ment sna ppe d th e sprin kler p ipe, an d t h e noise, moti on , a nd wat e r spray
a lerted the supe rma rket staff that total co llapse was im m inen t. How eve r, the
roof a nd th e auto mo b iles o n top of it were su ppo rted by a n a ppa ren t "m e m-
bran e ac tio n" of th e roo f co m po ne n ts, ac ting in tension. Th is un exp ect ed
sup por t dela yed tot a l co lla pse for abo ut four m inutes, giving th e sho ppe rs
time to leave the danger a rea before everythi ng ca me tu m blin g do wn .
In th eir pap er, Jon es a nd Nat ha n also discuss th e "fragme n tatio n" of th e
des ign process, wh ich crea ted co m m u n icatio n prob lem s, lead ing to inco nsis-
- ....._-
84 PART ONE ' PRO FESSIO NAL LI CENSI NG ANO REGULATI ON CHAPTER 4 • Di s c i pl i n a ry Pow er s and Pro cedur es 85
d eci sion s w er e ac t ua lly mad e by se ve ra l pa rt icipati ng g ro u ps . Jon es a n d 11' 11 111 '. I\ I'EGBC developed a co m p re he n sive fee g u ide line for e ng in ee ring
Na t h a n co ncl ude with so me good ad vi ce for design e ng ineers: I I, " th at set minimum recommended fees. This gu idelin e was ava ilab le
In the design and construction of a structure, hundreds of calculations are made, III ti ll' I\I'EG BC for m an y yea rs, but is no w di stributed by t h e Co ns u lt ing
I III 'I 'I S of BC (CEBC),I?

and hundreds of items of inform ation are communicated from one participant
I I ullllll e ndation 10 sugg este d th at p ro vin ci al sta n da rd s o f pr acti ce be
to another. It is certain that man y errors will be made, and the process must be
designed to eliminate them . In budgeting th e manpow er for a project, I Ii III hvd for building d esign drawings a nd ca lc u la tio ns. AI'EGBC n ow pub-
allowances must be made for careful and detailed checking at each step. The III w-vcra l g u ide line s for p rofessiona l pr acti ce-includin g st ruc t u ral,
engineers checking the design must have nothi ng else on th eir mind s: they must I llII lIlra l, e lec t rica l, a n d ge o tec h n ica l se rv ices-w it h a p p lica t io n s to
no t he burden ed with man y other simultaneo us respo nsibilities. They must IIldlli/\ pro jects . 1\11 o f th e gu ide lines ar e ava ila b le fro m the APEGBC web site.
avoid a mind -set that the design is probably good, particularly if the designer is III Ilt l' yea rs since th e Bu rna by roof co lla ps e, man y o t h er pro vin cial
a respected sen ior. The checker should cultivate all attit ude of mind thatv anyonc '" I,ll Ion s h ave ex a m in ed their pr acti ces and h ave implem ented sim ila r
can make mistakes and it is up to me to find them in this design ."!" II, I procedures. a n d g u ide lin es .
Commissioner's Recommendations " I of t h e Roof Collapse
T he Co m m issio ne r made 19 recommendation s in hi s fina l repo rt, d irected at II ' lurf uit o us pe riod o f about four minutes between th e cr ac king o f th e
th e provin cia l go ve rn me n t, th e muni cipa liti es, th e e n g in ee ring professio n , it s co lla pse saved th e lives o f th o se directl y be low it. However, th e
" 11 111 1
th e Ca n ad ia n In stitut e o f Ste e l Co ns t ruc ti o n , th e Ca n ad ia n Sta n d a rd s II 1111lal co sts o f the co llapse were hi gh . In th eir pa pe r, Jon es a n d Nat ha n
Associatio n , a n d the Ca n ad ia n Sheet Steel Building In stitute . All o f the six rec- I, ,11 1 a p p ro x im a te estim a te:
o m me n da tio n s (5 through 10) direct ed toward the e ng inee ring profession I III' budget of th e co m m issio ne r inquiry was $25 0,000 .
hav e been implem ented . I'i lva tc legal cos ts du rin g t hi s peri od a re n ot kn own, but 12 legal firm s
Recommendations 5 and 6 suggeste d th at co m pa n ies, partn er ships, a n d 'OI llllllu n icated with th e Inqui ry and m an y wer e pr esent at o ne o r m o re
o t her firm s be required to regi st er under the Act a n d sho u ld be sub jec t to IIl'Min gs.
d cr cgi st rati on for un ethical p ra cti ces . Th is reco m m e n da t io n wa s imp le- IIII' lega l costs to the AI'EBC [n o w AI'EGBCj fo r th e di sciplinar y inq u iry
m ented : corpo ra tio n s, partn er ships, a n d o t he r legal e n t it ies must now h o ld a II1100 u nt ed to $80,000 . T h is did n o t in clud e sta ff tim e.
Ce rti ficate o f Authori za tion in Brit ish Co lu m bia . ' II defend a n ts had legal co un se l.
Recommendation 7 suggested that AI'EGBC require st ruct u ral e nginee rs to ' II per isha ble stoc k in th e su pe rm a rket was d estroyed. All o t he r stoc k had
sa tisfy hi gher quali ficati on s than those required for m ember ship. The sta t us 10 I hl' removed . Th e co lla pse d a rea wa s rebuilt a n d th e e n tire store u pgr ad ed
o f St ruc t ura l En gi n eer o f Record (SER) h as s in ce been implem ented , an d III l et ura lly at a co st under st o od to be a p prox ima tely $5 ,000, 000 . The stor e
requires ad di tio na l ex pe rience a n d exa m in a tio n s. O n ly SERs ar e permitted to 111 "i1ly o pe ne d in th e fall o f 1988.
a pp rove the d esign of a bu ilding's p rimary st ruct u re. (APEGBC h as a lso es ta b- lillie co m pe t it ive advantage was po ssibl y lo st, as a co m pe ti ng store
lish ed severa l specia l in terest "divisio ns ," w hi c h e nco u rage the exch a nge o f IIIu-ncd n ea rby, la te in 1988. Six mo nth s o f sa les wer e lo st. Sm a lle r sto res
inform ati on a mo ng e ng inee rs in va rio us spec ialt ics.) I II til e co m p lex a lso su ffere d losses.
Rec o m m e ndation 8 suggeste d that st ruc tur a l e ngi n eer s be required to ca rry 1"'lso n al inju ries occu rre d , a u to mobiles wer e lo st, a n d o th e r d amages were
a speci fied minimum o f prof essional liability in suran ce. This recomm enda - ,i1 h'ged .
tion ha s been partia lly im ple m e n ted : a ll m ember s, licensees, and ce rt ifica te I lll' e x te n t o f liti ga ti o n is n ot kn own , but tota l costs a re cl ea rly ve ry
h o lder s offerin g se rv ices to t h e publi c must notify cli ents, in writing, w h ethe r Iil gll y l
p ro fessional liabilit y in suran ce is h eld a n d a p plie s to th e se rvices o ffered, an d
must receive the cl ie n t's ac knowledge me n t befo re pro ceeding wi th the work. It Fi n a l Co m m e nt s about t h e Collapse
(APEGBC has a lso in stituted a seconda ry liability in suran ce plan, as ex p la in ed
e lsew he re in this text.) lu IIII' preface to hi s report, th e Co m m iss io ne r m ad e th e fo llow ing sta te m e n t
Recommenda tion 9 suggested that AI'EGBC es ta b lis h a nd en fo rce a mi n - ' 1I ll l'lIl ing th e public safe ty ro les of e ng inee rs, a rc h itec ts, mun icipa liti es, a nd
imum fee sc h ed u le . Thi s reco m me n d a tio n resulted from the o bv io us co n cl u- I'll dl'sslon al Asso ciatio n s:
sio n that t h e fees paid to e n ginee rs o n th e Save-o n -Foods buildin g design r rwners arc primari ly motiva ted by a satisfactor y retu rn o n in vestm ent .
wer e far to o lo w to permit a n unhurried a n d ca refu l rev iew a nd a na lysis o f the... · ..... 1 »n tractors a nd suppliers likewise arc profit-ori en ted. The prof'e ssion nl
86 PART ONE. PROFE SSIO NAL LI CENSIN G AND REG ULATIO N . •. CHAPTER 4 • Di s ciplinary Pow er s and Pro cedures 87
e nginee rs a n d arc h itec ts have du al resp on sibilities. O n th e o ne han d , by • nu rse o f a c tion yo u s ho u ld foll o w. Wo u ld yo ur actions be di ffe re nt if
training a nd th rou gh professiona l eth ics, th ey have a d uty to maint ain a hi gh 1'1111 1' fellow e m p loyees w ere n ot p rofessi on a l e ng inee rs"!
calibre of service to th e pub lic. In the co n tex t of bu ilding des ign and erec tio n, \' 1111 re ceive a reg is te re d letter fro m th e Re g ist ra r o f yo ur prov inc ia l
th is tran slat es int o th e pro tect io n o f public safety. On th e o ther hand , profes- Axxoc ia tio n s ta t ing t hat yo u a re th e s u b jec t o f a for ma l co m p la in t m ad e
siona l co ns ulta n ts o pe rate bu sin esses in a co m me rcial world . Th ey, too, require " a for m e r cl ie n t. T he le tte r co n ta ins a d escripti on of th e com p la in t,
a reasonable stream of reven ue to survive. In th e m iddle sta nd th e regulators: wh lc h a lle ges t ha t you arc g ui lty of inco mpe te nce be cau se t he advice in
mun icipali ties, respon sibl e for en forcing build ing sta nda rds , a nd th e profes- II report t ha t yo u wrote w a s fau lt y, Th e cli en t fo llowed yo u r adv ice a n d
sio na l assoc iatio ns, for maint aining professional sta nda rds. '? ul fcrcd a fin an ci a l lo ss. As p art o f th e pre limin ary in vesti gation co n -
T hi s is the o n ly sta te me nt in t h e C o m m iss io n e r's report w it h w h ic h i lurtcd by th e Associatio n, t he Regi stra r asks you to res po nd to t he com-
wo u ld d isag ree. T he muni cipalities a n d p ro fess io na l Asso c iat ions es ta b lis h tlu - pl a in t. De sc ribe t he ac t io ns yo u wo u ld tak e to pre p are a nd protect
by laws, s ta n da rds, a n d C o d es o f Et hics th at regulate th e profession, but it h vnurse lf.
t he e n g inee r w ho is " in th e midd le" between the p ress ures o f p ro fit -maki ng
loIlIllI llal ass ig n m e n ts ca n b e fo un d in Appe nd ix E.
orga n iza tio ns and th e esca la t ing d emands fo r sa fe ty.
T he Save-on-Foods roof colla pse b ears so me s im ila rity to th e colla pse 0 1
t he Q uebec Br idge m ore th an 90 years ea rlie r (see t he case hi story in
C h a p te r I) . Bot h colla pses were ca used by th e bucklin g o f a ca n tile ve r str ur I I/glllc'aillg, GeologiCelI and Geophysical l 'roi essions lI el, Stat utes o f Alberta, SA
ture w it h an und ersi zed c ross-sect io n, as a res u lt o f a misca lculation of ti ll' I 'JH I , c. E- I I. I (as ame nded), s. 44(1) . Assoc iatio n of Professiona l Engi neers,
app lied load (s pecifica lly, th e d ead lo ad ). In both cases, th e d esign c ng lnc ci I ,,'olo,.;ists and Geop hy sicis ts of Albe rta (APEGGA). Select lin ks "About
w as a respected se n io r person and th e e ng inee ring firm wa s u n d e rp a id for till' 1'1 ,:( ;( ;1\" an d "The EGGP Act" a t <www.a pegga.o rg> (May IS, 200S) .
Il, 'gilialio n 94 1/90, s. 72(2)(e), und er th e l'rofessiouul Engineer« IIcl, Sta tutes of
work expected a n d th e respo nsib il ity un d erta ken . T hese lesson s, taught b
I III IMio, c. P.2S, 1990 . Selec t "Co m plain ts" a nd "Definit ion of Professiona l
th e 190 7 di saste r t ha t sti m u la ted th e reg u la tio n of th e e ng inee ring profes sio n, Ih,'olHluct " at -cwww.pco .o n .ca» (May IS, 200S).
a rc st il l va lid a cen t u ry la te r. Ill'ftillatio n 94 1/90, t'rotcssionat Ellg illl.'('f"s lI el, s. 72(2)(j).
11 ,1.1 " x. 72.
\ "wi atio n of Professio nal Eng ineers, Geo log ists and Geop hysicists of Alberta
DISC USS IO N TO P IC S AND ASSIGNMENTS 1,\1'1$ ;(; 1$, II Guide 10 ;\I'EGGA'S Discipline I'ro CI.'SS, selec t lin ks " Regulatory" and
IVllllable at <www.apegga.or g/Regulator y/ Discipline/ toc.h tm l> (Jun e 1S, 2( 09).
1. Sele ct a ny t hree provinces or terr itories a n d com pa re th e di sciplinar I l'IlIIt'ssion al Engineers O n tario (PEO), Mllkillg II Complai nt: II Public ln ton nat iou
po wer s awarded to each Assoc ia t io n und er th e e ng inee ring o r geosc te n cc I II/lei,', Broch ure , Toron to, select link s "Co m plaints" and "Mak ing a Co m p la int"
II I www.peo.o n .ca» (May IS, 200S).
Act. W hic h Ac t pr o vides th e m o st severe fin es and p ena lti es'! Wou ld yOIl
I' J, ( ;rL'en baum, " Findi ng a Place for ADR," Ellgilleerillg Dimens ions, Profession al
say the d iscipli na ry powe rs in th e Acts a re ge nera lly s im ilar, o r are th en' I lIgllIL'L' rs On tario (PEO), J uly/Aug 2002, p. 3D, ava ilab le at «www.pco.o n .ca»
se rio us inco ns iste nc ies between th em ? Point o u t and di scuss th ese s im i I ~ I II Y 15, 200S).
la riti cs and inco nsiste nc ies. T he Ac ts are found on t h e Associati on wei , I'll ", 'ssional Eng inee rs O n ta rio (PEO), Alternative Disput« Resolution fCJI"
s ite s. (See list in Ap pe n dix A, or excer pts in Ap pe n d ix B.) I " " II,laill ls, Brochure, Toro n to, avai lable at -cwww.pco.o u.ca» (May 15, 200S).
l '/"fl'\ sioll ll l l!lIgill i'ers I l cI, Registered Sta tutes of O ntar io, R.S.O. 1990,
2. IIIYO llr e m p loy men t as a professio na l e ng inee r o r ge oscie n t is t, yo u d h
, , " "1'1 ,'1' 1'.2S Sec. 40 (2). Avai lab le from PEO website a t <www.peo .o n .ca>
cover th at tw o o f your fe llow e m p loyees w ho su pe rv ise th e d elivery a nd I lil y 15, 200S).
sto rage of m a teri al s on t he jo b site (and w ho are a lso p ro fessional e n g I I lIgllIl'L' rs Ca nada, 20 07 Accreditat ion Criteria and Procedures, Ca nad ia n
rice rs) h a ve b een in volved in " kic kback" sc he mes with supp liers . Till ' 1lIl-\ lnl'L'r ing Accred itation Board (CEI\Il), O ttawa, 2007, p. :~ I , ava ilable a t
s upp liers in vo ice yo u r e m p loyer for m aterial s th at h ave n ot b een d c llv www.cu gtnccrscanada.ca» (May 15, 200S).
'I Il"..ders weigh in on . .. The e ngineers' tale," I TIJIIsiIlI.'SS, April 23, 2004,
e red , your co llea g ues va lidate th e in vo ices, a nd th e su p p liers pa y th em .1 I '11I ,lble a t -cwww.l'Fbustn css.ca» (May 15, 200S).
hidden com m issio n. O bv io us ly, th ese sc he mes v io la te c rim in a l la w. III I , I)ownL'y, "The eng inee rs str ike back," l'Tbnsiness, Jul y 3 1, 2002 , ava ilab le
add ition, w hic h cla uses in yo u r provincia l Code o f Et h ics h a ve yo u r co l II www.l'Ib usincss.ca» (May 15, 200S).
lea g u es broken? To w ha t ty pes of discip linary act io n ha ve th ey ex posed I., ,I,' Axwo rthy, "Co urt re jects Micro soft appea l," Ellgilll.'('f"illg Dimensions,
th em se lves as a result"! Su p pose yo u co n fro n t th em, a nd th e y promi se l'IIII ,'\slona l Engin ee rs O ntario (PEO), Septe mber/Octo ber 2005, p. 20, availa ble
II ww w.pco .on.cas (May 15, 200S).
t hey wil l d isconti n ue t hese sc he mes if yo u ag ree n ot to reveal th em . II 'i 1'1 ( ,IIIskL'y, P.l\dmin ., Repent otthe Com m issioner Inquiry, Statio» Squa n :
yo u agree, wo u ld yo ur silence b e co ns iste n t w it h th e C o d e o f Et h ics I I,'I'l'I0J!lI/ ell l, Burnaby, British Co lum bia, Provin ce of British Co lum hla,
1-1 - ._ - - -J : _ ~= ... I : ~ ", •• • • .......... .. : " . ... h n. h,OAll fTht o o ai e-rc t " n i l ") n(l <;, rri h p. Ih "'·... -I I I U l l s l 19HH.
88 PART ONE . PROFESSIO NA L LICENSI NG AND REG ULAT I ON
11 51 c. 1'. Jones an d N.D. Na t ha n, "Supermarke t Roof Co lla pse in Bu rn ab y, Briti sh

or
Co lu m bia, Ca nada, " i1SCE [ournu! till' t'etfonn ance of Constructc.! Facilities,
vo l. 4, n o . :{, Aug ust 1990, pp. 142-1 60 .
apt er 5
11 61 Ihid ., p. 160 .
11 71 Co ns u lt in g Eng inee rs o f British Co lu m b ia (CEBC), CO/lSllllillS Ellsilleers Fcc
Guideline 20 G8, avail abl e at <www.ce bc.or g/ pulse/ce bcFeeGu ide08.pd f>
hnical Societies
(May IS, 2( 08 ).
118 1 Jones a nd Na tha n , "Supe rm a rket Roof Co lla pse," p, 158.
1191 Closkey, Rcpor! or th e Com miss ioner 111l1"ir}', p. X.
I , llIlIcal societies stim u la te n ew research , o rga n ize inform ati on, a n d y ield a
I I II 1'!l' SS exc h a n ge o f kn owled ge. Th ey are th er efore ex tre m ely useful o rga n i-
II h Ill S for pr of essional s. Thi s c h a p te r revi ew s the rol e of techni cal soc ieties ,
I, I rlbes t he wide ran ge o f inter est s su p porte d by th e societ ies, and ex p la ins
11 \' every professional e n gin ee r and ge oscie n tis t sho u ld join at least on e
It , III Ilea l soc ie ty.
I ROL E OF TECHNICAL SOCIETIES
I II I ,1I 1l10st two ce n t ur ies, techni cal societies h ave e nco uraged research, co l-
h, \I'd a nd cl assifi ed n ew info rm ation , a n d di sseminat ed it to m ember s so th at
II l llllid be put to use. Technical societies a re th e most important publish er s
" III 'W rese arc h . Th ey publish journal s, co n fe re nce proceedings, codes, a n d
1llIlllards. Th e world 's librari es ar e bu lging with usefu l pub licati on s from
1II,'s(' societ ies, and most of it is ava ilab le on th e Intern et. The ben efit from
IliI free exch a n ge of information is immen se.
Tech n ica l soc ieties ar e eq u iva len t to th e learned societies that stimulate
II liglna l thought a n d di scourse in th e a rts and hum aniti es. Jlo weve r, tech -
Ilh II socie t ies shou ld n ot be co n fused w it h t he p ro vin cial a n d territo rial
uciatio ns di scu ssed ea rlie r, which license p ro fessional e ng inee rs a n d geo-
. It-u tls t s in Ca n ad a. Surpri singl y, in so me co u n tries, the acti viti es overlap.
1111 exa m p le, m an y Briti sh e ng inee ring societ ies se rve both purpo ses: th ey
III 'gan (a n d co n ti n ue) as technical societies, but they n ow a wa rd Chart ered

, liS/ilea sta t us . In the abse nce o f other licensin g regulation s for e ng inee rs,
IIl1 s vo lu n ta ry ce rt ificatio n is hi ghly regarded in Britain.
III E EV O LU T I O N OF TECHNICAL SOCIETIES
I,'elmica l soc ie ties o rigi na te d dur in g th e Indu stri al Re voluti on w he n

I"'ople, eager to reduce ph ysical lab our by m ech anizin g wor k, ca me to geth er
III di scuss id eas a n d in venti on s. Th e first techn ical society for e nginee rs was
1111' Inst it u te of C iv il Eng inee rs, esta b lis hed in Brit ain in 181 8 . T he
lustlt u tl on of Mec ha n ical Enginee rs foll o wed, 30 yea rs lat er. Sh o rtly a fte r
ha t, o t he r soc ie t ies w er e es ta b lished for nav al archit ect s a n d for uas .
CHAPTER 5 • Techni cal Soc ie ti es 91
90 PART ON E·
.. PROFESSIONAL
. LICENSI
. NG AND REGULATION
. . ._."_.. __
~_. .~_ . _ . · _ .. .H.··.__· . _
e lec t rica l, muni cipa l, h eating, and vent ilatin g e n g inee rs. ' Th ese ori gi na l
"I III ileal societies. For exam ple, th e Geo logical Survey of Canada (GSC) is a gov-
1I1 11 11'n t o rgan ization th at co llects and disseminates vital geo logical data, and the
19th-century soc ie ties still exist, but th ey no w spo ns o r m any innovative
1I11'I'lcan Gea r Man ufacturers Associat ion (AGMA) is an indu stry organ ization
su bd iscipline s an d spec ia lties.
llid l publis hes th e standards used for most gear strength calcu lations in Nort h
In th e United Sta tes the first e ng inee ring society was th e American Society
11I1'I'lca. A few of th ese o rgan izatio ns a re included in Tab les 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3.
o f Civil Engineer s, found ed in 1852. Many relat ed societie s were estab lish ed
Ik ga rdl ess of yo ur d iscip lin e, ind ustr y, o r per sona l in terests, th ere is a
in th e 1800s-th e Ameri can Society of Mechanica l Engin eer s (1880), t he
III k-ty tha t can he lp yo u professiona lly, and need s yo u as a member. Tak e
Amer ican Institute of Electri ca l Engin eers (1884), th e GeOf(;gica l Sod ety of
«tv uu age of t hi s valuable so urce of usefu l kn owledg e. If th e lists bel ow do
Am eri ca (188 8) , and th e Am eri can Society o f Hea ti ng and Ventil ating
1111 1 Include a soc iety that specializes in yo ur interests, th en a sim ple Int ern et
Eng ineers (1894), to m ention o n ly a few.
1111 1h will find it. Ever y soc iety now has a web site.
In Ca nada, eng inee rs and geosc ien tists were alrea dy at work before the
d iscip lines were in ven ted . Th e Geolog ica l Surv ey o f Ca nada (GSC), a go ve rn -
m ent in stituti on th at da tes back to 1842, was on e o f th e m ost successfu l • II rdlan Engineering Societies
I
scientific soc ieties of its tim e.2 ' 1'1'ral Ca nad ia n eng inee ring so c ieti es we re est a blishe d in th e last few
Th e first eng inee ring soc iety to be form ed in Ca nada was th e Enginee ring I ii I ,Illes, w he n th e En'ine <;.ring Institu te of Ca nada (EIC), one o f th e old est
Soc iety of the Un iver sity of Toronto, in 1885. Th e "so ciety wa s, Indeed ; a uul most prestigiOus soc i e t i e~'a ss u m ed a na tion al ro le, an d seve ra l di scip lin e-
' learn ed socie ty' and publi sh ed a nd di ssemin ated techni cal in fo rmatio n .. . in 1I i1 1' llted co n st itue n t socie ties wer e crea te d. Th e Eng inee ring In stitute o f
addition to loo king afte r th e Un ive rsity undergraduates in eng lnee rtng."! In 1 nn.u la is now a fed erati on of member soc ieties . All of th ese soc iet ies a re
1882 th e Canad ia n Institute of Surveys was form ed, followed by th e Engin eering II II'd in Table 5. 1, alo ng with seve ral re lat ed eng ineering soc ieties .
In stitute of Ca nada in 188 7 (althou gh the EI C nam e wa s no t ado pted until Agreem e n ts signe d between EIC and Enginee rs Can ada- wh ich act s o n
191 7), the Can ad ian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (1898 ), th e Ca nad ian Itl hnlf o f th e enginee rin g licen sing Asso ciation s w he n requ est ed - clear ly
Fo restry Associati on (1900) , and many others. Th ese soc ieties are sti ll active I dll ' th e ro les an d duties of the organizati ons. T he licen sing Association s are
tod ay, and are easily co ntac ted on the Int ern et (see lists lat er in thi s cha pte r). II po nslb le for reg ujating e ng inee ring , and th e ro le o f th e ETC (and its
Th e growth o f soc ieties co n ti n ued slo wly in th e early part o f t he 20 th ce n- uur ubcr soc ieties) is to co llec t, o rganize, and di sseminate eng ineering , scien-
tury, but became ex po ne n t ia l aft e r th e Second Wor ld War, as the number of lilli /a nd technlca l information. 4 EI C ha s tak en on th is role aggress ive ly, and
Can ada's e ng inee rs a nd geosc ien t ists increased . Ne w soc iet ies co n ti n ue to IIIIW provides a vita l service by ce rtifying and coord ina t ing co urses fo r pro -
e me rge eve ry yea r, becau se th ey are eve n more important in th e fast-m oving II slo nal develo pme n t.
world o f the 2 1st ce nt ury.
I n adtan Geoscience Societies
CHOO S ING A TECHN ICA L SO CIETY IIll' Ca nad ian Fed eration of Earth Sciences (form erl y known as th e Ca nad ia n
1,l'lIscience Co unc il) is a fed eration of ea rth sc ience soc ieties. It spea ks as a
Societ ies o fte n spo nso r undergraduat e stude n t cha pte rs, so you may alrea d y 11111 1led voice for ea rt h sciences soc ieties in Ca na da, and prom ot es th eir ro le
be a member of th e pri ncip al soc iety in yo ur d isciplin e. The sma lle r, new er III euvlron mc n ta l, natura l hazard , a nd climat e st ud ies, a nd in sec u ring, and
Ca nad ia n soc iet ies ar e in t he process of bu ild ing up th eir reputation s a nd II po nsib ly deve lopi ng, Ca nada's e ne rgy, minin g, and wat er resources. Th e
memberships. The o lde r, large r, and better esta blishe d Amer ican and British 11'Iil'ration also h elps Ca nad a's ea rth science sec to rs to sha re dat a, kn owl ed ge,
soc iet ies have greate r sto reho uses of technical inform at ion an d are usu a lly 1111 1 new ldcas.> Th e federated societies ar e listed in Tab le 5.2, a lon g with a
able to offer m or e se rvices to membe rs. How ever, th e Can ad ia n soc ieties ar e II'w related geoscience soc ieties.
more effect ive in d ealin g with prob lem s th at are typi cally Can ad ian , a nd in Th e Can ad ian Fed eration o f Earth Sciences a nd th e Engineering Institute
prom oting Cana d ian interests. Fortunately, the cos ts o f m embership are not III ( :anada ha ve para llel o r sim ilar fun cti ons. Each of th em is a fed er ati on o f
g reat, a nd it is usu all y po ssib le for a practi sin g professional to join both . Mos t II I h u ical soc ieties, sepa rate from th e licen sin g Associati on s. Th eir go a l is th e
I
soc ie ties permit member ship app lication s to be su bm itt ed e lec tro n ically. uue: the adva nce me n t o f t he ir di scip lin es.
lsecau se o f t he va lue and u sefu ln ess o f so cieti es, m ember ship du es are
dedu ctib le from per son a l in com e (for pra ctisin g professiona ls, u n d er II l.crnatlonal So ci e ti e s
Ca nad ia n in come tax laws).
In add itio n, man y o rgan iza tio ns spo nso red by govern me n t o r industr y are IIll' Un ited Sta tes h osts th e largest and most adva nced techn ica l soci et ies.
ex tre me lv va luabl e so urces of inform ati on. a nd serve a fun ct ion sim ila r to I'vl'ra l Am erica n and intern ati on al technica l soc ieties are listed in Tab le 5.3.
92 PART ONE · PROFE SSION AL LICEN SING AND REG ULATIO N CHAPTER 5 • Technical Societies 93
T A BL E 5.1 - A Brief List of Canadian Engineering and Related Societies ABLE 5. 2 - A Brief List of Canadian Geo science and Related Soc ieties
Acro nym Society Web add ress Acronym Society Web a d d ress
EIC En g in eerin g Institute o f Canada www.eic-ici.ca IH:S Ca n a d ia n Fed e ratio n o f Ea r th Sciences www.cfes-f cst.ca
The Eng ineering In sti tu te of Ca n ada (EIC) Th e Ca na d ia n Fed erati on o f Eart h Sciences or
is a fede ratio n o f m ember soc iet ies; (CFES) was ca lled the Cana dia n Geoscie nce www.geoscie nce.ca
including: CGS, CSCE, CSME, CSCh E, Co unc il (CGC) until 2007 . C FES, like EIC, is
CSEM, IEEE-Ca nada, CNS, CMBES, CDA, a fed erati on o f Ca na d ian technica l soc ieties.
MTS, and CSSE (a c haritab le or ganizat ion CFES includes ba sic, spec ialized, an d app lied
o f se n io r eng inee rs). mc is also n ow a ear th scie nce soc ieties, a nd has many links
leading pro vid er a nd coord ina ting bod y for wit h indust ry a n d govern me nt.
contin ued profession al d evelopment. , (;S Ca na d ia n Geo t ech n ic a l Society www.cgs.ca
CGS Canad ia n Geotechnical Society www .cgs.ca CGS is an act ive m em ber of both mc
CGS is a n act ive member o f both EIC a nd CFES.
and CFES. , AC Ca n a d ian Ass o cia t io n of Geographers www.cag-acg.ca
CSCE Canadia n Society for Civil www.csce.ca , AI' Ca n a d ian Association o f Palynologists www.scirpus.ca
Engineerin g n :(;S Canadian EXI)lo ra tio n Geop b ysic ist s www.kegson lin e.or g
CSME Canadia n Society for Mechanical www .csme- scgrn .ca Society
Engineeri n g I (~ R G Canad ia n Geomorp b u logv Research cgrg.geog. uv ic.ca/
CSC h E Canadian Society for Chemical www .ch em en g.ca Group
En g ineerin g Ca na d ia n Geophysical Union www.cgu-ugc.ca
CSEM Ca n a d ia n Society for Engineering www .csern-scgl.o rg Ca n a d ia n In stitute of Mining, www.cim .or g
Ma nagem e n t MetaIlur&'Y a n d Petroleum
IEEE- Can ada Inst it u t e of Elec t rical and Elect ro n ic ww w.ieee.ca , 'MOS Ca n a d ia n Met e o ro lo g ica l and www.cm os.ca
Engineers-Ca n a d a Oceanograpfric Society
CNS Cana d ia n Nuclear Society www .cn s-snc .ca IAI I Canadian Nat'l Chapter, Int'l Assoc. www.iah.ca
CMBES Canad ia n Medical and Uiological www.cmbes.ca o f Hydrogeologists
Engineeri n g Society Cana d ia n Quaternary Association www.m u n. ca/ca nq ua
" ANQUA
CIC Chemical Institute o f Canada www.c he rnins t .ca I SCSO I' Ca n a d ia n So ciet y for Coa l Science www.cscop.o rg
CD A Can a d ia n Dam Association www.cda.ca and Organic Petrology
MTS Marin e Technolo~;y Society www.m tsoc lety.o rg , 'SEG Can a d ian So ciety of Exp to r a t ton www.cseg.ca
(Canad ia n Ma ri t im e Se ction) Ge o p bystcists
CSBE Canadia n Socie t y for Uioengineering www.b ioe ng.ca I SI'G Canad ia n Soci ety of Petroleum Geo log ists www.cs pg.org
I ,SSS Can a d ian Society o f Soil Science www.csss.ca
Not e: All websites are current as of June 14, 2009. , 'WLS Ca na d ia n Well Logging Society www.cw ls.o rg
I, /\C Geologic a l Ass o cia t io n o f Cana da www.gac.ca
I'I IAC Prospectors a n d Developers www. pda c.ca
Th e Institute o f Elect rica l and Electron ic Engineers (IEEE) is theJ '!!ges t
Asso cia t io n o f Ca n a da
technica l soc iety in t he world, wit h ov e r 370,000 m embers (incl uding abou t
MAC Min era logical Ass oci a t io n of www.mineralogicalassociati o n .ca
80,000 stude n t members), in over 160 co un tries. In fact , the IEEE includes
Canada
39 specia lty societies, wit h inter est s from aerospace elect ro n ics to vehicu lar
tech nol o gy. The IEEE publish es 132 transaction s, journa ls, and ma gazin es, II"", : All websites are current as of June 14, 2009.
a n d arranges or cos po ns o rs 450 tech n ica l co n fe rences, wo rldwide, eac h
yea r." 111 011 is, t hese intern ati onal Codes o f Et h ics a re e n ti re ly vo lu n ta ry. Th ey
The IEEE, like m an y o f th e internati onal soc iet ies, publish es a Co de of hould not be co n fused wit h th e Codes of Ethics in Can ad ian engi neering
Ethics. However, the IEEE d ocs not so licit o r o the rw ise in vit e co m plain ts co n - geoscie nce licen sin g Acts, whi ch are en forceable under th e Acts, as d is-
111 1\1
ce rn ing th e IEEE Co de of Ethics, a nd do es not provide advice to ind ividuals.? - '---
r usxcd in ea rlier cha pte rs.
";"
94 PART ONE. PRO FESSIO NAL LI CENSIN G AND REGULATIO N CHA PTER 5 • Tech nica l Socie ties 95
lill i l I ourses and field tr ip s, as well as o p po rtu n it ies to m eet practi sing p ro-
TAB LE 5 .3 - A Bri ef List of Intern ati on al Eng inee ring, Geo science,
I IlIlIab in yo u r field . If yo u are a stud en t, co n tac t yo u r society o f interest
and Related Soc iet ies
• WeI> ad d resses in Tab les 5. 1 to 5 .3) an d see if it h as a st ude n t c h ap te r at
'111 uul versl ty,
Acronym Society Web add ress
IEEE In stitutc of Elcc t ric a l and E1cctronic ww w.leee.o rg
En g in ccrs I ,I, nt Pro g r a m s by Licensing Associations
ASCE Am crica n Socicty o f Civil En g i n ccrs www.asce.org
www.aimcn y.org I lilly, several licensing Associatio ns introd uced progra m s 10 improve co m-
. 1
AIME Am crica n Institutc of Mining,
Mctallurgical and Pctrolcum Enginccrs at ion wi th th e n ext ge ne ra tio n o f p rofessiona l e ng inee rs an d geosclen-
II l1 l h
ASME Amcrican So c ie t y o f Mcchanical Enginccrs www.asme.org I I For exa m p le, Albert a (Ap EGGA) h as th e ApEGGA Stud en t Ad van ta ge
AIChE Amcrican Institutc of Ch cm ica l Enginccrs www.aiche.org 111 1 '.I'"

(ASA P), British Co lu m b ia ha s th e Membership Adva ntage Prog ram
I II ru d c n t s (MAPS), a n d O n ta rio ( PEO) h a s a n Intern et -b ased St u de n t
ASA BE Anl crica n Socicty of Agricu lt ural and www.asabe.org
niological Enginccrs I. 1I 11 11' rshi p Progra m (SMp ). Th ese program s o ffe r u nder graduat e stude n ts
III 1II'IId its o f m embersh ip a t n o co st. Th e Associatio ns a re 10 be ap p laud ed
SAE Socicty of Autom otivc En gt n eer s www.sae.org
I I I IllIs in itia tive , which give s stu de n ts a sm oo the r tr an siti on th rough th e
ASHRAE Amcrican Socicty o f Hcating, Rcfrigcrating www.ash rac.o rg
and Air-Conditio ning En g in ccrs 1111. rushl p (as EIT, M l'I, G l'l , o r sim ilar li lies), to licen sed profession al en gi-
1111 I IIr geoscie n tist. So me provi n ces a lso h ave links to facu lty m embers a nd
AGMA Amer- ican Gcar Mmulf a c t u rcrs Ass ociation www.agma.org
III I works of mentor s to assist stud en ts. If yo u a re an e ng inee rin g stude n t, co n -
ASEE Amcrica n So ci ct y for En g i n ccrin g www.asec.org
Ed ucat i o n 11.1 'o m Associat io n (see th e Web ad d ress in Appen d ix A) a n d inquire
hi 1111'1' yo u r Associ atio n h as a stude n t p rograin .
AIPG Am c rica n Institutc of Professional www.aipg.org
Gco logists
AAPG Am crica n Asso ci a t io n of Petro leum www.aapg.org I e1lan Fe d e r a t i o n of Engin eering St u d ents
Gcologists
lUGS In t crna tional Union of Gcological Sciences www.iugs.o rg Ihl 'a und ia n Fed erat ion o f Eng in eerin g Stu dents (CFES) tr aces its hi st o ry back
I
AG I Amcrican Gcological Institutc www.agiwcb.org I . II tumul tuo us in au gural co ng ress of enginee ring stu de n ts a t McG il l
I III vrxity in Feb ru a ry 1969, a n d is orga n ized in t o four regi on s: Western
AEG Association of Environmcntal a n d www.aegweb.org
Engin ccrin g Gcologists uuu la, O n ta rio , Que bec, an d th e Atla n t ic region . Th e Fed erat io n 's goa ls ar e to
AI'GE Ass ocia t io n of Pctrolcum Gcoch cmical www.geotech .org "11 II IIVl' co m m u n icat io n b etween en ginee rin g st ude n ts, a n d to h el p e ngi-
Ex p foratfo m st s III ' Il li g st uden ts grow cu ltura lly, m orall y, in tell ectuall y, aca d em ica lly, a nd
EFG Eu r o pean Fcdcration o f Gcologists www.eu rogco log tsts.c u ' " l1 ll1 l1 ica lly. C FES a lso se rves as a liai so n be tween Ca na d ia n e nginee ring
GSA Gco logical Socicty of Amcrica www.geosociety.org IIlIh 'llls a n d Eng in ee rs Ca n ad a, as well as th e Na tio n al Co u nc il o f Dea n s o f
I II luvcrlng an d Ap p lied Sc ie n ce (NC DEAS). C FES o rga n izes m an y st ude n t
tAli Intcrnational Association of www.ialJ .org
Hydrog cologists 1""1"1 IS, such as th e Can ad ian Eng in eer ing Co m pe tit io n . It also p ro vides inter-
II IlvI' on line in form ati on a bo u t job an d grad uate schoo l o p po rtu n it ies, a nd
AAG Asso ciatio n o f Applicd www.applicdgcoclJcmists.urg
Geochemists "111 ) II ~ h es Project Magazine, a n ati onal maga zin e fo r e ngine ering stude n ts ."
Note: All websites are current as of June 14, 2009 .

I A R ITABlE A N D HONORARY SOCIETI ES
Ineers With o u t Borde rs-Ingenie urs Sans Frontieres

CANADIAN STUDENT SOCIE T IES
III 1III 'l'rs Wit ho ut Borde rs (EW B), esta blishe d in January 2000, is a regist er ed
Student Chapters of Tech nica l Societies
. 11111 11 d ed ica te d to in tern at io n a l deve lopmen t. Th e mi ssio n o f EW B is to
Ma ny o f th e eng inee ring and geoscie nce societies list ed in Tab les 5. 1 10 5 .3 1'"111101 e hum an d evelo p m en t th rou gh access to technol ogy. In o the r words,
ma in ta in st ude n t ch a pte rs in Ca na d ian u n iversities. T hese cha pte rs p ro mo te I 1\ s\'l' ks 10 n arrow th e tech n o logy ga p bet ween th e developed world a n d
un de rgraduate techni ca l a n d soc ia l programs, an d usu a lly o ffe r free (o r in ex - Iii. t11 'vl'Ioping o ne by promoting the in vol ve me nt o f eng inee ring stude n ts in
pens ive) su bscr ip t io ns to society publicati ons, en t ra nce 10 society meet in gs, 10 ,'Iollm e n l issu es. EW B fo cu ses o n the ro le of techno logy in fund amen tal
96 PART ONE. PROFESSIO NAL LIC ENSI NG AND REGULATI ON CHA PTER 5 • Techn ical 5acie ties 97
lid promote susta in a bility and sel f-su fficiency. EWB is a Can ad ian ini ti ative,
lid I':WI\ ch a p te rs have bee n sta rte d at mo st Ca n ad ia n u n iversities with e ng i-
I I illig prog rams . Th e gro up 's n ewsletters d ocument a sta rtlin g array o f sue-
1111 projects. Th e ac h ieve me n ts o f thi s gro u p, in th e few years sinc e its

II i1I /o1llratio n , spea k we ll for th e in it ia tive a n d id eali sm o f Ca n ad a's e n gi-
I I illig stud en ts,'!
I t ered En g in e e rs for Disaster Relief (RedR) Canada
I II u-rcd Eng ineers for Disast er Relief (Red k) Ca n ad a is a recently es ta b lishe d

III ull.m b ran ch of a n in ternat ion al o rga ni za tio n th at relieves su fferin g in
II II u- rs by se lecting a n d tr ai ning co m pe te n t per son n el a nd pr ovi d i n g th eir
I III 'S 10 human ita ria n agen cies. '!:,h e. fOL~n di n g m e mb e rs of Red R Ca n ada
III 1111' Assoc iatio n o f Co ns u lti n g Engi n eer s o f Ca n ada (ACEC), Eng inee rs.
1I11111 a, EIC, an d th e Ca n ad ian Academ y o f Engin eer ing. In Jan uar y 200 1,
I I ( : signed a mem or andu m of un d erstandin g w it h Red lt In tern atio n a l that
I Ii III I he fo u n d ing of Redlt Ca n ada as a nonpro fit orga n izatio n .

Ill'lll{ me m be rs prov id e tech n ica l assista n ce to rest or e ro ad s, bridges, wat er
lippiit's, a n d co m m u n ica t io n syste ms . Th ey also assist, after a di sast er, in
.11 III Igin g was te, p rotecting t h e en viro n me n t, a nd m a nag ing fin an cial, m ate-
I il, uucl h uma n resources. Red k Ca na da is a n in d ep enden t o rga n iza tio n;
11111 I' VeI' , all na t io nal o ffices wor k togeth er as members of RedR In tern at ion al,
I I I,d In Ge n eva .!?
dian En g i n e e r i n g Memorial Foundation (CEMF)
1III ( :anadia n Eng inee ring Memorial Fou n dat io n wa s created in 1990 under
I III tcwa rd ship of En g in eers Ca n ad a, foll o win g th e eve n ts in Mo ntrea l at
1, 1til' l'o lytech n lq ue th at resulted in th e d eath o f 14 yo u ng women , e n d ing
Iltl It r o n tribu t io n s to Ca n ad ia n soc iety. C EMF is fund ed e n ti rely th ro ugh
11111 11 1Ion s fro m indiv idu al e ng ine ers, co rpo rat io ns , a nd th e pu bli c. Each yea r
ill' l'ounda tlo n gra n ts sc ho lars h ips to o ut stand in g fema le eng inee ring st u-
10 III al unde rgrad uate a nd grad uate levels. I I
Photo 5.1 - The Canadair Waterbomber. The Canadair CL-215 Wat erbom ber;
designed and built in Canada, is the only aircraft in the world specifically intend ed dian Soci et y f o r Senior Engineers ( CSSE)
to fight forest fires. Canada ir design ed th e CL -2 15 in th e 1960 s and it is capable of
scooping 5 76 0 kg of water (weigh ing 12,500 Ibs.) from a lake, without stopping,
and dumping it on a forest fire. A turboprop version, the CL-4 15, first flew in 19 93.
So urce : AP/Franco Arena.
I
,-
1I Ii' ( :an adia n Soc iety for Sen io r Engin eers (CSSE) wa s o rigin ally in corporated
1111 ' EI C Life Mem ber s O rga n izatio n in 196 7, a n d is a cha rita ble or ganiza-
Iill il ulfilia ted with th e ElC. Th e primary funct io n o f this gro u p o f late ca ree r
1111 I u -t ired eng inee rs is to p ro m o te th e advan cem en t o f sc ience an d eng i-

1l11 'lltlg in Can ad a an d to pr o vid e ben evo le n t d o n ati on s in su p port of yo ut h,
a rea s-wa ter, food ava ila b ility, h ealth, ene rgy, and co m m u n ica tio ns - a n d 11 11111' ad va nc em en t o f enginee ring. The CSSE en gage s in a wid e ran ge o f cha r-
tries to ad d ress b asic prob lems in d evel o p in g co m m u n it ies. EWB d o es n o t II tlill ' works, in clu ding resear ch pro ject s and awa rds for sc ience fa irs. It a lso
I I 15 Ih e Tetra Soc iety, whi ch recru its skilled vo lu nt eer eng inee rs a n d tech -
b rin g tech n o lo gy fro m th e West; rat h er, it enco u rages sim p le tech n ol o gy,
d eve loped with lo cal in p ut a n d in novat ion . Suc h so lut ions ar e lo nger la sti n g 11111.111 5 to bu ild devices to ass ist people w ith d isa b ilities. 12
PART ONE. PRO FESSIONAL LIC ENSIN G AND REGU LATION CHA PTER 5 • Techn ical Societie s 99
Ge osci e nc e Ch a ri tabl e Foundations The Ritual has been copyrighted in Canada and t he Unit ed States, and the Iron Ring has
been registe red. The Corporation of t he Seven Wardens is ent ruste d with t he responsi-
Several foundat ions h ave been esta blishe d to receive gift s an d bequests to
hility of administe rin g and maintaining t he Rit ual, which it does th rough a syste m of
su p po rt Ca na d ia n ea rt h scie nce, in cl ud ing th e Ca n ad ia n Geo logical
separat e groups, called Camps, across Canada. There are presen tly 20 such Camps.
Fou n dation, and seve ra l fou ndation s esta blished by eart h science spec ialty
gro u ps. The Can ad ia n Fed eration o f Eart h Sciences publ ish es a list o f the The Corporation of t he Seven Wardens is not a "secret socie ty." Its rules of governa nce,
found ati on s on its wcb slt e.l-' however, do not per mit any publicity about it s act ivit ie s and t hey specify t ha t
Ceremonies are not to be held in th e presence of t he general public.
The Canad ia n Academy of Eng i n ee r i n g The original seven senior engineer s who met in Montreal in 1922 were, as it happens, all
The Can ad ian Academy of En ginee ring is Canada 's h ighest honorary engi- p.ist presidents of the Engineer ing Institu te of Canada. There is, however, no direct con-
n eer in g soc iety. Th e Acad emy, located in Ott awa, is an indep en dent, self- ucction betwee n the Engineering Inst itute of Can ada and t he Corporatio n of the Seven
gove rn ing, no nprofit or gani zation es ta blishe d in 1987. Th e Fellows o f the WoUdens.
Acade my are professiona l enginee rs fro m all discipli n es, elected on th e basis The wearing of t he Iron Ring, or t he t aking of the obligat ion, does not imply th at an
of di stingui shed serv ice and co n tributio ns to society, to th e co un try, an d to Individual has gained legal accepta nce or qualificat ion as an en ginee r. This can only be
th e professio n . The Academy p resently h as abo ut 300 ac tive members, and qrante d by th e provincial bodies so appointe d and, as a result, it should also be men-
90 eme ritus memb ers. Th e Fellow s of t he Academy are com m itted to ens urin g Iioned t hat the Corporat ion of th e Seven Wardens has no direct connection wit h any
th at Ca nada's enginee rin g expe rtise is app lied to t he benef it of all Cana d ians. provincial associa tion or order.
They acco m plish th is in several way s; for ex ample, by p rom otin g inc reased
awa reness of th e ro le o f enginee ring, an d giving independent advice on engi- The obligation ceremonies for gradu at ing students are held in cities where Camps are
nee rin g educa tio n, research , develo pm en t, and inn ovati on.! " located, and for convenience, in some cases, on the uni versity campus itself. Such cer-
«monies must not be misconst rue d as being an extension of the engineering curriculum.
The Iron Ring does not replace th e diploma granted by t he Universit y or the School
T HE I R O N RIN G-A RI TUA L FOR ENGINEERS
oj Enginee ring nor is it an overt sign of having successf ully passed t he instituti on's
The Cor po ration o f t he Seven Wardens is a littl e-kn own group that has pe r- oxaminations,
form ed a vita l role in Canadian eng inee rin g for many decades. The wa rde ns
The purpose of t he Corporati on of t he Seven Wardens and th e Ritual is to provide an
a rrange the Iron Ring ceremo nies held on mo st cam puses just before gradua-
opportunity for men and women t~..o~ligate th emselves to t he st andard of et hics and
tion day. Thi s ceremo ny is a mil estone in th e enginee r's ed ucation. Th e fol-
diligent pract ice required by those in our profession. This opportunity is available to any
lowing acco un t of t he Iron lUng was written by J.B. Ca rruth ers, P.Eng., a nd is
who wish to avail themselves to it , whe ther th ey be new gradu at es or senior engineers.
reproduced wit h pe rm ission :
The Rit ual of t he Calling of an Enginee r is attended by all t hose who wish t o be obli-
Most enginee rs in Can ada wear th e Iron Ring and have solemnly obligated themselves to 11,11 id, along wit h invit ed senior enginee rs and, when space permits, immediat e family
an et hica l and diligen t professional caree r th rough th e Rit ual of t he Calling of an 11It'llIbers. A complete explana tio n of the Ritual, its obligat ions and history is given to
Engineer. This Ritual is the result of efforts by the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, I'vt'ry man an d woman before th e ceremony so th at th ey may decide in advance whet her
st arted in 1922 when a group of promin ent enginee rs met in Montreal to discuss a con- II I not they wish to take part in th e spirit int end ed. A few people, for one reason or
cern for the genera l guidance and solidarity of t he profession . These seven promine nt «not her. have chose n to refrain from being obligate d, and so cannot rightfully wear th e
engineers formed t he nucleus of an organi zat ion whose object would be to bind all mem- 110 11 Ring. The Corporat ion of th e Seven Wardens feels th at t his in no way detracts from
bers of t he enginee ring profession in Can ada more closely toget her and t o imbue them th iir right to pract ise in the profession and furt her feels tha t th e obligation should con-
with th eir respo nsibility towards society. llnue to be a mat t er of personal choice, ta ken only by those who wish to take part in
Iht' serious an d sincere mann er inten rled.P
They enlisted th e services of the late Rudyar d Kipling, who developed an appropriate
Ritual and the symbolic Iron Ring. Rudyard Kipling out lined th e purpo se in th e following
words: II EA RT H SC IENCE RING-A RI T U AL FO R GE O SC I EN T IS TS
"The Ritual of t he Calling of an Engineer has been institut ed wit h the simple 1111 ' award ing o f th e Earth Scie nce Ri ng is a ceremo ny co m pa rable wit h th e
end of directi ng th e young enginee r towards a consciousness of his [/her] pro- '"111Itillg ce remon y a nd, in
fact, ado pts so me of t he for mat a nd wordin g o f
fession and it s significance, and indi cati ng to t he older enginee r his [/her] Ring cerem ony. Th e fo llow ing descripti on of the Ea rth Science Ring
1111 ' IIO Il
responsibilit ies in receiving, welcoming and supporting t he young en gineers in 1I1d awa rd ce remo ny was written by Philippe Erd rncr, P.Geol. , a nd Edward S.
100 PART ONE. PROFESSIO NAL LI CEN SING AND REG ULATIO N CHAPTER 5 • Technical Soc ie tie s 101
The Earth science ring ceremony, a rit ual of welcome into the profession of newly qual- \ on ferences . Weigh th e p ros a nd co ns of th e two a lte rna tives from yo u r
ified geologist s an d geophysicists by senior practisi ng Earth scientists, starte d in Alberta point o f view. Does Ca nad a need di stinct techni ca l societies"? In yo ur
in 1975. This yearly tr adition for t he university geoscien ce graduating classes at nnswe r, di scuss th e im plications fo r Ca nad ia n sove reign ty if Ca nad ian
Edmonto n and Calgary has spread to other provinces and jurisdicti ons in Canada. The soc ieties sho uld be a bso rbed int o the la rger, Ame rica n- do m ina te d so ci-
ceremony carri es many of th e same passages written by Kipling for t he Engineers' iron \'1 ies. Are th ese socie ties tru ly non -p oliti ca l, o r d o nati on a l in ter ests
ring ceremony and symbolizes th e commitm ent and responsib ility th at come with Influ ence th eir po licies a nd th e co n te n t o f journa ls a nd transacti on s"? Is
wearing th e title of a professional. \ llmate cha nge, an d its effects o n Canada, releva n t to a soc iety's ro le"?
Like the engineer's iron ring, t he Earth science ring's simplicity an d strengt h bear wit-
re the re un iquel y Ca na d ia n co nd it io ns th at would justify uniqu e ly
ness to the calling of th e geologist and geophysicist. The ring is made of silver and
I 'a nad ian soc iet ies'? G ive exa m ples (for o r aga ins t). Prep are a two-page
sllll1 mary.
marked wit h th e crossed hammer of geology and with the seismic tr ace of geophysics-
sign ifying both the immediate and t he remote searching out of Nature's knowledge.
I':ng in eer ing and geoscie nce stude n ts mu st study hard to succeed . Ho w
Without beginning and without end, it also represents for tho se who wear it the con-
r a n th ey fin d tim e fo r o the r ac tiv ities, s uc h as st ude n t govern me n t,
I :FES, Assoc iatio n stude n t participati on progra ms , o r charita ble o rga ni-
tinuous interplay of ideas and of material realitie s.
zatio ns suc h as Eng ineers With o ut Borders"? Discu ss whe the r th e C EAB
The ceremony includ es a charge (spe ech) by senior Earth scienti sts and an obligation (the Ca nad ia n Eng ineering Acc red ita t io n Bo ard) sho u ld classif y suc h
(pledge) take n by the group of newly graduated geologists and geophysicists. The charge nrt iv ities as co m p le me n ta ry (no n -e ng inee ring) stud ies, w h ich a re
reads in part : "We te ll you here th at you will encounter no difficult y, doubt , dan ger, rvquired for engineering accred itati on. Ho w wou ld stude n ts ea rn th ese
defeat , humiliation or tri umph in your career which has not already fallen to th e lot of n ed its'? W h ich ac tivit ies an d o rga niza tio ns wo u ld be elig ible, an d ho w
others in your calling. . . ." The obligation includes the words: "I will not pass .. . false would yo u we igh t th e va rio us ac t ivities"?
inform ation or too casual interpretations in my work as an Earth scientist. Mytime I will
' ltlliio nal ass ign me n ts ca n be found in Ap pe n d ix E.
not refuse, my t hought I will not grudge; my care I will not deny towards th e honour,
use, stability and perfection of any project to which I may be called to set my hand .. . .
My reputation in my calling I will guard hon ourably . . . . I will str ive my uttermost
II ES
against professional jealousy and the belittling of my co-workers in any field of t heir
labour." III I..Co Scn ta nce, " l listor y a nd Developm ent o f Techni ca l and Profession a l
Societies," EIISillcl'rillS Viscsl , vu l. IS, no . 7, Jul y 19 72, pp. 73-74.
On a lighter not e, following th e obligation, new ring bearers are reminded that "From now It.W. Macq uee n (ed.), Proud Hcri tagr : People anil l'togrcss ill Early Canadian
on, we surrender to you what lies under the earth, and the tools to int erpret or misinter- uroscicnce, Geo logica l Assoc iatio n o f Canada, St. John 's, NL, 2004.
pret. Sooner or later, you will drill t he holes that bring no return , lose th e vein in which I I I..C Scn tance, " History a nd Develop me nt o f Technical and Professional
Soc ie ties." p. 73.
lie extra riches and reputa tion, misint erpret the signal from the dept hs. This will equally
III "Can ad ia n Engin eers Close t he Ring." ElIs illcer illS l ournul , ErC, vo l. 60, no . I,
baffle, bewilder and break your heart to your professional and personal education." jan uar y 19 77, pp . 15-1 9.
Receiving an Eart h science ring is nei ther a prerequisite nor a later condit ion of profes- II Canad ian Fed erat ion o f Eart h Science s (CFES) we bsite at <www.gcoscien cc.ca»
(May IS, 200S ).
sional membersh ip with APEGGA. Although there is no obligat ion to obtai n or wear a
II /li EIi Societies, Councils und Techn icat Cmnmunities, IEEE brochure, ava ilable at
ring, it is significant that almost no one in t he gradua ting classes willing ly misses the • www.ieee.or g/ web/ socie ties/ h o me/ inde x.h t m l> (May 1S, 200S).
ceremony. In addition, th e ceremony is not st rictly a graduation event, as it has occa- II LI C Herkert, "M icroc rh lcs, Macroetlucs, and Professional Eng ineer ing Soci eties,"
sionally included already practising geologists and geophysicists in Alberta who expre ss EIIIC/SiIlS Technologies IIlIcI Eth ical Issues ill ElIs illl'eriIlS: Papers {tVIII II Workshop,
t he v....ish to receive a ring. Like th e iron ring of the obligate d enginee r, th e Eart h science Octo ber 14- 15, 201H, Na tio na l Acad em y o f Eng inee ring, pp . 10 7-11 4, avail ab le
at <www.nap.ed u/catalog/l 1083 .h tm l> (Ma y 15, 200S).
ring is a symbol of values t hat lie at the core of our individu al bein gs and of th e trust
1' 1 Cun ad lan Fed era tio n o f Engin eer in g Stude n ts (CFES) web site at <www.cfes.ca»
placed in us by society.l'' (May 15, 200S) .
1'1 Eng inee rs Without Bord ers (EWB) web site at <www.cwb.ca» (May 15, 200S).
11111 Rcglstcrcd Engin eers for Disas te r Relief (Rcd k) Can ada website a t <www.rcd r.ca»
DIS CU S S IO N TO PI CS AND ASSIGNMENTS (May 15, 200S).
I I II Ca na d ia n Eng inee ring Me morial Foundati on (CEMF) web site a t <www.ce m f.ca»
I. Ca nad ia n e ng inee rs a nd geosc ien tists of te n d eb ate w het he r to join the (May 15, 2( 08).
newer Ca nad ia n techn ical soc ieties, o r to joi n th e large r, o lde r, for e ign- II 'I Ca uad ian Socie ty for Sen ior Eng inee rs, Engineering In stitu le of Cana da, web site
based socie ties th at h ave we ll-est ab lish ed jo u rn a ls, co m m itt ees, a nd ill <www.eic-ici.ca/english / to ur/ lm 02.h lm l> (May 15, 200S).
102 PART ONE' PROFESSIONAL LI CEN SING AN D REGULATION
11 31 Ca na d ia n Fede ra t io n o f Ea rt h Scien ces (C FFS), av ailabl e at
1141
<www.geoscie n ce .ca/ fo u nd. h t m l> (May 15, 2 0 0 8) .
Ca nad ia n Academ y o f Eng inee ring, "Mi ssion Sta te me n t," availa ble at
pter 6
<www.acacl-e ng-ge n .ca> (Ma y 15, 2 ( 0 8 ).
11 51 [. II. Ca rrut he rs, I'.Eng., "T h e Ritu al of the Calling o f an Engineer, " [a Revue
"Projd ! CFES Project lv!asazille, Apri l 1985, p. 19. Reprod uced w it h permi ssio n .
ic Concepts of
1161 1'. Lrdm cr, I'.Geol. , a nd E. S. Krebcs, I'.Geoph ., "The Eart h Scie nce Ring: Ma de ill
Alber ta," AI'EGGA, ava ila ble a t <www.a pegga.or g/ Abo u l/ ea rt h r.h tm l> (May IS,
2( 0 8 ) . Reprod uce d wi t h perm issio n from AI'EGGA.
iofessional Practice
III I hupter offe rs use ful ad vi ce for grad ua te e ng ineers and geoscie n tis ts
III illig full-tim e em ploy me n t, a nd an swers basic q uesti on s, suc h as: Wh en
IIII l dll I o bta in a licen ce'! Ho w do I do cume nt my ex pe rience"! W hat ar e
I unahlc sa la ry ex pec ta tio ns? W hen do I use my professiona l sea r! W ha t
111 11114 co nd itio n s sho u ld I ex pec t'! Thi s cha pte r a lso di scusses a key decision
"I I .ilm ost all profession als must make: wh ether to become a spec ia list in
'II I discipline, o r to develop t he " peo p le skills" need ed for managem ent.
RI NG T H E PROFESSIONAL WORK FORCE
I Idlioll ing fro m uni versit y a nd en te ring th e p rofessional workplace is usually

1I 11111 ,lling: yo u mov e to a new locatio n, meet n ew co lleag ues , and partici-
lit III new pro jects. You a p ply yo ur kn owl ed ge to rea l prob lem s and yo u see
111 1 Ideas taking shape o n th e co m pute r scree n , o n t he co ns t ruc tio n site , in
III It ° ~l labo rato ry, or o n a prod ucti on lin e. But , u n less yo u had ve ry good
lid u-rrns a t university, your first profession al job m ay prove to be a
II dlt'llge.
'11111' first su rprise m ay be ho w litt le su pervision yo u receive, a n d how
lilli II respo ns ib lllfy yo u ge t, beca use yo u are "a recent gra d ua te and fam iliar
11 11 I ill' t heor y." You m ay have to wo rk h arde r to justify th is co n fide nce in
111 1 uhility. Ask for help if yo u need it.
\ seco n d s u q~rise m ay be th e ap pa re n t lac k o f or de r a n d st ruc t u re .
11I 1I'I'rsity co urses usu ally h ave well-defined ob ject ives , but rea l pro ject s may
III "op en-ended " and ca n ch a nge drastica lly at an y time. If a crisis arises, yo u
111111' sudde n ly be asked to take o n a new proj ect . New pro jects ma y be chao tic
I I Ill' sta rt, but they a re usually interesting. And a ny way, as a professional , it's
II Ii I loll to create or de r fro m chaos.
1\ third su rprise m ay we ll be t he stro ng e m p hasis o n o b ta in ing usefu l
I IIll s. Prod uc ts mu st pe rfor m as promised ; if th ey don 't, the engi nee r or geo-
It°ll li sl must "fi nd o ut why an d correct it." If yo u need infor ma tio n, yo u
11111 I Ill' agg ress ive in getting it. The foc us has cha nged-your goa l in unl ver-
ltv was to ge t an ed uca tio n , bu t yo ur em ploye r wants results.
102 PAlli ONL • PlwrE S IONAL LICE NS ING AND Il EGUI AI ION
1131 C a n ad ia n Fed erati o n of Eart h Scien ces (CFES), ava ila b le a t
1141
<www.gcosclcncc.ca/ Iou n d .h u n b- (May 15, 200H).
Ca n a d ia n Acad em y o f Engineerin g, " Miss io n Sta te men t," ava ila b le a t pter 6
<www.acad-cng-gcn .ca» (May 15, 2(08).
.l ic Concepts of
11 51 J. B. Ca rru t h e rs, I'.En g. , "T he Ritua l o f th e Ca lling o f an Eng in eer," {a Revil e
Pro]ct / CFliS t'roject Masa zine, Ap ril 1985, p. 19 . Rep rodu ced w it h p e rmi ssion .
1161 1'. Erd me r, I'.Geo !., a nd E. S. Krcbes, I'.Geo p h ., "T h e Ea rth Scie nce Rin g: Ma d e in
Alb erta," AI' EGGA, a va ilab le a t <ww w.a pegga. o rg/ Abo u t/ ea rt h r.h lm l> (May IS,
2( 08) . Reprodu ced with permission from AI'EG GA .
rofessional Practice
IIII I h np l cr o ffe rs u sefu l a dv ice fo r g ra d ua te e nginee rs a n d geoscie n t is ts

till il li g fu ll-ti me emp loy me n t, and a nswe rs basic questi ons, such as: When
11 ," l1 d I ob ta in a lice n ce? Ho w d o I d o cum ent m y ex pe rie n ce ? W ha t are
I 1I1111 1lk sa la ry ex pec ta tio n s? When d o I use my p rofessio na l sea l? What
"I'
II I co nd itio n s sho u ld I ex pect'? T h is c h a p te r a lso di sc usses a key d eci sion
II I1 ,lIll1 os t a ll pro fess io na ls must m ake: w het her to become a specia list in
III dl cl pli ne, or to deve lo p th e " peo p le sk ills" n eed ed for m an age m en t.
li NG TH E PROFESSIO NAL W O RK FORCE

, 11 111 Illn g fro m u nive rsity a n d en te ring the p rofession al workplac e is usu all y
1ll l lloI l ln g: yo u m ove to a new lo ca tio n , m eet n ew colleagues, a nd pa rt ici -
I II I III new pro jec ts . Yo u apply yo ur kn ow led ge to rea l prob lems a nd yo u see
III Idl'lIs ta kin g s ha pe o n the co m p u te r sc ree n, o n t he cons t ruc tio n site, in
" " I labo rato ry, or o n a prod uc t io n lin e. But, unl ess yo u h ad ve ry good
II I 1l'III1S at uni ve rsity, yo u r first pro fe ssi on a l jo b m a y p ro ve to be a
I I "" II}'('.
1' 1111 first sur p rise m ay be h o w little su pe rv isio n yo u recei ve, a nd h o w
1111 II n-sp o n stbillfy yo u get, because yo u a re "a recent grad ua te and fa mil iar
1111 11 1l ' theo ry." You m a y h ave to work h arder to justify th is con fide nce in
11 11 11 11 Illy. Ask for h e lp if yo u need it .
vr o n d s ur p r~ e m a y be t h e a p pa re n t lac k of orde r an d st ruc t u re .
n l 1'1 Ity co ur ses usu all y h ave we ll-defined object ives, but rea l pro jec ts m ay
I " I"'II-e nde d " a n d ca n ch a n ge drasti ca lly at a ny t im e. If a c risis ar ises , you
11 1\ urkl cn ly be as ked to tak e o n a n ew p ro ject. New p ro jec ts m a y be chao tic
II III ta rt, but t hey a re usu all y inter esting. An d a nyway, as a p ro fessional , it 's
11 11 loll to c rea te order fro m chaos .
1111 I'd su rp rise m a y we ll be the stro ng e m p hasis o n o b tai ning use ful
11 11 • I'rod ucts m ust perform as p ro m ised; if t hey d on ' t, t h e e nginee r o r geo-
10 III h i mu st " fin d o u t w hy a nd co rrect it. " If yo u need in form ation , yo u
I II I III ' ag g ressive in getting it. Th e fo cus h as cha nged-your goa l in unl ve r-
II \ 01 5 10 ge t a n ed uca ti o n , b u t yo u r e m p loyer wa n ts results.

104 PAIlI I WD • PIlOFESSIONAI. I'RACT ICl CIIAI' I Lll 6 • Basi c CO"Cli P/'1 o] I', o/cssio oo l Pi nct i cc I O~
Finall y, yo u may be su rprised at th e import an ce o f deadl in es, l.at c deliv IllIpllfies th e licen sin g process, both for C EAI\-accrcd ited uni versit y grad u-
cries cos t mon cy- especiall y when co nt racts have pen alt y clauses for lat en ess Ill " ,am i for for cign-ed ucat ed a pp lica n ts, eve n th ose wit h man y yea rs o f
o r when " just-in-time " asse mbly lin es have nar row windows for dcl lverl n I pl'ril:nce.
co m po ne n ts. Person al tim e man agem ent is mu ch mor e important in th e pro
Icssio na l wo rkplace.
IIC)CU M EN TIN G Y O UR EXP ERIEN CE
Most e ng inec ring a nd geosciencc gra d ua tes easily overco me th ese chal
Icn ges. H ow ever, th e follow ing hints may help to star t yo ur em p loy mcn t 0 1 , ~ ' IHlIl as you beg in working, start docum enting your ex pc rience . You need
a pro fessio nal not e: 111 11 1 yea rs o f docu mc n ted pro fession al ex pe rie nce to satis fy t he licen sin g
lI''i" lreme n ts (ex cep t in Ouebec, wh ere th e requirem ent is three yea rs).
• Liccnsing. As soo n as yo u receive yo u r degree, a pply to you r Association
I[111V1'ver, you can shor te n th e expcricncc need ed by as mu ch as o ne yea r. As
to begin the licen sing p rocess.
plnlued in Chapter 2, each Association allows cred it for up to o ne year of pre-
• Ex p e r-ie n ce. Start to docum ent yo ur ex pe rience . It is easy to document
1III II I<Il io n experience. Prep are yo ur ex pe rie nce summa ry in th e form o f a per-
expe rien ce as yo u go , bu t very tricky to re memb er det ails lat er, Fo llow
11 11 ,11 resume. Thi s fo rma t satisfies th e Associatio ns, and is also useful for futu re
yo u r Association 's c ritc ria.
11111 appl leations. Engin ccrs Ca nada publ ish cs a gu ideline fo r docum ent! n g
• Prepare f o r advanccmcnt. Evcn tually yo u will wan t to be p rom oted,
1"'r1 ence, wh ich has been ado pted by most Association s. 1,2.:1,4 Th e gUidelinc
so thin k about yo ur next step. Do yo u have th e kno wledge and ambitlo n
1I1\l\l'sts tha t your ex perience should satisfy th e followin g five qu alit y criteria:
to be a spec ialist'! Do yo u have th e man agem e n t skills-es pec ially the
" peo p le skills"- to lead th e o rga n iza ti o n '! Are yo u su ffic ie n tly self' i\ IJI, li catio n o f thco ry. Th is is the best form o f expcricn ce. It inclu des
co n fide n t to succeed in priva te practi ce o r en treprene ursh ip'! Th ese topi cs IllIalysis, design a nd syn thes is, test in g method s, and project implem cnta-
a re d iscussed in mor e det ail in th e foll owin g sections . 11011 . Most Associati on s ex pect a sizable portion (typi cally 20 pe rcent) o f
your expcricn ce to be in thi s categor y.
I'l'llc t ica l cXI,cricncc , Practi cal ex pe rie nce help s yo u a pp reciate th e
APPLYI NG FOR A LIC EN C E
l' llpabilit ics a n d limitati on s o f th e t he o ry, eq u ipme n t, sys te ms, proce-
As soo n as possible, a pply to yo ur pro vin cial or territori al Associa tio n for ;1 .Iurcs, a n d sta n d a rd s th at a rc typi call y used in yo u r di scipl in e. For
lice nce to p ractise (also ca lled memb ersh ip o r registrati on ). Some grad uates «xample, you a rc mu ch mor e co m pe te n t if you a re personall y awa re o f
m istak e n ly believe they m ust satisfy th e ex pe rience req uirem en t first, but this t hv ca pab ilit ies (a n d limit ati on s) o f m anufacturin g eq u ip me n t, tol e r-
is not true: a pplica n ts ca n a pp ly as soo n as th ey graduate from uni versity. i\ .urccs, o pc rating p rocedu res, m ainten an cc sche d u les, eq u ipme n t reli a-
sim p le lett er, e-ma il, fax, or ph on e call will ge t th e process sta rte d . (The Weh hll lt y, com pute r so ftwa re, safety co des , design sta nda rds , a nd so fort h ,
ad d ress o f yo ur Assoc ia tio n is in Append ix A.) Illat a re co m mo n ly used in yo u r di sciplin e. Fortun at ely, man y activities
Every Association has a n int ern ship program th at yo u ma y join as soo n as IliaI do not fall und er the o the r h ead ings would Iikely q ua Ii fy as p racti caI
you receiv e yo ur degree (or o t he rwise satisfy th e ed ucational requi rem ents). «xpcricncc.
Whcn yo u arc accep ted in to th e Associa tio n 's intern ship program, yo u will I\ lll uagc lll cn t o f c ngi nccring/ gcoscicncc . Ma na gcm c n t ex pc rience
receive o ne o f th e fo llow ing titl es (depend ing o n yo ur prov ince and disci. li l l'lude.~.v la n n i~g,_schcd u l i n g, budgetin g, sup<?rvrsio n, proj ect co n ffci{
piin e): Eng inceri ng-l nt c rns h ip-Trai n ing (EIT), Eng inee r-i n-Tra in ing (EfT), .uul risk assessme n t. New grad ua tes arc nLlCusuall y assign cd man ageiDCii1
Me mb c r-in-Trainin g (MIT), Geo log ist-in-Train ing (Gco I.IT), Geo p hy sicist-in. dillies, so docum en t thi s expe rience wh en ever you have th e o ppo rtu n ity.
Train ing (Gco ph.l'I') , iI1S(;l1icur junior (ing. [r.), Iuni or Engince r (lr, Eng.), or CUlIlIllu n ic Olt io n ski lls. Profcssion als mu st be a ble to co m m u n icate
Gcosc icn tist-in-Train ing (GIT). Th ese titl es may be used on letters, mem os, "IfL'ctivc!y. Your ex pe rience resume sho u ld include ev iden ce o f effective
e-m ail, bu siness cards, desk plaques, and so forth . As explaine d in Cha pter 2, wrlling (forma l reports, design spec ificatio ns or sta nda rds, co n tracts, o r
grad ua tes mu st not use titl es th at wou ld impl y that th ey a rc licen sed, so ' lillila r documents), d rawin gs o r sketc hes (whe re a ppro priate), a nd ora l
avo id int crna l co m pa ny titl cs suc h as Ass ista n t Eng in ee r, Assista n t pn-scnta tio n s to su pc rvlso rs, man agcm cnt, clien ts, or th e public.
Gco log ist, Plant Enginecr o r Sales Engin ecr. Th csc titl cs impl y t ha t yo u a re Suci al imp lications o f cnginccring/geoscicncc. Thi s typica lly
liccn scd . Iill'lud cs any cx pe ricnce th at heigh tcn s th c p ro fc~s i on a !,~..awa re n c~lt h e
I I ~ s p o n si IJTiTtYl;guarcl aga l ll sfcoii'd iU 6n s th at ar e dan ge rou s to lifc,
As a n int ern , th c Associatio n will guide yo u throu gh thc next stcp, whi ch
is do cum cn ti ng yo ur ex pc ric nc c fo r liccn sin g. Yo u will also bc inv ited to
--- --- - - - - --
IlI'a ltl1 , pro pc rty, o r th e cnviro n me n t, and to call a ny suc h co nd itio ns to
a ttc nd Associat ion mccti ngs, a nd yo u may be a blc to parti cip at c in gro up Illl' atle ntion o f thosc rcsponsiblc. Most o f th e topi CS in this book co nccl'l1
insu ra n ce, in vcstm cn t pl a n s, a nd sim ila r bcn ef it p rogr a ms. In tcrn ship III I' soc ial im plicati on s of techni cal decisio ns.
106 PAIn I WO • I'IWrESSIONAL I'HA CI ICL
CIIAI' I EH (j • IInsi c COllc" I'I., oj "' ''j ess iollol l' ru ct ic, 107
LEV ELS OF P ROFE SSIONAL RESPON S IBILI T Y 1 1111 ' first level o f fu ll specia liza tio n . Th is level req u ires m ature kn ow ledge
I 1'1 /lllllin g a n d co n d uc ti ng p roj ect s, o r of co ord in a ti ng diffi cult a n d
Your fu ture w ill likel y in vol ve m an y ch a lle ng ing pr oj ect s, a n d yo u will
ass u me g rea te r resp onsibility as yo u r ex pe rience in creases. Th e foll o wing Ihl 1'II1 1sib ie assign me n ts . To reach th is level , e ng inee rs or geoscie n t ists typi -
sh o ws th e typica l leve ls o f eng ineering a n d geoscience resp on sib ility . Several «llv req u ire a mi ni mum o f sev e n or eigh t ye a rs o f ex perie n ce in th e field o f
Asso cia tion s publ ish salary sta tisti cs based o n th ese level s. S 1"'I I/l llza tio n.
A wo rd of ca u tio n: T h e av erage number o f ye a rs a t eac h le vel va riv
slig h tly, d ependin g o n th e di sciplin e a nd th e locati on . Also, m an agers and I I VII II- MIDDLE MANAGEMENT (OR SENIOR SPECIALIST LEVEL) Job titles at th is
specia lists h ave different but eq u iva len t ca reer path s. Th e hi gh er lev els an ' I, 1'1 luc lude ch ief proj ect en ginee r, ch ie f p roj ect geo log ist, gro u p head, a n d
th er efo re based o n eithe r m an agem ent resp onsibility o r techni cal respo nsl IIJII I s pe c ia list. Thi s level (in mana gem ent) involves s u pe rv isin g lar ge
billty. Level s o fte n ove rla p, and so me co m pa n ies ma y recogni ze m ore (III 11111 1'\ , co n ta in ing bo th pro fession al and n onprofessional sta ff; a lte rn atively,
fewer ) level s, depending o n co m pa n y size . Mo st co m pa n ies (es pecia lly ill lih 11'Vl'1 (in spec ia liza tio n) in vol ves au tho rity ove r a sma ll gro up o f hi ghl y
manufacturi n g) em p loy m ore man agers than specialists. IlId llfll'd p rofessio n a l personn el en gaged in co m p lex techni cal a pp lica tio ns .
I, ,'I P, Iypica lly requires kno wledg e o f m ore th an o ne field o f eng in ee ring o r
LEVEL A-ENTRY LEVEL A ba chel or's degree in e n ginee rin g, geoscien ce, 01 " _til'llee. T he in cumbent part icipates in sh o rtan d lon g-ran ge pl anning
ap p lied sc ien ce , o r its eq u iva le n t, is usuall y required . Recent university lid IIl akes inde pende n t d ecision s o n work m ethods an d p rocedu res within a
g rad ua tes - us ua lly w it h littl e pr act ical ex pe rie n ce- rec e ive o n -t he-jo h 111'1'11 1 pro gram . O rig ina lity and in genuity a re required for devising pr acti cal
train in g in o ffice, plant, field, o r lab oratory work, o r (ra rely) in cIassroo Ill', lid l'l'on o m ica l so lu ti o ns to probl em s. Th e e n gine e r or geoscien tis t ma y
Leve l A e m p loyees work under clo se su pe rv isio n , pr eparing sim p le plan s, "1"'1vise la rge gro u ps th at include both p ro fession al an d n onprofession al
designs, calcu lat io ns , co sts, a n d bill s o f m at erial , in accorda n ce with estah 1,1 11, III' may d irect a sm a ll gro u p o f hi ghl y qualified professional s in co m plex
lish ed code s, sta n d ards, or specificatio ns. Thi s stage may last o n e o r tw o years, I , llIileal a pp licat io ns . Thi s level normall y requires a t least 10 to 12 yea rs o f
IlIllllI'l'ring, geosc ie nc e, a n d /o r administrative ex pe rien ce.
LEVEL B-ENGINEER/GEOSCIENTIST INTERNSHIP After th e first two o r three year,
o f wor k ex perience, th e e m p lo yee will be ass ig ne d tasks o f in cr easing va riety, '"1 r-SENIOR MANAGEMENT (OR SENIOR CONSULTANT LEVEL) Jo b titl es at
alt h o ug h resp on sibility is sti ll limited . Typ icall y, th e work in vol ves parts oj 111 11 l.-vc l in cl ud e direct or o f e n g in ee ring or geo logy, plant man ager, and
la rger p roj ect s. Suc h assig n me n ts p ro vid e co n ti n u in g tr aining a n d d ev elop 111111 co ns u lta n t. Level s F a n d F+ may ove rla p, depending o n co m pa ny size
m eri t . During thi s peri od th e em p loyee is usuall y regist er ed wit h th e pr ovin '111 111\, a ch ief eng in ee r in a lar ge co rpo ra tio n ma y have esse n tia lly th e same
cial Associ ati on at th e int ernsh ip level (wit h th e tit le o f Ere Ml'I~ Geo l.l'I, 111111" as the vice presid ent o f e ng in eering in a med ium-size co rpor atio n ). Th e
Cc o p h .I'I, ingenteurjunlor, o r G l'I, d ep ending o n th e p rovin ce a n d di sciplin e), 1111 1I II Ibent is usu all y resp onsibl e for a n eng inee ring or geo scienc e adminis-
Lev el 1\ e m p loyees may gi ve technical advice to techni cians or to level A grad II Iilvl' fun ctio n, directing seve ra l professional and o the r gro u ps engaged in
ua res. Th is stage last s at least two o r three yea rs. 1I 1" II,'Iated resp on sibiliti es; o r m ay be a co n su lt a n t, reco gnized as a n
url uu'lty in a field important to th e o rga n iza tio n . Th e Level F pr ofessio n al
LEVEL C-PROFESSIONAL ENGIN EER/GEOSCIENTIST Lev el C is th e first full y qual . IIll h'l"'lIde n tly co n ce ives pro grams a n d pr oblem s to be in vesti gat ed , d et e r-
ified pro fess io n al level. Th e eng inee r o r geoscie n tist ca rries o u t respo ns ible 11 1111" basic o pe ra ti ng poli cies, an d devises ways to reach progr am o b jectives
a nd va ried assignm ent s in a b road field o f en g in ee ring or geo sc ience, an d h ' 1I ll1 l1 Ji cally a nd to o ve rco m e p robl em s. Th e job requires ex te ns ive ex pe rt-
a lso ex pe cte d to und erst and th e ef fect s o f d ecision s o n rel at ed fie lds . 1111', includ ing res po ns ib le ad m in istra tiv e du ties.
Co m b in at io n s o f sta nd ard m eth ods are used to so lve p robl ems, and th e Level
C p rofessional participat es in planning. Typi call y, this stage requires a min - II V' I, H -SENIOR EXECUTIVE LEVEL Job titl es at th is level incl ud e presid ent;
im u m o f five to six yea rs o f relat ed wor k ex pe rience a fter grad ua tio n . Level C II I prcslde n t o f en ginee rin g o r geos cie n ce; vice -p resid en t o f manufacturin g;
professio n a ls m ake independ ent a na lyses a n d interpret results with out su per- 111.'1 11 1 ma n age r; and partner (in a co nsu lti ng firm ). At thi s level, th e person
visio n , so th ey must be licen sed , o f co u rse. II'IVI'S ge ne ral strateg ic gu ida n ce b u t co nceives indep endent programs a n d
l'llIlIIl 'lIlS to be in vesti gat ed. I-I e or sh e plans o r a p p roves p roj ect s th at require
LEV EL D-FIRST SUPERVISORY (OR FIRST SPECIALIST LEVEL) Job titl es at th is " 1 ~ l tl l'I"a lJ le a mo u n ts o f hum an an d fina n cia l resources. Thi s level req u ires
level h ave m an y va riatio n s, suc h as p roj ect lead er, team lead er, lead en g i- II III I' yea rs o f a u t ho rita ti ve techn ical a n d ad m in istrati ve ex pe rie nce. Th e
n eer, si te ge o lo g ist, or e n g inee ring/ge o scie nce spe c ia list. T h is is th e firs t 1111 11I 1I!lent is expected to po ssess a h igh d egree o f or igina lity, skill, an d profi-
level th at in vol ves direct a n d sus ta ine d su pe rv isio n o f o t he r p ro fessio nal s, II II I V in the vario us b road ph ases o f the professio n .
108 P"I U I WO· plwr ESSI 0N "L pll" CI ICI: CII" p I EIl 6 • lt as i c Co nc e p t s 01 i'roj e s s io n n l t' ru c t ic c JOC
SALARY EXPECTATIONS FOR PROFE SS IO NALS 'Ilil t'll are taken fro m th e 200 7 Alberta employer salary survey co nd uc ted by
Sala ry is no t th e on ly mo tivator for a professio na l, but it is still impo rta n t. \ 1' 11,( ;( ; A.6
Seve ral Association s co nd uct a nn ua l surveys o f the ir members' sa laries a nd 'lh c co m plete sala ry surv eys are usua lly ve ry co mp rehe ns ive, a nd show
post sum ma ries on th e Associ a tion wchsit es . As an exa m ple, rece nt sala ry data 1111IIIlies by respo ns ibility level (defi ned ea rlier in th is chapter), d isciplin e,
for Alberta e ng ineers a nd geo log ists is su m m a rized in Tables 6. 1 and 6 . ~, \ " 111 of grad ua tio n, type of ind ustry, city or region, an d so on . Ch eck yo ur
\ ~, "r la l i o n 's
website for th e recent salary sur vey. However, be wa rne d th at
II Iw ys diff e r, dep ending o n whe the r e m ployees o r em ploye rs provide th e
TAB LE 6.1 - Alberta Emp loyer Salary Survey, 200 7: ENGINEERS 01 Iii II, because em ployees o ften repor t inco me from severa l sources. Moreove r,
(All Indu stries) ,11111y su rveys sho w past hi story, and histor y is not always a good pred ictor of
111 " tu tu rc,
Ch a n ge Lo wc r Lo wer Up per Up pe r
Nu m ber in Mea n Mca n Deci le Q ua rti lc Mcd ian Q na rtilc
III IIritish Colum bia, th e salary sur vey by th e Associa tion of Pro fessio na I
Dcci lc
Lcvc l in Survey 2006/07 ($) D I ($) Q I ($) ($) Q3 ($ ) D9 ($) 11I1I1 11l'erSand Geosc ie n tists o f Britis h Co lum b ia (APEG BC) ga t he rs da ta from
A- :{4 1 5.4% 4'1,521 :17,930 4 1,OH9 45,OH4 4H,432 50,44X ' 1I I1 01 oye es, rather th an e m ployers, a nd cla ssifies salaries by " res po nsibility
A 1,0 24 H.5% 60, 13H 5 1,500 55,000 60,000 65, 000 69,HJ.I 1'11 111 1 levels." APEGBC provid es an o n line Em p loyme n t Respon sibi lity
n 1,209 9.2% 69 ,2 74 5H,OOO 63,40 0 69,600 74,796 79,9HO 1\ i1 ll1a lio n progra m to calcu la te t he resp on sibili ty po in t levels. Th e APEG IIC
C 1,552 9.0')1. H4,474 70,5 14 77, 100 H3,7:IH 90,700 9H,400 1" /111 1 rati ng is th en co m pared to rati ng s for sim ilar job de scrtp tions.?
» 2, 106 6.6% Im,H2H H5,925 9 4,520 103,360 112,940 122, 100 III O n ta rio, th e O n ta rio Soc iety of Pro fession al Engi ne e rs (OSPE) has
E 1,9H9 7.6% 127,H52 104,544 116, 148 129,000 13H, 170 14 7,000 IIIIIII Il'd t he respo nsi bility for prep ar in g sa la ry su rveys fro m Pro fession al
I' 1,0 73 5.8% 150,01 5 117,840 135,346 15 1,800 16:1,000 176,190 11I1o\1I 1('ers O n tario (PEO). Salary summa ries are ava ilab le to OSPE mem be rs o n
1' + 42 1 6.9'Yc, IH3,96 3 139,260 158,89 7 175,000 196 ,400 240, 000 111" ()SI'F. website."
TABLE 6 .2 - Alberta Employer Salary Survey, 200 7: GEOLOGISTS

"IlU FES S IO NAL WORKING CONDI TIONS
(All Industries)
III " jlliada, professio na l em p loyees usually receive basic job be nefits suc h as
Cha n ge Lowcr Lower U pper Up per
N u m ber in Mcan Q narti lc
1"lIdl'd hea lth ca re, di sability, a nd pen sion plans. ~~ ~ i ti o n, profession al
Mcan Dcci lc Mcdia n Q na rt ilc Dcci lc
l.ev e l in Survey 2006/0 7 ($) D I ($) Q I ($) ($) Q3 ($) D9 ($)
1I 11 11 11yees dcservq pro fesslo na l wo rking co nd itio ns, cha lle ngi ng techn ical
A- 12 - 2.4% 48,950 46,200 46,200 47,400 49,200 49,200
,III" a nd o ppor tu n ities fo r prom otion , based o n merit. Ideal ly, th e work
A 60 9.3% 6:1 ,295 53, 029 60,5:18 65,0 00 6 7,000 68 ,602
1I IIIlIII men t sho uld also incl ude high -qu alit y co mpute r ha rdwa re, sta te-of-
II 112 7.2% 72,62 5 65,000 70,()OO 73,026 77,000 79,OO() lit, .u t so ftwa re, h igh -sp eed Int ern et co n nectio ns, frien d ly co lleag ues, and
C 163 H.O% H8,293 7H,500 H2,745 8 7,4 70 92, 000 100, 100 I' ll co m m un icatio n wit h man agem ent. All of t hese increase produ cti vit y
» 140 6.7% 112, 191 96,500 101,000 110,000 120,1140 128,93 5 11 101 10" satisfactio n.
E 19:{ 5.2% 136,455 117,766 133,920 140,000 144,1160 149, 730 l'ort uu atcly, mos t e ng inee rs and geosc ien tis ts wo rk in th ese co nd itio ns.
F 13H 7.7% 159,:1111 14H,00O 154,OO() 159,000 163,500 171,9H3
111 1I 1I 1\'('rs Ca nada surveyed mor e th an 26,000 practi sin g e ng inee rs a nd
1I ~ l h ' 1I 1 ists, a nd t he major ity agreed, or ag reed stro ngly, th at
F+ 75 12.3% 19 1,472 16:1,765 173,400 1113,750 20 1,OO() zzo.s:«
Notes for Ta b les 6 .1 and 6 .2: The salaries quoted are BASE salaries in effect as of May 3 1, 2007, 11\l'y were satisfied with th e job (37l){l agreed; 49% agreed st ro ng ly).
The salaries include cost-of-living allowances and bonuses that have a continuing relationship to salary,
Commissions, fringe benefits, and profit sharing are not included. Total cash compensation figur es are II \l'y ha d freedo m 10 decid e o n work issu es 05% ag reed ; 47% ag reed
available in the full report : Valu e of Professional Services 2 007, available from the Associati on 01 Iion gly).
Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA). The statistical measures used
in compiling the tables are the median, quartiles (Q 3, Q1), deciles (09, 01), and average. The median II\l'y were satisfied wit h th eir caree r pros pects (37% agr eed; 39% ag reed
salary is the salary at w hich 50 percent of the respondent salaries are high er and 50 percent are lower, IlIlI lgly).
The Q3 salary is the salary at which 25 percent of the respondent salaries are higher and 75 percent an'
lower. The 0 9 salary has 10 percent of the salaries higher and 90 percent, lower. rl u-y had o ppo rtu n itie s for advan ce m ent (38% ag ree d ; 23% ag reed
IllIngly)Y
Source: Tables 1 and 2 of the "2007 Employer Salary Survey Highli gh ts" from the report Value 01
Prof ession al Services 2 00 7, pub lished by The Association of Prof essional Eng ineers, Geoloqlsts
and Geophysicists of Albert a (APEGGA), available at <www.apegga.o rg/ M embers/ Publications/ Icl l'lilly, wo rking co nd itio ns sho uld be specified in the em ployme n t co n-
salarysurvey.html» (May 15, 2008). Salary data used with permission of APEGGA.
1, 1 (which is discussed in Cha pte r 12). Unfo rt un ately, man y profession als
CHAr lE fl 6 • lIas ie Conccnt » oj I',ofess ionol Pt act it:«
111
110 PAR T TWO' PROFESSIO NAL PRACTICE
(esp ec ia lly n ew ly hired grad ua tes) d o not have per sonal e m p lo y m e n t CO i l

tra ct s; in st ead, t hey a re hired on a sim p le le tt e r o f a p po in t me n t and 111 ('1
working co n d it io ns a re set b y co m pa n y poli cy.
In e it h e r ca se, workin g co n d it io n s sho u ld be reviewed on a regu lar ba si
En lightened e m p lo ye rs co n d uc t a revi ew at least a n n ua lly, wher e perform
a ncc a n d workin g co n d itio ns ar e di scu ssed . Failure to review working cond l
tion s ca n lead to d eclinin g morale, reduced product ivity, and turn over o f 1(('
per sonn el. Ther e must a lso be so me m eth od fo r negotiating and a me n d ln
e m p loyme n t co n t rac ts (o r co m pa n y poli cies). Thi s text ca n no t o ffer sp eclllt
adv ice; h o wever, th e foll owin g tw o o rga n iza tio ns pub lish advi ce on prok «
sio na l working co n d itio n s. ....~I I< L 0 201
THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS (CSPE) CSPE is an advu

cacy group for pr ofessional e n g in ee rs. It is n ot a uni on a nd d o es not face Iii
legal a nd bureau cr atic problem s typi call y e n co u n te red by unions; it is mod
d ied a ft e r t he m edi cal asso ci ations a nd bar associa t io ns, wh ich work col l«
ti vel y for th eir res pect ive m ember s, wh o a re a lso pr ofessional s. CSPE 1];1
recently been restructured as a n ational ad vo ca cy g ro u p, who se purpose is Ii
co o rd in a te th e ac tiv iti es o f provincial ad vo cacy g ro u ps . As this text goes II
pr ess (20 08), th e O n t,~oc~ t ~...~.f I'r of~si o~n g ~~.~e~. (O§ ~I~) i s_t b.~\:
provin ci al g ro u p that has been c rea ted under th e CSI'E umbrell a . to , II Boll
. CSPE a nd OS PE a re pr opo sin g ex te nsive ad vo cacy initiati ves f o r th eir rnc in
bel'S. Howeve r, th ey have yet to p ro vide th e type o f ex te nsive informa tio l /'''uI O 6.1 _ The Avro Arrow fighter-Interceptor. The Avro Arrow, a Canadian-
tha t is o ffe red by a co rrespo n d ing U.S. organi zation, the Nation a l Society t1 "' lll llIed all-weather fighter-interceptor, wa s a techno logical marvel and decades
Pro fession al E n g i n ~'s (NS PE). - - "'1'1/11of its time. The Arrow, which first flew in March 7958, could exceed M ach 2
I \ (), OOO feet in normal flight. On September 28, 7958, th e go vernm ent of Prime
TH E NSPE GUIDELINES T h e Na tio na l Soc ie ty o f Professional Engineer s (NS I'I', ,,"i1ler John Oiefenbak er cancelled th e Arrow in a scandalously abrup t manner, on
h as d evel oped pr o fessio"!'Wl<;"mplo ym ent gU id~l i l~es that rn ay be -o f in"teres\ II 1l l" l!lI.Iis that manned figh ters were obsolete and too costly. Avro 's 74,000 employees
'Can a d ia n e n g il1eers,s in ce com pa rable'"Ca l~ad i a ll gliraeJrhesdc;nm::y~t:~;x h l ,'/1' Immediately laid off. Avro was ordered to destroy th e two prototypes.
T he NSPE G uide lin es a re di scu ssed in more d et ail in a lat er ch a p te r (and ,II 1I111(C : Photog raph courtesy of the Canada Avi ation Museum, Otta wa.
includ ed in t h e ir e n ti re ty in Appendi x D). Th e se g u id e lines con ta in mm
t ha n 60 d etail ed c la uses th at di scu ss ge n era l rul es for e n g in ee r ing re crui t
m erit, e m p lo y me n t, professi onal d eve lopment, a n d termination . Mo st cla use
di scu ss ve ry spe c ific, pra cti ca l e m p loy me n t pr oblem s a n d a re direct ed at bo ll 1I11111l'c r o r ge oscie n tis t, a nd the ru les for u sin g th e sea l a re sim ila r across
e m p lo ye rs a nd e m plo yce s. l'' 11I 11l 1a . T h e sea l rem ain s th e pr operty o f th e Asso ciati on , and mu st b e
u u nvd if the pr ofe ssional retires o r resigns (or if th e Asso ci ati on a sks for it).
II 1\l lJerta (APEG G A) gu id eli ne ex pla in s th e purpo se:
USING YOU R PR O FESSIONAL SEAL
A professional stamp or seal affixed to a document is intended to indicate that the doc-
Durin g yo u r ca ree r, yo u w ill pr epar e hundred s (m aybe thousands) o f key do .
1IIIIcnt has been produced under the supervision and control of a fully qualified profes-
um ents, suc h as report s, drawin gs, plan s, m aps, specific a tio ns, and so fort h
luual member of APEGGA, or th at it has been thoroughly reviewed by a professional
O t he r pe opl e wi ll rel y o n th e se d o cum ent s to m ake important d e ci sio nt
1IIl'Iliber of APEGGA who accepts responsibility for it. Professional stamps and seats shall
affecti n g th e life, h ealth , sa fety, o r we lfare o f th e publ ic. To id entify th ese kl')
lin affixed. signed and dated only after the responsible member is satisfied th at the
d o cu m e n ts, yo u must sta m p th em with yo u r profe ssion al sea l. The se a l is USI I
IllIClI l\1ent or component, for which he or she is professionally responsible. is comptete
a lly a rub ber sta m p, so t h e term s "seal " a nd "s ta m p " a re used inter changeab ly
Th e lice n sing Asso ciat io n se n ds a sea l (a rubber st a m p) to eac h newl y licensed Ilid correct .P
11 I' AI~ I TWO · I' IWrE SSIO NA L I'HACTICE
CIIAI' IEH 6 • ttasi c [0 11 1 " 1' / .1 o] I'/ o/c ssi olllll I'/o c / ; CI' II
What Does t h e Seal Represent?

1"" Ilrularly impor tant that suc h d o cum ents be m ar ked " Pre lim ina ry" and/or
Th e sea l id en t ifies th e auth or of th e d o cum ent, o f co u rse, but th e sea l ha s : I I I lor Co nst ru cti on ." Expensive a n d dan ger ous e rro rs ca n occu r wh en pr e-
grea te r sig n ifica nce: It m eans that the a u tho r gave serio us th ought to th e COil 1IIIII IIilry doc u me n ts are inadve rte n t ly rel eased for fabri cati on or co ns tr uc tio n
tent s, a n d ass u res o t he rs th at th ey Gin rel y o n th e fact s, d eci sion s, d esigm" 11101 suc h e rro rs h ave occu rre d) .
o p in io ns, a n d judgm ent s in th e d o cum ent. Fin all y, th e sea l d enotes that III( l'm lc xsion al sea ls sho u ld n ot be used in com pa ny lo go s, a dve rtis ing, let -
a u t ho r ass u mes pr ofession al resp on sibility a n d acco u n ta b ility if th e d oni I I hl'lIds, bus iness ca rds , o r o t he r pr omoti on al publication s. Also, th e sea l
merit sho u ld lat er be found to co n ta in e rro rs. 14 The sea l is neith er a n a rchah 1I III IId not be used o n gove rn me n t d o cum ents, suc h as a p p lica t io ns for pa ss-
traditi on n or a mindl ess formality-it is a n a ccept ed pra ct ice for ass u rinu I" II I ~ Ill' bi rt h ce rti fica tes, wh en pr ofessional e nginee rs or geoscie n tis ts arc
o t he rs th at t hey ca n rel y upon yo u r work. 11 01 1'11 11 \ o rs. 17
''''':lIIn e nt Approval Process

Which Documen ts Are Sealed?
,,' I II sl'a l o n a d o cum ent m eans yo u a p p ro ve d it; th er efore, a p ply ing the se a l
The Act typicall y requires a ll fin al drawings, specifica tio ns, pl an s, reports, a nd huu h l be th e last ste p bef ore th e d o cument is issu ed . You r e m p loye r lik el y
sim ila r d o cum ents in vo lv ing pr ofession al pr acti ce, a nd issu ed to th e publlr, 1111 ' II forma l d o cum ent hand lin g sys te m for pr eparing , approving , identi-
to be d at ed , signed, a n d sca led by a p ro fession al e ngineer or geoscie n tis t. Th Illig, d istribu ti ng , a n d filin g techni cal d o cum ents. If so, foll ow th at pro ce-
usc o f th e sea l is n ot o p tio n a l, and n o fcc is c ha rge d fo r sca ling docum en ts 1111" , (e-ven if it see ms c u m be rso me o r bureaucr ati c). It is c ruc ia l th at eve ryo ne
Sea ling d o cum ent s is sta n da rd pr o fession al practi ce, requ ired und er th e Act 111 II l' l' rov ed , up-t o -d ate drawings and d ata . Howev er, yo u sho u ld routin el y
For exa m p le, O n ta rio's Regulati on 94 1 requires enginee rs to "s ig n, date and ' Illy yo u r doc u me n ts before you se a l th em . The suggestio ns bel ow appl y
a ffix th e . . . sea l to every fin al draWin g, spec ifica t io n, plan, report o r other 11111 11 ' 10 repo rts th an to dra wings o r o t he r technical docum ents, but g ive an
d o cum ent pr epared o r c hecke d" by th e e ng inee r, before it is issu ed to till: 11 10 '11 01 the ap prova l pr o cess.
public. I S
Docu me n ts a re se a led before rel ea se to th e publi c, but in this case, tlu: ,'lc'o l'c of w o rk . Do es th e d o cum ent sa tis fy th e co n t rac t, or a ns we r th e
" p u blic" m ea ns a ny per son or o rga n iza t io n, except for th e e m p loyer. That is, qll l ~ sti ons , o r follow the in structi on s th at initiated it ?
d o cum ents inte nded for s t ric t ly intern al co m pa ny ci rc u la tio n need n ot Ill: \ c'(;CIJt cd practice. Is th e d o cum ent ba sed o n cu rre n t industry co des,
sea led (a lt ho ug h th ey m a y be) . Ho wever, a ny d o cume nt th at w il l be re leased rnn dards, o r Asso ciati on gu ide li nes, o r p roper th eory a n d co rrec t cq ua-
to c lien ts, c us to me rs, gove rn me n t, o r an yon e o u ts ide th e com pa ny must 1)(' tloll s'?
sca lcd . !v ·\ .'c u r a cy. Are yo u co n fide n t th at the a n a lys is is lo gi cal a n d co rrec t"?
Wl' re nu m be rs co rrectly tr ansferred from o t he r d o cum ents? Ha ve yo u fol -
lowed co m pa n y p oli cy for d ouble-ch eckin g? Do th e number s su p po rt th e
Which Documen t s Are Not Sealed?
, i mclusion s? Are th e co n cl us io ns su m ma rized co rrectly a n d co m ple te ly'?
O n ly doc u me n ts rel ated to professi on al pra cti ce mu st be sca le d, so yo u C 'o m p lct c u css . Is th e d o cument com ple te, with pages number ed in the
sho u ld n ot sea l a doc u me n t that has no techni cal co n te nt. Routin e m emos, II HII t order?
letter s, a n d n otes a rc n ot sca led, a lt ho ug h a techni cal letter con ta in ing c rlt- " III °rn at. Is th e d o cument in the acce p te d com pa ny o r industry fo rmat"?
ical d a ta, specifica tio ns, o r informati on shou ld be sea led . Legal a n d bu sin ess
l hl s ve rifica t io n ca n no t be d on e in a few minutes. Thi s ex p la ins wh y a
d o cum ents, suc h as co n tracts, arc n ot professional pr acti ce, so they a rc not IIIIII,'sslo n a l must su pe rv ise th e work. You n eed thorough kn owl edge o f th e
sca led. If th e pr acti ce is in corpo rat ed, it will h a ve a co rpo ra te se a l. O the rwise, I, ,, u uun! before you appl y yo u r se a l to a p p ro ve it. If yo u h a ve not per son-
Signat ures a rc su ffic ie n t for m o st bu siness purpo ses.
011 \ ple pa red th e d o cument, or su pe rv ise d th e pr epar at ion , yo u wo u ld n eed
O n ly fin al d o cum ents a rc sca led. Prelim in a ry d o cum ents, rough d rawi ng s, I" .Iu pllca te a lmos t all th e wor k upon wh ich it is based .
o r dra ft s pec ifica tio ns arc n ot se a le d; in st ead , th e y a re clea r ly marked
"Preli m in a ry," "Not for Co ns t ruc tio n," "Dra ft," " Fo r Disc uss io n O n ly, " or
so m e th ing s im ila r to m ak e su re th at they a re n ot co nfused with fina l d o cu - ,,' clss io n al and Legal Liability
me nts. So me ti mes, to sa tisfy the requ iremen ts of a reg ul at ory agen cy, a pre- h ,h 'l lio n is not required in techn ical d o cuments, but rea son able judgm ent,
limin ar y d o cum ent m ay n eed to be sca led for adminis tra tive p u rp o ses (fo r 1"1 "" ',11III adeq ua te kn o wl ed ge and ex pe rie nce, are ex pecte d . I f yo u do n ot ha ve
ex a m p le , to s ta rt a n a p p ro va l process). Alt ho ug h the d o cum ent m a y be III1 I1 t1 I'IKe in th e d o cument, o r h av e n ot h ad tim e to review it th oroughl y, or
" fina l" for a d m in istra tive purpo ses, it is n ot fin al for const ruc tio n, so it is 1111 I ~ out side yo u r field o f ex pe rtise, then yo u sho u ld not se a l it. For exa m ple,
11/. PAIlI I WO • Plwre SSIONAL " Il ACll c e CIIA" f e ll 6 • Bosi c Co nce pt s of l'rojes si onn! Ptact ice II '
a n elec trica l e ngineer m ay be asked to appro v e th e co ncrete d esign for a P r essure of w o rk. You are th e d esignated professional o n th e ce rtifica te
bui ldi ng fo u nda tio n, becau se th e build in g is in tended to hou se a n e lec trical III' au tho rizatio n (o r pe rmit to pr acti se) for an eng inee ring or geosc ience
tra nsfo rmer. If th e elec trica l e ng inee r ha s no previ ous tra ining o r ex pe rie nce ill firm . The firm ha s many pr oj ect s, and yo u are unable to m onitor all o f
reinfor ced co ncrete d esign , th en th e requ e st is o u ts ide hi s o r her field 0 1 Ihem ade q ua te ly. Your e m p loye r asks yo u to sign and sea l th e final rep ort
ex per tise. A co lleag ue ex pe rie nced in co ncre te d e si gn must be co ns u lte d. lor a pro ject o f whi ch yo u were previ ou sly u naw are. Th e em ploye r says
An e ngineer o r geoscien tist who signs or sea ls a d o cum ent wit ho ut thor Ihe report is urgent, no furth er a na lysis is required, a nd as ks yo u to sign
o ug h know ledge o f th e docum ent m ay be gu ilty of profession al mi sconduct. III luuncd iatc ly.
a case cited recently, th e British Co lu m bia Su p re m e Co u rt ruled th at an engl-
neer was liable in a d ispu te ov er an improp erl y d esi gn ed resid en ce foundation . I I I each of th e.J~~ v e situa tio ns, yo u would refu se to sign o r sea l th e d oc-
The co ur t stated : "By affixi ng hi s sea l to th e draw in gs a n d by his letter . . . till' III 11\'11t u n til yo u had ve rified th e d ocum ent su fficiel!tly to acce p t h ill resp on-
defendant [en gin eer] .. . ce rtified tha t th e foundati on drawings co nforme d to lhlllt y for it. Do not be led into a trap by friendships, ex te rna l pressure, or
all th e struc tura l requirem ents o f th e 1980 Na t io n a l Building Code."!" Clearly, lll/o1l'lIey. For so me d ocum ents, a proper ch eck would require co m plete dupli-
th e co ur t co ns id ered the sea l o n th e d rawings a g ua ra n te e of th eir acc u racy and I 11 1,"1 01' the a nalysis. O bvio us ly, if yo u co m plete ly redo th e work, it is app ro-
co n forma nce with co des. But in a so me what different type of case, th e Supre me 1,11 /1 1(' for yo u to assum e responsibility for it.
Co urt o f Ca nad a ruled th at th ere is some roo m for e rro r; per fecti on is not esse n-
tia l: "The sea l attests tha t a q ua lified eng ineer pr epared th e d rawing. /I is not a 111m Pro f e s s io n a ls Collaborate
guara ntee o f acc uracy . The a ffixa tion o f th e sea l, wi th out more, is ins ufficient
II 111 1(' e ngineer o r geoscie n tis t ha s pr epared a d ocum ent or drawin g a m i
to foun d liabilit y for neg ligen t mi srepresentati on." 19
111' 11her has appro ved it, then both sea ls sho uld be affixe d . If this is not pos-
Of co u rse, the best str ategy is to avo id th ese probl ems. Do not a ffix yo ur
IIIi,', or no t ex pe cte d , th en o n ly th e a p p ro ving e ng inee r o r ge osc ie n tis t
seal to a d ocu m ent unl ess yo u a re willin g to ac ce p t res po ns ibility for it based
lu urhl sea l it. Th is seal indicat es that he or she takes resp on sibility for th e
o n ade q ua te kno wledge o f th e d o cum ent a n d o f th e pr oj ect to whi ch it
oI'" llIlIe n t or dr aw in g. Where final dr awings co ve r more than o ne di scipline,
a pplies, a nd yo u r reaso nab le jud gm ent th at th e d o cum ent is cor rec t, co m-
II I' typically recommended th at th e dr awings be sea led by th e a p proving
plete, a nd with in yo u r fie ld of expert ise.
1I1o\I III'e r o r geoscien tis t (typi cally til e proj ect leader) an d by th e d esign cng i-
111 '1'1 and/or geoscie n tis t for eac h di scip lin e. The sea ls sho uld be "qualified" by
Checking Documents III vxplanato ry note that indicat es clearly eac h person 's area o f resp onsibility.
Mos t Act s a llow p rof ession al s to sign a nd sea l d o cum ent s th at th ey have
"ch ecked ," but "ch eckin g" has man y mean in gs. In parti cular, do not co n fuse t1 IHtrls an d Multiple Drawings
"c hecking" wit h '~ n n i rif" For exa m ple, a co lleag ue 1~1 a y as k yo u to sca n a IlIdl vldua l pages o f a rep o rt (a nd d rawings bound into a rep ort) need not be
docum ent for o bv io us erro rs. You mi ght do thi s as a SIm ple co ur tesy, but a , d"d , provi de d th e report as a wh o le ha s been signe d, sea led, a nd dated . Th e
sca n is n ot a c he ck an d is not a n ass u m pt io n o f responsibility. You would no t , " I Is usua lly placed o n the title page near the author's nam e, o r at the end
sign or sea l a docu me n t th at yo u m ere ly sca n ned. Wh en th e co lleag ue signs, II III, ' report is in th e form o f a letter.
seals, a nd dates th e docu me nt, th e co lleague assu mes full resp onsibility for it, III la rge p roject s, th e nu mber o f d ocum ents th at mu st be sea led m ay be
whethe r or no t yo u scan ne d it. , I V large. It is not usu ally n ecessary to sea l eve ry d etail drawing on large
As a ru le, if a nyo ne asks yo u to "ch eck a nd sea l" a d ocum ent tha t was no t 11111 ru ral pro jects, wh ich may h ave th ou sands o f details. However, th e draw-
prepar ed u nd er yo ur direc t su perv isio n, th en yo u must ana lyze it sufficien tly 11111' mu st be prep ared under a n eng ineer's co n trol and su pe rvisio n, and he o r
to ens u re th at it is co rrect before ass u m ing resp on sibility for it. The foll owing III ' assu me s resp on sib ility for th em wh eth er th ey a re sea led o r n o t. For
two sce na rios a re co m mo n ly e ncou ntered : 1IIIIIple, the speci a l case o f struc tu ra l steel is d escrib ed in O n ta rio's guideline
• Request from a fr icnd . Un lice nsed pr act iti on ers o fte n ask p rofes- '" 11\(., lise of th e sea l:
sio na ls to check and sea l do cu m ent s to avoid th e cost o f a full technical n" III'rally applicable design det ails developed by manufacturers or sta ndards organiza-
ana lysis. For exa m ple, a friend who is an e ng ineering or geosc ience grad- 111111::, verified by testin g and/ or approved by govern ment bodies, do not need to be
uate, b ut is no t licen sed , ap proaches yo u. She asks you, as a favo u r, to o.ilcd. However, det ails or subsyste m designs produced by manufacture rs or contrac tors
c hec k, sign , a nd sea l a n engin ee ring or geoscie'1ce d raWing to sat isfy 1111 specific projects, or applications th at require professional engin eering design or judq-
muni cipal bylaws. She ass u res yo u th at th e dr awing is co m plete ly co rrect IIIYll t , needed for coordination by th e design engineer, must be sealed, to ensure th ere
and th at yo ur signat u re an d sea l a re mere fo rma lit ies. II consistent deline atio n of design respon sibility for aU aspects of th e work.
116 e il AP I LIl6 • flas ic CO IIC." ," .S oj irr oj ass ion«! Pi nct ir» 11/
PART TWO· PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
For structural steel shop drawings, the building design engineer designs th e members 11101 pro cess th e do cument as a prof ession al co u rtesy. However, auth oriti es
and overall stability system and is responsible to indicat e member connection forces as t1 W II V ~ give un seal ed d ocum ent s close r sc rut iny to find o t he r ove rsigh ts.
required by professional practice standards. Structural steel detailers use this informa-
tion to produce shop details and connections for the steel members. Many of th e con-
nections use standard details from the Canadian Institute of Steel Co nstruction (CISC) I/O MOT ION T O SPECIALIST OR MANAGER
handbook, which have been developed over time by qualified enqineers.j? 1II 1I Il'ssio n ai e n g in ee r o r geoscie n t is t ma y be p rom oted at an y tim e,
However, th e gu ide line warn s th at co n nec tio ns ma y appear to be sim ila \I 1"'lllling o n a b ility a n d promotion opportunities. Howev er, ab out seve n o r
to sta n da rd co n nectio ns, but n ot real ly id enti cal. So, as a rule, all sho p draw IHIII yea rs of ex pe rie nce is usually n eed ed (o n ave rage ) to su pe rvise o t he r
in gs sho u ld be sca led, o r acco m pa n ied by a sca led letter to th e huildlng desig r I'll d l ' ,~ l ona l s . The ti tl e m ay va ry (fo r exa m p le, pr oj ect e ng inee r, gro u p lead er,
e ng inee r listing the drawings a nd sta ti ng th at a ll detail drawin gs wer e pre II ~ lI p l' r v i s i n g geo log ist) but th e po sit ion co rres po n ds to Level Din th e
par ed a n d review ed under th e co n nec tio n d esign e ng inee r's su pe rv isio n . II '1llllIsilJility leve ls di scu ssed ea rlie r. The promotion path s di ver ge a t l.ev el D,
I, 'illing eit he r to spe cia lizatio n o r management. Thi s important divergen ce is
Sea l Security Iliit'li mes subt le, so be awa re of it.
The sea l is importan t; it mu st be o bta ine d from th e Assoc ia tio n , must be ke l'!~
in a sec u re place, a nd must n ot be dupli cat ed or lent to an yon e who mi ght us I'" d llll z a t ion versus Management
it in a n un authori zed way. Unli cen sed pra ctitioner s occas io n a lly make and us ,'re 11\L1 I ATION Specia lists ar c essentia l. All technical co m pa n ies need hi ghl y
illegal sea ls, and th e Asso ciati on s prosecut e thi s pra cti ce, under th e Act . 11I ,t1 II1I'd ex pe rts to give ad v ice to o t he r profession al s, so lve d ifficult prob-
In th e past , th e (u nsea led) m ast er co p ies o f drawings wer e usuall y kept in It 1I 1 ~ , mak e d iscove ries, and cr eate a n d anal yze the new p rodu ct s th at ge n-
a sec u re file, a n d prints o f th e ma st er dra wings wer e sca led by h and, as t hey I II " profi ts. Em p loyers must d evel op th em through tr ainin g a nd ex pe rie nce.
wer e issu ed. Thi s pro cedure, which is sti ll in use by so me professional s, mai n I " 11'1 :Iln t h ese spec ia lists (esp eci ally th e ex perts w ho achi e ve wo rld -class
tain s sec u rity whil e keeping draw in gs up-to-date, since th e m ast er s ar c eas ily Ii " I ~ ), sa la ries a n d benefits m ust match (or exceed ') th o se o f m an ager s. The
locat ed wh en revision s ar c n eed ed . I 1'1 1':1 1spec ialist gives advice and so lves p robl em s in an "a t m os p he re o f free-
Howev er, in recent yea rs, Associati on s haverecogni zed th at elec tron ! 1I 11111.ln g c rea tivity."
d ocum ent s have th e sa m e legal sta tus as paper d ocuments, so elec tro n ic seal
a nd s igna tures a re no w a p p roved for use . The rul es fo r sca ling elect ro n ic doZ· INIIlII ENGINEERING SPECIALIST Und er administrative and/or high technical direction, works
um ent s a rc th e sa me as for paper docum ent s, a lthou gh, of co u rse, th e secu I' 01senior engineer specialist or consulta nt in a particular field of engineering devel-
rity p rob lem s ar e more d ifficu lt. Electron ic d o cum en ts ca n be mu c h mar 1I111 11l!llt or research. Participates in planning, organizes work methods and procedures.
eas ily a lte red o r co p ied . Se ver al co m pa n ies have develo pe d sec ur ity m ethods M,lkes independent decisions within own sphere, usually exercising technical authority
to p rot ect d ocum ents stored as co m p u te r files, so if yo u or yo u r e m p loyer a r IIVI" a small group of engineer specialists. . .. Gives technological advice and direction
III 01 group of professional specialists. Wi th an appreciation of the necessity of main-

using e lec t ro n ic sea ls and signa tu res, make su re that yo u r co m pu te r secu rity
is adeq ua te to protect th em . Mor e information is a va ila b le o n thi s topi c fro II I 1I11111 11U an atmosphere of freethinking creativity, outlines difficult problems and methods
th e Associati on s. (Sec Web ad d resses in Appendi x A.) III .rpprcach. . . . 22
~ l lI n il ge m e n t duties ar c usu all y minor, but spec ia liza tio n requires a hi gh

Failin g t o Sea l Documents
I• •11II! tec h n ica l kn o wled ge . An adva nced d egree is a definite asse t to th e spc-
1U I?!.Y ing a seal does n ot in cr~l ~e~h e ~ ho~"s l e~al ..Q!:.J!r~fes~ onal l iabi~y, "," hi, especially in hi gh-technology indu stries. If spec ia liza t io n is yo u r go a l,
and o m itt ing th e sea l d ~es n ot reliev e th e auth or o f a ny liabilit y. "The co urts Ii 11' lill' yo u r techni ca l pr ob lem -so lvin g skills, lea rn your spec ia lty's co des
ass ign liability o n th e basis o f th e fact s, not o n wh ether th e d o cum ent i~ 111 01 \ Ia nd a rds , join th e spec ia lty's technica l society, and attend (and co n -
sea led ." z i However, o m itti ng th e sea l is a vio la tio n of th e Act, a n d a lt ho ugh "11111 11' to) ils co n fe re n ces. (Tec h n ica l soc iet ies a re di scu ssed in C h a p te r 5.)
it is not se rio us, di sciplin e cases o fte n includ e this c ha rge, because the mi ssi nu
y~a.L!Jla Y cor ro bora te a pattern o f prof essional mi sconduct. t1 I\GEMENT Co m pa n ies a lso n eed good manager s, and a basic degree in
Ap p ro va l authoriti es (su ch as muni cipa l buildin g permit o ffic ia ls) ro u- " HI III'I'rin g or geoscience is a good preparation , es pec ially for hi gh -tech indus-
tin ely reject un sealed docum ent s. Occas io na lly, h owev er, th ey ma y accept all ltll ' ~ , u o wcvc r, m anagem ent m ean s working closely w ith people, so good int er-
un seal ed d o cum ent if th e a u t ho r is clearl y id entifi ed as a licen sed pr ofes- I" l ~lIn ill skills a rc esse n tial. For exa m p le, th e m anager makes key decision s ill
sio na l. They m ay ass u me th at th e mi ssin g sea l is a sim ple cleri cal oversigh t, III' "\ I'lectio n , d evel opment, ratin g, di scipline and termin ati on o f sta ff."
CiiAP I Ell6 • liosi c Conccin s o] I',o!essiol/ol /' ,I/ C/; C("
11c
118 PAilr I WO • I'IWrE SSIONAL PllACTICE
ENGINEERING/ GEOSCIENCE MANAG ER Manages a large staff, administe rs and coordinate s AIlLE 6.3 _ A Co m pa riso n of Management Styles
several professional, sub-professional and/o r mechanical trades functions... . Makes
decisions regarding the selection, development. rating, discipline and te rmination of f\ lllllagcmcnt St yle Typi cal Examplc
staff. Reviews and evaluates tec hnical work. Selects, schedules and coordinates to atta in Manager treats employees as colleagues, and permits
I ,"h 'gial
program objectives. . .. 23 th em to function independ entl y, within agreed terms of
reference. (Based o n Theo ry Y)
Man ager s mu st h av e " peo p le" s kills . T hese skills ca n be d eveloped Man ager defines goals, but asks employees to suggest
1(':lIIl·Orient ed
through per son al st udy a n d pr acti ce. How ev er, in recent yea rs, formal cduca solutions, and guides th em to a group decision .
tion ha s become a popular ro u te to m anagcm ent. >' A m ast er's d egr ee in bu sI Manager present s the problem, obtains ideas and
1I ,I"ractive
n ess ad m in ist ra tio n (M BA) is see n as a fast tr ack to se n io r m-an agemclll , suggestions from employees, and th en proposes decision .
because ail Mil A teac h es th e m aria gem ent a n d finan cial skills th at e nginecr~ Man ager present s tentative decision to employees, invites
11" '1'01 islve
a n d geoscien t ists usu all y n eed . Seve ra l un iver siti es o ffer " mod u la r" MBA pro qu estion s and discussion . Decision is final on ly after
g ra ms th at st ude n ts ca n co m p lete while co n tin u ing to work. discussion .
Man ager present s decision , and explains it to employees,
1',IIl'll1 al
but will cha nge decision only if th ere arc serious
Choo si n g a Man agement Style objectio ns.
Man ager makes decision and explains it to employees.
A basic st udy o f m anagement s kills is inter esting a n d ma y be useful. Douglas \ ' 11horitarian
Man ager instructs employees. (Based on Theory X)
McGr egor was th e first research er to ex p lain m anagem ent th eory in a popu lar f\ lIl1 lary
way. In hi s classic book , h e d escribed th e two ex t re mes o f m an agem ent style:
Theo ry X and Theor y Y. These theori es d efin e th e m an ager 's v iew o f human
n a t ur e, whi ch is at th e root o f th e m an agem ent sty le: III a profess io n a l e n v iro n me n t, su ch as a d esign o ffice, th e m ana ger
Ii,nill! ad o pt a co lleg ia l o r team-ori ented m anagement sty le . Howev er, a n
) Theory X~ Theory X stat es that work is basically distasteful to most people and that 1I 11111111ta ria n sty le m ay be need ed, occasio na lly- fo r exa m p le, to in sist t ha t
)
people will avoid it whenever possible. Therefore, employees must be closely monitored II; 'i y fea tur es be added to a d esign . A good man ager adju st s to th e sit ua tio n
and controlled. Furthermore, th ey must be made to work by th reatening or penalties, or I II ,' II SII I"C t ha t th e goa ls ar e ac h ieved.
by turing th em with rewards.
1 Theory Y~Theory Y states that people are naturally inclined to work and merely need
favourabte working conditions in order to be productive. Furthermore, psychological fac-
IlI\ CU SSI ON TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Tile Co des o f Ethics for p rovincial Asso ciation s all co n ta in the clau se
tors such as perceived control over one's activities and opportunit ies for creative work
Illat th e e ng inee r o r geoscie n tis t mu st co ns ide r the h ealth , sa fety, and
are important for proper motivatio n. If property motivated , employees will produce
welfa re o f th e publi c to be param ount, yet an other clau se sta tes that the
beyond expectations.P
profess io na l e ng inee r or geoscien tis t sho u ld be lo yal to th e e m p loyer.
(Tile Co des o f Ethics a re included in AppendiX II and a re ava ila b le o n th e
McG regor recommend ed th at m ana ger s ado p t Th eor y Y. In fact, most
111 \ c rn c t.) 1n so me sit uati on s, these tw o clauses co u ld co me into co n flic t.
m an ager s today wo u ld say th ey tr y to fo llo w thi s th eor y. The "bes t" m anage-
Pot" e xa m p le, a n e m p loye r mi ght as k th e e nginee r o r geoscie n tis t to
m ent sty le d ep ends o n th e sit ua tio n: a sty le that works in a so ftware d esign
design piping that would di schar ge untreat ed wa stew at er int o a publi c
o ffice ma y not be ef fec tive in managin g a poli ce force, a fire fighting sq uad,
n ec k. In suc h sit ua tio ns, what is the pr oper co u rse o f acti on for the pro-
or eve n a co ns t ruc t io n site. The best m an agem ent sty le d ep ends o n the per-
lession al"? (Thi s typ e o f e th ical co n flict is di scu ssed in more det ail lat er
so na lity and maturit y o f th e m an ager ; the typ e o f co rpo ratio n; th e initiative,
c rea t ivity, ed uca tio n , or skill level o f th e e m p loyees; a n d th ei r willingness to III this text. )
Til e di scuss io n o f management sty les in thi s c h a pte r impli es that auth or -
ac h ieve the co rpo ra tio n 's goa ls.
ltnrlan m an ager s a re unabl e to m otivate their wo rke rs effec tively. Discu ss
Th e spec tru m o f m an agem ent sty les ran ges from th e co lleg ia l (w he re the
IIIis point. Is thi s n ecessaril y true? Machi avelli wo u ld h a ve di sa greed.
sty le is based e n tirely o n Theory Y) to th e military (base d on Theory X). O ne
Ilisto ry shows that m an y a ut ho ritar ia n m ana ger s h ave successfu lly m oti -
view o f thi s spect ru m is sh o w n in Tabl e 6.3. Most peopl e like th e co lleg ial
va ted th eir worker s (o r follower s) in th e pa st and m an y will likely do so
sty le best a n d th e militar y style least. Wh er e is yo u r m anagem en t sty le (o r
I" th e futur e. Whil e o ne m a y di sa gree with usin g authority (th a t is, fear )
yo u r futu re m an agem ent sty le) in thi s spec tru m?
120 PART TWO · PRO FESSIONAL PRACTICE
CIiAPTEll 6 • Btis ic Co nc cpt s o] i' rof e s s i o na! l'ract i ce 12 1
to m o t ivat e wo rkers, it d oes so me ti me s work. Discuss th e ben ef its a lld 1111 O n i arl o Soc iety o f Pro fession al Eng inee rs (OS PE), M em ber Ma rk el Com pensat ion
dl sad van ta ges o f a n au th or itar ia n m a n agem en t sty le, a nd give a 1'1'11' .'ill ll ll ll m y Report , OS PE Em p loye r Co m pe ns a tio n Su rve y, ava ila b le a t
exa m p les (jo bs or soc ial situatio ns) w here it m ig h t be m ost effec tive. " \ www.ospe.o n.ca» (May 16, 2008) .
a co n tras t, give a few exa m ples where it mi gh t be least effective. I" l F,n gine e rs Ca n ad a , "Execu tive Su m ma ry," National Survey otthc Cuuudian
1;lIs i ll eerillS Prof ession, 2002, O ttawa, p . 9, a va ila ble a t -cwww.e n g tnce rsca nacla.
3. Th e fo llowi ng qu esti on s co nce rn man agem ent ideas: ('a/e/ files/ su rveysu lll lll a ry200 2 .pd f> (lun c IS, 2009).
a. Two w e ll-know n " laws" in m an agem ent a re Parkin son 's Law a nd 111 11 ( :ana d ia n So cie ty for Pro fession al En g in eer s (CS PE) website a t -cwww.cspe.ca»
(May 16, 20(8 ).
Pete r's Prin ciple. Par kin son 's law sta tes: "Wo rk ex pands to fill th e tinn- 1I I1 r i ntn rlo Soc ie ty o f Pro fession al Eng inee rs (OS PE) website a t -cwww.o spc.o n .ca»
ava ila b le." Pet er's Prin cipl e sta tes: "Peo ple are prom ot ed wi thi n all (Ma y 16, 20 08 ).
orga n iza tio n until th ey reach th ei r level of incompet en ce." Using tl1(' I I 'I l'i1 e Na tio n a l Soc iety o f Prof ession al En gi n eer s (NS I'E) website a t
In te rn et o r yo ur libra ry, find th e so urces of eac h of these "laws" and ww w.n spe.o rg> (M ay 16, 20 08 ).
I I" Til e Assoc iati o n o f Pro fession al Eng inee rs, Geo log ists a n d Geo p hysicists of
ex pla in th em in mor e det a il. Do yo u agree that th ey a re u ni versally (or
Alberta (AI'EGG A), Guidel i ne {in Et hica! Pract ice, june 20 05, p . 9, a va ilab le a t
eve n w idely) tr ue'! Ca n yo u find a ny ex am ples w here th ey m ay a ppl; www.a pegga .or g/ Me lll be rs/ Pu h lica t io n s/ g u id e lin es. h tlll l> (M ay 16, 200 8).
in pu bl ic life, in yo ur personal life, o r in yo ur em ploy me n t'? I I I I l' io fcssio na l Eng in ee rs O n ta rio (PEO), Usc or III I' I' mli'ssiollol Engi neer's 51'0 1, J ul y
b. T h e p reside n t o f a fam o us co m p ute r m anu facturing co m pa n y h DOS, p. 18, ava ila b le a t -cwww.peo.o n .ca» (M ay 16, 20( 8 ).
a lleged 10 have sa id : "We tr y to pro m o te people with out m akiru: " '11 Ik Sll lo l iOlI 94 1, Sec tio n 53, under th e Profession al En gin ee rs Ac t, RSO 1990 ,
, . I'. 28, ava ila b le a t <ww w.e-laws.go v.o n .ca/ in d ex .h tm l> (Ma y 16, 2( 0 8 ).
t he m in to ma na ge rs." Discuss thi s co nce pt, briefly. Do yo u think thl:
111,1 l'rofcss io na l En gi n ee rs O n ta rio (I'EO), Use ofl hc l'mli~ssirll1ol Ells i lleer\ Seal , p . 7.
is a positi ve sta te me n t a bo ut havin g du al prom oti on path s for sp« II I Ihld ., p. 8.
c ia lists and man ager s, o r is it a negati ve sta tem en t abo ut m an agers'! I I tIl q Uilte d in J, M. Ma cEw ing, " Lega l Sig n ifica nce o f th e En gin ee r's Sea l," Canadian
I :oll slI l t illg Ells ill eel; July- Au gu st 1996, p . 8 .
Ad d it io na l assign me n ts ca n be fo und in Append ix E. tlll i LM. Ma cEwi ng , "Lega l Sig n ifica nce o f th e En gin eer 's Sea l."
1'''1 l'ltl fcssion a l En g in ee rs O n ta rio (PEO), Use of th e l 'roicssion u! Ells illeer ~~ Seal , p . 20 .
NOTES I II Ihld ., p. 19 .
I 'I I\ \sllc ia tio n o f Profession al Eng in ee rs a n d Geosc ien tists o f Briti sh Co lum b ia
II I T h e Assoc ia tio n o f Pro fessio n al Eng ine e rs a nd Ge oscien tists o f Briti sh Co lu m bia (/\I ' EG BC) , Sam ple Bcnclnnark ElI/ ll loYlI/c lI 1 D escri p tions /uu ! Co rrespond ing Rating»,
(APEG BC), "Sa tisfa c tory En g in ee ring Ex per ie n ce G Uid e lines," Ap pe n d ix to 1'. 5, a va ila b le a t -cw ww.a pcg .bc.ca» (M ay 16, 20( 8 ).
I l pp /i Cl/l iol1 Gu ide l in M ellliJersll ip , Janu ar y 20 08, p . 2 1, av a ila b le a t II Ihld ., p , 6 .
<w ww.a peg.bc.ca> (May 16, 2( 0 8 ). " ~1. G lad we ll, "T h e Tale nt My th ," 'l 'l1e N ew Yor ker, Jul y 22 ,2002, p . 28.
121 T h e Asso ci a tion o f Pro fession a l Eng ine e rs, Geo logists an d Ge o p hysic ists o f I " Illlug las McG regor: T h eo ry X a n d T h eory Y," Business: The Ultima te Resource,
Albe rta (APEGG A), Expcricttc« Requirement, [or Licensure, 1999 (revi sed Februa ry l'vrscus Books G ro u p, Ca m b rid ge , UK, 20 0 2, pp. I0 22-102:t
2( 0 8 ), p . 6, ava ila ble a t <w w w.a pegga .or g/ Me m be rs/ Pu b lica tio n s/ sa la rysu rvey.
ht ml > (May 15, 2( 08 ).
1]1 Ca n ad ia n Eng in eering Q ua lifica tio n s Boa rd , a com m ittee o f Engi n ee rs Ca n ad a
(for m erly th e Ca n ad ia n Co u n c il o f Professio na l Eng in ee rs), Nutional Guidcl ln« [o!
EIISil ll' er-i l /· '/)"ail lil IS, O t tawa , av a ila b le a t <w ww.e n g in eersca n ad a .ca/ e/ files/ ErI';
wi th .pdf> (Ju n e IS, 2( 09). Rep roduced w it h p erm issio n fro m Eng inee rs C a nad a.
14 1 Professio nal Eng in ee rs O n tar io (1'1'0), Guide 10 III I' Requi red Experience {ill'
Li cell si llS as a l'tofessianu! Eng ineer ill U nt u rin , Ja n uary 20 02 , p . 6, ava ila b le a t
<w ww.peo .o n .ca> (Ju n e 2 4, 20( 7).
15 1 T h e Asso ciat ion o f Professio na l En gin eer s, Geo log ists a n d Ge o p hy sic is ts o f
Alber ta (APEGG A), " De ta iled j ob C lassifica tio n G u id e, " Ap pe n d ix A o f report
2007 Va l li e o(1' roli'ssi()//(/1 Services, p . 70 , ava ila b le a t <ww w.a pegga .or g / Me m be rs/
Publi ca tio n s/ sa la rysurvey.ht m l> (Ma y 15, 2( 0 8 ).
16 1 T h e Associa tio n of Pro fession al Engin eer s, Geo logis ts a n d Geop hysic is ts o f
Albe rta (APEGGA), "200 7 Em p lo ye r Sa la ry Survey Highli gh ts" fro m th e re port
2007 Va/Ill' or l ' rol i'ssirlllol Services , ava ila b le a t <ww w.a pegga .o rg / Mc m bers/
Publi cat io ns/sa lar ysurvey.h tm l> (Ma y 15, 2008 ).
171 Asso cia t io n of Profess io n a l En gi ne e rs a n d Ge os c ie n tis ts o f Briti s h Co lu m b ia
(APEG BC) , AI' EG li C 2006 Co m pensat ion Survey, a n d A I'EGliC Online Elllp loYlll m l
/l espolI siiJilil)' Evaluu t ia n, a nd SOIllP/(' Benclnn ark Emp loy m ent Descriptions A m !
Corn'sf!oll d iI1S /la liIlSs, ava ila b le a t <ww w.a peg .bc.ca» (May 16, 20 ( 8 ).
apt er 7
I' ivate Practice, Consulti ng,
ind Business
, ,"III1I Sl y, eng inee rs and geosc ien tis ts in "priva te p ractice " offer th eir se rvices
I , 1111 ' pub lic. Th ey m ay ad opt th e titl e o f Co ns u lt ing Eng inee r, Co ns u lt ing
1'1 " rl c n tist, o r sim p ly Co ns ulta n t. Privat e pra ctic e is e n t re p re ne u ria l, a n d
Iilk II has mo re risks th an em p loy me n t, it is usu all y more rewa rding. T hi s

Ill plt'r is a n ov erv iew of priva te pra ct ice a nd co nsu lt in g, but most to pi cs
' I'ply 10 any techn ica l bu sin ess. T his c ha pte r e nco urages yo u to co ns ide r
1I11111g yo u r ca ree r in one of th ese ar ea s.
li N UL TI N G OPPORTUNITIES
I ''' il' slo na ls usu a lly e n te r private practi ce an d co ns u lti n g at th e peak o f a

" ' "I , Th e job va riety a n d cha llenges a re ver y attractive, a n d clients pay th e
" l'IIIl'I'r or ge osc ie n tis t ve ry we ll for advice . Moreove r, th e fie ld is not
' " vil l'd, but it is ve ry d em an din g- acqu irin g kn owled ge a nd ex peri en ce may
I I, l'l'ars o f practi ce, a nd co ns u lta nt s must co m pe te fo r new proj ect s, n ew
lit 1I1 ~ , or new product s. In sp ite of th e attractions of private practi ce a nd

'" 1I11 111 g, o n ly a minority o f en ginee rs a nd geoscie n tists pr acti se in th ese
I I • .I S Ihe fo llo wing sta t istics show :
urvey of pr acti sing e ng inee rs an d geoscien tis ts revea led th at 82 percen t

" I Ihe 27, 108 resp ondent s wer e perman ent e m p loyees . O n ly 9 per cent
\ 0'11 ' sel f-em p lo yed , a lth o ug h a n add itiona l 3 .8 percent h ad sho rt-te rm o r
1I1l'lcct co n t racts. '

III OOS, C a n a d a had a bo u t 160, 000 p rofession al e n g in ee rs, b u t on ly
,11 11 11 11 600 co ns u lting en gin eerin g firm s (incl ud ing so le proprie to rs h ips,
p.u t ncrs h ips, a nd co rpo ratio ns). Mo st m em ber finn s em p loyed few er t ha n
IO, pcop le.2
l hvsc nu m be rs impl y th at o n ly a sm a ll fracti on o f pra ctition ers a re sl'l f.

"' ltI " I'd own ers, partn ers, o r "prin cipal s" o f a pri vat e practi ce. Man y read e rs
0'1' a ll o p po rtu n it y h ere.
CIIAI' I CR 7 • Pri vat e Pra ctice, Co nsutt inq , allrl (JlIsill ess
124 PART TWO ' PROFESSIONAL PRA CTICE
C O N SU LT I N G ACTIVITIES • I I e by Pa r t nersh i ps or Corporation s
Th e co ns u lti ng e n g inee r o r geoscie n tis t is usua lly an adv iso r to a cli ent (an lm l II I'll lvln ces a nd te rri tories (excep t Q ue bec) req u ire firm s (co m pa n ies , pa rt-
I Iilps, or co rpor a tio ns ) o ffe ring se rv ices to the public to hav e an addit iona l
vid ua l or co m pa ny) w ho needs adv ice o n a d esign, d evel opment, m an ageuu-n
III I ' , T he Assoc iat io ns ca ll th e licence a " Perm it to Practi se, " a "C e rt ifica te
r~ u rce s , or cons t ruct io n p roj ect. T h e cli en t assu m es t h e risk fo r the en terprl I
I uthort zatio n," or a "Certi fica te o f Co m plia nce." Thi sTicence p ro tec ts the
bu t th e co ns u lta n t's adv ice a nd skills in crease t h e likelih o od of success.
Co ns u lti n g e nginee rs pr ovide a ver y b road range o f se rv ices to th e p ul"l 1I1 I11 b y req u irin g firm s to id entify th e pr ofessionals responsibl e fo r the firm 's
I Inl'l'rin g a n d /or ge oscie n ce work, a n d by e ns ur ing that they a re qualified .
as t he list o f t h e Assoc ia t io n o f C a n a di a n Engin eerin g Com pa n ies (AC I'1
m e mbe r firm s s hows . C iv il en g inee ring is p robabl y t h e lar gest single specialt II 1111 11 m us t d esignate the fu ll-ti m e e m p lo yee(s) of th e fir m w ho su pervise
I tl III Il 'pt res po ns ib ility for the professional practi ce. Th ese e m plo yees must
b u t th e ACE C m embe rs provide ad v ice and assi st an ce fo r a lmos t any ty pl' I
pro ject. T h e ta sks m o st o fte n req u ired are 110 «used a n d mu st be qu alifi ed to provid e the se rv ice . Th e p e rmit (or
111111,11 1') list s their na mes, a nd h olds them resp onsibl e for t he quality o f the
• En gi n eer i n g a d vice. Mo st co ns u lt in g e ng ine e rs work o n speci fic pllOl III 1011al se rv ice.
ccts, in d es ign , develo p m e n t, in sp ect ion , testing, qua lit y co n t ro l, mall It I I prov in ces a n d territories perm it licen sed individ ua ls (so le propri-
agem ent, a n d so o n . Someti mes a cli ent m ay require a fo re ns ic ana lysis I " I It I o ffe r se rv ices to th e public, but t h er e a re two exce p t io n s: O n ta rio
a d evice o r st ruc t ure tha t h as fa ile d . III I 1111< \ i\ PG O ) a n d Newfou n d la n d a n d Labrador (PEG-NL) req ui re individ-
• Ex pert testi m ony. An ex pe rt witness p ro vides a n independent opinku I II I ) of fer se rv ice s to t he public to ha ve a Ce rti ficate o f Authorization (o r
to a co ur t, co m m iss io n, board, h earing, o r sim ila r gove rn m e n t or [udhl: '"11 1), III O n ta rio , this ce rt ific a te requires a minimum o f fiv e yea rs o f rel e-
body. An ex pe rt w it ness must be imparti a l, a n d mu st n ot be II I, pl'ri en ce.
spokespe rso n fo r e it he r s id e (eve n if o n ly one side is pa ying fo r the ex pl'l
testimon y),
I I" lion a s a Consulting Engineer
• Fea si b i lit y st u dies. Con su lta n ts a re useful in th e pr eli m in ar y stages II
a pr o jec t, w he n a cli e n t requ ires gu ida nce as to t h e fea sibil it y, fina nrl I'lltll'~ ~ i Ollal e ng inee r in pri vate pr a cti ce m a y use th e titl e C o n su lt in g
justificati on, durati on, and co st o f th e pr o ject. The co n su lta n t h elps Iii II 1111 I'r ill mos t o f Ca n ad a . Howev er, in O n ta rio , thi s titl e (o r a ny variation
cl ie n t d ecide w het h e r t o go a hea d w it h th e p roj ect. 111 1 1111 ' sa m e m eanin g) is restr ict ed under th e Pro fessiona l Eng in eer s Act
• Detail d esi gn. Ma n y cons u lti ng e ng inee rs a re skilled in d e ta il des igll III u lu ). To be a co ns u lt ing e n g inee r in O n ta rio, a licen sed p ro fe ssiona l
T h is in clud es p reparing d raw in gs, spec ifica ti o ns , and co n tra ct docu me n t 1111 1'1 must a p p ly to Professional Eng in ee rs O n ta rio (PEO) a n d sa t isfy sev-
• Specialized d esign. So m e co n sulta n ts specia lize in cus to m des ig n all 1lll l'dl' l'me n ts:
d eve lop m ent, suc h as ma n ufact u ri n g p ro cesses, mac h in e d esign , mi ni n " I hurizat i on. T he e nginee r must o b ta in a Ce rti fica te o f Authorization
and sim ila r a reas. Co nsu lti n g e n g inee rs m ay work in d epende n tl y, or 111.1
IIOI IIII'F.O.
work a lo n gside th e cl ie n t's in -house staff. Co n su lta n ts m ay a lso he lp I IIC'I'i en cc. Co n su lt in g e n g inee rs must ha ve fiv e ye a rs' ex pe rie nce in
d evel op in ventions o r p repare patents. Idtlil ioll to tha t required fo r registr ation. Al least tw o yea rs of this ex peri-
• Project m a n a gement. Co ns u lti n g e ng inee rs com mon ly supervise pro ]
III " must be in p rivate p racti ce.
cc ts , includ in g th e d es ign, m anufa cturin g , co ns tr uc tio n , or asse m hl I I II lily i n su r a n ce. The e n ginee r must g ive PEO evide n ce o f liability
ph ases of a p roj ect , or th e com m iss io n ing (in itia l sta rt- u p) o f a la rge plant
III 111 ,!lIce.
In su m m a ry, e ng ineers a nd ge oscien t ists in p rivate pr acti ce per form a ll
task that requires professional kn o wl ed ge. T hey us ua lly d o so o n behalf 0 1 .11 . y Ins u r a n ce Requirements
cl ient w ho lack s th e per sonn el o r th e ex pe rtise to co n d uc t the wo rk .
I IIIII ~' In o t h e r words, being sue d-is a g rea te r risk for co n su lt a n ts than
l llllilo yces. As a result, liability in surance (a lso ca lled "erro rs a n d o m is-
A DDITIONAL LI C EN SING AND I N SU R A N C E REQUIREMENTS II n Insura nce) is esse n t ia l for p rof essionals in p rivate pra cti ce. The law text
11 11I1l'1s a nd Sa n de rs h a s a n ex te n sive sectio n o n lia b il it y in surance, a nd

In mo st pr o v in ces, p rof essio na l e nginee rs or ge o scien ti sts ma y o ffe r thei r sc rv
II " Iwc n t he m o st co m pe te n t p rofession al s ge t sue d , so me ti mes for IHl
ices to the p ub lic w it hou t add itiona l licensin g. Ho weve r, a ll provin ces a lit!
Iitl I I nso n . T he co st o f d e fending a fri vol ous cla im c a n be e no rmo us .":'
te rrit ori es (ex ce p t Q ue bec ) impo se ru les o n pa rtner ships o r cor pora t io n s th .u
tllllll ln sura nce typ icall y includes a duty to d efend, That is, if the profl'S
o ffe r se rv ices to th e public. No two Acts a re id ent ica l on a ll issu es, as Sh OWl1
II tI I sue d , the in sur e r pays t he lega l bills.
in t h p f n l l()w in u o v r-rv ir-w.
- --- - - -
126 PART TWO · PROFESS IO NAL PRAC TICE CHAPTER 7 • Privat e Practi ce. CO ll su//;lIg . tuu! Ilu s ill , 17 /
In spite o f th is risk, o n ly a few o f the Acts require co ns u ltan ts to maiut .rlt former e m ployees o f cons u lt ing firm s th at no longer ca rry in suran ce,
p rofession al liability in suran ce. Seve ra l Act s do n ot m en tion liability in xru ret irees, fo r past p rof e ssion al act s,
an ce, and so m e Acts require it for partn erships and cor po ratio ns, but cxc uu grat u ito us or incid ental advice g ive n to oth er s o u ts ide o f n o rm al
so le pr opri etors. T h e fo llo wing su m ma ry ex pla in s th is co n fusing ha xh • vmployrn en r,
rul es. Yo u sh o uld check th e liability in suran ce rul es for yo ur Assoc iat io n. ' sma ll co nsult ing job s (u p to $2,000 in fees) undertaken o u tsid e o f normal
co u rse, befor e co m m it ti n g yo u rself to pri vat e pr acti ce. employ me n t ."
• Quebec (O IQ and O GQ): Liability in suran ce is Th e seco nda ry in surance coverage is rather nar row, since it does not cov er
members. 11 11Ionligh ting" ac tiv ities where th e fee excee ds $2, 000, nor do es it co ver pro-
• Uritish Co l umb ia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan: Liability ill\lll I, o na ls wo rking for companies without primary protecti on . Nev ertheless,
a nce is not m andator y, but m embers, licen sees, a n d ce rt ifica te hold ,'. 'I u nd ary co verage provides an ext ra layer of protecti on to th e public, so it is
mu st n o tify cl ie n ts in writi ng w he th er profession a l liability ins uram uu h ha ving if th e premium s are reasonable. G ro u p coverage in creases parti e-
cove rs th e se rv ices offered, a n d recei ve th e cli ent 's ac kno w led g mvu Ip,i1lon and reduces premium co sts. Information o n th e in sur an ce ag reeme n t,
befor e p roceed: ng. II' vrage, restrictio ns, a n d excl usio ns is available from your Associati on.
• Ontario (PEO and A I»G O) : Liability in suran ce is m andatory III
Cert ifica te o f Au t ho rizatio n holder s (a nyo ne who o ffe rs serv ice to Iii I I CTI N G A BUSI NESS FORMAT
pu blic), unl ess th ey notify clients in writing that no profession al liabl lll
i o usultin g firm (or any other bu sin ess) must have a recognized bu sin ess
in suran ce co ve rs th e se rvices offer ed , a nd receiv e th e cli ent's ac kno wkxu
1111( tu re. The fo llo wing overv iew ex pla in s th e four m o st co m mo n st ruct ures,
mcnt before p roceeding.
uul IIl l' law text by Sam ue ls a nd Sande rs di scu sses th e ad va n tag es and di sad -
• New Urunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador: Liability insurant
Ililag 'So f th e st ruc tures in more detai l." Of co u rse, befor e yo u sta rt a ny bu si-
is no t m andat ory. The Act au tho rizes bylaw s for liabi lity in surance, 111 11
III , yo u sho u ld di scu ss the business st ruc t u re, lega l restricti on s, a nd tax
the bylaws ar e silen t.
IllI plll'atio ns with a lawyer.
• Northwest Te r r it ories, Nova Scotia (APENS and APGNS), Nusrav u },
Prince Edward Island, and Yu k o n : Liability insurance is voluntary. 'Iii It I PROPRIETORSHIP A sol e propri et orship- is a on e-p erson bu sin ess. It is
Act does no t m ention it. 1 lI y csta bllsh cd-i- t hc -prop riet;;:-(~ ~er) 7i m p /y regi sters th e bu siness nam e
Reg a rd less o f th e Act's requirem ents for liabilit y in suran ce in y01l1 IIII IIll' p rov incia l or territorial govern m en t. Th e bu sin ess setu p a nd m an -
p rovin ce o r territo ry, yo u sho uld co ns ide r it esse n tia l if yo u plan to en te r p" " , 1III 'lit are sim p le, but the propriet or is resp onsible for all o f th e bu sin ess's
vate practi ce. IllIil lil lal debts and professional problem s. For exa m ple, if th e bu siness sho uld
1111 II I la rge d ebts, cred itors ma y su e to seize both th e proprietor'S bu siness and
"I ' " he r perso na l property.
Seco n d a r y Liabili ty Insurance
III\ L PART NERSHIP A partnership en ables professionals to sha re kr19wl-
In eve ry provin ce and territory (ex cep t O n ta rio), p rofessional eng ineers all I
II I I ".x pe ri<j.1ce, and frie n ds h ip . Two or more individua ls ca n ag ree to form
geoscie n tis ts parti ci pat e in a m andat o ry Seco n d a ry Liability ln sura ru
I Ilillllll'rshi p (pr eferabl y by a written agreement, but not necessaril y). Mo st
Program begun in March 2002.
11, " , th e part ne rs con t rib u te th e ca pita l to sta rt th e bu sin ess a n d ag ree to
Enginee rs Can ada ad m in iste rs th e insuran ce plan , whi ch pro vid es mc m
1I111 1i1 I-\I' lt toget he r. T hey th en sha re th e p rofits (and lo sses). Th e partn ers
ber s with $ 10 0, 000 in p rofessi on al liability co verage, plus an unlimi tv.I
11111 I Il'giste r the bu siness with the provin cial gove rn me n t (as for so le pro-
am o u n t o f re lated legal fees .
1111 III"h lps). Th e partners sh are the work, but eac h partner is liabl e for th e
Th e gro up po licy is "seco nda ry" becau se it is not th e main protecti on aga in I
III 1111' s deb ts o r o b liga tio ns in curred b y a ll the other partn ers. Th erefor e,
liability claims. Co nsultan ts (and d esign , manufacturing, and sim ilar co m pan ic )
1111 IIl 'opl ' involved mu st h ave absolu te co n fidence in o ne an other 's skills,
mu st maintain separate "prima ry" liability insuran ce for professional act ivitk
IlIilll'II'IlCe, et h ica l sta nd a rd s, and per sonalities before en tering a ge ne ra l
Seco ndary in suran ce typicall cov e rs p rofessional engineers and geo scie n tb l
I 1I llll'IQhl p. Erro rs, o m iss io ns, and fraudul ent act s by one partner in th e
~I re em ployees:-:il1e seco n"d.II"Y plan pro vid es protection for -
11111 III Ih ' pa rt nersh ip create a liability fo r th e innocent partn ers. In par-
• clai m s resul tin g from act ion s und erta ken as a n em plo yee in a n e ngl 1I 1i1 I, II a pa rt ner d oes unp rofession al wo rk, all partn ers who a u tho rized,
nccrin g po sitio n in a firm th at d oes not provid e enginee ring services III I 1II1 I1 It 'd , or even ac q u iesced in th e unp rof essional work m ay be su b ject 10
I , I "Ii II ' .
128 PflllT TWO. PIlOr ESSI ON flL Pllfl CTICE CHfl PTEll 7 • Priva te Pract ice, Co ns ult inq , an t! Busincss
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP Investor s form limited par tn ersh ips wh en o ne (or more) I STA N C E FOR CO N SU LT ANTS
of t he m does not wa n t to pa rticipate in run n ing th e bu sin ess. The general part -
C cllu ul t ing Enginee rin g O r ga n izat ions
ners ca rry o n th e bu sin ess; th e limited pa rtners con tribute assets for use in the
busine ss (typically m on ey, but so me times propert y, such as a build ing o r <I 1) 11 nn lzations devo ted to assisting cons ulting eng inee rs ex ist in every Canad ian
pat ent). The liability o f th e lim ited partn ers is rest ricted to t h e value of the I',"vlnce and territor y exce pt Nuna vut. Table 7.1 lists the names, location s, a nd
assets contril5 ut ecTlTclweve r, limi ted partn ers can no t interven e in th e bu si- \ (' j ixlt cs of th ese consu lting organ izatio ns.
ness's ope rations . You mu st register a limi ted partn ership (provin cia lly) to get Tile co nsu lti n g e ng inee ring o rga n iza tio ns in Tab le 7. 1 are vo lu n tar y
t his liability protection . If a gen eral partn er does unprofession al wor k, o n ly the i oup s tha t prom o te th e int erests of m embers .in several ways .
gene ral partn ers are requi red to an swer. Limited partn ers are not involv ed in Techn ica l and business information. Th ese o rgan izati ons pub lish a
th e day -today runn ing of th e partnership, a nd typi cally are not at risk.
wealth of in form ation o n key to pics- h ow to ope rate a profe ssiona l pra c-
lice, write con t racts a nd agreeme n ts, and so fo rth . The y pro vide sta nda rd
CO RPO RATI ON A corpo ratio n has man y o f th e rights o f a real perso n. For ro ntracts at a n o m ina l charge , usuall y th rou gh th e In tern et.
exa m ple, a co rporatio n can e nte r into con tracts, own property, and co nduct
bu sin ess. To establish a co rpo ratio n, an individu al (or a gro u p o f peo ple) mu st
app ly to th e gov ern men t; t h is involves som e paperwor k and fees . You sho uld 1/\ U LE 7 .1 - Consulting Engineer ing Orga nizations
first co ns ult a lawyer to hel p yo u decide wh ether to in corporat e under federal
o r provin cial law, and for assistance in processin g th e ap p licat ion. Forming a Asso ciat io n of Canad ia n Engi n ccring Co m pan ies (ACE C)
cor po ratio n is usually an effective way to protect perso nal assets. Wh en a IIorm crly th e Asso cia tio n o f Co n su lt in g Eng inee rs of Ca n ad a),
t u tawa, ON -cwww.accc.ca»
prac tice is incorporat ed, cred ito rs (an d judg men t awar ds) can seize o n ly the
tu t er nat f o rra l Fcdcrat io n of Co n su lt i n g En g inccrs (H DI C),
co rpo rat io n's assets; t h e pe rso na l assets o f sh a re ho lde rs are n ot at risk. A
( :l'ncva, Sw itzerla nd -cwwwlfld lc.o rg»
co rpo ratio n th at perfor ms en ginee ring and/o r geoscien ce services mu st usu-
CUllsuitin g Enginccrs o f Al b crt a ,
a lly ob tain a Perm it to Pract ise (or Ce rti ficate of Authori zati on ) o r mu st
II.d lllo n to n , All -cwww.cea.ca»
register wit h th e Associati o n . The co rpo ratio n mu st designa te a licen sed pro -
C'o n su lt tn g Eng i n ccrs of Uritish Co lumb ia (CEUC),
fessiona l with in th e cor po ratio n who will take responsibility for th e cor pora- Vanco uve r, BC -cwww.cebc.o rg»
tion's wo rk. The design ated p rofession al mu st possess th e com pete nce and C:u llsu ltin g Engi nccrs o f Manitoba ,
the ini tiative to ens ure th at th e co rpo ration 's wor k meets professiona l sta n- wl n nl peg, MB <www.ce m a n it o ba.co m>
da rds. Tha t person mu st answer if a charge o f professio nal m isconduct sh ould C:clIlsu ltin g En g i n ccrs of Ncw Urunswic k ,
be made agai nst t he co rporatio n. l'nxlcri cton, Nil -cwww.ccn b.n b. ca>
Obv iou sly, eac h bu sin ess struct ure h as adva n tag es an d d isad vantages. C'u n su ltin g Eng i n cc rs of Nc wfou n d land mId Labra d o r
When th e goal of th e professional in private practi ce is to prot ect perso nal l'nrad ise, NL (Conta ct via ACEC webs ite <www.acec.ca»
assets, the following actio ns m ay h elp : C:clIlsu lti n g Enginccrs o f Nort h wcst Tcrr itorics,
1','lIow kn ife, NT (Conta ct via ACEC web sit e <www.acec.ca»
• In cor po rate th e pra ctice to limit liability against demand s fro m creditors
I.o n su lt tn g Engi n ccrs o f Nova Scotra,
a nd agains t civil judgm ents suc h as breach of co n tract.
Iial ifax, NS -cwww.cc n s.o rg>
• Regard less o f th e form of bu sin ess o rga n ization, get professiona l liability
C:u llsu lti n g Enginccrs of Ontario,
ins u rance . lu ro n to , ON <www.ceo .o n. ca>
• Obta in gen eral liability in sur an ce to cov er th e risk of acciden ts wit h in th e CClIlsultin g Eng i n cc rs o f Princc Ed w a r d Is la n d
bu sin ess pr em ises and prod uct liability in suran ce to cove r th e risk of ( 'liarlott eto wn , PEl (Co n tact v ia ACEC we bs ite -cwww.acec.ca»
damage cla ims for dan gerou s products. (Oth er forms of liab ility, accident, " .~ socia t i on dcs Ingente urs-Consetts du Qu cb cc,
a nd co rpo rate in sur an ce a re also ava ilable.) Mo n treal, PQ -cwww.a lcq .q c.ca»
Eng inee rs an d geo scie ntists ca n not use in surance or in co rp or ati on to I:u llsu ltin g Engi nccrs of Sask a t c h ewan,
I(l'gina, SK -cwww.ces.sk.ca»
sh ield t he mse lves from discip lina ry action for n egligen ce, in com pet en ce, or
C:UIlSllltill g Engincers o f Yuko n ,
co rr uptio n . Negligence, incompeten ce, a nd co rruptio n are t he resu lt of per-
Whi te h o rse, YT -cwww.cey.ca»
sona l actio ns, om issio ns, or tra its. However, careful, co m pete n t, et h ical pra c-
tice is a goo d pro tectio n for the se hazards. 11i,1. ,: Websites are valid as of June 15, 2009.
130 PART TWO' PROFESSIONAL PRACTI CE CHAPTER 7 • Privat e Practic e, Co ns ult inq , and it us in ' 55 1 I
• COln lll u n icati o n and representation. Th e organi za ti on s in lo l ill I,t i111 Iill' lowest pri ce. Ho we ve r, it is r isk y (a lt ho ug h n ot illega l) to sele ct a
m embe rs of c u rre n t issu es th at aff ect t he profession . They a lso rc p rcsI'111 III ulr.uu based 0 11 th e lo west bid . Howeve r, ACEC recomm end s the Qua lity -
m em ber s befor e m un icipa l, regio na l, a nd provincia l go ve rn m e n ts w hou I I , II ,'l'Il'c lio n (Q BS) p ro cess, wh ich se p a ra tes t h e ev alua tio n of the co ns u l-
req uested, o r w h en a n issue affect s co n su lt ing e nginee rs as a g ro u p. 11111 ' qll a lificatio ns from t he fee n e g otiati on . Th e cl ie nt ne go tiates the fee
ii i I I'h'c ling t he co n su lta n t.
Associ ation o f Ca nadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) 11 11 \ pro cess is logical , becau se fees ca n no t be se t w it ho ut d efining th e
II'" 0 1 II> ' project, a nd thi s usu a l ly requires the cl ient a nd co ns u lta n t to
Me m be rship in o ne o f the p ro vincial co ns u lt ing e ng inee ring o rga n izat lo u ,II IlIgl'lh er. In m an y proj ect s, th e m o st s ig n ifica n t cost savings a re in the
a uto matica lly in cludes me m be rsh ip in th e Assoc ia tio n o f Ca n ad ia n Eng illl'I'1 II I 100 1-\"S o f the pro jec t, a n d e m p lo y i n g the best -qualifi ed co ns u lta n t will
in g Co m pa n ies (ACEC- fo rme rly kn own as t h e Asso cia tion o f Co nsu l t l u I II Illy /-\l' n ira te m or e sa v ings. Pe n n y - p in c hi n g a t th e design stage usu al ly
Eng ineers o f Ca n ad a), founded in 1925. ACEC co m p rises about 600 illlil ' 1111 III hi ghe r ca p ita l, o pe ra ti ng , a n d m a inten an ce costs.
pen d ent co nsu lt ing e ng inee ring firm s, w ho belong to 12 p rovincia l and tl'II I
toria l mcmbe r o rga n izat io ns, a ll of w h ich ca n be co n tac te d th rough the AUI
we bsite ." ACEC p romot es good business relatio ns bet ween its m ember Iiuu I Y Based Se lect io n (QBS)
a n d th ei r cli ents. It a lso fost er s th e exch a nge o f pr of essiona l, man agemen t
I" h lilli'S for t he co n t rac t ing pro c e s s a re w ide ly ava ila b le (fro m AC EC,
a n d bu siness informati on. AC EC sa feg ua rds the inter est s o f co ns u ltin g CI II:I
II III , ,11 11 1 t he pro vinc ial co ns u lti ng o rga n iza t io ns in Tab le 7. 1). All of t h e
nccrs w hen n ece ssary, raises th e h igh p rof essiona l sta nd a rds in co n su ltill ,
11111 111-\ o rga n iza ti o n s re co mm end t h e Q ua lit y- Base d Se lec t io n (Q BS)
II
a n d p ro vid es liai so n w it h th e fed era l go ve rn men t. Th e Am eri can eq u ivalent
"I , \ llillm a rized below. Th e pro c ess is written fo r co ns u lting eng ine e rs,
of ACEC is th e Ame rica n Co n su lt in g Enginee rs Co u n c il (a lso kn ow n ,I
It 'pl'" ('s eq ua lly to geoscie n tis ts.
ACEC).
International Fe d e r a t io n of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)

I I II I'nocus The basic ste ps in th e Q BS se lect io n procedure, as descr ibed
11 11 I o ns u lt ing Eng inee rs o f O n ta r io, are
Both North Am eri can ACEC s be lo n g to t h e In te rn a ti on al Federa tio u "
1IIIIIIII ya sho rt list o f firm s wit h rel e va nt q ua lification s.
Co n su lt in g Eng inee rs/ Fede ra t io n l n t crn at i o n al c d es l n gcn l eu rs-Cou sell
1 1 1 'III I ' ~1 deta iled proposa ls.
(FlD IC), founded in 19 13, a n umbrella grou p for m or e than SO n ati ona l ('"
, 11, 1 th e best- q ua lified a n d ava ila b le firm th rou gh a detail ed process o f
su it ing e n gin ee rs' associatio ns . The m ember associati on s must co m p ly wil l
111 11 I vws, site v isits, cl ie n t refe ren c es, e tc., as required.
FlO lC's co de as it re lates to p rof ession al sta t us, independen ce, a n d co n n.
I tI l ate a n app ro p ria te fee based o n a m u t ua lly agreed sco pe of se rv ices
ten ce. FlDI C publish es a n internationa l directory a n d works o n beh alf o f (I II
II ld" ,'I'cute an ag ree me n t.
su iting e ng inee rs at th e internati o na l level. FlO lC a lso publish es a w ide ra il
, 01 11 un su ccessfu l co ns u lta n ts ."
o f docu m ents to h elp m e m ber s draft co n t rac ts and ag reem ents, m anagc plill
ects, a n d o pe ra te co ns u lting firms ."
I 1111 1 lilA AN D EVALUATION T he cl l en t s ho u ld use appropria te c rite ria,
II 1 Illose list ed be low, to eva lua te a n d select th e co ns u lta n t (o r t he proj ect
Professional Service Contracts
"II III .uld i t lo n , to e n su re a fai r a n d o b jec t ive evalua tio n, th e Co ns u lting
Sta ndard co n t ract for ms arc ava ilable from the p ro vin cial Associ a t io ns ,II I 1111 I I o f O n ta rio recomm end th at each o f th e a bove cr ite ria (o r qualifi ca -
from co ns u lta n t o rga n iza tio ns suc h as th e Associa t io n o f Can ad l.u 1 II' IIII S) be give n a relative w ei g htin g (i n th e ranges sho w n ), a nd that
Engineeri n g Co m pa n ies (ACEC) . In add it ion , t h e co ncise law text by Sam uol It qll'll l'ant be rated and assign ed a mark for eac h c rite rio n . Th e sum of th e
and Sa n de rs (cited ea rlie r) has se ve ra l cha p te rs o n co n t rac t law, cxplaluln I I I ' (' S a relat ive ra ting, useful fo r c o m p a ring a pp lica n ts. (We igh ti n g is a
h o w to dra w up good co n t rac ts and wh at p roble m s a n d pitfall s to avo id , I t u.l uu-thod of eva lua t in g alt erriatlves.)?
th is section , we m e rely wa n t to d esc ribe th e co n tracting pro cess for a ("I
sulta n t o ffer ing professiona l services to a cl ien t, a n d the ty pi cal evaluru l« I I 1I11( I AND QUALIFICATIONS OF TH E PROJECT TEAM
procedure that cl ien ts a re in cr easi n gly fo llowing . I " tll'l I man ager/cng tnee r a n d se n io r d esign er s (l 5- 25)
Pro curing p ro fessional se rv ices is not th e sa me as purchasin g ma tc i l.rl I 1111 1ca l su p po rt sta ff (5- 15)
Materi a ls h a ve es ta b lished sta n da rds , so th e purcha ser's goa l is si m p l ' 1\ 111 ,1 uu su lra n ts (0-1 5)
132 PART TW O • PROFESS I ONAL Pll ACTICE CIIAI' TE Il 7 • t' rivat e Pt nct icu, [U II SII /li llg , an d B us i» vs 1
MANAG EM ENT QUA LI FICATIONS 111.11. , u vcsti ga tlo ns, field se rvices, a nd repo rt prep ar ati on ar e in thi s care-
Exp erien ce on sim ilar proj ect s ( 10-20) h I I ( ' 'a m ple, so m e co ns ulti ng co m pa n ies specia lize in sho rt-te rm ov er-
Availability of key sta ff (5- 15) I II I 01 lstn uce . W he n req uested , t he ir e ngi neers o r geosci e n tis t s work
Sta bility and rep utation of the firm (0- 10) I I. I,v side wit h th e cl ien t's personne l. Th is a llows t he client to abso rb peak
Mu ltidi scip lin ar y/Specialty capa bilities (0- 10) .t1 II1, l(h wit ho ut h irin g and tra in ing em ployees who m ay be su rplus w hen
Qua lity assurance syste ms (0-10) 1111 1"'111 passes. Per diem paymen t is t he bes t co mpensa tio n met hod in th is
Local office (0- 10) I I IlIll'el o ut-of-po cket expe nses, suc h as travel cos ts, are added to t he per
Insura nce coverage (0-5) II III p,l ment s.
PROJECT IM PLEM ENTATI ON ItOl l OSTS TIMES A MULTIPLIER Payroll cos ts, multi pli ed by a factor to
Approach and method ol ogy (10-25) I I nvc rhc ad and profit, are m ost of te n used for site in vestigatio n s, prelim -
Sched u ling of key ac tivit ies a n d resources (5- 15) III \ dl'slgll , pro cess stud ies, plant layo ut, a nd det ailed design . The mu lti p lie r
Proj ect q uality ass urance program (0-10) II 11 ,111 ill a range fro m two to th ree. Under this meth od , th e clien t esse n -
1II1 pol s th e perso nnel cos ts as th ey arise, in clud ing a sufficie n t a mo u n t to
QBS BENEFITS Acco rd ing to t he Co nsulting Enginee rs o f O n tar io, th e ben efits I I uvcrh ead a nd pr ofit. Direct o ut-o f-pocket ex pe nses are a lso re im bursed
of Q BS are II II ld 11011 10 th e pa yroll cos ts.
• Wit hi n t he process, th e engine e r and client wo rk to gether in a prores

II' UM As th e nam e sugges ts , the co nsultan t det erm in es, in ad va nce, a
sio na l relat io n ship to defi ne and deliv er a p ro ject.
1il( II P S11I1I " fee th at incl ud es a ll cos ts, ove rhe ad, and p rofit. Man y clie nts
• Select io n focuses o n va lue to the client.
I I, I Ih is met ho d o f co m pe nsa tio n beca use it tells th em in ad va nce ho w
• Th e life-cycle cos ts of th e asset ca n be opti mi zed .
11 11 111IIl'y will be paying for profession al se rv ices. Wh en the services ca n be
• With a det ail ed under stand in g and agreem ent o n th e requ ired pro]c. I
I I I II II Ined acc urately, this is a sim ple ap proach . The di sad vantage is that t he
sco pe, the engi neer is in a m uch better positi on to det ermine reso un v
II 1111 011 11 may un de rest ima te ti me o r costs, a nd in cur a se rious loss.
requirem ents, cos t esti ma tes a nd fces.!"
Th e Co ns u lti ng Eng ineers o f British Co lum bia (CEBC) em phasize t he be ll A PERCENTAGE OF ESTIMATED OR ACTUAL COSTS OF CONSTRUCTION This
efits of engaging th e eng ineering co ns ultan t ear ly in the proj ect: 111111 1bases fees o n tota l cos ts, a nd is co mmon for consulting services suc h
I'll pMlng d raw ings, specificatio ns, and co n structio n co n tract docume nts .
Studies have shown that engineeri ng typically represent s 1.5% of the tota l cost of a
I I I 1'1, lhi s_methQfl is becomi ng less a nd less popu lar becau se of t he d iffi-
project, while construc tion costs represe nt 16.5% of the total cost, and operations are
11 1\ III rela t ing design costs to new a na rapidly cha nging construc tio n
82% of the total cost. By hiring a consulting engineer at th e beginni ng of t he project,
1lIllIllIgies, and becau se of th e u npred icta ble m a rket condi tions in t he
good design can cut 10- 15% of const ruction costs-and more in life cycle costs. It is
II 1111 11 ion indus t ry.
t hrough engi neer ing services that a client has th e best oppor tunity to manage and
potentially reduce the remaining 98.5% of th e project's life cycle costs.'!
ING A PRIVATE PRACTICE OR BUSINESS
COMPENSATI ON FOR CO NSULT A NTS Illig a Pr iva t e Practice
In the past, p rofessio nal fees wer e o ften set as a percentage of th e p ro ject til I IlI lIfessionals becom e "principa ls" (pa rtn ers or sha reholde rs) a fte r m an y
costs. Th is procedu re is appropriate in so me cases (ma in ly civil eng ine ering); II 1Ii dili gen t service to t he firm . Thi s route to ownership ca rr ies the least
th e mai n drawback is t ha t it penali zes the professio na l fo r creating an ceo I I IlIlt la kes a lon g ti m e. So me pro fessiona ls ma y work for an o lde r co l-
nomi ca l design . A good co m pe n satio n p rocess sho uld reward efficiency a nd 1111" , md may get an o ppo rtun ity to buy out th e practi ce o r bu sin ess wh en
in nova tio n . Fo ur co m mo n met hods fo r ca lcula ting co ns ulting fees are found II " IIII'ague ret ires. How ever, m ost e nt rep rene u rial eng inee rs a nd gcoscicn-
below, ad apted from th e FIDIC Direct or y (w it h permission ). The Direc tor ! I ,11 11 10 move in to se n io r ro les as soo n as they ca n .
also ex plains vari ati ons of th ese proced ures. V I'll .uc pract ice (or co ns u lti ng) is an a tt rac tive o pt io n, es pec ially for an
I IlIo '('r or geoscie ntist w ho has mastered th e techn ical knowledge , has good
PER DIEM Per di em pay me n ts a re sim ply dail y rat es. They are th e usua l pay Ii 01 1 clpline, and wants a cha lle nge. However, even a we ll-p repa red profes-
m en t meth od w he n th e sco pe o f work ca n not be acc urately det ermined , II II Illay need two or three years to beco me fully estab lished, and those
134 PART TWO · PROFESSIO NAL PRA CTICE CIIAI'H H 7 • r rivat « Pt nct i '1, C" "5 0 It i" g, an t! 1I05i /ll' 55 1 '"
---
ea rly years will test th e new co ns u ltan t's de te rm ina tio n . Extra hours o f Will!
a re essentia l, o f co urse. In addi t io n, most eng ineers a nd geoscien tists 11 ,,'.I
better bu sin ess m anagem ent skills. Working overtim e can not offset poor IJII I
ness sense or in ad equat e financi al reserv es,
To succeed in priv at e pract ice, yo u must havc an en treprene uria l spliII
Privat e pra cti ce makes you both bo ss and em ployee , and it is impossible til III
the bo ss if you ob ject to worki ng lo n g hou rs or if you can no t co pe wit h 51I\ ' ~
an d un certainty. To succ eed, yo u n eed a specia l set of skills and attitudes, '1'111
sect io n below lists th e en treprene ur ial attit ude s, technical skills, and perso nn
ch a racte ristics need ed.
Starting a Technical Business
A recent survcy shows that yo ung peopl e tod ay ar e m o re likely to sta rt a bll\1
ness th an previous ge ne ra tio ns w er e. P Th e present ge ne ratio n is less CIl Il
ce rn ed a bo u t sec u rity; th ey know that stayin g with on e co m pa n y fo r
ll fct i rn c is now obsolet e and they know they m ust adapt to constan t Cha ll!:1
a nd triumph ov er it. Most un iversity stude n ts h eld serious jobs durin g tllI'l
universit y years, and th ey know far mo re about the bu sin ess wor ld than tl lI'l
pa ren ts did at th e sa me age, In fact, m an y univer sit y students are alrea d
e n t reprene urs, so me with co m pa n ies crea ted in high sch oo l. Most of toda "
g rad ua tes a re well prep ared to be the bu sin ess leaders of tomorrow.
Neve rthe less, a leap di rectl y into bu sin ess co uld result in di saster. Th e lu-
ad vice for gra d ua tes is to ge t so m e professional ex perie nce before yo u SI:1
yo ur own bu siness. Also, befor e yo u str ike o ut o n yo ur o wn with a new en t.'1
pri se, eva luate yo ur skills a nd yo ur o pportun ities ca refully. Th e followi ng 5"1
tion m ay help yo u do thi s.
EVALUATING YOUR POTENTIAL AS A CONSULTANT
Regardl ess o f yo ur en t h usiasm , privat e pra cti ce is n ot for eve ryo n e. 'I'l l
foll o win g c hec klist of skills, tr aits, a nd tal ents, ass e m b led from varlo u
so u rces, a p p lies t o en ginee rs o r geoscien tis ts co ns ide ring a leap into priva t
pra c ti c e . I~ , I S (Th e success fu l bu sin ess en t re p re ne u r would lik el y s ho
sim ila r ski lls a n d per sonality traits.) Do yo u have th ese skills, traits, all I
tal ents'?
• Ed u ca tio n and licensing. Obviously, the first two req u irem ents bel'1l1 "/lOto 7. 1 - Entrepreneurial Education. This ph ot o shows th e
you ca n start any en gin eeri ng o r geos cience en terprise are a degree a nd I \ , /lll'gel Centre for Entrepreneurship, established in 2 002 at Wilfrid
licen ce. Th e rar e exceptio n is en te ring a co ns u ltanc y or business wit h t cuuier University, in Wat erloo, Ontario, Stantec, a large Canadian con-
person wh o is already licensed . 1I11111g firm with offices across North America, design ed th e structural
• Adeq uate experience and technical knowledge. You sho uld knoi " l1lll l1cering for the Schlegel Centre, a four-storey, 58 , OOO-squa re-foo t
t he pr acti ce o r t he bu siness ver y well. Lea ving a pa ying job to sta rt, . av -m-pioce concrete flat slab structure connected to existing buildin gs.
to ta lly n ew a n d un kn own bu sin ess is ver y risky. (For exa m ple, it 111 wotember 2 00 7, the university began to offer a one-year MBA
co nst ruc tio n eng inee r wants to be a m achine design co ns u lta n t, SO Ii I I"olj ram, with an inn ovation and entrepreneurship op tion, at the
ex perienc e in machine design is o bviously essen t ial.) If yo u do not hay \. /IIr'gel Centre.
ade q uate kn owl ed ge, ge t it first. uu r ce: Photo courtesy of Wilfri d Laurier University. Used w ith perm ission.
136 PART TWO · PROFESS IO NAL PRACTICE CII APTER 7 • i ' r i v at e Prn ct it:e, Co n s u l t inq , ant! II I/ s i ll ,' S I II
• A nctwork of contacts. A n et wo rk of people w ho may becom e po tc n USS IO N TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

tial custo me rs, su ppliers, or in vest ors is ex t remely va lua ble. Gove m meu t
co n tac ts ma y also be usefu l for advice on new co n t rac ts, sta nda rds , or r(,g Co us id c r th e list of n in e person al c ha rac te rist ics ex p la ine d in t hi s
ulati ons. You particul arl y n eed th ese people during th e sta rt-up of YOllr Ihap tcr under "Eva lua t ing Your Pot ential as a Co ns u lta n t. " Rate yo u r
busin ess-the crit ical phase. o wn ab ility under th ese nine headings, o n a scale of on e to ten, wh ere:
• Dctcrmination. Det erminati on is perh ap s th e most important perso nal Zero means you have serious doubts about your ability in the area.
trait yo u need , becau se co ns u lta n ts and en tre prene urs face man y obstacle
rive means you have reasonable confidence in your ability in th e area .
befo re their efforts yield success.
• Co n fid c n cc and indcpcndcncc. Entr epren eurship is often a lo nc h Ten means you have absolute confidence in your ability in the area.
busin ess, so yo u mu st like being yo ur own boss. You mu st also be ab le to
learn from yo ur mistakes. Slim yo ur scores to get a rat ing o ut of 90 . Give yo u rself a n additi ona l
• Busrness skills. Runn ing a co ns ulta ncy or a busin ess requ ires d iscip line points for eac h furt her qua lification listed below.
a nd goo d managem ent skills, Can yo u ma na ge budget s, bu sin ess o pe ra • You have ade q ua te, curren t exp er ience in co m pu te r so ftwa re rela ted
tions, a n d em p loyees'! A basic knowledg e of accounting is esse n t ial. II to yo u r field .
te rm s su c h as "cash flow," " ba la nce sheet, " a nd " profit a nd loss stall' • You own co mput er ha rd ware t hat run s the software mentioned above .
men t" a re no t fam iliar, then yo u will need to upgrade yo ur business skills, • You have pu blished th ree or more tech n ica l papers.
• Peopfe skills. You may h ave in novative ideas, bu t yo u sti ll have to s('11 • Yo u have already bee n invol ved in co ns u lt ing.
yo ur ideas to peop le. You a re well prepared if yo u can say, h o nestly, th.u • You have a master's degree.
yo u have a posit ive perso na lity, e n joy wo rki ng with people, and can CO ll i • You have contact s in three o r mo re co m pa n ies that mi ght need yo ur
muni cat e well. services.
• Good hcalth. Most successfu l en trepreneurs en joy getting up early in till' • You have exper ien ce in making pr esentati o ns and wr iting techn ical
morning to att ack th e da y's problem s, Good health is important, especlalt, proposa ls,
in th e ea rly yea rs, wh en th e st ress a nd ph ysical demands are greates t. • You en joy makin g important (and exp e nsive) d ecision s u nd er
• Intclligcncc. Regardl ess of th eir ed ucatio n, success ful co ns u lta nts a nd pressu re.
en trepre ne urs are int ellig ent, think qui ck ly, and e n joy wor kin g with new
ideas, rolal yo u r points; th ey sh ou ld not exceed 130 . If yo u r tota l is 100 po int s
III more and yo u ha ve been scrupulo us ly hon est in yo ur person a l assess-
uu-nt, the n yo u a re probabl y read y to move into private pra cti ce or bu si-
III'SS, If yo ur total is less than 80 points, th en yo u probably need more
GETTING YOUR ENTERPRISE STARTED
«xpcrtence, ed ucat io n, or det erm ination.
Obv ious ly, th e above traits will n ot guaran tee success , You also need good Assume th at yo u hav e carri ed o ut th e quiz in Ques t io n ] and have eval-
planning and enoug h money to su rvive un til th e busin ess sta rts to pay for u.ucd yo ur qualificati ons for en te ring private pra ct ice. Th e q uiz sho u ld
itse lf. Before yo u risk yo ur tim e and money, yo u mu st co nd uc t a ma rket give yo u a sco re bet ween zero and 130 .
survey-t hat is, yo u mu st gat he r as mu ch in fo rmat io n as possible ab o ut ti ll'
pot ential marketplace, Wh en you have solid ma rket research sho wing tha i ,I, If yo u r score was higher t han 100, prepa re a busine ss plan for estab-
a need ex ists for yo ur se rvice, p rod uct, or idea, yo u m ust th en p repa re 01 lishing your private pra ctice or busin ess. Discuss the co m pleted plan
bu siness plan . wit h yo ur p rofessor (or yo ur ban ke r).
A business plan describes w ha t yo u learned from th e mar ket research ; il II, If your score was lower th an 100, co nsider whet he r ot he r career paths
a lso defin es your business ob jectiv es a nd o ut lin es a strategy for reac hing th ose (suc h as ma na geme n t o r specializatio n) are better for yo u. If privat e
o b jectives, Your business plan sh o uld describe eve ry asp ect of yo ur proposa l, practice is st ill yo ur ob jective, make a list of ste ps tha t wo uld enable yo u
includ ing bu sin ess st ructu re, manufact uring, advertisin g, and mark eting, a nd to move in to privat e practice. Do you need to improve yo u r q ua lifica-
wh at ever ot her top ics a re approprlate.!" A good busin ess plan is th e key III lions, o r do you sim ply need to obtain more experien ce in yo ur field'?
raisin g mon ey-the esse n tia l in gredi ent. In fact , th e main obstacle to en t re Illlagine that yo u have decid ed to e n te r pr ivat e pra ctice and t ha t yo u are
pren eurs is th e sho rtage of in vestors willin g to ga m ble o n a new ve n tur e II ing to becom e better kno wn so that yo u ca n attract more clients a nd
especia lly in Ca nada, Th e details of sta rt ing a bu sin ess are beyond the SCO p l' IOlllracts. Ad ve rt ising is a se ns itive issu e, since it mu st be co ns iste n t
of thi s text , but furth er advice a n d referen ces a re fou nd in Appendix G. with t he Code of Ethi cs. Read th e sec t io ns in thi s text o n professio na l
138 PART TWO. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
adve rtisin g (co ns u lt th e Index). The n d ev ise at least five methods 1111
beco m ing better know n as a com petent and et h ical pro fessio n al th at al l pt er 8
clearly cons istent w ith yo ur pr ovin cial or te rri to rial Cod e of Eth ics .
Addi tio na l assign ments ca n be found in Appen d ix E. I zards, Liability, Standards,
NOTES I d Safety
III Eng ineers Ca nada (for me rly th e Ca nad ia n Co u nc il o f Professio n al Eng ineers-
CC PE), Nutional Survey o( tile Canadian Ellgilleerillg Profession, 2002, Ottawa,
ava ilab le at -cwww.c ng tnec rsca n ad a.ca» (Ma y l Z, 20 08).
121 Assoclati on o f Ca nad ia n Engineering Co m pa n ies (AC EC) web site at
<www.acec.ca> (May 17, 20 08).
131 or
B.M. Sam ue ls a nd n .R. San de rs, Practical Law Ellgilleerillg, Architecture and
Geoscience, Ca na d ia n Edition, Pearson Prent ice 1lal l, Upp er Sadd le River, NJ,
2007 , p. 174. II 11I1 '1'1I11 g a nd geoscie nce project s ar e so met imes ha za rd ous to workers, to
141 Th e Asso ciatio n of Pro fessio na l Engineers, Geo log ists a nd Geop hy sicis ts o f II I'"hll e, or to th e enviro n m en t . If a h azard ous pro ject causes damage or
Albe rta (APEGGA), "N a t lo n a l Seco ndary Prof essio na l Liability In su ra nce 111l' cnglncer o r geos cien tist respo n sib le m ay be held lia b le. Fort u nately,
Prog ram, " March 2007, ava ila ble a l <www.a pegga .co m / mem bers/Be nefits/ I , III ' 11'11 and operat io n a re ea sily ach ieved by takin g t hese sim p le steps :
pdf/Questio n sAnswers.pdf > (May 17, 2( 08).
lSI Samu els a nd Sand ers, Practical Law O(EllgilleeriIlS, Architecture & Geoscience, p. 3'1, I ' ll afc des ign , follow design code s and stan da rd s, be awa re o f safety reg-
161 Associatio n o f Ca nad ia n Engi neer ing Co m pa n ies (for m er ly t he Asso ciatio n o f 111,,1 on s, and make forma l ha zard a n a lys es . Wh er e h aza rd s ca n n o t be
Co ns u lt ing Eng inee rs of Ca n ada-ACEC), Ottawa, av ai lab le at <www.accc.ca» - lhu luat ed, post prominent warnings.
(May 17, 2008).
1111 wor kp lace sa fety in factories, co ns truc t io n sites , well sites , or p rocess
171 Internati onal Fed erati on o f Co ns ult ing Engin eer s (FIDIC) web sit e a t
<www I J id ic.o rg> (May 17, 2008). 1'1 ,IIlI S, lea rn an d foll ow Oc cupational Health and Safety regul at io ns.
18 1 Co ns u lt ing Engin eers o f Ontario (C EO), Guidelines (or tile Selection of Consuttlng 1111 \ cha pter ex p la ins ba sic co nce p ts o f ha zards an d lia b ility. Th e irnpor-
Engineers, p . 3, avai lab le a t -cwww.cco .o n .ca» (May I7, 20 08).
"'1 II I desig n sta n d a rds ar e revi ew ed first, th en th e im po rta n ce o f go ve rn-
191 Ibid ., p. 7.
1101 lh id ., p. 4. , 1,1 lI'g ulat io ns- pa rt ic u la rly t h e Occupatio na l Hea lth a nd Safet y laws,
11 11 Co nsu lt in g Enginee rs of Briti sh Co lu m bia (CE BC) , "Selec ting a Co ns u lti ng Iii, II Ml' vita lly im po rtan t for workp lace safety. Th e ch a pte r concludes with
Engine er," avai lable a t <www.ce bc.o rg> (May ] 8, 20( 8). II I I pi io n o f th e West ray mi nin g disaster, wh ich led to a clau se in Ca n ad a's
11 2 1 Inte rn ati o nal Fede ra tio n of Co ns ulti ng Eng ineers (FID IC), FIDIC lntcrnational 1111111 1,11 Code t hat imposes pena lti es fo r workplace safety v io lations t hat
or
Directory Consulting Engineers, 1997-1 998, Lausa nne, Switzer land. Exce rpts
1111 III in jury or d eath . Som e readers may find h azar d s and liab ility to be
ada p te d with permission o f Rhysjones Publi sh in g Limited .
11 3 1 "Know fu ture," The Economis t, Decem ber 2 1,200 0. , ' 1IIII Ig or negative topics, but if t hi s ch a pte r h elps yo u to av o id d amage,
11 41 "Assessin g Your Ent re preneu rial Profil e," Business: Tile Ultimate Resource, Per seu s I ill I , or laws u its, yo u will be ve ry glad yo u read it.
Books Grou p, Ca m bridge, UK, 2002, p . 818.
11 SI Co ns u lt ing Engi nee rs O n ta rio (C EO), Guide to Ellsill eerillgConsultancy Practice, ES O F PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY
199 4.
11 6 1 "Writi ng a Busin ess Plan, " Business: Tile Ultimate Resource, Perseus Bo o ks Gro u p, I III I II SS liability, we must exam ine th e case wh er e a professiona l eng inee r
Ca m b ridg e, UK, 2002, p. 486. , I II de n tist gives a cli en t negligent o r in co m pet en t advice . (Although t his
I 11I1 11I111I nate, it does h a p pen .) If th e cl ie nt fo llows the advice and su ffers a
I I 'I I da mage, the n the pro fession al (a nd/or their e m p lo ye r o r ins u ra nce
" II I" llly) may be sue d , and ordered to pa y damages . Sim ilarly, a professio na l
1111 III 'sign s a n unsafe product may al so be sue d to pa y damages. Suc h law-
,III Illay be based on severa l legal so urces: co n trac t law, tort law, o r co ns u me r
I I 1,111011. These laws ar e d iscu ssed in d eta il in th e law textbook sl -f a nd ar c
1111111 ul zed b riefly as fo llo ws:
• ou t r a c t Iaw, Proper ly n egot iat ed co n trac ts usuall y run smoo t h ly, hill
II I ,Igrce men ts, m isin terpretation s, and br ea ch es m ay so me li mes O CClIl',
140 PART TWO · PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CIIAI' I E I~ 8 • ll oz ut ds , t.iati itit» , S ta mtnnls, tunt af ~( y 1111
an d if th ey can no t be so lved by negotiation, any party to the co n t rac t 1111 \ III l ' lll' ra l, torts mu st be int ention al o r negligent to result in lia b ilit y.
sue for damages. Th e con tra ct docu ment is th en exa m ine d in a co u rt " II I IIl d()1l 1or accide n ta l even ts may be tragic, but th ey can not be th e basi s
law, an d the jud ge decid es wh ether t he co ntract has been fu lfilled or 11,,1 I I It II I lawsuit. In o the r wo rds: "Th ere is no liability witho ut tault.:" To su e-
and what dam ages sho uld be paid. This ex plan at io n is a gross overs im pll " III I lorl actio n , th e plaintiff mu st prove th at
ficati on, of course, but it st resses t he impo rtan ce of d iligence in negn tl
11 11' ddl 'llti ant owed th e p laintiff a duty o f ca re, an d
ating a nd fulfilling co nt rac t s. For exam p le, it is usuall y beneficia l 1'01
1111' dl'l'('lld ant breach ed th at duty, and
co n tract to incl ud e bon uses for good results. Co nve rsely, it is a lso bemu
IIII' pluln t if] suffered loss or damage, and
cia l to consider how a co n trac t co uld go wrong, to pred ict the da mage
11 11' l in -ach was the proxim at e [sigru flcan t] cause of th e p laintiff's 10 ss.G
t hat co u ld result, to specify reasonable payments for damages, and/o r II
set sens ible lim its to liabili ty. ln addition, a profess iona l m ust work 0 11 1 II II I 1 o f these cr ite ria a re ab sent, th e to rt lawsu it wi ll fai l. For exa m ple, a
I
in t he fie lds wh ere h e or sh e is competent. When a co n t rac t is o ut sid e I" I II 1' 11 1 net, by itself, is not a basis for a claim under tort law- th e pla intiff
professiona l's field of co m pe tence , he or she m ust get help with th e wo rt I II I II I1 VI' xuffcred so me dam age,
or declin e the co nt ract. (Thi s ru le is stated in every Association 's Code II
Ethl cs.) Co n trac ts ar e essen tial, so typica l co n trac t problems are di sc ussv
at lengt h in th e law books cite d above. I I nc t h e Duty o f Ca r e
• Tort law. So me reader s may be su rp rised t o lea rn that, eve n in t" II" dnly ot.care iE th e preceding di scu ssion may require a clear er d efin i-
11'1111
ab sen ce of a co ntract, a professiona l may be sued fo r neg ligen ce. Tor t 1,1\
('r1ain ac tio ns crea te a duty o f ca re between people, eve n in the absence
II I
which is indep endent of co n tract or crim in al law, en title s a person will
I "I uu ract, an d eve n if th e peop le have never met. Th e most co m mo n
ha s su ffered a loss, wh ich is a d irect resu lt of so rneone's negligence, to SI'I'
II i1 I"(' Is o n o ur hi ghways: a ll driver s h ave a d uty of care to av oid in ju ry o r
dam ages from th e n egligent person .' This im po rta n t co nce pt is exp lalm-
IIIIlil ll ' 10 o ther driver s. A neg ligent dri ver who ca uses an autom obil e acc i-
later in this chapte r.
I II I III ~ breache d th e duty of care, and is liable for th e resulting da mage. A
• Co n su m er Iegislatfon. If a defectiv e prod uct is manufactured and sold
1111 ' II care ex ists when an acti on satis fies the fo llowin g two co nd itio ns:
th e designer, manufac turer, dea ler, or seller may be liable for damages urul rt
provincial legislatio n , suc h as the Sale of Goods Act or the Co n su me: It'ason ab ly fo reseeable risk of inj ur y o r dam age to others ex ists, becau se
Prot ection Act. Ca nad ian and American co ns ume r laws differ on a basi ,I I tlu - actio n.
premise. Und er th e "st rict liability" co nce pt in American law, th e man ufru 't1 11 Il'One is close e no ug h to be af fecte d by the actio n .?
turer is pr esum ed to be at fault unl ess it can be proved oth erwise. II
III uthcr wo rds, a duty of ca re is not ow ed to eve ryo ne, but o n ly to th ose
Ca na da, th e manufacturer is not at fau lt un less th e in jured party can pro v,
II" 111 1' likely to be in jured by a potentiall y dangerou s ac t. How ever, the
negligen ce in the design or m an ufactu re of th e product.
'I'" ,iI th e d uty o f care ha s ex pan de d ov er tim e. For ex am ple, lega l pr ece-
In ad d it io n to th e legal liability noted above, n eg ligen ce, m cornpeten« I II I have ex te nded the d uty o f care to include people who were not ver y
o r in d iffere nce to publi c safety mi ght also resul t in d isciplinary acti on by Iii I", .lurlng a dangerous ac t, but wh o su ffered d am age lat er (or th e danger
licensing Association . As ex plaine d in Cha pte r I I, th e Association's Code " Ii I III Ii ex ist or was n ot a ppa ren t unti l later). For exa m p le, poor hui ld irig
Ethi cs obliges professiona l engineers and geoscientists to protect the hea lt II I I II, poor- q ua lity co ns tructio n, defective product s, e nv iro n me n tal po llu -
safety, an d we lfare of th e public. I III, /I lld so o n , m ay be co ns ide red d an ge rou s, eve n if th ey do not ca use
1111111 1.:1' until man y year s later.
I 11 11 ('1' profess io na ls h ave o bse rved a sim ila r ex pa ns io n of th e duty o f ca re.
I II ' mnple, a psychi atri st wh o fails to warn o the rs o f a dangerous psychiatric

PR O FE S S IO N A L LIABILITY-TORT LAW
I 111"111 may be liab le for damage caused by th e pati ent. Sim ilarly, a ph ysician
The word tort mean s injury o r damage. If an inju ry or damage is ca used " 11\ Il l' liab le if h e o r she n eg ligentl y a llo ws a n injured o r in cap acit at ed
wro ng fu l be havio ur o r by defective m erchandi se, th e_plaintiff J t1}e_ iI)iur \' I I ,11" 111 10 dr ive an automobile. All provinces now h ave laws requiring rned-
party) may sue th e defendant (th e accused per son) . Th~~ad ian law" I II dllelm s to rep o rt suc h pati ents to the ve hicl e lice nce bureau."
tort is ba sica lly fa ir, because alawsuit ca n n o t be ba sed on bad lu ck 0 1' , I ivcr th e years, th e [awol' tort has rep eated ly found th at eng inee rs and
tr uly ra ndom accid ent. In stead, the defendant's conduct is th e key faCI(11 " I vntists have a dut y o f ca re for t heir acti on s a nd decision s. Wh en engi-
Th e d efendant's co n d uc t ma y be cl assifi ed as intentiona l, negli gen t, ( )I I I I design a device o r str uct ure, or wh en geoscien tists plan a min e or dr ill
accidenta l:" I I I " II, th ey ha ve a dut y of ca re to any o ne who ma y suffer from th e harmfu l
___ C H.! PTE~_ 8 • Haz a rds, Liability. S t ~~a!!!..::. a nd S afe t y I II I
142 PART TWO . PROFESS IO NAL PRACTICE
.. . e a rs la ter. The fo llo w ing For ex a m p le, w he n a surgeo n leaves a spo nge in sid e a pat ie n t d u rin g a su r-
effec ts of these act iv ities, even It t h e h arm ~ccu r~. y a Jrofessio na l perso n : I II ,II opera tio n , th er e is n o n eed to di scover pr ecise ly ho w th e spo n ge wa s le ft
exa m p le d em onst ra tes the d u ty o f ca re ex pec te d tlOm I llilil'; th e surge o n wa s in co n t ro l of th e su rge ry, a nd had th e surgeo n n o t
ld have had deep foundatio ns I", n negligent, th e sponge wo u ld n ot have been le ft be h ind . T h is type o f ci r-
A house in England was built on a garbage dump, and snou . b the municipa l
· d to be Inspected Y , uru vtantia l ev ide nce is d escribed by th e Latin phrase res ipsa loquit ur (" t h e
to avoid sett ling. The foundatlOns were suppose . ' t hem Over a
dati 't hout inspecting . II i1 l1g spea ks fo r itse lf")."
inspector, but the inspector ap proved th e foun ations WI . ht f t he building
. ld t rry the welg 0 ' II Ie precede n t fo r res ipsa loqui tu r d ates back to 1863 a n d the lawsu it Byrn e
period of time, the foundations settled, and cou no c a . held liable
I d the Inspector was , """lliC'. A ba rrel o f flo u r fe ll fro m a wareho use w in dow a bo ve a s h o p, st rik in g
which collapsed . The municipal aut hority who emp o y e . 'd' .. in t he case
. . d t t he judge sal . . . , 11101 ii i luring a passerby, w ho sue d for d am ages. Alt ho ug h n o eviden ce wa s pr o-
to a lat er purchaser of the house. In hIS 1972 ju gemen ' . hi es or mat e-
. . h f t of buil din gs, or mac In , 1111 l'tI 10 expla in h o w th e barrel ca me to fall fro m th e w in dow, the judge (on
of a professiona l man who qives advice on t e sa e y . . , b d .. (Dutton v.
.' . e hIS advice IS a . 11'1 11 nl) stated : "A barre l co u ld n o t ro ll o ut o f a wa reho use w it ho u t so me n eg-
rial, his duty is to all t hose who may suffer Injury, In cas
III' III I ' , and to sa y th a t a p lai n t iff who is inju red by it must ca ll w it n esses from
Bognor-Regis )9
III' lVoII" ' ho use to pr o ve negli gen ce see ms to be pr ep osterous." Th e jud ge ruled
III II Illl' barrel was " in t h e cus to dy " o f t he wa re ho use o w ne r (o r h is e m ployees)
Defin ing the Standard of Care 1I1001 11at he was t her efore responsibl e for th e co ntrol of it. 12
, . _ t uesti on in a to rt cas\'
If it is deter m in ed th at a d u ty 0 1 ca re ex isted , th e n ex q -I w o rd s was 111l' Ik lyin g o n ci rc u m sta n tia l ev id en ce (us ing th e lo g ic o f res ip sa loquit ur)
.' owed In o t i er -, lilt I I \ design e ng inee rs, becau se it h as been ap p lied to de fecti ve p rodu ct s.
in vol ves de termini n g w h at standard uf Ci/IC was . .' test a n d ask,
. .. ' 11 Iy a rea soll av le person , II' II ,Ill injury h as resulted from a p rodu ct , a n d wh en the ca use is so o bv io us
pe rso n n e gli ge n t? I h e co ur ts WI a p p c ' . • S7" In t h e e ngi
I . tl e Clrcum std n Ce . II11I "IIl l' Ihi ng spe a ks for itsel f," th e desig ne rs m ust pro ve th at n egligen ce di d
"W ha t wo u ld a reaso n abl e per so n do , unc e l l . v ie a!J!Jears o fte n ill
. . " A t the term rea.w)l/a~ 11 111 III rur, In t h ese (res ipsa loquitur) cases , Ca n ad ian to rt la w, based o n n egli-
n ccr rn g a n d /o r geosCIe nce lice n sm g c s, . 's-----:---
Protessl " 0 1'\1 I;ngineer in
I' ' I
t he d efinition of lIegligw ce., For exa m p le, O n ta n o , tit utes a fa ilure III 111' , becomes ver y sim ila r to t he st rict liabi lity in Ame rica n co ur ts .
.~ . . sio n t hat ' co ns III \ 1I 1l1111a ry, tort la w req u ires e nginee rs a n d ge osc ie n tists (a n d a ll profes-
Act d efines n egll fe n ce a a n ac t 0 1 onu s - - .. -t ' t io n e r wo u ld
. . II and prudent pl dC 1 1IIIIId ) 10 avo id n eg ligen ce and in compet ence, a n d to elim in a te h azards tha t
ma intain t h e sta n d a rds t ha t a rca son a J e, . . . ' ed : h ow ever, pro
_ . ' . . _ " \ 0 P rfect io n IS n ot req u u , IIdoi «ndange r o t he rs. Fa ilur e to do so m ay c rea te liabilit y fo r any resu lting
m ainta in . In the Circu msta nces. e tab I'IS Ii ccI IJracc
t'lces , a n d we ll
I
fessio n a ls a re expecte d to use reasonab e ca re , es c I III1 II W' Ill" loss .
test ed princi ples. I tl Ollg h acc u rate wor l
· I' e ts ca re fu l or , IlI) UCT S LIAB ILITY
T he best p rot ecti on agalI1st n eg igen c 1 " in st the cos ts III
· . .. ' . e to pr otect ag aJ
Professio na ls ca n a lso o bta in lia b ility II1 sur a n c " . rsa n d o m lssio n>'
" ., ." . II ca lled e no c IIii' " II co nsu m e rs, a nd we ex pect m anu fa cture rs to m a ke quali ty goo ds ,
n eglige n t co nd uc t. I hi s II1 SU rdn Ce, typlca y . ..\Ctice· in fact ill
. . ' fo r " e's in p rIva te Pi, I ' III II /I co nsum e r purch ases a de fective p rodu ct from a manufacturer (eit he r
in sur ance, IS a w ise lIlvestmen t 0 1 e n gin e I a re ty pi ca lly COl'
. ., I pro fessiona l e m p loyeeS 1111 1tlv, Ilr throug h th e m anu facture r's age nt, d ist ributor, o r retai ler), the co n-
so me pr o v in ces, It IS co m pu so ry. f the in sura n ce, ,I
r • O f 0 rse regard less 0 I I f.' tIIl'r wri tte n o r im p lic it) is th e u sua l basis for d e m and ing rep a rat io n .
e rcd by t h e e m ployer s m surance. .c u ' . . n by t h e licen sill
! b ' -t t d i 'ci \JllI1a ry act io 111111 lor da m ages m a y be mad e for three reasons:
n egligen t p rofessiol1al is a lw ays su [ec 0 IS
Associatio n (as di scu ssed in C ha pte r 4). ,II 1, '\ li ve ma n u fac turing, or
III Hllgl' llce in des ig n, or
111111111 ' to wa rn o f da nge rs associa ted w it h th e p ro du ct. 13
Proving Negl igence .
. . ", t to Jrovide ev ide nce 01 negll
Ca na d ia n tort lawsu its req u ire the mjured pa r y. ! . I ce tint n egugc r«
. l1sta n t lal eVIC en ' t Condit io n s and Warrant ies
ge nce. Ho wever, co u rts m ay accept crrcu rns u _be defined p recisely
I I - - a .t ca use ca n no t II '"l1 l racl cla uses m ust be ex a m in ed c lo se ly. Co n t rac t clauses ar e typi ca lly
m ust h ave o ccu rred , even w l e n t i e ex , c ' I t l eg ligen ce has bl'l'll
To be m ore p recise, the co u rts w ill usua lly ass u me t ia I " Iii, II 11110 co nd it io n s a n d wa rra n ties. Usua lly th ese term s a re identi fied in
p ro ved w he n , 111111 ICI.
I rrol o f t he defe n da lll
• w h at ever ca use d t h e h a rm wa s unde r t h e so e ca n d lions. Co nd itio ns ar e key cla u ses th at must be sa ti sfied , o r t h e co n -
I ..
and ~ , _ _. : I" wOllld no t occ ur wit ho u t I ll " II III Ilia y be te rmin a ted . O bv io us ly, con d it io ns a re importan t, sin c e th ey
_ __L - ••• II~ . . .....n. l n .... ; ~) 1 "1'"\ o n rl t hn rf") n t -t - ~rt 14
144 PART TWO . PROFESSI ONAL PRACT ICE CHAPTER 8 • /la zare/s, Liabilit y , t o n d n rds, 111/1/ 511/ , Iy I I,'
• Warranties. Wa rr anti es a re c la uses tha t per mit th e co ns u me r III ,' lrlCI liaQ!lity covers p rod uct defects a nd co ns u me r safety. T h e focu s is 0 11
demand rep air s, repl acement, o r da mages. Ho wever, a wa rra nty cla use Iii .. pro d uc t itself, a nd no quest ion s o f n eg ligen ce ari se. D.L. Marsto n, in hi s
d oes n o t pe rm it a co n tract to be terminated . (The term "wa rra n ty " is I . I 101/11' [or Professionat Engineers, states:
usu all y app lied to goods an d product s, w h er ea s th e term "g ua ra n te e"
III products liability cases in the United States , a manufactur er may be st rictl y liable for
is usu all y a p plied to se rvices o r agree m e n ts .) Warranties are pr omi ses
li l ly damage th at result s from t he use of his prod uct , even though the manufactur er was
th a t a m a nufacturer m a kes abo ut a prod uct. If th e product fail s to m eet
IIn\ negligent in producing it. Canadian products-liability law has not yet adopte d thi s
t h e te rm s in th e warra n ty, th e m anu fac t ur er m ay be liabl e fo r a n
" \ rict liability " concept, but the law appears to be developing in that directio n. II
resultin g d amage.
III bo th Ca nada a n d the United Stat es, th e req uirem ents for ca re were se t
1.\ /I I'nz Brit ish case, Donoghue 1'. Stevenson. Th e judg men t in t hi s case sta ted
Government Acts Regulating Products 111 1'0111 :
SALE OF GOODS ACT Every provin ce and territ o ry h as a law-t yp icall y ca lled fI manufactu rer of products which he sells in such a form as to show t hat he int ends
a Sa le o f Goods Act-tha t m ay be invo ked for th o se ti m es when a sa les co n t lu-m to reach the ultim ate customer in the form in which t hey left him, and with no
tract lacks spec ific wo rd ing . Th e Sale o f Go ods Act d efin es ce rta in co n d itio ns I' nsonable possibility of intermediate examina tion , and wit h th e knowled ge that the
an d wa rra nt ies in orde r to protect th e ge ne ra l p ub lic. For exa m ple, typi cal ,Ills ' nee of reasona ble care in th e preparation or putting up of th e prod uct s will result
sa le co nd it io ns requ ire p roduct s to ha ve a basic quality (o r tncrchantabilitys, In Injury to th e consumer's life or property, owes a duty of care to the consu mer to take
as well as fit n ess for use. Th ese term s impl y th at the p rod uct mu st not Ill' \ h,11 reasonable care.l"
d efecti ve a n d mu st be usable as inte nded . Th us, a lawn m ower must be able
to cu t grass, and a ref rigera to r m ust be abl e to kee p fo od co ld . Regul ations fOi 111 I he Un ite d Stat es, th e Ame rica n Law Instit u te has pu blish ed th e fo i-
1. ,\ 111 1.: 1we -part rule for prod ucts liab ility, wh ich co n ta ins the id ea fro m the
the sa le o f go o ds ty picall y ap ply to prod uct quality. Recentl y, however, t lu:
111111 Ii precede n t, but a p plies it more stric tly:
co ur ts have been interp retin g Sale o f Go o d s Acts to enco m pass sa fety a ~
w ell .l > I, One who sells any product in a defective condition, unreason ably dan-
gerous \0 the user or consumer or 10 his property, is subject to liability for
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT In add ition, eve ry p rovin ce now has a Co nsu me, physical harm thereby caused to the ultima te user or consumer, or to his
Prot ecti on Act th at im po ses furth er provisio ns o n co n su m e r sales, o r that pre - property, if
ve n ts certa in basic righ ts fro m be in g wa ived . Ho weve r, th is legislation is (a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and
intended to pro tect individ ua ls; typically, it do es no t apply to go ods pur (b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substan-
ch ased for co m me rcial use or resale. tial change in the condition in which it is sold.
'. The rule stated in Subsec tio n (1) applies althou gh
(a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of
HAZARDOUS PRODUC TS ACT The federa l Hazardou s Products Act (a lso m en
his product, and
tion ed be low under workplace hazard ou s m at erials) se ts standards o f sa fety
(h) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into
across Ca nad a for a wid e va riety o f co ns u me r pro d uct s, fro m ho ckey helmets
any contractual relation with the seller. 19
to kett les. In add it ion , th e fed e ra l Motor Veh icl e Safet y Act (R.S.C. 1985,
c. M-lO) se ts sa fety stand ards for a u to mobile manufacturers.!" I I,,' key di ffe ren ce bet wee n Ca n ad ia n and Am er ican la w is t h at t h e
lil t III a ll de fin itio n spec ifica lly sta tes tha t th e ru le ap plies eve n when th e
II I I I IiI S ta ken a ll po ssib le care. In o ther words, it applies eve n when no neg-
u.s. Products Law-Strict Liability II ' "" ' can be shown . Inst ead of the pla inti ff bein g req uired to pro ve negli-
Ill" , th e defe n d a n ts must p ro ve th e ir p rod uct 's sa fe ty a n d rel iabil it y.
The co nce p t o f strict liabili ty a p plies ma in ly in th e Un ite d Sta tes . However,
Ca n ad ian e ng in eers and m anufacturer s mu st be awa re o f it , because till' 1""'IIVl'r, the Am er ica n law applies to se lle rs; as a resu lt, ev e ryo ne in the
I I II / Illanufact ur ing/ sa ies ch ain is inclu ded .
No rth Am erica n Free Trad e Agree m en t (NAFTA) n ow pe rm its a freer flow 01
products across th e bo rd er Tn tO theUn ited Stat es. Mo reover, since Can ad ian
ell n Pro d u cts Law-Ri sk -Utility Analysis
and Am er ica n law s are both based o n th e British co n cept o f established pr ece-
d ents, legal decis io ns m ad e in o ne co un t ry m ay, over time, be ap pli ed in till' Iii, "" ty to design sa fe p roducts is we ll es ta b lishe d in Ca n ada, a lt ho ug h
o th er co u n t ry. ui.ul 01 11 liability law differs so me wha t fro m Ame rica n law. Am erica n la w
146 PART TWO· PROFESSIO NAL PIlACTICE 1.I 1A I'Itll H • ttns uut» U,,/Jilil y, SI I/II d l" (/', " nd SnJ I' /y
focu ses o n t he reasonable expectations of th e co ns u me r. Osbo rne m akes till' 1111

low ing co m me n ts regardin g th is test, a nd illu strat es t h e risk-utility a p p roai I
tha t is m o re co m m o n ly fo llowe d in Canada:
[In the United States :] If th e product is not as safe as a consumer might reasonably
expect, t he design is defective. This t est has, however, proved to be very difficult to
apply in a fair and predictable mann er. The reasonable expect atio ns of consumers ill
resp ~ ct
t o some products may be unreasonably high and in respect of ot hers it may be
unduly low. The t est also fails to consider if th ere is an alte rna tive and safer design avail-
able. [A different ] t est , which is favoured in Canada, is a risk/utility analysis that seeks
to determine if the utility of the produ ct's design outweighs t he foreseeable risks of th '
design.
The risk/ ut ility t est was applie d in Rentway Canada Ltd . v. Lai dlaw Transpor t Lt d.
[1989]. The case involved a head-on collision bet ween t wo trucks, when both of t h
headlights of one of th e t rucks failed. The defendant had designed t he lighting syst em
of th at vehicle. Flying rubb er from a tread separation of a ti re knocked out one head-
light and, because bot h headlights were on the same circuit, t he ot her one also failed.
The plain tiff claimed t hat t he two headlights should have been on independ ent cir-
cuit s, in which case, one headlight would have remained on. The tri al judge assesse d
th e safety of th e design on a risk-benefit analysis and decided that t he design was
defective. Consideratio n was given t o t he degree of danger arising from th e design, th e "',111 ,1 - The Transcona Silo Foundation Fa ilure. On October 18,1 9 13,
availability of a safer design, and t he functi onality, th e costs, and th e risks of t ha t 1.II//1i/u li on for CP Rail 's huge grain elevator in N orth Transcona, M anitoba,
alte rna tive design . The ulti mat e questio n was whet her or not , in th e light of these 1,,1/ 1101127 degrees from the vertical durin g its ini tial loading. The structure
facto rs, t he product was reaso nably safe. The Cour t held t hat th e dan ger of having 1\ " /iI/w lly righted and still exists today. How ever, the accident taugh t a
bot h headlight s on a single circuit and t he availability of a functional and affordable ,,,.,/IIt' lesson about bearing capacity and th e effects of uneven loading.
alte rnative design outweighed t he utility of t he single circuit syste m used by th e
Ill' I A ll hives of Man ito ba, Fo ote 180 1 N2 79 3.
defendant. 20
Ge ne ra lly, mo st lawsu its in vol ving product lia bi lity are brought aga ln
the m anufacturers a nd sellers o f the product s, an d ar e usu all y ba sed o n bre ad
of warran ty or o n stric t liabil ity. A law suit is usu a lly brought against III II IIrst step in a ny p ro ject, d esigner s sho uld sea rch the Intern et fo r re l-
d esign engi neer o n ly in t he case o f all eged n egligence. How ev er, so me II IIIi IlIdl'S, stand a rd s, and sa fety regul ati on s. Do no t rely en tirely o n well-
th ese lawsu its have been enormo us ly cos t ly, so safety is a goo d investme nt • II rurupany sta nd a rds a nd textbook referen ces. Use t he In tern et to get
Wh en t he d esign er makes a p roduct safer, this p rotects the public fro m h;1I1 1 I I. III th e-art guida nce. A ge ne ra l sea rch usin g a few re levant key wo rds wi ll
and sim ulta neo us ly protect s t he m anufacturer from fina nc ial lo ss. I I up ro -date informati o n , almo st in st antl y (usua lly o n th e websit es
I Ii I II11 ca l soc ieties or sta nda rds o rga n iza tio ns). W hen a d ocum en t is not
\'1111 will us ua lly be able to pu rch ase it by cred it ca rd a nd d own load it
DESIGNING FO R SAFE TY 111 11 lililel y.
I 1IIIl's a nd stan da rd s m ay not see m im porta n t until acciden ts occ u r and
Obtai ni ng Cod e s, Sta n da r d s, a nd Regulations
1111 \ result. The co u rts usua lly see d esign codes as a " m in imum mand at o ry
Many tex tbo ok s describe th e ste ps in th e d esign seq uenc e, an d suggest wa , lillIlI lIl,"21 W he n a d esign er dev iat es fro m accepted d esign co des, the dev i-
to sti m ula te creat ive thinki ng, suc h as br ain st orm in g. How ev er, ve ry fl'l i111 1 mu st be ex p laine d by a wri tt en a na lysis or by co n vinc ing d esign calcu-
d esign texts em p hasize th e crit ical im po rtance o f codes , standa rd s, and sa fot 111111 , I\s Sa m ue ls a nd Sa nde rs n ote, co des a re inte n d ed to guide th e
regul ati o n s, perhaps becau se th ese ar e co n sta n tl y cha n ging a n d evo lv in : I 11 " 1'1, so any d esign th at d ep arts subs ta n tia lly fro m t hem is o bv io usly "a
Regrettably, so m e d esigners m ay n ot be aware th at such informati on is nOI 11 11\ lil'sign, u nl ess it ca n be d em o nstra ted that it co nforms to accepted eng i-
in stantl y ava ila ble th ro ugh the Internet. dil l{ practi ce by ratio nal a na lysis.1/22
PAllI IWO • PIWfL SS IONAL PIIACII CL CHAPTEI1 8 • Ha zard s , Li abili t y , S ta n d a rds , a n d S afe t y
- - 149
Cod es c h a n ge over tim e, so desi gn ers mu st usc up-to-d at e In formatlo u, lAWAND REGULATIONS Everyone mu st fo llow provincial and fed era l
co u rse. But so metimes (in ver y rar e cases) , a d esigner mu st d eviat e fl'llill , .Illd reg u la ti o ns . For exa m p le, eve ry pr ovin ce h as O ccupational
I.I\ V
code , su ch as in th e following in stances: 1111 "1111 Sa fet y laws to p rot ect workers, a nd en viro n me n ta l laws to pro tect
II 1IIIIII IlL'nl. The designe r must kn ow (an d foll ow ) th ese law s and regu -
• New infornultion. Recent failures, accidents, or new research silldl
II I I hl'Sl' a rc no w ve ry ea~y to find o n the In tern et. )
ma y p rov e that a design code is erro neous , so d esigners must supplciu-r
it with furth er an alysis, sh owing that th eir d esigns ar c safe.
(OOD ENGINEERING PRACTICE In the ab sence o f d esign sta n da rds or
• Low industry sta n d a rd s . So me industries se t ver y low interna l SI. II
legu lat io ns, the d esign er must sim p ly usc good e ng incc ring pra c-
1111111 '111
dards, and d esigners must routinely exceed the industry code. It is ulIIII
II I I('aso na b le to expect a d esign er to exa m ine o lde r design s (part ic u-
fessional for a d esi gn er to follow a co d e that is wid el y kn own 10 I
I II II II' have fa iled) to sec what lesson s can be learn ed, to co n d u ct a
defi ci en t.
11 11" II, ,II haza rd ana lys is o f a new design to find un exp ect ed o r potential
• No code exists. Fina lly, so me "c u tti ng ed ge " d esign s may be so n ew III
I • I , .Illd (fo r a co m p lex sys te m) to co n d uc t a failure an al ysis. Th ese tech-
no relevant co de o r stan da rd ma y exist. In th ese cases , th e d esigner 1111 1
use good e ng inee rin g design principl es and follow th e Assoc iatio n 's ( :11\ 11" " II' descr ibe d below.
o f Ethi cs, w h ich puts publi c h ealth, safety, and welfare ahead o f perso n
profit. D RED UC T I O N
I H azard Reduction Methods

Including Safety i n the Design Process
I A hazard anaiysi: sho u ld be co n d uc ted for eve ry de sign,
II ANALYSIS
Designe rs are h appy whe n th ey find feasib le so lu tio ns, but th e jo b is no t 01' 1 1111 ' design er sho u ld keep a perm an ent rec ord o f th e an alysis. (In sim p le
Th e design er is ro ut ine ly ex pecte d to o ptim ize th e d esign , to red uce m ruu I 1\ , I he a na lysis m ay be ve ry bri ef.) Th e h azard ana lys is is a syste m at ic
facturin g cos ts , and to elim in a te unnecessar y parts (a lso ca lled "v alue ell I ' I I I the de sign, in which th e designer ens u res that th e foll owing four
n eerin g" ). In add it io n, th e foll owing four ste ps for reducing ha zards shun1 IIIII IS a rc asked a n d an swer ed :
a lso be routin e :
.1. II l if y : Hav e we id entified a ll ha zards (obvio us or h id d e n)?
I I III lna t e: Have we e lim ina te d th e ha zards (w he reve r possible)"?
ELIMINATE KNOWN HAZARDS Th e Co d e o f Ethics requires professiona ls to III '
II dd: Have we sh iel de d users from ha zards, wher e th ey ca n no t be el im-
tee t th e publi c, so th e first ste p is to elim in ate o bvio us ha zards. For ex a III !,I
in building d esign, a high walk way is o bv io us ly d angerou s and th e de sig u Illilll'd '?
'UI'I. , Reln ed y, Re call: Ha ve we p ro vid ed rem edi a l ac tio n wher e
sho uld includ e railin gs for sa fety. Design ers a lso ha ve an o b liga tio n to rem«
1III'Iding is not po ssib le (by warnin g us er s, by reca ll in g produ ct s for
co ncea led h azards (t ha t is, h azards that arc n ot o bv io us to th e user). WII
" 1'11 11, by p roviding esca pe ro utes, an d so fo rt h)"?
suc h a ha zard ca n n o t be elim in ate d, th e design er must sh ield th e user fill
it, if possibl e, a n d warn th e user a bo u t it. For exa m p le, a lawn m ower III , 1111 ' ana lys is sho u ld co ns ider both th e h azard s o f n o rm al o pe ra tio n, an d
h ave a h azardous rot ating blade th at ca n no t be see n by th e user. Th e black- II lh th at m ight ari se from a b use o r mi suse.
n eed ed to cu t the grass, so it ca n no t be elim in a ted . Th er efor e, users m ust I
sh ielded from th e blade, and th ey must be clearl y warned th at co n tac t wll II "I ANALYSIS A [al lu re ana iysis ex a m ines tile co nseq ue nces if a sing le
th e b lad e may be leth al. An oth er exa m p le o f a co ncea led ha zard is a raru k« " '1"11 1e n t o f a lar ge sys te m sho u ld ra n d o ml y fa il. Failure ana lysis is
flaw in a key co m po ne n t. For ex a m p le, air craft ha ve so me part s t h at, if 11 11 10 " dl'd to find w h ich co m po ne n t failu res co u ld lead to a di sastrous failure
fai l, will ca use the a ircraft to cras h. Th e design er must spec ify th at such , III I 1111 ' who le sys te m . Formal failure an alysis techniques a re co m p lex, so th ey
ical parts must be test ed to det ect flaw s an d in sp ect ed regularly to e ns ur e Iii . rypt cal ly a p p lie d o n ly to very lar ge syste m s, suc h as e lec t rica l power
o ld, worn, o r d amaged parts ar c re p lace d . 1111 1 , ai rcra ft, o r co m p u te r co n trol sys te ms . T h e two best -known methods
t.illu re modes an d effec ts ana lysis (FMEA) and fault tr ee an al ysis (1711\). In
FOLLOW ESTABLISHED DESIGN STANDARDS Th e design er mu st kn ow an d fa IIII 11 11' cases, th e risks (or probabiliti es o f failu re) ca n be est ima te d m ath cm ati -
(or exceed) th e acce pted sta n da rds-whe the r th ey ar c required by law, or ,I I 11\ using relia bility th eory, and th e design ca n be cha nged u n til th e p rob a-
industry sta n d a rds , o r ar e sim p ly co m pa ny design gu ides- u n less there h 01 11\' of fa il u re is redu ced to a n acceptabl e va lue. Unfo rt u n a te ly, such
co nv inc ing anal ysis to justify d eviating from th em . As m enti on ed abov 1I1 1'leX co m p utatio n s a re n ot feasib le in 1110 st d esign situa tio ns, a n d th e
design sta n da rds are n ow eas ier to o bta in th an eve r befo re. I III\'er's judgment must su ffice . When in doubt, th e eng inee r's bias s ho u ld
150 PART TWO · PROFESSIO NAL PRACTICE
CHA PTER 8 • Haz a rd s , Liabi li ty, S t a n d a rds , alld S afe t y 151
always lean to wa rd increas ing safety. A m or e d etail ed di scu ssion of ha zai Th e Rivtow Ma rine case (be low) ex p lains t he duty to warn users about
ana lysis, FMEA, a n d FTA is included i n Ap pe n dix G.
Ii I/drd s. In ad d itio n, eac h of the a bove points is expla ine d br iefl y in th e file
1I,'du cing Hazards: A C hecklist for Design er s a n d Manufacturers," included
Desig ner's Checklist III Appen d ix G.
Hazard s exist in n o rm al life, a n d flaws ex ist in m at eri a ls, an d even th e mo I

Sf HIS T O RY 8.1
pain stak in g a tte m p ts by th e most d ilig ent design en gineers will n o t prevent
a ll failures. Th e design er is m or e likely to elim in ate d esign h azard s and m all
I I I I RIVT O W MAR INE CAS E: FA ILURE TO WARN
rial flaw s if th e fol lowing ste ps ar e added to th e typica l d esign seq ue nce:
I III case h ist or y illu strates th e legal n ecessit y to wa rn of h aza rd s. Riv t o w
• r in d a n d a p p ly sta n da rds and regulations.
• Co n d uc t forma l d esign rev iews . 11111 111:, a British Co lu m b ia logging co m pa ny, charte red a loggin g bar ge from
• Carry o u t a formal ha zard analysis. ltrltlxh Co lu m b ia dea ler nam ed Walkem . Th e barge was fit ted with a cra ne
1I1 11 11 1fac tu red by Washin gt on Iron Wo rks, a n Ame rica n m anu facture r.
• Ca rry o ut a form al failure ana lys is (whe n design co m plex ity justifies th h l
I hlngton had (earlie r) co ns truc ted a sim ila r cra ne, wh ic h h ad co lla pse d,
• Warn co ns u mers and/or cl ien ts o f ha zards.
• Prepa re and di st ribut e in st ruct ion manuals. IIl1 l1g the c ra ne operator. Wh en Rivto w Marin e lea rn ed o f that co lla pse,
I I tuw sto p ped operating it s own cra ne an d insp ect ed it. Serio us crac ks were
• Use state-of-t he-a rt design m ethods.
• Main tain co m p lete design reco rds. I uuu l, The se indi cat ed that th e Rivt ow cra ne mi ght soon co lla pse, so it was
1I1111ra wn fro m se rvice. The barge a nd cra ne stood idle for so me tim e, in th e
Each o f th ese points is explained at len gth in d esign textbooks-I a nd I II Ii1 d ll' o f a bu sy log-h arvest ing season, while repair s were m ad e.
su m ma rized in th e file " Red uc ing Haza rd s: A C hecklis t for Designers alld II was lat er lea rned tha t th e d ea ler (Wa lkem) and th e m anufa cturer
Manufacturer s," in cluded in Ap pe n d ix G. I hln gton Iron Works) h ad both been awa re for so me time of cracks o n
I III I' of th is typ e, ye t n either h ad inform ed Rivtow Ma rine. So Rivtow sued
Manufacturer's Checklist I ,III, alleging n egligence for failin g to p rovide a wa rn ing , a nd cla im ing dam -
I lo r th e cos t of repairing the cra ne and for eco no m ic lo sses while th e
Ma n u facturers wa n t peopl e to bu y a n d use th ei r product s. How ever, if pro d III .i n d cra ne were iclle. Th e tr ial was appea led to th e BC Appea l Co u rt an d
ucts are unsa fe (o r even if cons u mers mi su se o r abu se good produ cts: 11111 10 th e Sup reme Cour t of Ca na da.
damage, injury, o r death ma y occur. III " unani mo us ru lin g, the Su p reme Co ur t awa rde d d am ages o n th e ba sis
.Da m age cas es often end in co u rt, wh er e so-ca lled "a cc id ent a na lys ts' I "" gllgen t failure to wa rn . T he de fendants (Wa lkem an d Wash in gton) h ad
revl ~w the en ti re hi st or y o f th e p roduct. Unl ess a sa fety o r h azard analysis Wol 1IIIIw k dge of th e risk": they kn ew th e bu sin ess th at Riv t ow o pe ra ted, they
ca rrie d o u t (an d th o rou ghl y d o cum ented ) before th e product was so ld , III " uw are that th e crane was in ad equat e, th ey knew it was the bu sy seaso n,
p rodu ct will likel y be jud ged unsafe and th e manufacturer found liable. Alii Iii 111, 'y kne w w ha t h arm co u ld arise fro m h aving the bar ge a n d cra ne o u t of
th e lawsu it, it is often ev ide n t that th e p ro b lem co u ld h ave bee n avoid ed II I" I 111011 , Furthe rm o re, th e lo ss wa s a "d irect and foreseeab le" co nscq uen ce
fracti o n o f the lawyer's fees h ad been spe n t o n d esign sa fety. An old ada H I IIII' Ina de q uacy o f th e cra ne , a n d n ot a remote or unforeseeab le result,
says tha t a d oll ar spe n t o n d esign sa fety may save ten doll a rs o n defcm ItI, II Illight no t h ave justi fied award of d amages.
lawyers. " I)('rsona l injury occu rre d to Rivt o w personnel; h owever, the failure to
. Man ufa cturers th erefor e h ave an in centi ve to h el p th eir en gin ee rs d eslgl 1111 III ' Il l ca used ec o n o m ic lo ss. The Rivtow case is a key part o f Ca nad ia n
sa te produ ct s. Th e manufacturer 's typica l resp o n sibil iti es ar e as fo llows: II III W, beca use, pri or to this case, econo m ic lo ss wa s ge ne ra lly co ns ide red to
• Esta blish safety as a co m pany poli cy. I"" u -urot c to justify an awa rd. Th e Rivt ow case ha s been cited a nd ap p lied
• Co n d uc t ade q ua te qu ality assuran ce an d testing. "l lIlI y rece n t jud gments.25
• Revi ew warranti es, d isclaimer s, and ot her publi shed materia l for aCCUJ"i1l
• Act pr ompt ly o n co ns u mer co m p la in ts. IONAL ST A N D A R D S : THE STANDARDS COUNCIL
• In form d esign ers of co m p la in ts an d failures, so that th e design er ca n fllld NADA (SCC)
th e ca uses, a n d in corporate cha nges in fut ure d esign s. (Th is ma y Sl'(' 11i "" ".I, a rt' use fu l pub lica tions, particularl y for an yone in vol ved in design,
obvious, bu t design ers ar e not always inform ed nrop er lv.)
'--_""""'. ...11 uul nu . or nr ofessiona l ora cti ce. Cu rio us ly, we in Can ad a have co me
152 I'AI< I I WO • I' IW I I SS IONAL I' I<A II L I
CH A I' TE R 8 • tluz nu! s, Liabilit y, St nnd a ul» , tu u! SaJl'/ y I'
sa fe ly, so. ~ ta n da rds are m ost n o ticea ble wh en th ey ar e a bse n t. Th a t is, \V ii I Ill' Sta nd a rds Co u nc il o f Can ad a perfo rm s man y mo re tasks th a n thi s
we a re o ffe red prod uct s o r se rvices that are unsafe, unrelia ble, in ef flclcu r, I I 1IIIIIna ry s ho ws. For exa m p le, a rece nt SC C rep or t su m ma rizes Ca n ad ian
are in compatib le wit h o the r eq u ip me n t, we recogn ize th e im porta n ce o f ~ 1. 1 III 'd \'ra l, provin cial, and terr itor ia l) th at a pp ly to prod uct s used in th e
d ards. Sta n d ar ds d efine d im ensio n s, to lerances, stre n gths , vo lta ges, co m pru 1111 IJ Ih e typi ca l co ns umer.V Th e report list s th e a p p lica b le fed eral a nd
p rot~co~ s, and hundr~(~s of o th er m easu ra ble fact ors fo r manufacturing Iii 'I I 1111 lal laws fo r packa ging an d lab elling, texti le lab elling, h aza rd ous prod -
q ua lity Ite m s. In add ition , m an y stan da rds exp la in h ow to test , ma naa«, I , l'IIl'rgy effici e n cy, rad io an d te lecommun icat ion s p rodu ct s, e lec t rica l
can tro l q ua lity. Sta n da rd s are usefu l guid es for th e design, m an ufa ct 1I1'111 1, 1 , 111 0101' ve h icles , co m po n en ts, and accessori es to be so ld th rough retai l
ca n tro t, a n d ope ra tio n o f a lm o st any th ing .
till I , (II does n ot co ve r p roduct s such as fo od, drugs, m edi ca l pr oduct s, a nd
Fo rtu na te ly, th e In tern et m a kes it ea sie r to find sta n d a rds tha n 1' 1 1I 1i 11 Is int en de d for in dustri al or co m me rcia l a pp lica tio ns.)
before, a n d yo u ca n usuall y d o wn load th e m imm ed iat ely. A 'ood st· '1111 11111' inf or ma tio n o n th eir programs a n d se rvices is av a ila b le fro m th ei r
l~o i n t in a .sta nda (ds ..s~h is th e Sta nda rds Co u nc il of Ca n ad a (SCC . TIll' ,,,I I. II I' al -cwww.scc.ca» (va lid as of June 1, 2008).
lowing in fo rm a tion is ta ken fro m th e SCC we s ite, with perm issio n:--
The Stand ards Council of Canada: The Standards Coun cil of Canada is a federat Crown
corporati on wit h t he manda te to promote efficient and effect ive sta nda rdization, I I NAT IO NA L STA N D A RD S: TH E INT ERNATI ON A L
Located in Ott awa, the Stan dards Council has a 15-member govern ing Council and a staff I\ NIZATION FOR STANDARDS (ISO)
of ap proxima te ly 90 [people]. The organizat ion repor ts t o Parliamen t t hro ugh t he 11I1 ' 111" llo na l sta nd ard s ar e particu lar ly importan t for tr ad e, sin ce th ey help
Minist er of Ind ustr y, and oversees Cana da's Nat ion al Sta nda rds System. . . . tll'llllan prod ucts to e n te r for eign ma rkets. However, creat in g independent
The Nat ional St andards System: The Sta ndards Council has the mandat e to coordinate I 1I1 0111n ls in eve ry co u n t ry wou ld be a massive dupli cation of effo rt. When
I II i u.u io na l sta n d a rds a re a lrea d y esta b lis hed , th ey s ho u ld usu all y be

and oversee the efforts of th e Nation al Sta ndards Syst em, which includes organizations
and individua ls involved in voluntary standards development , promotion and implemen- 1"1'1 I'll.
tation in Canada.. . . Standards affect nearty every product or service we enco unte r in 11 11 ' In tern ati ona l Or ga n iza tio n fo r Sta n d ards (ISO ) was fo unded in 194 7
our daily tives. In Canada alone there are several thousand na tional standards, for every- 11 11111l' mandate to "s ta n da rd ize the sta n da rds" am o ng co u n tries, and ma ke
thing from AC met ers to zirconi um. III III mo re ava ilable. By 199 6, more th a n o ne h und red member co u n tries
II 1';lrticipat ing in its sta nd a rds act ivities, in cluding Ca na d a, Britain , and
Developing, maintai ning an d implementin g that many standards is too big a job for any III l lu lted Sta tes . In its pr esent form , ISO is a n etwork fo rm ed by th e n ati on al
one organization. It requires a whole syste m-t he Nati onal Standards Syst em. For more I II 11 1Mds in stit u tes o f 155 co u n t ries (wit h o n e m ember per co u n t ry). Th e
than 25 years, the Nati onal Sta ndards Syste m has helped to ensure the safet y and per- I u u lnrd s Co u n c il o f C a n ad a (SCC) is C a n ad a 's representative . Th e ISO
formance of prod ucts and services, helped to open th e global marketp lace to Canadians, 11 11,,1 Secretariat, loca ted in Ge ne va, Switze rla nd , coor d inates th e syste m .
and made Canada a leader in intern ati onal standardization.
II" 1'Vl'I', ISO is a n on-go vernm ent a l o rga n iza tio n ; in ot h e r wo rd s, eac h
More than 15,000 Canadian members contri bute to committees t hat develop nat ion al or "' 11 1111' 1' rep rese n ts hi s or h er n ati on al sta n d a rds orga n iza tio n , n ot th e
int ernational sta ndards. 1I1 111111a l govern m en t .
w l u-ncvc r a n ew sta n da rd is pro posed , ISO brin gs togeth er a techn ica l
As well, more th an 400 organ izat ions have been accredite d by the Stand ards Council. 11 11 111 Itee co m p risin g ex pe rts from t h e vario us mem ber co u n t ries . Typ ica lly,
Some of th ese develop sta ndards; ot hers are conformity assessment bodies, whic h det er- I ' II nat io n t hat parti cipat es o n th e techni cal co m m itt ee se ts up a n ad visor y
mine t he compliance of products or services to a sta nda rd's requirements. . . . 11111 1' co m posed o f ex pe rts fro m wit h in its own borders. Th is gro u p th en ge n-
Accredit ed sta ndards development organ izatio ns may submit t heir standards for approval I II I ' a nati o na l co nse ns us rega rd ing t h e propo sed stan d a rd.
as Nat ional Sta ndards of Can ada. This designati on indicat es that a standard is th e offi- 111(' pro po sed sta n d a rd m ust pa ss t hrou g h t h ree dr aft s. At ea c h dr aft,
cial Can adian standard on a parti cular subject . It also shows t hat t he development 1111 11I 1)('rs o f t he tech n ica l co m m ittee propose differing o p in io ns a nd a lte rn a-
process met certain specified crite ria. Nati onal Sta ndards of Canada may be developed in II 1 wor d ings. Th e m ember co u n t ries th en vo te o n th e sta n d a rd . If th e fin al
Canada or adopted, with or without cha nges, from int ernati onal standards. . .. II III sta nd a rd receives a two -thirds positi ve vo te, it becomes a n ISO sta nd ard
tIIoi h tran slated in to t h e th ree o fficia l ISO langu ages: En glish, Fren ch , an d
Internationa l Standardization: Internationally, SCC manages Canada's participation in I II 1.111. Each co u n t ry ca n ta ke a furth er ste p and ado pt the ISO sta n da rd as
Internati onal Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Int ernational Electrotechnical I 1I 11 11on ai sta n d ard , and publish th e sta n da rd in th e lan gu age u f th at cu u n try.
Commission (lEC), two of t he world's most import an t volu ntary standardi zatio n I '( ) has develo pe d over 16,000 Intern ati on al Sta nda rds (as o f 2006) . Th ese
bodies... .26
I II randard s may be se a rche d thro ug h th e In tern et, and th e title listin gs
154 PART TWO· PRO FESSIONAL PRACli CE CIIAI'H ll H • ll a r u rt! , !.i"bi/i ly , St andat d s, nni! Soj ,' ly I' ,
incl ude a bri e f a bst rac t (in m an y cases). (No te : Pap er co p ies of ISO sta nd .u d 11111111 '11 In d et ai l: fifteen-st ep p rocesses, w h ich may ta ke m or e th an a yea r
are usu all y m ore eas ily av aila b le th ro ugh th e Sta n da rds Co u n cil of Canud I I 11111111'111 .n t , a re co m m o n . Re-certi fi cat ion a ud it s sho u ld be ca rr ied o u t
The ISO we bs ite is locat ed at -cwww.Iso .o rg» (va lid as o f May 3 1, 2008 ). I I \ III I d yea 1'.:10
II " Im po rta n t to st ress th at ce rti fica t io n is n o t n ecessa ry to use th e ISO

111 111 q ll.lllty ma nagem e n t system , but it p rov id es an ex tra level o f assu ra nce .
ISO 9000 and ISO 140 0 0 Stand a r d s
I I I 'J()OO is now the accepted wo rld sta n dard for q ua lity man age m ent.
ISO sta n da rd s usu all y a p p ly to spe cific p roduct s, but two sta nd a rd s ar c dll
ferent: th e ISO 9000 an d 14000 se ries of "gen eric m an agement sys te m slall I II , .IOOO- ENVIRO NMENTAl MANAG EMENT SYSTEMS
dards" a p p ly to th e man agem ent o f a n o rga n izatio n, rath er tha n th e prod III I III h'w of Ih e success o f th e ISO 90 00 se ries o f stan da rds fo r q ua lity man age-
prod uced. Th e ISO 9000 a n d ISO 14000 fam ilies a re a mo ng ISO 's best know II 11111 1, Illan y co m pan ies a lso ado pt ed th e ISO 14000 se ries of standa rd s for
sta n d a rds , eve r. ISO 900 I :2000 an d ISO 1400 1 arc implem en ted by a lmo I II tu uuu cnta l man agem ent. ISO 14000 was d eve loped usin g t h e in terna-
900,000 o rga n izatio ns in 16 1 co u n t n cs.P' These stan d a rds may be used 11 \ I 111.11 t o usc nsus procedure (as for all ISO sta n d a rds) an d is ve ry sim ilar to ISO
any or gan iza tio n, la rge or sm a ll, and ar e d escrib ed b riefly below. 11I11I1t'rt ifica tio n. Th e goa l o f th e ISO 14000 sta n d ard is to m in im ize th e
'11I1I,lI ly'S har m fu l effects o n th e en viro n me n t.
ISO 90 0 0- Q UALITY MANA GEMENT AND QUALITY ASSUR ANCE STANDARDS l ilt' ISO 14000 process req u ires the co m pa n y to exa m ine eve ry fun ct ion
Th e ISO 9000 series o f sta n d a rd s fo r ma na gin g a man ufa ct uring co rpo ration I II 0 IH'ra tio ns wit h th e goa l o f identifying activit ies with a sign ifican t en vi-
is in tended to m axim ize th e q ua lit y of ma n u factu red products. Th e sta ndard 111 11 11 '11 101 1 im pact; it th en co m m it s th e co m pa ny to preventing pollution in
is ve ry effec ti ve an d h as been w idel y adopted . Bet ween 198 7 (w h en th e fiJ ~1 II I" lis for ms . Th e stan d a rd does not se t acce p ta b le en v iro n me n tal levels-
versio n o f ISO 9000 was relea sed ) an d 1996, m or e than 100,000 co rpo ra tio n Ii II 1 Id 'l to regu latory age n cies . Ho wever, t he stan da rd does require th at
o bta in ed ISO 9000 certifica tio n . Th e a uto mo tive ind ustr y n ow ex pects eW I\ IIII I vuv lro n rn cn ta l levels be deter mined a n d foll o wed .
su pp lie r to be cert ified to ISO 9000 sta nd ards. ISO 9000 ce rt ifica tio n is 1111 IOllitori ng an d m easurement ar e, of co urse, essen tia l. Procedures fo r co r-
d omi n an t q ual ity ma n agement ce rtifica tio n syste m in t h e world. It is estI II v uctio n an d eme rge ncy respo nse ar e a lso req u ired .' Each o f th ese activ-
m ated t h at a n in vestm en t in ISO 9000 ce rt ificat io n usu a lly pays fo r itsvl! l it II li1 y req u ire se tt ing pe rforman ce cr ite ria, d efinin g respo n sibilities,
wit h in th ree ye ars thro ug h in cr eased prod uctiv ity a n d reduced sc ra p.29 I 11 111 ).\ d uties, providi n g t raining, and ens ur ing ad eq uat e co m m u nicatio n .
Th e ISO 9000 stan da rd is ve ry co m p rehe n sive . It requ ires a corpo ra tio n 10 I I I I 1000 d o es n o t req ui re d ev e lop in g a n e n v iro n me n ta l ma nage m en t
exa m ine a lmost eve ry aspect o f its man agem ent, design , p urch asing , in sp« II 111 11II. l low eve r, m o st co m pan ies wo uld probably pre pare it.
tion , testing, h and lin g, s to rage, pa ckaging, pr eser vati on, d elivery, a n d docu 111l' ISO 14000 seri es was released in 199 6, a n d m an y maj or co m pa n ies
men tat io n syste m s. Impro vin g th e qu ali ty o f th ese systems en a b les ef fectl vt 11I1 1I 11 'dla tely co m m itt ed to implem enting th e sta nda rd." ! O th er stan da rds in
eva luati o n o f th e m an ufa ct u rin g process and shows w h er e qu alit y im prove 1111 I () 1400 0 se ries conce rn en v iro n me n ta l as pect s of p roduct sta n dards,
m ents a re requ ired. An important par t of ISO 9000 in vo lve s d evelo p ing ., II u ruu u enta l aud iting, en v iro n m en ta l assess m en t o f sites, en viro n m en tal
"q u alit y m anu a l" to d o cu m e n t th e fo ur key as pects o f t h e ce rt iflca t lo u I I" I , vnviro n rn en tal per form ance eva luatio n and life-cycle assess me n t, to
process. Thi s m anua l docum en ts th e fo llowing: 11111 111111 o n ly a few. Th e ISO 140 64 stan da rd fo r green ho use gas accou n ting
• Q ua lity po licies fo r every asp ect of th e co rpo ra tio n 's o pe ra tio ns . lid vvrlflcat io n was publish ed in Ma rch 200 6. ISO 140 64 h elps govern me n t
• Q ua lity assu ra nce p rocedures, w h ich in vol ve 20 cla uses in th e ISO 90011 lid industry to m anage p rograms for red ucing gree n h o use ga s em issio ns an d
sta n d a rd . 1111 IIIII S tra d in g. 32
• Q ua lity process proced u res (o r practi ces, o r in stru cti ons), w hic h inc lude
all o f th e co m pa ny's prod uctio n p rocesses.
uv RN M EN T CODE S AND ST AN DARDS
• Q ua lity proof: a repo sit or y for all of th e fo rm s, record s, a nd o t he r docu
m entati on t h at give o b jec tive evid en ce-o r proof-th at t h e q ua lit, III I '11I'rs use stan d ards becau se it is good p ro fessional pr ac tic e, b ut so m et imes
sys te m is o pe rating properl y. I til 1111 and provincia l laws req uire th e use o f certa in sta n da rds , and even so me
'111 11 111 lpal bylaws ma y specify stan da rd s. Standa rds are cite d in laws w h enever
Th e ISO 9000 q ua lity ma nage me n t syste m pe rmi ts an d en co urages "ce ru 1111 Hove rn m en t wa n ts to gua ran tee q uality o r un iformity. Fo r exa m p le, laws
ficat io n " (inte rna l an d ex te rn a l a ud it s). Ce rt ifica tio n is lik e a n a u d it in .1 f d I
1 1III ully req u ire spe cific sta n da rds to be o llo wc r to ensur e t 1<It
fina n cia l co n tro l sys te m, w h ere a ud its a re estab lis he d, accepted , a n d ro u tine
Typica lly, to ens ure im pa rtia lity, indep enden t qualit y aud ito rs, or " reg ist ra rs," \ nruing an d danger signs h ave sta n da rd size, wording, a n d sy m bo ls,
carry o u t t h e ce rtificat io n audit. Every aspec t o f a co m pa ny 's o pera t io ns_ i . ...... I'I,·ctri c o r electro n ic eq u ipme n t is safe for p ub lic use,
156 PART TWO . PROFE SSIONAL PRACTICE CIIAI'1 Ell 8 • itaz ortt s, ii abiti t», t u u tl a t tl s, an d Sajll ly 1 I
• mat eri als used in govern me n t co n tracts a re of prop er qu alit y, 1111 (' laws make t h e e m p lo ye r resp o n sibl e for work pla ce safe ty, a nd
• pub lic spaces are suita ble for d isabled access , and 111111 111(' 111 to hir e enginee rs or geo scientists to certify t he safety of eq uip -
• buildin gs, roads, wa te r, se wage, a n d sim ila r utiliti es are o f adeq uni II I II I p,oCl'sses. To fulfill th is imp or tan t respons ibility, engineers and geo -
q ua lity. 11 11 I IIlllsl be fam ilia r wit h th e relevant Occ upationa l Heal th a nd Safety
When th e law spec ifies a sta nda rd, yo u mu st find and follow it. Th e 11111 11111 II'glilatio ns. These va ry sligh tly across Ca nada:
co m mo n governmen t-specified sta ndards a re t he bu ild in g co des, di scu ss. I ,II h of th e te n provinces, t hree territories and the federal government has its own
be low. No te th at "code" is vir tua lly in te rcha ngea ble wit h "sta nda rd." Th e dlf II II [nn -upational safety and healt h] legislation. The federal governmen t has respon si-
tere nce is subtle: codes usua lly describe how so meth ing is co ns truc ted, all 1IIII V Ill' th e health and safety of its own employees and federal corporations, plus
standards us ua lly app ly to the materials th em selves. Therefore, codes o t« II ~ , III certain indust ries such as inter-provinci al and intern ational tr ansportation
refer to standa rds, bu t bo th se rve th e same purpose: to im prove qu ality, sa k i I t1 , r.illways and air transport) , shipping, te lep hon e and cable syste ms, et c.
an d reliability. PI'I II xll'hllely 10% of th e Canadian workforce falls into th e federal jurisdiction. The
.11 11 1111 111 90% of Canadian workers fall under the legislation of t he province or terr itory
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION CODES Co nst ruc t io n codes are ofte n speci fied II 1111 III ' y work. 33
laws. The Nat ion al Research Co uncil's Institute for Research in Co nstruc t II'
I II I I II lIat ely,
a fede ral age ncy help s to m ake sense o f thi s flood of inf o r-
(IRq publi sh es th ese co des. For exa m ple, th e Nati onal Building Code W,I
develop ed in 1941 to co nsolida te th e pat chwork of provincial and municlp, 1111' 11 Canadian Cen tre for Occ upatio na l Health and Safety (CCO HS)
IIl l '
codes that ex isted ac ross Ca na da in th e 1930 s. Th e code was so successfu l I lill 1.1, d irect Int ernet links to all p rovincial , territori al, a nd fed eral health
it h as been maintain ed eve r since, and is revised eve ry five years. IRC now pili I 1111'1 legislat ion t hro ug h th e CCO HS web sit e, and provid es a n immen se
'11 11 1 0 1 safety advice, trainin g, publi cati ons, an d link s to h azard dat ab ases.
lish es severa l ot he r co ns truc tio n codes and user's gu ides (mos t of whi ch ,II
il l lllury website, kn o wn sim ply as Ca nOS H, o rgan izes laws by region;
avai lable o n CD-ROM), including th e following:
, ' 111 1 ob ta in t he safe ty laws for a ny Ca n ad ia n juri sdi cti on eas ily an d
• Natio na l Bu ildi ng Code of Ca nada Iii
• Natio na l Fire Code of Ca nada III II ' I'W th e safety laws and regulati on s for your provinc e, territor y, or th e
• Na tio na l Plumbing Code of Ca na da I , tl 'Iwcrn men t, contac t either th e CCO HS o r CanOSH websites: Canadian
III' 1111 Occupatio nal Health and Safety (CCO HS),-cwww.cco hs.ca» : Canadian
• National Farm Build ing Code of Ca na da
• Nat io na l Ho using Code of Can ada I III .d Occu pa t lo n al Hea lt h an d Safety (Ca nOSH) -cwww.ca noshwcb.o rg»
• Model Nat iona l Ene rgy Code of Ca nada fo r Houses 11.1 I 01 Ju ne 1, 2008) .
• Mode l Nationa l Energy Code of Ca na da for Buildi ngs
Building co nstructio n is under provin cial con tro l, of course, so the nation 'I' Iio n al He a lt h and Safety Regulations
codes are "model codes." However, all pro vin cial gove rnme nt s have adopu I I, , upatio nal Health and Safety (O l-IS) laws state tha t eve ry Ca nad ian is
these codes, o r adopted th em with modi ficati on s, o r develop ed provincia l cod 1111 .1 10 a safe an d healthy wo rk env iro n me n t, a nd th at th e emp loyer ha s
based o n the nat ion al codes. Th ey are wid ely ava ilable from bookstores an I " II ' provide it. The practi cal rules for workplace safe ty are usuall y found
th e foll o win g websites: Nati onal Research Co u nc il -cwww.natlo nalcodes.o ill' 1 1 ' ~',ltl ati ons made under th e authority of th e O I-IS law. The regulatio ns
Federa l Publi cati on s Inc. -cwww.fed pubs.co rn»: Standards Co u nc il o f Ca n:ul , I II fo un d th rough th e CCO HS or Ca nOS I-I we bsi tes (a bove).
-cwww.scc.ca» (valid as of May 31, 2008). 1I1o li lcIIIS a re typi call y avai lab le free in a co m p ute r-searc ha b le (pd f)
III ii , H alt ho ugh so me regulati on s a re al so avail abl e as a n in exp en sive
1' 1 II IIldboo k.:l S

O CCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS) LAWS
"II I I 'R IGHTS
Occ upa tio na l Health a nd Safety laws p rot ect work ers from un safe work ("II I
I I il, provin cia l, and territori al O HS laws typi cally give em p loyees three
c!(t i0rlsby requi rin g e m ploye rs to follow safety regul ati on s. In add it ku
I II III s:
Ca nada's Crim in al Cod e n o w imposes crim ina l pen alties wlien wo rkpl,
safe ty violat ions resu lt in in jury o r death . (The Crim inal Code amendnu- II I I ' l{ht to know. Em ployees mu st be informed of workp lace hazards,
was a conseq ue nce o f the Westray min ing d isaster, disc ussed later in tli lid mu st be properly t rain ed to operate o r manage da ngero us machi ne ry,
chapter.) 11I 11 "lIen t, pro cesses , or su bsta nces.
158 PART TWO· PROFESSIO NAL PRACTICE CIIAI' I Lll 8 • 1I(1L n /(/ ~ , i. i ab il it y, /(III1I (IIt1 ~ . a/III Saj d V
• The right to re f u se dangerou s work. Em ployees have th e righ t 10

8 .1 - Occupa tiona l Health and Safety Regul ation s
refu se da ngero us wo rk wit ho ut th e risk o f d iscip lin e o r d ismi ssal. UIHh 1
spec ified circu ms ta nces , certa in members o f th e healt h and sa fety ( 0 111 1111 I,llll,' s hows typ ica l h ead in gs in O HS regu la t io n s.
mittee ca n inter ven e to sto p dange rou s wor k. II " II Ill'qui relll c n ts Requirem ents fo r Indust ri es w it h
• The right t o parffc t p a t e . Empl o yees have th e righ t to I h'lllIlt io ns S peci a lized Ha zards
in m akin g th e workp lace sa fer t hro ug h workp lace h eal th , i,' lIe ra l Safety Precaut ton s Forestry
( o m rn i tt ec s, 111111 1 Wor kplace Healt h a nd Safe ty O il a nd Gas We lls
, ou nni t tec Resid entia l Ro o fin g
l lnzard Assessme n t, Elim inat io n and Tree ca re o pe ra tio n s
EMPLOYERS' DUTIES c ont ro l Health Ca re a nd In du stries wit h
O HS laws place th e resp on sib ilit y for wor kplace sa fety firml y o n th e em ) 10)" '1 I Il, t Aid Biol o gical Ha za rd s
~ p l oyer mu st e ns u re th atth e wor kp lace i'SSa'fe; must p ro vide a ll I uu -rgcncy Prepar edness a nd Fire a n d Ex p lo sio n Haza rd s (incl ud ing
need ed protect ive devices, eq uipm en t, o r m at e rials; must ensure th at th ey ;11 1 It," pIHlse we ld ing ve h icles a nd p ip elines)
workplace Haza rd ou s Ma ter ials De m o litio n
used as prescr ibed by th e reg ulat io ns; and ens ure that th ey are m aintai n ed III
ln to nn at ion Syste m (W HM IS) Divin g Ope ra ti o ns
goo d co nd it io n . Spec ific guida nce is give n by co m pre hen sive O HS regu l.i \ j1l'cl ficat io ns a nd Ce rtifica ti o ns Excava t in g a nd Tunnelling
t ion s, wh ich require man y dangerou s sit uatio n s to be in vesti gat ed a nd ec ru I', I nn al Protectio n Requirem ents Requirements for Ge nera l Industrial
fied as sa fe by professiona l e n g in ee rs o r geosc ie n tist s. Thi s m ea ns t iI .11 l'crs o nal Pro tective Eq ui p me n t: Eq u ip men t
prof essional eng inee rs o r geoscient ists assum e t he respo nsibi lit y fo r evalu I',y" Pro tecti on ; Fla m e Resistan t C ra n es, Ho ists a nd Lifting Dev ices:
ating sa fety. Obviously, famili arit y w ith O J-lS regu lation s is esse n tial. I lorhln g: Foo t Pro tect ion; Head C a n ti leve r Hoi st s; C h im ne y Hoi sts;
l'i ot ectt on : Life Jacket s a nd Per son al Hand-Oper at ed Hoi st s; Ma teri al
A typical list o f topi cs in th e O HS regu lat ions is show n in Tab le 8. 1, w h ii h
Ho tat ion Devi ces; Limb a n d Bod y Hoi st s; Mobil e C ra nes a nd Bo om
gives o n ly m ain headings. (The full regul ati ons a re typi ca lly 400 o r sao pag,· l'u uec tion : Respi ratory Prot ec tive Tru ck s; O ver h ead C ra nes .
lo ng.) As Ta ble 8. 1 sho ws, the O HS regul ati ons establish the workplace healt I "ljuipm ent. Pe rso n n e l Ho ists: Roof e r's Hoi st s;
and safety co m m ittee a nd, un der 40 o r SO sub-sect io ns, give specific gu idam lo lll,ts an d Was h ing Faci lit ies Towe r a nd Bu ild in g Sha ft Ho ists;
fro m ge ne ral sa fety proced ur es to t hose requ ired in indust ries wit h specia llzcd Noise Expos ure Tower C ra nes; Und e rgro u n d Shaft
1l,,,liatio n Expos ure Ho ists; Ve h icle Ho ist s; Win c hing
hazard s. Each em plo ye r, em ployee a nd pro fession al must be awa re o f the H 'g
l ilting a nd Handling Lo ad s O pe ra tio ns .
u lati on s th at a pp ly to th eir wor kplace. Vio lence Po wer ed Mobil e Eq uip m en t: For klift
Worki ng Alo ne Truck s; All-Te rra in Ve h icles; Snow
CONTRACTS AND PRIME CONTRACTORS I III1 Ullo n Wo rkp lace Protection Veh icles; Pile Driv in g Equipment.
Owne rs o ften hir e co n trac to rs for specific pro ject s. For exam ple, an ow ner rna I" qu l rcm ents • Scaffo ld s a nd Te m po ra ry Work
' ,III Prot ection Pla t fo rm s: Eleva ti n g Platfor m s;
hir e a builder to co nstruct a buildin g. Co ntracts sho uld spec ify clea rly who I Ae ria l Dev ices.
Ven tila tio n Syste m s
respon sible fo r pu blic safety and em ploye e safety o n th e work site. Th is perso n Ex p lo sives: Han dling Ex plosives;
l'utra nc es, Wa lkwa ys, Sta irways an d
is ca lled th e prime contractor (or, in so me provin ces, th e constructors. Th e pri nu l add crs Drillin g; Lo ad in g; Firing; Dest ro yin g
co n trac to r m ust co m ply wit h a ll th e O HS regu lations o n th e wo rksite as I I 'ou fincd Spaces Explos ives ; Spec ific Blast in g Activit ies.
t he pr im e co n t racto r were th e em ployer. It is very impo rtant to ens u re that til C .hcm ica l Haza rd s, Bio log ica l Haza rd s Requirem ents for M in ing
prim e co n tracto r is design at ed in t he co ntract, becau se if non e is designa ted .llId Har m ful Subs ta nces D iv isio n I- Gen eral : Fire Preven tion
loo ls, Eq uip me n t a nd Machiner y a n d Emergen cy Respo nse; Elect rica l
(or if mo re th an o ne is design at ed ), th en th e responsibility for occ u pat io nal
~ a l l'g u a nl s , Barri er s a nd Sh ields Syste m s; Ru b be r-Tired , Self-Pro pe lled
health and safet y falls back o n th e ow ne r.I" (lwrhea d Pow er Lines Mac hines; Diese l Po we r; C o n veyors.
l.o ckln g O u t Dangero us Equ ipment D ivision 2- Explos ives :
1, )1' Servicin g Tran sportat ion; O pe ra tio na l
ENFORC EMENT
1 ( I ~g i n g (ca bles, w ire ro pe, e tc., fo r Pro cedures; Un-d eto na ted or
The wo rkplace health and safety co m m itte e is required to in spect th e wo rk lil ting) Aba n d o ne d Ex plos ives; Blastin g
place regul arl y (t ypi cally monthly) to ens ure safety and rep ort pot ent ial hal Machines a nd C ircuits; Su rface Mines;
ards . In additio n , gove rn me n t in sp ector s em ployed by the lab our mln ist i v Un d er grou nd Mines a nd Tunne ls.
visit wo rkplaces to e ns u re th at O HS regu latio n s are bein g foll o wed. ln specto i Div isio n 3-Un de rgro u n d Co a l Mines:
have ex te ns ive powers under the O HS law to en te r and in sp ect wo rkplaces, M in e Worke rs; Mine Eq u ipment;
Ve h icles; Roof a nd Side Su p port;
ex a m ine d ocum en ts, test eq u ip me n t, a nd so o n. W here a n in spect or find s til,
Ve n ti lati o n Sys te m; Gas and Dust
O HS Act o r a n O J-lS regul a tion is being co n t rave ned , th e in specto r m ay or du C o n t ro l; Explo sio n Co n t ro l.
160 PART TWO · PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CIIAI' I [I I 8 • 1I0IOld s, t i ab il it», S t undnul s, tuu! 5 aj l'l y l ll1
the o w ne r or p rim e co nt rac to r (o r w hoeve r is in c h a rge of th e workptart-) I )1 ACE HAZARDOUS MATE RIAL S IN FORMATION
co m p ly w ith the O HS Ac t or regula tion s w ith in a specifie d time. Failu l(' I 1 M (WH M IS )
co m p ly w it h O HS la ws o r regu lati ons m ay lead to p ro secu tion in th e CO ll i I
III III I" h aza rd o us m ateria ls a re used in the workp la ce , t h e y ar e un d e r
a nd , u po n co n v icti o n , fin es a n d /or impri sonm ent.
I 1 IIIIIIro i b y bo t h feder a l a n d p ro vincial (o r territoria l) O HS laws. Worker s
I Ilghl 10 know if t h ey ar e wo rkin g w it h ha zardous su bs ta nces a n d to be
AC CIDE NT I N VEST IGAT IO N Ill' II Ih al I hey a rc p roperl y p rotected . In a d d it io n, the fed era l Hazardous
lil l I 1\l' 1 a nd t h e C o n t ro lled Pro ducts Regulati on (mad e under the Act )
W he re a n accide n t caus ing d ea t h o r critica l inj ur y occu rs o n a wo rksi t " III
o w ne r (o r pr ime co n t rac to r) is req ui red Lo render firs t ai d, co nse rve th e ill Id III m at eria l su p p lie rs, im porter s, a n d dist rib u tors . T h ese laws d efin e
d ent scene, a n d n otify the la bour mi n ist ry a n d th e wo rk p lace h ea lt h a ll I II II m.u c rtu ls (or co n t ro lle d prod uc ts) a re included in th e Workp la ce
sa fety co m m it tee . Th e la bo u r mini stry (or a re lat ed gove rn m e n t agen cy ) Ii Ildlll iS Mate rials In fo rm a ti o n Sys te m (W HM IS), and w hat in forma tion
au t h o rity un d er O HS la ws to in vesti gat e wo rkpl ace accid e n ts, a n d ern plo I I I I'll. I 1I111 s1 p ro v id e to e m p loye rs for con t ro lled product s used in the wo rk-
must ass ist suc h in vesti gati ons. Accide nt in vest igati o ns ma y be reg u la ted Ii ' 1I l' l' lic rs w ho se ll or import a con t ro lle d p rodu ct for the workp lace
t h e O HS Act, or u nder a se para te law, suc h as t he Workers' Com pe nsa t io n i\ I 1'1I 1vld l' a Materia l Safety Da ta Sh ee t (M SDS) for the co n tro lled p rod uct.
(d isc ussed be low). 11111 \1 a lso e n sure that e it her t h e co n t ro lle d p rodu ct o r its co n ta ine r is
Iii d wllh a ll req u ired in formation and h azard sy m bo ls.
Il tvi iS is a n unpre ceden t ed exa m p le of coo pera t io n am ong fede ral ,
III. 1,i1 , a ud te rrl to rta l govern me n ts , and m any so u rces o f in fo rm at io n ar e
Workers ' Compensati o n Act
11111 111', l lcalt h Ca n ad a, a fed er a l d epartm ent, h o st s a website d evoted to
Eac h p ro vin ce a n d terr it o ry h a s a law, u sua lly ca lle d t h e _WOII'!' II II I wi t h links to eac h p ro vincial a n d territorial d epartm ent that regu-
S:0~11 pe n sa t i o nAct, that es ta b lis hes a Wo rker s' Com pe nsa t io n Board (W I II hl / oII'd ou s m ateria ls . If yo u ar e in vol ved wi t h h azardous su bs t a n ce s,
a lt ho ug h th e nam e or law m a y vary in so me jur isd ic ti o n s . (Fo r e x a m 1'1 I 111 11 th ese websites : Health Ca n ad a WHMIS sit e: -cwww.h c-sc.gc.ca/ewh-
O n ta rio ca lls it t h e Wor kp lace Sa fe ty a nd In sura n ce Board , and Brill 11 1"11 I up -t rava il/ w h m is-s im d u t/ in dex_e . h t m l>; Go ve rn me n t of C a n ad a
Colu m b ia co m b ines both O HS a n d WCB leg isla t io n in a sing le Act) . Worke: 10 I iI i\c l and Regu lations) : Hazardous Prod uct s Act, ch . H-3 < h tt p :/ / la ws.
co m pe ns a t io n is, in sim ple te rms, a form o f "no -fault" wo rkers' in surance. 11 11 ) I ,l'a/e n / h -3 / tex t. h t m l> (va lid a s of J une 1, 20 08).
T he Worker s' Com pe n sa ti o n Ac t ty picall y req u ires e m p lo ye rs to su pp«
the Wo rke rs' Com pe nsa t io n Board, a nd each e m p loyer is assessed (or ta x«
as a p roportio n of t heir payroll. The fund s so co llecte d a re typ ica lly ca lled II IIIST O RY 8.2
"Accide n t Fu n d ," a nd a re u sed to pay wage, m ed ica l, di sab ility, a n d relat
II W I'" rRA Y MIN E D I SA STER : FA ILU RE TO FO LLOW SA FET Y
be n efits to worker s w ho a re u n able to wo rk because of a wo rkp lace injru
I II III\IID S
T h a t is, a n e m p loyee inju red in th e wo r kp la ce m ay collect corn pens a tl«
from th e W CB w it hout h a v in g t o sue th e e m plo ye r. (In fact, t h e W CB 1'01 I • 1\ I' hi story shows h o w a di sa st er ca n resu lt whe n ma na ger s sacrific e
eve n w he n t h e e m p loyer is in so lv e nt .) In ret urn for fina n c ing th e WI I I I t.uulards to m ax im ize p rofit. Twenty-six m en di ed w h e n the West ray
e m ployers are shielde d fro m e m p loyee Iawsu tt s.F I I Ii1II<l ed -o ne o f the worst in d ustr ia l tr agedi es in Ca n ad ia n hi st ory. As
In a d d it io n, sho u ld a wo r ke r di e becau se o f a w o rkp la ce inj ury, II 111111111 la te r n o te d : " West ray was a n acc id e n t wa it ing to happen ."
wo rke r's d epe ndants m ay be e n t it led to rece ive ben efits. In so me prov in«
th e WC B ad m in ist er s bot h the Acc ide n t Fu nd a n d the Occu patio n a l He:1I1 1
" .In c tlo n
and Sa fety la ws.
Worker s' Com pe ns a tio n Board to req u ire e m p loyers to report a n y accid 'II
I"
Ge ne ra ll y spe a k in g , ea c h Wo rk er s' C o m pe ns a t io n Act a u t h o r ize s 1111 II I' dange ro us, and coa l mines ar e the m o st d a n ge rou s m in es, beca use
I Is so ft a n d b ecause co a l dust and m ethan e ex p lo de if the mine is
1111
th at in vo lves a se rio us inj u ry or d eat h, o r a ma jor st ruct ura l fa ilure, 0 1 II 01 vu l ilute d . T h e first ma jo r Ca n ad ia n mine di sast er h appened in 18 73,
re lease o f a h a za rd ous su bs ta nce. T h is Board h a s t h e a u t ho rity to in sp« 1\111111 a uds of lives h ave bee n lo st sin ce then . In Sp rin g hi ll, Nova Sco t ia,
wo rkp laces, in vest igate in cid e nts, req uire em p loyers t o im p ro ve worke r sa il'1 I IIIIII\ 'IS we re killed in the mi n es between 1881 a n d 19 69 . Ca n ad a 's wo rs t
a n d im po se pen alties. 11111111 ' di sas te r o ccu rre d in June 191 4 in Hillcrest , Alb erta, when a n cx p lo-
T h e C a n O SI-! a n d CCO HS websit es, c ite d a bove, ar c a lso goo d so u rces 1 II 1IIII 'd 189 me n. :!!' As t h e yea rs pa ssed , peop le ca me to be lie ve t ha t
in fo rma t io n about Worke rs' Com pe ns a t io n Acts. 10 III ve n tila t in g, m onitoring, a n d excava t ing m eth ods m ade coa l mi n es
162 PART TW O· PROFESSIO NAL PRA CTI CE
CIIAPTEIl 8 • tt o z ar ds, Lio bili ly , S t a nd n ul s , 0 11 c1 SoJet y 163
-i-
I. Westra y Inquiry
1111 111 da ys of th e tr aged y, a necdo tes ab out un safe practi ces wer e w idely
1"111 1'd . O ne min er descr ibed seve ra l in fractions of the safe ty regu lat ion s:
, I k-nc tor ches had bee n used in areas w he re me tha ne levels co u ld be dan -
11'" ; a su pe rviso r had tampered with a meth an e level monitor to permit
"" III " met ha ne levels; and pot entiall y ex plos ive coa l du st h ad acc u m ulated
• 11I 1c1'l y that so me ma chinery co u ld not be operated. For fear of ret aliati on
I tuthnldatlo n, th e miner s rar ely co m plaine d abo ut th e safety in fractio ns,
11I 11,i1l y since man agem ent see me d to place produ ctio n a head of safety.?"
III 1lie m idst of bitt er acc usa tio ns, the pro vincial government appointed
II lit 1'1<. Pete r Richard to ca rry out a far-rea ching Inq uiry into how and wh y
III 'f. min ers d ied. Sho rtly afte rward, the Royal Ca nad ian Mo un ted Poli ce
I" II I'd a crim inal in vesti gati on . In Oc to ber 1992, t he Nova Scot ia Lab our
I" 1',lllllI cnt laid 52 non-criminal cha rges o f un safe practices aga ins t Currag h
I II II II ', ' S, Inc., th e co m pa ny th at owned th e mine. These safe ty charges we re
It I . lro p ped to avoid jeo pa rd izing th e poli ce in vesti gati on, w hich result ed
II I II M g CS o f manslau ght er a n d crim ina l n egli gen ce bein g laid aga ins t
11 11 "1\11 Reso u rces and tw o of its managers. These charges were lat er "s tayed"
;" I I III 'rl ively dro p ped). O n appea l, th e Supreme Co ur t of Ca nada u ph eld an
-t- • I., IeH' a new tria l, but prosecutor s decid ed that th e ev ide nce was in suffi-
I II I III proceed, altho ug h the avera ge person mi ght think o t he rw ise. No one
Photo 8 .2 - The Westray Mine. The Westray coal min e explosion in 7992 killl'iI
I " e' l' cri m inally prosecuted .
26 miners. In his report on the ill-fated min e, justice Peter Richard blam ed th e coo!
II li e lligho ut the co ur t proceedings, the Wes tra y Inqui ry co n tin ue d . Ju st ice
company and th e pro vincial govern ment for the disaster, saying that the Westray
110 I,.lld 's rina l rep o rt, Th e Westra)' Inqu iry: A Predictable Path to Disaster, was
min e operat ions were a " violation of the basic and fundam ental tenets of safe
II II I \I'd in Dece m be r 199 7. Ju sti ce Rich ard co m me n ted: "Wes tray is a stark
mining practice."
li ll I' '' ' of an o pera tio n where prod uction dem ands resulte d in the vio lation
Source: CP/And rew Vau gh an . 1 1111 Ilasic and fundam ental ten et s of sa fe minin g practice."!' Th e fo llowing
II II I iph s co nstitute a syno ps is of th e key fact s that th e Inqu iry b rou gh t to
III 11 1l'y are excerpted from th e rep ort's Execut ive Sum ma ry:
safe. Th is belief was sha ttered o n May 9, 1992 , wh en an ex plos io n kille d ' "" Illde t o t h e Tra g e d y
miners at the Westra y min e in Plymouth, Nova Sco tia. Th e Inquiry into Ih l III th e rush to reach saleab le coal, worke rs w it hout adeq uat e coa l minin g
di saster reveal ed a "com plex m os aic of acti ons, omissions, mi stakes, i nc oru pl'i1I'lIce were promoted to newl y-created su pe rvisory positi on s. Westr ay did
poten ce, apa thy, cy nic ism, stu pid ity, a nd neglect .r''? 1111 1 t ral n worke rs ill sa fe wor k m ethod s o r in recog n izing d an ge ro us roof
11 111 11 1Ion s- despite a m aj or roo f co llap se in August. Basic sa fety m easur es we re

II 1111 II 'd or pe rfor me d in ad equately. Sto ne d us ti ng, for exa m p le, a crit ica l a nd
Details of the Explosion
, IIldoll'd pra ctice that renders coal d ust non-expl osive, was ca rried ou t spo rad -
Th e Westr ay mine ex plos io n occurred at 5:20 a. m . o n a Saturday morn ing. Tli 10 il ly by vo lu n teers o n ov erti me followi ng t hei r 12-h ou r sh ifts. . ..
sha king of th e ea rt h was felt by m ost of th e resid ents of Plym outh . Wi t hlu II I ,I!'ar that th e co m pa ny was dereli ct in ca rry ing o ut its o b ligat io n s for
hours, mine resc ue ex perts h ad asse m bled from n eighbouring to w ns. Wi l li I. t1ll ll1g.. . , Qu ite sim p ly, man agem ent did not ins t il a safety m entalit y in its
oxygen tanks o n th eir backs, th ey descended into the dest royed m in e. It W,I IIi1 IC11'ce. Althoug h it st ressed safety in its employee han d boo k, t he poli cy it
soo n clear that resc ue effo rts would be pointless-the explos ion had kllk«! 1 101 0111 the re was n ever promot ed o r enforced. Indeed, ma nage me nt igno red
everyone below gro und. No r co uld all th e dead be ret rieved . Ten dead mi nn II , III ou rage d a ser ies of ha zard ou s o r illega l pr acti ces, incl udin g havin g th e
a re perm an ently entom bed behind rock falls in th e min e, mu ch of wh ich W.I
'" 111' " wor k 12-ho u r sh ifts, im prope rly sto ring fue l and refu el lin g veh icles
f1 ~ ~ rl nrl ~" n r p " pnt fnrt h r-r exn losio ns.
_ ___ _ _ ....J.I
1J.l
1
l.I:
' "' HlOlInd, and us ing non-fla mep roof eq u ip m en t und erground in ways th ai
164 PART TWO · PROFESSIO NA L PRACTICE CIIAI' I [I I 8 • 1I1I 111 r cls, Lillb ilit y, St o nda ul s, 1I 11 c1 S II j el y I '
vio la ted co n d itio ns set by the De partm ent o f Lab our- to me n tio n o n ly a few. I (/" I /vll //I'S U/,SlI llI t io // / l ct was the clear dut y o f West ray man agem en t, fro m the
Eq u ipme n t fund am ental to a safe min e o perat io n- fro m t he ca p la m p to th e I IIII'I exec u tlve o ffice r to th e first -lin e su pe rviso r. To ens u re t ha t thi s dut y was
env iro n m en ta l moni toring sys te m- d id not fun ct io n pr operl y. IIIIlIl'ltake n and fulfill ed by man agem ent wa s th e legislated dut y o f th e in spcc-
1111 ,111' o f th e Depart m en t o f Lab ou r. Ma n age m en t fai led , th e in sp ect o rate failed ,
It was eq ua lly clear that t he Dep artm ent of Lab our was derelict in its d ut y to
Ilid t ill' m in e blew up .n
en force th e requi rem en ts o f th e tw o ac ts.
I Ill' tcdc ral go vern me n t heeded th e lesso n s of th e Westr ay di saster. As a
Th e Ex p losi n n: an An a l ys is of Underground Co n d it io ns
11 11 III th e fai lure to co nvict anyo ne for th e o bv io us negligen ce in th is case,
. . . [Vlen tila tio n is th e m o st crucia l aspect o f min e safety in an unde rgrou nd III I .ura d ian Crim ina l Code was am ended to ho ld cor po ratio ns a nd ind ivid-
coa l min e. Meth an e fires a nd exp los io ns ca n no t ha ppen if t he gas is kep t fro m I I I rhul nal ly resp onsibl e if th ey fail to pro vid e a safe wo rk e nviro n me nt.
acc u m u lat ing in flamm abl e a n d exp losive co nce n tra t io ns.. . . O ne o f th e p rin- , 111111 ' 17.1 was in serte d into the Crim ina l Code:
cipal fu n ct io n s o f a ve n t ila tio n syste m is to clear th e m et han e at t he working
, 17,1 Every o ne w ho u n dertakes, o r has th e aut ho rity, to direct ho w anoth er
face o f th e m in e and to ex ha us t it from the m ine in no n-explosive co n cen t ra-
1" '1\111 / does wor k o r perfo rm s a task is und er a legal d uty to ta ke rea son ab le
tion s. It is clear that th e Westra y ve n tilat io n sys tem was grossly inadeq ua te for
I,·ps to preven t bodil y ha rm to t ha t person , or a ny o t he r person , a rising fro m
thi s task. It is also clear th at th e co n d itio ns in th e min e were co ndu cive to a
11111 1 wor k or task.4:I
coal-d ust ex p los io n . . . . Th e co n se n sus o f th e ex perts sugge sts stro n gly t ha t
West ray wa s a n acciden t wa iting to h ap pen . . . .
( U SSIO N TOP ICS AN D ASS IG N M EN T S
Responsibilit y
lh ls c ha pte r suggests t h a t t he f i rst ste p in a design p roj ect sh o u ld
As t he evide nce eme rged durin g th is Inq u iry, it beca m e clear t hat man y per so n s lurl udc a sea rch o f t he Int ern et for a pprop riate tech n ica l codes and stan-
and e n tit ies h ad defau lted in th eir legislati ve, busin ess, sta tu tor y, a nd m ana ge- da rds. As an exercise, use th e In tern et to find at least one design sta ndard
m ent res po n sibil ities. . . . [Tlh erc is a cle a r " hi era rch y" o f respo nsib ility for the IIlI' eac h o f the fo llow ing item s: au tom ob ile ta il-ligh ts, e leva to rs or esca-
enviro n me n t that set the stage for 9 May 1992, a nd we o ug h t no t to lose sig h t l.uors, bu ild ings , p ressure vessels, snow mobiles, ch ild ren 's to ys, a nd th e
of th is h iera rch y. ( 'a nad ia n flag.
The fund am enta l and basic responsibility for t he sa fe o pe rat ion o f a n u nder- IIsing the Internet, o btain t he O I-lS Act for yo ur provi nce or territo ry.
g rou nd coa l m ine, a nd indeed of a ny indust rial und er taki ng, rests clea rly w ith ( lry th e CCO HS website abo ve, o r <www.canoshweb.or g/ en / legislatio n .
ma na ge me nt. T he in ternal respon sib ilit y syste m m er ely a rticu lates t hi s resp o n- huul ». The Act may be included with th e regulations o r with weB leg-
sibility an d places it in co n tex t. Wes tray man agem ent, sta rt ing wit h th e ch ief I lat ion , in so me pr ovin ces.) Answer th e fo llo win g qu esti o ns a nd where
exec utive offi cer, was req u ired by law, by goo d bu sin ess pr acti ce, a nd by go od .uiproprlate, q uote t he sectio n in the Act:
co nsc ience to design an d o pe rate th e West ray min e sa fely. Westray m anage-
,I, What is th e precise nam e and websit e fo r th e O HS Act'?
ment failed in thi s primar y respo n sibility, and th e sign ificanc e o f th at fa ilu re
h, Ilow d oes th e Act defin e a n "o wne r" and a " prime co n trac to r" (a lso
ca n no t be miti gat ed or di lu ted sim p ly becau se ot h e rs we re derelict in t he ir
called a " pr incipa l co n trac to r" o r "con st ructor")'?
respo nsib ilit y.
I , What is th e state d purpose (or "ob ject") of the Act'?
The Departm en t o f Labour th rou gh its m ine in spectorate mu st bea r a cor relative .l, What is th e m axim um fin e o r penalty for co ntrave n ing th e Act'?
resp on sibility for its co n tin ued fail ur e in its d uty to ens u re co m plia nce wit h the
COll i M i nes Rcgu tation ;\ cl an d t h e OCCII/1l1tio//1I1 H cult ]: a n d SlIli'ty ;\ cl. . . . Idlllllllal assign m e n ts ca n be found in Append ix E.
COlll p li a n c e with the em,1 Mines Reguh,tion Act

IS
Much h as been said throu gh out thi s Inq u iry abo u t t he inadeq uacy o f th e Coal
II II, M. Sam ue ls a nd D.R. San ders, Practic«! LIIW o( / I re/li tcc/" rc, EIISiIl CCfill g, II lI d
Min es Reg u latio n Act. As o u tda ted a nd ar cha ic as t h e p resen t act is, it is itcnsctcncc. Ca nad ia n Editio n , Pear son Prent ice Hall, Upper Sadd le River,
painfu lly clear th at thi s d isast er wo u ld not have occ u rred if th ere had been NI, 200?
co m p lian ce w it h th e act. . .. I I, I.. Marsto n, Law [or l ' ro! i'ssiOlItlI EIISi Il CCfS: Canadian und lnt ern utlan ul
l 'I'I s/l /'cti\'es, 3 rd ed ., McGraw-Hill Rye rso n , W h itby, O N, 1996.
If th e m in e h ad been " thor o ug h ly ve n t ilated a nd fu rni shed wit h a n ade q uate 1\, tvl. Lind e n, Canadian Tort Law, Butl er wor th s Canada, Mar kham, O N, 1 9 9 :~ ,
su pp ly o f pure ai r to di lut e and render harml ess infl amm ab le a nd n o xio us 1', ' :\6.
gases ," th en . .. th e 9 May 1992 exp los io n co u ld n o t have happen ed , a nd Ii I', I I. Osbo rne, Tile Law o(7cl/'ts, Irw in Law, Toro nt o, 2000, p, R.
26 min ers wo u ld not have been killed . Co m pliance with th ese sec t io ns o f th e I Ihld ., p. 9.
166 PART TWO • PROFESSIO NA L PRACTICE CIIAP IER B • ll nz nnl s, Lill/l i/i/ y, 11111<101<1 5, 0 11<1 SlIf et y I I
[6 1 Sa m ue ls a n d Sa n de rs, t 'ru cti cal l .a w o(A rch i tectll re, p . U O. I 'll' kel t tnttui» OIl&S I \ Ct & Ues"latioll s 2008 , O n ta rio, av a ila b le a t
171 M . Kerr, .I . Ku rtz, a n d L.M . O livo , Canadian Tort Law ill a N utshel l, C a rswe ll, www.ca rswc ll.co m» (Jun e I, 200 S).
To ro nto , ON, 199 7, p . :~ 4 . I I 1I11 11 1l'iS a n d Sa n d e rs, "Co n tracts," Practical La w, p . 246 .
lSI .I . D. We ir a n d S.A. Ellis, Cr i ti cal Concepts o( Calla dia ll Business, Addi so n - w esley, I .' IIIIII,'ls a nd Sa n ders , " Wo rke rs' Co m p en sa tio n ," t'racticat La w, p . 246 .
Do n M ills, O N, 199 7, p . 13 7. I II ,A, Ii a llid ay a n d ] . Jo egg, "M in in g Disaste rs," T he Canadiun Encyclo pcdiu, ava il-
19 1 Ma rsto n , Law tot l'roiessional Ells ill eers, p . 46 . 11101,' a l <ww w.t h eca n ad ia n e n cyd o ped ia .co m > (lune I, 200S ).
1101 Reg u lati o n 94 1/9 0 under th e l'rotcssumal Engineer» A cl , RSO 1990 , c. P.2 S, s. 7", ' I III l in ' 1<' l'ct e r Ric h ard, " Execu tive Su m m a ry," Th e Westra y Story: II Prcdi ctab t«
ava ila b le a t -cwww.pco .o n .ca» (ju ne I, 200 S). /',,11, III Disaster, Re po rt o f th e West ra y Min e Pu bli c Inq u ir y, p u b lish ed o n t h e
11I 1 We ir a n d Ellis, Cri ti cal Concepts of Canailiun Business, p . 139 . 1llIl h lll'i1 y o f th e Lie ut e na nt Govern o r in Co u n cil, Pro vin ce o f No va Sco tia
11 2 1 Lin d en, Canadian Tort La w, p . 2 15. 1I I""" lIllle r I, 199 7). C o py righ t by th e Pro vin ce o f No va Sco tia , 199 7. Th e
IU I We ir a n d Ellis, Cri tical Concepts otCanadian Busines s, p . 161. 11' 111111 Is av a ila b le o n t h e Inte rn et a t <w w w.go v.n s.ca/ lwd / p u b s/ w estray>
114 1 Ibid ., p . 69 . 1 1/ 1111' I, 20 0S). Exce rp ts rep rodu ced w it h perm ission fro m th e No va Sco t ia
11 51 Ib id ., p . 73. 11('l' arllll en t of Ju st ice .
11 61 tl azardous Products A ct (It S., 19S5, c. H-3) a nd M otor Vehicle Sa(ety A ct (1993, 1111 ~ l. Mac lssac , "M in e rs Te stif y at Wcst ra y," M aclean 's, Ja n uar y 29 , 19 9 6.
c. 16) Gove rn m e n t o f C a n ad a, Depa rtm e nt o f Ju stice, ava ila b le a t 11' 1' ,lIso " Wcs tra y Ve rd ict ," The Canadian Encyclopediu, av a ilable a t
-daws. jus n ce.gc. ca» (May 19, 20 0S). IVww.l h eca n ad ia n e n cyd o ped ia .co m> (Jun e 1, 200S ).
11 71 M ar sto n , Law (or I'ro (essiollal Engineers, p . 46. III III l in ' Richard, "Exec u t ive Su m m ary."
11S1 lhid ., p . 5 1. I IlI ld,
[19 1 D. W. No e l a n d J..J . Phil ip s, Products Liability , 2n d cd ., West Publi sh in g, Sa in t I I I IIlilllian Ce n tre for Occ u pa tio n a l Health a n d Safety (C C O HS), "Bi ll C-45-
Paul , M N, 19SI . t ivervlcw," ava ila b le at <w ww.cco h s.ca/ o sh a n swe rs/l eg isl/ b illc4 5 .h t lll l>
120 1 P.H. O sbo rn e, The Law of Torts , 3 rd cd. , Irw i n La w, Toro nto , 2007, p . 13 9-1 40 , I ~ I IY :10, 2( 08 ).
12 11 Sa m u e ls a n d Sa n d e rs, Practicat Law o( Architecture, p . 149.
122 1 lbi d ., p . ISO.
123 1 G. Vo land, ElIs ill eerillS by Ves (~ II , Addi so n Wesley, Do n M ills, ON, 19 99 ; .I . Kolh
a n d S.S. Ro ss, Product Safety aw l Liability: A Desk: uctcrcnce, McG ra w- Hili, New
Yor k, N Y, 19S0 ; Co n su m er Prod ucts Protect io n Co m m issio n (C PSC), II{///(Ibook
and Standard [o r Mallllf il clllrillS Saf er COIISIIJller Products, u.s. Gove rn me n t
d o cum e n t, 19 77 ; D.L. Goe tsc h a n d S.II. Da v is, Uw lersll/l /(lillS and lmplcmentin.;
ISO 90 00 unit ISO Sta nda rds, Pren ti ce-Hall, To ro n to , 1998; a n d G .c. An d rews,
J .D. Ap lev ich , R.A. Frase r, an d C. MacG regor, tntroduction to Proicssiona!
ElIs illeerillS ill C{///(/(Ia, 3 rd ed ., Pea rso n Ed u ca t io n Ca n ad a, ln c., Tor o n to ,
ON, 20 0S.
124 1 c. O . Sm it h , " Prod uc ts Lia b ility: Sev ere Des ig n C o ns tra in t," in Structura! Failuu'
Product Li abili ty atul Tech nical In surance, Pro ceed in gs, 2 n d Inte rn a ti on al
C o n fe re nce, J u ly 1- 3, 19 S6, lnt c rscicn cc En ter p rises, Ge neva, 198 7, p p. 59 -7. ,
125 1 Lind e n , Canadian Tort Law, p . 3S 7; Ma rst o n , Law f ill" Proicssinna l Engineers, p, •
1261 Sta n da rds Co u n cil of C a n ad a (SC C) , 2 70 Alb e rt Str ee t, Su ite 200, O ttawa ON
KI P 6 N 7, SC C website at -cwww.scc.ca» (M ay 19, 200 S). Excerp ts rep rod uced
w it h pe rm issio n .
12 71 Sta n da rd s Co u nc il o f C a n ad a (SCC), Cons umer Product Sa{ety Les isla tioll ill
Ca nada: 1\ 11 In troductory Guide, O tt awa, O N, Mar c h 200 3, ava ila b le at
<WWW.scc.ca> (Ma y 19 , 20 0 S).
[2S I Int ern ati o n a l O rga n iza ti o n for Sta n da rd iza tio n (ISO ) website a t <www.iso.o rg/
iso / iso_ca ta lo gu e/ m a n age m en t_st an dar d s/ iso _90 0(U so _1 40OO.ht m > (May 19,
20 0 S).
1291 Goe ts c h a nd Dav is, Understanding and IlJIpleJllm t illS ISO 9000 , p . I SO.
1:\01 lbi d ., p. 151.
13 11 S. L. Jac kso n , T he ISO 140 00 tmplctncnt ation Gui de, J ohn W iley & Sons, Toro n to,
199 7, p , 1.
132 1 ISO we bsite a t <w ww.iso. org / iso / h o m e. h t m> (May 19, 200 S).
133 1 "J u risd ict io ns ," Ca n ad ia n Na t io n a l Occu pa tio na l Heal th a n d Sa fe ty webs ite
(Ca nOSH) a t <www.ca n o sh web .o rg/ e n / m a p .h tm l> (M ay 19 , 200 S).
1 :~ 4 1 Occnpal i onal llcaltlt A lid Safety Code, 2 00{" Albe rta , ava ila b le a t
-cc m p lo y m e n t. a lbcrt a .ca» (l u n c I, 200S).
pt er 9
mputers, Software,
url IntellectuaLProperty
II Ij11I1l'rs a re essen tia l for d esign and an al ysis, an d th ey a re also indisp en -

I,ll I II I' co n tro llin g manufacturin g, ex p lo ra tio n, refinin g, a n d p rocess co n -
d l lowcvcr, co m pu te rs crea te unique liability issu es. For ex a m p le, if a key
II 11I1 'I 'rl ll g o r geoscie nce d eci sion is ba sed o n fault y co m p ute r o ut pu t, wh o
II li llI' fo r th e damage th at may result'? Thi s cha p ter di scu sses professional
IIIII I I lo r co m p uter-ge n erated erro rs, an d sugges ts so m e sim p le pro cedures
I ill dating co m pu te r so ftwa re.
I » m putc rs a lso crea te n ew eth ica l probl em s, includ in g va n d a lism, vi ruses,
lid uttware pir acy. For ex a m p le, co m p ute rs are co m mo n too ls for co py righ t
lililllf\('llle n t, perhaps because th ey make copyin g so rapid and co n ve n ien t.
llil I hnpter therefore co n cl udes with an overv iew o f th e law s for intellectu al
1 '11 1" '11 , in clud ing co pyrigh t, pat ents, indust rial design s, integrat ed circuits,
lid 1l llIl ernark s.
" n OLE OF COMPUTERS IN ENGINEERING

III GEO S CIEN CE
III IIII' past 30 yea rs, co m pu ters h ave dr asticall y cha nged every pha se o f o ur
II I I II l1d p ro fess io na l pra ctice is no exce p t io n . Recent un iver sit y grad ua tes
III I 11111 rea lize h ow profound th ese ch a nges have been.
!l OUT BUT AMAZING HISTORY Ca lcu la ti n g d evices such as t h e a bacus, th e

III Ii' IIlIe, a nd th e ad d ing m ach in e ha ve ex isted fo r cen tur ies, bu t the first
1I II Iv vlectron ic co m p u te r was not built until 1945, at th e en d o f th e Second
1I Ild War. Th e initial impetus ca me from th e work o f Briti sh mathematician
10111Tur ing, wh o d ev eloped primitive m ach in es to ass ist in th e d ecoding o f
III I II Iii II war messages a t Britai n's Blct chl ey Park in telli gence ce ntre d uri ng
1111 war. T h is ea rly com p u te r d evel opm ent is n ot we ll know n becau se o f
1
," lillie secrecy, although the sto ry o f Tu ring's impressive ach ieveme n ts and
11l111l' life is grip p ing and fascinatin g. I
th c first co m pu te rs wer e slow and ex pe ns ive beh emoth s by tod ay's sta n-
IlIlh; they filled ro oms, yet th ey were ca pa ble o f o n ly p rim it ive calcu lat io ns.
IIIl' In ven t io n o f t h e t ra ns istor a n d lar ge-scal e circ u it integra tio n (LSI)
---'---- -
I , , , ' /I" CI IIII I I' r o p tt y 171
CIIAI' I LR 9 • Co ", p ll le r~ . ~()J IW IIII · . '"" r <
170 PAR T TWO· PROFE S I ONAL PRACTICE
permitted t h e m in ia t u riza ti o n o f e lec t ro n ic d ev ices, a nd in cr ea sed l ile 1"' 1 I.. Ro o f Collapse .

978 durin J a h ea vy snowfa ll, the huge roo f sud -
bility o f co m po ne n ts. A ve rsa t ile per son a l co m p u te r (t he Ap p le II) WO II II I I: I S a.m . o n Januar y 18, I , g \ _ .t wll h th e co rne rs o f the
t h e market in 19 77, and soon repla ced t h e ca lcu la to r and th e slide- ru le. (I . II - i o n to the cen t ra COUI ,
1' 111 a nd Vio le nt ly co a psec \ tl o lla pse occu rred in the middle
t h e fo llowin g t wo d e cad e s, th e d esktop wo rks ta t io n evo lve d, y id d ll . , . t t1 air Fortunate Y ie c c
ttll pOln tll1g up 111 0 11.' , ' . \ : I ad be en packed wit h thousa nd s
immen se, co nve n ie n t co m p u t in g power. . " .\" It , eve m n g t re arena ra '
l i l li ' nigh t. L u ier Il1 11.' , 1 injuUIry by 'I m at t er o f a few h ours.
I pl'cl ato rs, an d a ll o f th e m mi ssed deat 1 o r Il1I "
AN INCREDIBLE FUTURE In th e 2 1st ce n t u ry, professiona l eng ineers a n d /-(1'11
e n lis ts typica lly use d eskt op worksta t io ns co n necte d to t he Internet. T hi s (1111
I. Cau se of the Failure .
puting a n d co m m u n ica tio n power perm its ma n y o f us to pra cti se in a reas Iii
" ow lo ad at th e t im e o f t h e colla pse wa s es t 1-
wer e a t th e cu tt ing edge o f research o n ly a d eca d e o r so ago , suc h as ea rt h m« IllItlll/-( t he in vest iga tIon , the sn c I 1" t l ro of Att ention sh ifte d to the
e lling a n d visualizatio n , com p u ta t io na l flu id d yna mi cs, a nd d yna mic Hull I tl a 1 ha lf t h e ra ted loac or ie .
1I 111'd to b cess 1, I , . 1 t e l h ad severa l gross e rro rs, as
eleme n t anal ysis, m echa ni sm, a n d pro cess sim u la tio n . (In fact, t he COIlIIIII , 'I I t 'I d esign of the st ruCt lll a s c c
h 1)' 11 , \ re oc a I , .. id b Rach el Ma rtin , w h ic h is ava ila b le o n
term "co m p u te r-a ide d d esign" is n o w o u t o f da te, since a ll d esign is now "('II I II I tilled very we ll 111 t h e case st u Y y Henry Pe tr o ski
put cr- aided. ") Man y new fields of study have d ev e loped , suc h as d ig ita l CO ll i II 2 the basic cau se o f t h e co lla pse was, as
llil Illte rn et. Ho weve r, ' ' I .' . ":\ T he I-\'Irt ford Are na in vol ved
mech atroni cs, a n d n a no tech nol ogy, a ll based e n t irely 0 11 di gita l d evices. " ' n plified co m p u te r a iM YS ls. c
I II I,d, a n ove rsu , ' iters t o the a n a lys is o f co m p lex space-
The co m p u te r's in cr edible speed in a n a lys is and visu a l d esign is c reat! n II' III t he ea rlies t app hcatlOn.s o f ~om ~)\ ' h te fu l e rro r. Martin ex p la ins :
d ynami c n ew age for e ng inee ring and geoscie nce. Tedious work is n ow dill 1111111' st ruc tu res, a nd th e deslgn e ls md ( e d c ' . " .. ,.
b y h ardware a n d so ft wa re , free in g d esign er s t o b e m ore c reative. Tod.l \ II", eng inee rs for th e Hartfor d Aren a depemlc~1 (~n ~omtl::~r'~~~:~II~\:\St l~~j~sl:~~~
workst ations permit id eas to be v isua lized, sim u la t io ns to be ru n , a n d a ll' tIll' safety of th eir design . Co m pute rs, h owever, Me ~n ,~ r"tgy Th e roof design
na t ives to be a na lyze d in the ea rlies t stages o f an y pro ject. Ca lcu la t io n s Iii I It Her e ng inee rs a false se nse 0 sec u I .
wer e o nce labori ously pr epared by slide- ru le (and la te r, by ca lc ula to r) a rc 1111 I lillllme r a n~ tem " ~t~)le to bu cklin g wh ich was a mod e o f failu re n o t co ns id-
IV, I~ ex t reme Y suscc j . ,. ' f rc left u ndi sco vered .4
d isp la yed in sta n tl y, and drawi n gs a n d m a ps t ha t we re o nce m o no to n ou I • I< 'd in th at parti cu la r co m p ute r analySIS a nd, th ere 0 r • , •
han d -drawn are now p lott ed in seco nds. , 1' " ove rlo oked the key id ea that
III ot he r wo rd s, t h e st ress a na lysis so tWdle_ . far lo w er t ha n th e y ie ld
Howev er , com p u te rs a re a lso c rea ting new pro ble m s for p rofessio na ls: III III . ss io n buc kle at a s t re ss c
lcm s suc h as co py righ t infringement, e rro rs ca use d b y flaws or " b ugs " in COli 11111rur al ro ds Il1 co m l~ re i s t 'all the li m it fo r rods in tension . Any e ngi-
pu rer p rogr am s, van da lism b y h ac ke rs a nd crac ke rs, co m p u te r-a ide d in dusu t I I< IIgl ll o f the steel, w h icn IS y p IC, y " .. . . t th e e"1I'1lest sta ge s of th e
II ' I n ave d isco ve red thi s erro r, a '
esp io nage, a n d t he g ro wing problem o f identity th eft. Th ese problems sabo ta III I co u c cas i y c I \' t -1 1)y th e com p u te r aga ins t th e well-
I aring th e st ress ca cu a ec 1
p rod uc tiv ity, so e ng inee rs a nd geoscie n tis ts m ust be a ler t to th em. 1111 '11,,'1, )y co rn p: , ,' I ' I- la tlo n that ca n be pe rform e(
III II W II Eu le r b uck lin g eq ua t io n-a SIm p e ca cu c
The dan ger o f fau lt y co m p u te r so ftwa re wa s e m p h a tica lly illu strat ed thu
d ecad es ago, w he n t ile Ha rt fo rd Are na co lla pse d- a n e ng inee ring di saste r tli,! 1I l lllll\l ltes.
was perhaps t h e wor ld' s fir st la rge-scal e co m p u te r-a ide d fa ilure. T he arc nn
d esign was based o n a n e rro neo us st ress ana lysis p ro gram , as ex p la in ed I 'I I ill I m p li c a t i o n s .
, I I ' o us c heck o f thei r
II IIII.' e n gin ee rs n eglected to \~lrfOrm S~IC~~l: s~:~:;g~ ~I~~\ neers had a ve ry
Case Hist ory 9 . I , w h ich fo llows.
IIll1 pllle r o u_tp u t is a m yst e ry, 0 r~~v~l ' lat io n s Dur in g the co ns t ruct io n,
, I bl e c hec k t 11e11 Cd cu , ',
CASE HISTORY 9 .1
.. 11 1111 )\ lnce n t tve to ( OU -
. I" ' I
I 1 I o istc d in to p lace Lar ge d ef lec-
til ' I"I SS was assembled o n the g ro u n\( 'tll1( 1 . rce rs wer e in f; rm ed , \n fact ,
n re n t ant t re e n g11
TH E H A RTF OR D A RENA RO O F COLLA PSE : Ihlll we re unrncc ta te y ap p: , I lar ge r than ex pe cte d
i f ' t i o n s wer e so muc 1 c c
A C O M PU TE R- A I D ED FA ILU RE I oI llliIl et zky reports, t h e ( ~ orrna I i nd s (Ies ig ned t o fit b e lo w th e
ld rot in se rt th e WIl1( o w .
The Hartfo rd Are na was a monum e nta lly h uge st ruc t u re w he n it was COlli I 1I I1 I olltrac to rs co u I . I II at th e d eforma tions wer e unrea so n -
plet ed in 19 7:-\ . T he a re n a h oused a bask etba ll cou rt and se a t ing for 5, (HI\ III I" IS, Eve n t h e ironwo rker s rep~l te( . ~d \ t h ese wa rn ings a nd d id n o t
Ii til' 1011'/-(1.' ,5 Neve rt h eless, the e nginee rs ign o rec
specta to rs to wa tc h t he ga mes. To m ini m ize o bst ru ct io n s for specta to rs, 0 11 1
fo ur co lu m ns s u p po rte d til e roo f. Eac h co lu m n wa s n ear a co rne r o f I ii I'lililit'·check t heir work. . f I I sig n e ng inee rs were n eglige n t
t l t t h e ac tio ns 0 t ie ( e
bui ldin g . The "s pace-fra me" ro of wa s a t h re e-di m e n si on a l t ru ss st ru c t ui 1\ sho u ld be c Ica r l a , ' . f ' I \ too va lidate t h e co m p u te r
Th e H' ·t f 'd Arena e n gll1eels at ec , ,
a bo u t 3 m (10 ft. ) d eep, and a p p rox ima te ly 9 1 m b y 11 0 m (30 0 ft. b y 360 II I 1111 oll\pe te n t. I I.' ,\I 0 1 . . \ e rt to t h e com p u te r. Com p u te r
1111'" \ adequa te ly a n d sub jug a te d th eir JU( g m I
in plan size, sus pe n de d a bo u t 2S m (83 ft. ) a bove the flo o r.
172 PART TWO · I'ROf £SSIONAL PRACI ICL
CIIAI' I LR 9 • Conunn ers, ' OJ / lVIII " . 111111 /"1 itlect u«! I'ro ll er ly 173
IlIle lsi 've ry co m me rcial co m pute r pro gra m incl udes a d iscla im er stating
II IV Iltal t ile m a n ufact ur er and supp lier are n ot liable for any damage
III Iro m tile pro gram's use. Typi ca lly, the d isclaime r sp ec ifica lly den ies
1" '" lhl ll ty for dire ct or ind irect damages, in clu d in g loss of business profits,
III' lu tcrru pt ion, persona l injury, fina ncia l loss, a nd /or similar losses. In
, I , lit is lim its t ile manufacturer's liability to th e price paid for the prog ram .
lid di scla ime r sh ifts the respo ns ibility to th e user- a fact co nfirmed by
1"11 ncla l Associations. For example, t he PEG-NL (Newfound la nd and
I" 11 1111) so ftwa re gu ide line sim p ly states : " Me mbers are respo nsib le fo r ver-
1111 IIHI! results o btained by us ing software are accurate and acccptable.:"
1111 " " EGGA (Albe rta) gu id eli ne sta te s the respo n sibili ty m or e th o r-
III
t ,,,111 '1', are responsible for verifying th at any results obtained from compute r programs
, 1I11'Ihle and valid. Professional members should: examine and understand th e method-
llilil .md input paramete rs, as well as th e limitation s of th e results obtained; and verify.
II I nppropriate, new software releases against a standard certified for general use.?
III1 I'F,O (On tario ) guide line de fines t he e ngineer's respo nsibi lity eve n
Photo 9:1 - Hartford Arena Ro of Collapse. The Hartfo rd Arena was COli " III 'cllicall y. Under th e heading "Use of Co m puter Software Too ls by
structed In 7973, and housed a basketball court and seating for 5 000 spectat IllIlal Eng ine ers," th e guide line states:
o~ January 78, 7978, during a heavy snowfall, the huge roof suddenly cOllap l ;:,',
~n y hours aft er a we."-~ttended ga me. The collapse was traced to an "oversiui iii I II ' "lJ1IleC r must have a suita ble knowledge of the enginee ring principles involved in
fled computer anatysis. The arena is known as the first computer-aided failtllt, 1 WI ll k beinq conducte d, and is responsible for th e appropriate application of t hese
1II,Iph , When using comput er programs to assist in thi s work, enginee rs should be
Source: © Bettmann/CORB IS.
II III I he engineering principles and matters they includ e, and are responsible for t he
I '1I1 , l.ltion and correct application of th e result s provided by the programs.
progra. m va lidatton sh o uld be ro uti ne d ue d llige nce ' (' 11 .
I I . . . . e eng ll1 ec rs I' 111 11' arc responsible for verifying that results obtained by using software are accu-
pOl~ n( ec thel ~' ne~lIgen ce when th ey igno red the excessive deflec tio ll' III
l ' I'j
I 11101 acceptable. Given th e increasing flexibility of computer software. th e enginee r

tru~s.-a war~lIlg sig n that so me t h ing was wrong.
1111 01 ensure that profession al engineering verification of th e software's perform ance
I he ~je ta "s of th e case we re never revealed in co urt. Afte r six years (" II
I I III I he absence of such verification. the engineer should esta blish and conduct
p;e'l)ilratlOn , an ou t-of-court settl em ent was reach ed , and a pr~bing ~fi'S( II I
II 1,It tests to deter mine wheth er th e software performs what it is required to do."
a t ie ca uses was th erefore pr ecl uded .
A J~ eng ine er or geos cien tist ca nnot g uaran tee th at every proj ec t will I, lilly, all o f th ese guide lines hold the use r respo ns ible for ve rify ing t ha t
cec d, Just as a surgeo n can n o t save every pati enr an d a j ' oil lIl(' is operating properly. Th is means th at t he user m ust test or verify
eve ry I . I-I ' . ' (dwyer ca IJ IIIII
. . a~sl~lt. ow.evel, wha t th e eng in eer, geoscie nt ist, surgeo n, a nd 101 \ " I I \ III (' befo re usin g th e co mp uter o utput in enginee ring design . Suc h
m ust :111 guara ntee IS tha t th ey pos sess adequate knowledge and tha t IJ I 'I II I' ll a lly ca lled val idatio n te g,~, req u ire ind ep e ndent calcu la t ions .
~~~~Clse reason~ble, ski ~l, care, and ex pertise, appropriate t~ the pr~fess llllil 111111 11 rests will va ry, depend ing on th e type of ana lysis a nd o n w hether
~(I II Y o ut .th e cl l ~n t s. wishes . In th e cas e o f co m puter-aided design , rensou Ii oi l VIII (' was deve loped in -h ou se (by the user) or was commercia lly pur-
( a re requll es valid at ion of th e computer so ftwa re. I I I yplcal ly, so urce code is not ava ilable for commercial software.) Let
II liI" 1 I hesc case s sepa rately.
LIABILITY FOR SOFTWARE ERRORS
~~ftware en~i neers aspire to high professiona l stan dards, but com pun- , liE D EV ELO P M ENT
gra ms occasto na lty produce incorrect results as th e Hart fo rd A . . . III
sho ws Th e k ' . . ' ( rend ( I I 'II 1011 1,11 e nginee rs and geoscientists of te n devel o p softwa refo r
. ey qu esti on IS: Who IS lia ble if dam age results fro m d l'l I II
based on faulty so ftware? . , or unde r co n trac t for others. In fact, t he need fo r ski lle d profcs-
I III li ris critical field ex p lains why soft wa re enginee ring is a licen sed
174 PART TWO • PROFESSIO_N_A_L_P_R_A_C_TI_C_E _ CHAPTER 9 • Co mpute rs, Sof t ware. an d In t ell ectual Propert y
eng ine e ring di scipl in e. When life, health, o r public welfare is placed at risk, Un it test in g;
govern men ts have a dut y to regul at e the di scipline. Th er efore, if yo u are System integration testin g, and
d evelopin g so ftwa re for internal co m pa ny use, o r under a so ftwa re co n t ract, Validat io n testing. I I
o r for sa le to o the rs, it is important that yo u follow accepted guidelines for
The ea rly revi ew s ar e important because th ey ca n save much development
accuracy, reliability, documentation, and testing. Th e first ste p is to specify
lime . Also, the fina l test-th at is, th e va lida t io n- is es pecia lly importan t
th e sco pe o f th e p roject ; th at is, to define pr ecisely wh at is to be d ev eloped,
hvcau se it is the fina l ve rificatio n ste p before th e softwa re is tu rned ove r to th e
and ho w it will be used.
user, The PEO softwa re guide line d efin es validation as " tes ti ng th e integrat ed
ste m to e ns u re that it m eet s fun cti on al a n d con ceptual d esign require-
Specifying the Scope of a Software Project IIl l·nts." 12 An o ld eng ineering ad age puts it much m o re sim ply: "No impo r-
runt d ec isio n sho u ld ever be based o n a sing le ca lculatio n ." In o the r wo rds,
The PEO guide line is pr esently th e most co m p rehe ns ive provin cial gui de line
lruportan t ca lcu latio ns sho uld always be indep endently d ouble-ch ecked . Th is
for so ftwa re development. It o ffers th e foll owing ad v ice for specify ing the
liliage da tes ba ck to slide- rule da ys, but appli es eq ua lly to co m p ute r o utpu t.
scope o f the project when ne gotiating co n tracts:
\" HI must valida te so ftwa re befor e using it to make key decisions.
An engineer embarking on the development of engineering software for a client runs th e Softwa re deve lo pe rs must ens ure that th ei r wo rk foll ow s a gu ide line suc h
risk of liability if t he software does not perform according to t he clien t's requirements, II Ihe o ne publishe d by PEO, or sim ilar d o cumentati on fo r their p rovince o r
or if its use causes harm to the client or th e publi c. A well-drawn legal contrac t . which pl'cin c di scipline.
conte mplates t he development of engineering soft ware for a client an d its use by the
client, can minimize t he engineer's exposure to liability.
USING COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE
It can also define th e contrac tual rights an d obligati ons between th e par ties to t he
t\III IlY engineers and geo scienti sts use larg e commercial so ftware pa cka ges for
contract .. . . [P]rovisions addressing at least th e following concern s should be includ ed
lligllly specia lized an alys is. Even co m me rcia l so ftwa re m ay ha ve flaws, but
in such a contract:
I ,l orS are m or e likely introdu ced by the user. For ex am p le, th e user may
• Wh at is to be developed;
use inco rrec t units for dat a input ,
Oeliverables;
apply th e pr ogram to th e wrong typ e o f p robl em , o ne th at is un supported
Scope of use of deliverables;
hy th e prog ra m th eory (suc h as using a p ro gr am intended fo r pl an ar
• Represent ations and warranties;
analysis in a 3-D a p plication) ,
Ownership;
set erro neo us paramet ers (suc h as integration pa ramet ers) that resu lt in
• Li mita tion of liability;
incorrect co m p u ta tio n al accuracy,
Cont ract price, and
not un de rsta nd th e o u tpu t di spl ay, an d/o r mu ch m or e. In fac t, users a r
• Mai ntenance and escrow."
not o rious for mi sund erstanding softwa re wri tte n by o the rs.
The co n t ract terms for limiting liability are es pec ially important. In til
'Ih use co m me rcial so ftwa re properly, th e first ste p is obvi ou s: read th '
unlikely even t that th e co n t ract should be br ea ched, a clause limiting Iiabilit
will be hon oured , p rovid ed it is a th ou ghtful a nd reasonabl e estim ate of til
d," um cnta tio n . Int roduct or y tutori als pr ovided by th e so ftwa re d eveloper arc
Ii II V 'ry usefu l, and shou ld be atte nded reli giou sly. If quest ions a rise, th e
damages likely to result fro m the breach ."? It is wise to co ns u lt a lawyer when
,II elop er's "h elp d esk" sho uld be co ns u lte d . Do not ap ply sof tware if yo u
yo u negot iat e a co n tract w ith co m plex legal terms.
11111' \ ' doubts abo u t it, o r un an swered questi on s.
III add it io n, you sho uld alwa ys test new anal ysis so ftwa re to validate it.
Software Testing , vvr assu me t ha t th e co m m ercia l so ftwa re "must be right." If a major tech -
111111 1 project fails becau se o f soft wa re errors, th e first quest ion that a lawye r
The PEO so ftwa re gu ide line includes a len gthy di scu ssion o f severa l review
II I ask yo u is: " W ha t tests did yo u per form to ens ure that th e so ftwa re was
and test s that should be followed during the so ftwa re d evelopment. Th e fill
" 1"'1' II ing prop erl y?"
lowing a re suggeste d as a minimum:
II a l a ll poss ib le, va lida t io n sho uld in vol ve ru nning a t least th e first three
• Software requ irem ents rev iew; II I 111 1' followin g tes ts , w h ich are d iscu ssed ro ug h ly in o rde r of in creasin g
• Softwa re d esign revi ew; 1 11, " 1 or co m p lex it y. In cas es whe re failure co uld lead to injury, d eath , o r
• Co de review; '-- ' ~lI I I S fina ncia l o r e nvlro u m .n ta l di sa st er. a ll of 1111' va l irf a tio n 11'<1 < a ...·
176 PART TWO· PROFE SSIO NAL PRACTICE
CHAPTER 9 • Comput er s, S of t wa re. and Int e ll e ctual Prop erty 177
esse n tial. If the so ftwa re fails a ny of th e follo wing tests, ask why, and don't gil so ftwa re, yo u sho uld ca rry o ut th is independent validatio n befor e mak ing
a head until yo u ha ve full co n fide nc e in th e so ftwa re!
ma jo r ex pe nd it u res. It is always che a pe r to duplicat e a co m pute r ca lcula-
• Dunllny runs. Run a basic ch ec k o n th e program's co m pu ta tio n, uSilll' tio n at th e early sta ges o f a proj ect th an to explain th e o m issio n to a board
nom in al en tries such as zeroe s or o nes , to ge t a know n answer. A sim ple of inq uiry afte r t he pro ject fails.
test is easy to im agine:
In su m ma ry, co m pu te r so ftware is like a n y o the r too l: it m ust be used
• If ze ro loads are in put to a stress program, th e stresses calculate d sho uld Illoperly, a nd it must be ca lib ra ted (o r va lidat ed) . Validat ion test s a re esse ntial
a lso be ze ro. (Sim ilar tests a pply to elec t rica l, th ermal, pneumati c, and lu-Iore o utput data is used for critical decisions.
h ydrauli c program s, as well.)
• If a file o f identical numbers is input to an ave rag ing progr am , th e cal « O M P U T ER SECURITY
cula ted m ean, medi an , a nd m ode must eq ua l th at number, an d till'
sta ndard deviation must be zero . l'rofcsstc na l eng inee rs a nd geoscien tists have an eno rmo us inv est ment in co m-
• If a dy nam ic sim ulatio n is re-run with sma lle r integratio n par a me ter 1'111 'rha rd ware and so ftware. In man y co m pan ies, these arc ma jor assets, so
(a sho rte r tim e-step ), th e m oti on sho uld be identical. plofessio na ls m ust be alert to an y th reats to th is inv estm ent. The o bvious risks
• If a n in p ut file for a previ ou s analysis p rogram is fed to a n ew program ,III' massive hardware or so ftware failure, dat a loss, an d un auth ori zed intrusion .
(assum in g th at it is co m patible), the program s sho uld give th e sa nu
o utp ut.
« o m p ur e r Disaster and Recovery
These tests a re a necessar y (but not a suffic ien t) co n ditio n fo r va lid itv IIll' professio na l must pro vid e ro utine m a in ten ance for eq uipme n t, so ftware,
Tha t is, a n y so ftware tha t fails th ese sim ple tests is defin itely unrelinblc, 'Ilid data storage. In add itio n, it is wise to have a recovery pla n for th e possi-
bu t pa ssing th e tests d oes not gua rantee va lidi ty- more adva nced ana lyt 1,II11 y, howeve r rem o te, of co m plete co m pu te r d isaster, suc h as mi ght occ ur in
leal o r theo retica l tests are need ed.
u llrc or flood- t he co m p lete destr uctio n of the co m pute rs a nd loss o f the pro-
• Ap p roxi m a t c analytical c h eck s, Ima gin e a sim p lified co nfigura tlou
100 Ins a n d data. Every profession al pr acti ce sho uld es ti m a te th e co st a nd
of yo ur co m puter m od el th at ca n be analyzed analyti cally. Appl y ana lyt 1II II'act of a co m pute r di saster o n the practi ce, a nd how long it would take to
ical calcula tio ns to th e sim p ler m od el, find a n a p proxi ma te ans wer, and II lover. For a sma ll pro fessional practice, t he first lin e of prot ecti on is to have
co m pa re it w it h th e co m pu te r o utpu t. For exam ple, a finite-e le me nt , ill ca l data and progr am s du plicat ed o n back u p d isks, and sto red in a safe,
m ode l of a co m p lex str uc t ure ca n a lmost a lway s be decomposed and 1'1 m e locatio n . A p lan fo r recovery, by buying o r leasin g alte rna tive hardware
app rox ima te d by sim p le bea m a nd co lum n eq ua tio ns. Take a m ost o ptl uu l softwa re, ca n eas ily be developed.
m istic esti ma te a nd a least o pti m istic est im a te a nd ap ply th e analytical For large o pe ra tio ns , backu p procedures m ay be mor e co m plex. Th is topi c
eq ua tio ns to eac h . Th e co m puter o utp ut sho uld lie between th ese bound I 1110 spe cia lized for in clu sion h er e, but seve ra l book s adver ti sed o n th e
aries. Th is is a standa rd chec k. The se tests are fairl y qu ick; th e results all' 11I 11 'm et provide furth er advice o n this su b ject. A simple sea rch fo r "co m puter
•
ap proximate, but reassuring, a lt ho ugh n o t totall y co ncl usive . "I nstcr reco ve ry" w ill provide a wealth o f in form ation .
Ind c p c n d c n t t h co rct ical c h e c k s , Mak e a na ly ti ca l co m pu ta ti o n,
usin g a n independen t th eor etical basis. For ex am p le, dynamic sim u latio n
use nu m eri ca l integrati on , bu t th e in tegrat ion ca n be c hec ked by ap plyin ' II rn e t T h r e a t s
th e laws of co nse rvatio n o f ene rgy and m omen tum to th e initial co nd l 1111' lnt cr net is ex tre mely useful to professional eng inee rs a nd geo scient ists
tion s a nd th e fina l ans we rs. Wh ere such tests a re possibl e, they are vel }' 1111 many pu rpo ses, suc h as findin g codes a nd standa rds, h ealth a nd safety
co n vinc ing.
IIl lda lio ns, and , as di scu ssed lat er in this ch apte r, fo r sea rch ing th e dat aba ses
• Advance d mcthods. Cleve r a n d creative a na lysts ca n easily develop II I poll ents, trad emark s, a nd in d ust rial design s. However, the Internet poses a
mor e ad va nced validatio n tests, un iqu e to th e disci pline or sp ecia lt y. " iu lt y risk.
• Co m lJlc t c duplication. A fu ll-sca le duplicat io n of th e co m pu ta tio n, I hou ght less a nd selfis h people, whet her hackers, spa rn me rs, o r va ndals,
using d ifferen t so ftwa re, h ard wa re, a nd in put files, is an ex pe ns ive 1)111 I'" I ' Increas ing levels o f th reat by degrad in g e-m a il service, by dest ro yin g o r
co n vinc ing va lida tio n . Indepe ndent e m plo yee s o r co ns ulta n ts sho uld "l lltllyin g da ta, o r by crea ting deni al-o f-service (DoS) atta cks. A ty pica l DoS
co nd uc t th is test , if possibl e, to av o id syste m a tic erro rs in th e input dall , 11 1111 I' floods a co m pute r with tran smi ssions; thi s overwhelm s th e co m pute r
This check is ex pe ns ive, but it va lida tes almost every th ing- in put data , uu l l' ff -ctive ly deni es its se rvices to legitimate users. To co m ba t these threat s,
th r-o rv. a n d rr)fll n ll t~ t i r\ n If " 1""\ 11 h .... u .... "''''' . ' A ...... . . I _ '- _ _ I~ • _ '.. _ I •
.....- - - - __._ C ! I £'£': ~ _ ~_ ~ 4- 1 f: 11 ." ...-1 ." .-; " . ; r ,...(t-" ,....
178 PART TWO . PROFE SSIO NA L PRACTI CE CHAPTER 9 • Compute rs. Sof t wore. ond Int ell ectu al Property 179
----------_._-----_._----------------------------
• Fircwall. Th is typ e of softwa re gua rds a co mp ut er 's "ga tes." That is, il No IJroduct support, documcnfatfon, updates, or patches.
guar ds yo ur co m puter' s co n nec tio ns to th e In tern et, and blocks o r ad m its Prod uc t su p po rt, do cu m entati o n, upd at es, a nd patc hes a re usuall y n ot
data t ransmi ssio n s accordi ng to t he acc ess rules yo u have set . available fo r pirate d softwa re.
• Antivirus softwarc. Thi s softwa re detects, iden ti fies, a nd rem oves any Fin cs and cmbarrassmcnt if caught. In 1990 t he so ftwa re indust ry
viru ses th a t have succeeded in breach in g yo ur firewall a nd en te ring yOlll establish ed t he Canad ia n Alliance Against Software The ft (CAAST), wh ich
com puter. recen tly aff iliated wit h th e Business Software Alliance (BSA), an orga n iza -
tio n that ru n s ed ucationa l, e n forcement, a nd p u blic policy cam paig ns to
Pirewa lls and ant ivirus softwa re p ro tect yo ur co m pute r from a wide ran g\'
co m ba t pi racy in 80 co u n tr ies aro und th e world. BSA in vestiga tes allega -
of threat s. A fu ll glossa ry of these th reat s is ava ilab le fro m deve lopers such as
tio ns of so ftware piracy a nd lists results of cu rre n t in frin gement prosecu-
Syman tec, a prov ider of In ternet security so ftwa re. ':'
tio n s. It est im ates th at Ca nada's eco nomy lost mor e th an $ 1.22 billio n to
In sum mary, we m ust take t he ac tio ns above to protect o urselves, but a
softwa re theft in 2008 . 15
larger qu esti on ar ises: How are we to balance th e o pe n freedo m of th e Int ern et
wit h the pot en tial for abuse, whi ch is now growing o ut of co ntro l? A sim ilar Beca use of th e exten t of softwa re piracy, this issu e is addressed very poin t-
fo rm of abuse oc curred in the ea rly days of radio broad castin g. Na tio na l laws I'd ly in Onta rio 's Guidel i ne to Protessionai Practtce:
a nd internati on al trea t ies now rigid ly co ntro l rad io freq ue ncies, but t hese !
treati es di d no t ex ist in t he 19 20s. Early broadcasters sim p ly selecte d the u 12. COPYRIGHT IN COMPUTER PROGRAMS
o wn frequ en cies and th en in crea sed t heir t ran smi tting powe r unt il the I Under recent amendments to the Copyright Act, the uncert ainty about copyright in com-
d rown ed o ut th e co m petit io n . This was un fair and un eth ica l, and ha d to 1)(' puter programs has been eliminated by expanding the definition of "literary work" to
rem edi ed, a nd was . O ur soc iety (an d so ftwa re engi neers in pa rtic ula r) mu st include computer programs, which are broadly defined to include all computer programs,
n ow develop rules to bri ng fairn ess to th e Intern et. Th e In te rn et is too im po r whether in source code or object code, regardless of how they are stored. Two exceptions
ra n t to our q ua lity o f life; we ca n not allow vanda ls to destroy it. under these amendments will allow certain uses to be made of computer software, which
would otherwise be an infringement of copyright.
PREVENTING SOFTWARE PI RA CY The first exception provides that it shall not be infringement for a person in lawful
possession of a copy of a compute r program to modify, adapt, or convert a reproduction
O ne of t he most flagra nt con flicts of in terest tod ay in vol ves th e co py ing (II
of the copy into another program to suit that person's needs, provided:
softwa re, whi ch is usu all y referred to as so ftwa re piracy. Co pying is so eas I
tha t, wheth er th ro ug h ign or an ce or in tenti o n , the practi ce is wid espr ead the modified program is essential for t he compatibility of the comp uter program wit h
Wh en yo u pu rch ase a com pute r program , yo u are not bu yi n g t he right II I a particular computer;
d u p licate tha t program , except for backu p . the modified prog ram is used only for the person's own needs
Th ere are man y good reasons why professiona l e nginee rs and geoscie» not more than one modified copy is used by the person at any given time; and
tists should never use co pied o r pirat ed so ftware. the modi fied copy is destroyed when the person ceases to be entitled to possession of
the copy (i.e. upon expiry of a software licence).
• IlIcgality. The first and mo st o bv ious reason is th at co py ing software I
illegal. It violates th e Co pyrigh t Act, wh ich a llows copying on ly for backup The second exception provides that a person who is in lawful possession of a copy of
purposes. The Act forb ids activi tie s such as reverse eng inee ring; here II ,I omputer program, or of a modified reproduction of a computer program, may make a
d iffers fro m America n law, wh ich permits researc h o n co m puter progra m Inule backup copy of the program, provided the backup copy is destroyed when th e
(in clu d ing reverse engi nee ring) un der th e "fai r use" provisions. Prop osal pl'[son ceases to be the owner of the copy of the computer program.
are bein g m ade to exte nd Ca nada's Co pyright Act to in clude th ese pc nnl,
intention of these exceptions is to give the authorized software user a limited right
'l'liu
SiOI1S. 14 Generally spea king, however, so ftware copyin g is illegal.
chanqe the software, to ensure compatibility of the software with the authorized user's
III
• Unprofcssional conduct. Obvio us ly, tryi ng to run a professiona l pral
runiputer system, and to allow for the protection and security of the original proqrarn.l''
ticc wit h pirated software is very un p rofessional. In fact, it co uld be inll 'l
preted as profess iona l mi sconduct, a nd mi gh t result in disci plin e or loss III I'll ' Albe rta (APEGGA) gu ideline conta ins si m ilar in form ati o n :
a professio na l licen ce. • I Legal Considerati ons
• Breach of contract. The use of pi rated softwar e co uld result in a bre:u l
of any co n trac t for wh ich it is used . For exa m ple, a co ns ulting co n tract l:lIIllputer software is covered under the Canadian Copyright Act which provides for a
r n ll i rt h p hrp;Jrlw d if t ill' , lie' nt di scovers th at vo u are using pirated so ft wa«: I nancial penalty as well as a iail sentence for violation. The Convrioht Act protects
o PART TWO . PROFESS IO NA L PRACTI CE CHAPTER 9 • Comp ute rs, Sof t ware, and Int ell ectu al Prop erty 181
aut hors' legal rights and privileges to th eir crea tive works. It should be not ed that a The Ca n ad ian Int ellectual Propert y Office (CI PO), an agency o f Indust ry
copyright in a work exists as soon as the work is create d and th ere is no requirement to Cana da, manages int ellectua l p ro pe rty in Ca nada. In parti cu lar, C IPO main -
publish the work or to affix any special notice t he reto. In additi on to copyright consid- rai n s a dat ab ase, whic h can be sea rche d thro ugh th e Int ernet. In th e Un ited
erati ons, usage of commercial software is also generally govern ed by contract law under Sta tes, th e Pat ent a nd Trad em a rk O ffice (1''1'0) also maintains a d at ab ase,
t he agreements of th e soft ware purchase cont ract and/ or licence. searcha ble by Int ern et. Th ese dat ab ases are o pen to an yone and a re a useful
source of va lua ble design in fo rm ation.
2.2 Ethical Con siderat io n s
The Code of Ethi cs est ablishes t he dut y of APEGGA members to enha nce the dignit y and Im p o rtance of Intellectual Property
status of the professions. APEGGA members shall conduct th emselves with fairn ess and
good fait h toward ot her professional members and th e public in the area of compute r
Ih e bas ic prin cip le for regul ating in tellectua l proper ty is to enc o u rage ere-
,II ivity
by prot ecting t he rights o f creative peopl e, and to provid e a n o rde rly
software usage to avoid conduct which would detract from the image of t he professions.
way to excha ng e creat ive idea s. Can adia n an d internat ion al laws th erefore
In consideratio n of the Code of Ethics, APEGGA members must guard against any viola- protect th e rights o f people w ho crea te intellectual prop ert y (fo r a spec ified
ti ons, real or apparent , of t he Canadian Copyright Act and contract laws and th e result ing pl'riod), soI th at good invention s a nd creative work s will be di sclosed to th e
legal and ethical conseque nces. public, a nd after th e specified period, ma y be used by any o ne. A basic kn o w1-
I'dge of in te llect ua l pro perty law is essen tia l, becau se
2.3 General Principles
All purchased/licensed computer software is subjec t to th e full provisions of the agree-

pro fessio n al eng ineers an d geoscien tists mu st be abl e to prot ect th e intel-
ments connecte d wit h the acquisiti on of th e software and manuals associate d therewith.
lect ua l p rop erty tha t th ey cre ate (or th at is crea ted und er thei r d irecti on ).
All APEGGA members should be aware of the agreement provisions and abide by th e
eve ryo n e mu st respect th e rights of o thers, so we mu st kn ow these rights
and avo id in fring em en t.
t erms of the agree ments with particular regard to copying restric tions.
intellec tual proper ty rep resen ts a huge ware h o use of id eas, techni cal
The use of copies of compute r software or manuals that have been obtained in violation kno wledge, design s, a nd invention s that a re ava ila ble, free (o r a t very low
of copyright or t rade secrets or in any othe r fraudulent man ner is deemed unprof essional cost), from th e CIPO. Anyone can search th e ClI'O dat abases for existing
conduct on th e part of an APEGGA member. pat en ts, tra demarks, a nd designs, and this in fo rm ati on is a valua ble aid in
resea rch , design, a nd mark eting.
In addition to exposure to possible criminal prosecution , violatio n of copyrights or mis-
appropria tio n of t rade secrets associated with computer soft ware by our members may The bas ic legal co ncepts a re discu ssed here a n d Table 9.1 sum ma rizes t he
result in disciplin ary acti on by APEGGAY v II ou s for m s of in tellectual propert y and how long th ey may be protected .
In view o f th e importan ce of co py rig h t a nd its relevance to co mputer I," mo re det ailed informati on, or for an swers to lega l qu estions, co nsult th e
f II'() or In du str y Canada, o r see yo ur lawyer.
practice, the fo llow ing paragraphs give an ov erview of Ca nada's intellectua l
property laws, whi ch a p ply to co pyrig h t, patents, tr ad emarks, indu st ria l
/ • n er al Ru l e s for Intellectual Property
designs, an d "in teg rated circuit top ograph ies." Trade secre ts ar e also discu ssed
be low, altho ug h th ey a re no t protect ed by th ese laws, an d mu st be prot ected IIVI' di fferen t types of in tellec t ua l prop erty may be registered, but in ge nera l,
in o the r ways. 11 ,, 1 the o w ne r of th e in tellectua l propert y ma y register it . Usua lly, th e person
111 1 crea ted th e work is th e o wn er, unl ess th e crea to r has so ld, leased, o r
111'1' 11 the righ ts to ano th er person . When th e crea to r is an m ployee h ired to
C O P Y R I G H T , PATENTS , TRADEMARKS, AND DESIGNS I II ' Il l' int ellect ual p ropert y, the c m p oye r is usu all y th e ow n e r. Thi s fact
1IIIII Id be d efin ed in th e e mploy me n t co n t ract. To avoid co n fus io n, a n y

Co pyrig h t, paten ts, tr ade ma rks, ind us t ria l desig ns, a n d integ ra ted circuli
d, Il.lle o ve r t h e o w ne rsh ip of th e int ell ectu al p ropert y sho uld be se tt led
topog raphi es (mo re co m m o n ly know n as in tegra ted circ u it design s) ,11'\'
I II 11If( ' ap p lying for registrati on .
know n by th e genera l term intellectu al properly. Th ey a re va lua b le and the I
ma y be bo ugh t, so ld , or licen sed , like a ny ot her pr o pert y. How ever, int el " I' y r l g ht
lectu al prop ert y ha s o ne key differ en ce: th e owne rsh ip peri od is limited, a nd
a t th e e nd o f th a t per iod , t he in te llect ua l p roperty becom es pa rt o f t ill' , 'I I' rig h t law e n ables ow n ers to p ro tect written works, such as lit er a ry,
pub lic d om ain (exce pt for t rad em a rks, for w hi ch o w ners h ip m ay Ill' 11 11 l ie, dra ma tic, a n d m usical wor ks, as we ll as aes t he ti c works, suc h as
...... , &-"' ,...,., 1....",' "
....._ _'_'I_wm k a nd draw ings (and m an y subcatego ries of all o f th ese works). It is
PART TWO · PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
CHA PTER 9 • Co mput ers, Sof t wa re, an d Int ell ectual Prop ert y 183
l82
so meo n e infringes th e co pyrigh t by un au th o rized co pyin g, th e ow ner

T A B L E 9.1 - Summary of Protection for Intellectual Property may use th e law cou rts to en force th e o w ner's righ ts. Crea tive works are
prot ec ted for t he life o f th e auth or/creator plus SO yea rs beyond death .
Duration of
IIJ tel leet ua l Howeve r, work s th at a re rep rodu ced mechani call y or e lect ro n ica lly, suc h
What Is Protected Pro te ction
Property
The life of as mo tio n-pictu re film s, ph ot ographs, recordin gs, co m m u n ica tio n sig na ls,
Copyright Writte n literatur e and artistic, dr am atic, an d
mu sical works, in clu di ng co mputer prog rams, the aut ho r/ an d so o n, are given less protection- ty p ica lly a maximum of SO year s
orig ina l drawings , paintin gs, sculpture, an d sim- crea tor, plu s from the dat e of crea tio n . (Several exce ptio ns to th ese ge n e ral ru les exist
ilar works of art. Wor ks rep rodu ced mech ani- SOyears. fo r specific typ es of creatio n .)
cally or electro nica lly (films , ph ot os, recordings, Mech ani cally
Ob t a i n i n g your COIJy rig h t. Co pyrig h t differ s from o t he r form s o f
co m m unication signa ls, etc.) are given prot ec- and electro n-
ically co pied intellec tual property becau se th e creato r (aut hor, a rtis t, perform er, ph o-
tion with a shor te r durati on . (Exceptions ex lst.)
Co pyrigh t exists im mediate ly, up on crea tio n of wo rks are togra pher, a nd so o n) has co py rig ht pr otect ion immedi at ely a n d a uto-
th e wor k. Registerin g is o ptio nal. usuall y matically up on creat io n of th e wo rk. Regist erin g th e co pyr igh t is optio na l;
limit ed to do ing so sim ply gives m or e ce rtai n ty in enforcing th e rights. Th e work
SO yea rs. may be marked to identi fy the co pyr igh t owner (even if not reg iste red)
I'atents New, useful, and innovative devices, m achines, 20 yea rs using a co pyright sym bo l ( a "C" insid e a circle), th e nam e of th e o wner,
processes, or com position s of matt er (or an d the dat e of first publication (for exa m ple: © Jan e Doe, 2009).
imp rovem ents to existing in venti ons). A. patent
prot ect s til e way so me th ing o pe rates o r IS I~ade .
A pat ent mu st be gran ted to obta in prot ecnon. Illegal co pying is, of co u rse, th e most co m mo n form of in frin gem ent. In
In d ust r ia l Th e shape, configuratio n, pattern, or o rna menta- 10 years pol I years, photocopy ma chines and video recorders wer e th e m ean s of illega l
De si gns tion applied to a finished article, made in q ua nti- '"p ing. However, th e Int ernet is now th e key tool for co py righ t in fringe-
ties by han d, too l, o r mac h ine. An industrial .
design protects th e appearance or oma rne n ta no n. IIW IlI. It is rem ar kabl y easy to co py (and thu s in frin ge th e copy rig ht) o f
(Some industrial design s ma y also qu alify as I u en , vis ua l, a n d aud io m at e rial. Unscru pu lo us users ca n m a ke d igita l
tradem arks.) Industr ial design s mu st be registered . , " I' cs o f so ftware, film s, audio, a nd publi cation s, very easily, on a flash dri ve,
Th e pattern s o r co n figuratio ns of co m po nen ts 10 yea rs I I I, or DVD. Suc h activities are illegal.
Integrated
Circu it in integrated electro n ic circui ts, including th e Tech no logies for prot ecting digit al co n te n t a re bein g developed , bu t are
To p o g r a )Jh ies three-di mensio na l geo met ry of the layers of II glllg fa r beh ind the technologies for stealin g it. Software pira cy a nd video
semiconducto rs, met als, in sulatin g layers, and
Ill d aud io co pying are costing large cor po ratio ns man y billions o f dollars. For
o ther mat erials o n a circuit board o r su b-laye r,
I .uuple, music co m pa nie s in th e Un ited Sta tes have been un abl e to find a ny
wh ich produ ce a known electro nic functio n .
1S years, 1" hnical mean s to sto p infringem ent an d ha ve begun suing to recov er lost
Tra dem a r k s Logos, sym bols, slogan s, names, or design s (or
an y co mbina tio n of th ese) used to identify a rene wable II «n ucs . In 2003 , peop le wh o down loaded mu sic from t he Int ern et were
co m pany 's goo ds o r services in th e mark etplace. ind efin itely hlll'\'ed to receive subpoen as to appear in co u rt. Man y co m pute r users a re
Registr at ion is need ed for full prot ecti on. for IS-year I 11IIl ished th at suc h easy, sim ple co pying co uld be illegal.
pe riods .
( .o pying is not acce pta ble in u niversity, in em ploymen t, o r in professiona l
1" 11\ lice. A profession al perso n m ust identi fy a nd cite th e so urces of a ny (and
Tr a d e Secrets Manufacturing processes or m aterial co mpost- Uncerta in.
ill ) material taken fro m o t hers. Th is law is parti cul a rly important w he n th e
tio ns m ay be kept secret, but secrecy co nt ra ~
ven es th e prin cipl e th at rights are awa rded lor 1I11111'l'ia l is included in a professional repo rt o r sim ila r wor k. Failure to iden -
full disclosure, so no legal prot ection ex ists for 11 1\' so urces ca n have serio us pen alti es.
trad e secrets. If so me o ne indep endentl y d is- ( laiming cred it for work th at is not yo u r ow n is ca lled " plag iarism" a nd
covers th e same secret, th e perso n may patent it I I I ually bo th a n inf ringem en t of co pyr igh t a n d a ser ious aca demic offe nce,
and preven t yo u fro m usin g it.
IH'\ lally in universities. Sourc es m us t always be cited. Co pying a repor t and
1'1 IlIg it o ff as one's ow n is flagra n t plagia rism , and is sub ject to pen alt ies.
important fo r pro fession als to not e th at technical repo rts, dra ~ in gs, spec II III uu lvc rslti es, th e aca dem ic penalty fo r plagiari sm may includ e sus pe nsio n
cat ions, and co m pute r program s are a lways prot ect ed by co pyr igh t. II l' pulsio n , dep ending o n th e severity o f th e o ffence . In th e bu sin ess wor ld,
• How it is protect ed . Und er Ca n ad a's Co pyrigh t Act, on ly th e OW l~C I llf il l' II'ga l pena lty for infrin gem ent dep end s on ho w mu ch the co py righ t
th e work h as th e " right to co py" it (o r to perm it o the rs to co py II) . I ......_-
HI 111 '1 lost, fina ncia lly, as a result of th e infringem ent.
184 PAR T TWO· PRO FESSION AL PRACTI CE
,.
In sum m a ry, professiona l peop le mu st be alert to th e co nseq ue nces "I At the sta rt o f a design proj ect, th e CIPO dat aba se should be searche d,
illega l co py ing , softwa re pirating, and plagiari sm . Unauthorized use o f 11 11 lmth as a so urce of useful ideas, and to avoid infringin g existing rights. O nce
work o f o t he rs, or claiming cred it fo r th e work o f oth ers, is not just un ethl cal, II new design or inv ention has been develop ed , th e prof ession al should co n-
th ese are co py righ t infringem ent a nd may lead to legal problem s. For rn ou klcr registering it, to protect th e inv entor's (a nd th e em ploye r's) rights. For a
information, th e CIPO pub lish es A Guide to Copyrig!lts. I H nominal fee, pat ent age nts and other privat e co m pa n ies will assist in pat ent
I'arch es and appli cation s. For more information o n pat ent pro cedures, co n-
Patents 1111 th e CIPO publicati on A Guide to Patcnts.t"
An inv ention must be new, useful, and innovative (or in genious) to receive 01
Ind u st rial Designs
pat ent. Improvem ents to in ven t io n s ca n also be patented; in fact, m ost pa rent
applica tio ns are for improvem ents to ex isting devices. How ever, patenting ,I I I lud ust rial design s ca n be protect ed th rough a pro cess simila r to patent o r
improvement does not give yo u th e righ t to use th e o rigina l invention . 1\ l opyright prot ecti on. In th is case, however, only th e aesth eti c appearan ce is
pat ent protects th e way th at a dev ice o pe rates (u n like an industria l dcsigu, protecte d . Registration of a n industrial design protects th e sha pe, co n figura-
discu ssed below, whi ch protect s th e ap pearance). lio n, pat te rn, or o rna me n t ap plied to a fini sh ed a rticle, whi ch is typi call y
• Ho w it is protected. Under Ca na d a's Pat ent Act, th e own er of 01 made in qu antities by machine. For exa m ple, th e pattern of decoration o n th e
pat ented in vention ha s th e right to make, manufacture, use, or sell !II I ' In ives, fo rks, and spoons o f a dinn erware set co uld be registered as an indus-
invention for a period of 20 years from th e dat e o f th e pat ent application, u lal des ign. An industri a l design ap plies to the aestheti c (or arti stic) appea r-
Th e pat ent o wne r ca n prev ent oth ers from making, USing, o r se lling till' nncc of manu factured arti cles, a nd differs from a co pyright, whi ch applies to
inve n tio n , and may enforce this right in co urt. orlglna l artistic works and written material s. For exam ple, an ori ginal sculp-
• Obtaining a patent. Obtain ing a patent is a fairly long pro cess, but the l«- , lu re wo uld be protect ed by co py righ t, but manufa ctured co pies o f th e
ste p is preparing th e pat ent applicatio n. (An initial fee, and a small annua l rulpture mu st be protect ed as an industrial design .
mainten an ce fee mu st be paid whil e th e patent is in force; otherwise th e pat eru Ho w it is protected. Unde r Ca nada's Industrial Design Act, o n ly th e
ente rs th e public dorn ain .) Th e pat ent appli cati on ha s a standard format: pctl ow ner of a registered industri al design ha s the right to make, use, sell, rent
tion, abstract, specificatio n, claim s, and drawings (where appli cable). Th e petl (or offer to rent o r sell) th e design . Th e protecti on exists fo r a maximum
tion is merely a forma l lett er, asking th e Pat ent Office to grant the pat ent. Till' of 10 yea rs (fro m th e date of registrati on) . It is important to st ress th at th e
appli cation itself becom es th e patent afte r it has been exam ined and approved desig n mu st be registered to obta in this pr ot ection; design s that are no t
by th e Patent Office. The fo ur parts of th e pat ent a re described below. registered have no legal protecti on against im ita tio n.
Ob ta in i n g industrial design protectfon, Registering an indu stri al
1. Abstract. Th e Abstract sum mar izes th e patent in a co nc ise 1'0 n II ,
design is fairl y sim p le. It requires a n appli cati on form , and at least o ne
suita ble for publishing in th e Patent Office Record, whi ch is th e offi cial
d rawing o r ph ot ograph that illustrat es th e design, submitted with th e appro-
gazette o f th e Patent O ffice.
priate registration fee. Marking th e design gives you extra protection aga inst
2. Sp ecifica t io n. Th e spec ifica tio n describes th e inv ention, and USII
co piers. An industria l design is denoted by a capita l " D" inside a circle and
a lly a ns wers four qu esti on s:
th e nam e of th e design 's own er o n th e article, its label, or its packaging.
• What probl em does th e inv ention so lve'!
If yo u develop o rigin al design s, you sho u ld protect yo ur rights by regis-
• Wh at prior art exists, and why is it inadequat e to solve th e problem'
u-ring th em . After 10 years, design rights ex pire and th e design en ters th e
• How does your in vention work'! (Thi s is th e "Disclo sure.")
public domain . It is n either un ethi cal n or illegal to use designs th at hav e
• How is yo ur in venti on new, useful, a nd in geniou s, co m pa red IeI
pri or art'! «ntered th e publi c domain . In fact, design ers ar e enco urage d to use th em ,
since t h is is ofte n a fast an d profitabl e way to develop att rac tive new prod -
3. Cla ims. Th e claim s build a fen ce of words around your inv ention, IJ ! IIctS. For more informati on, CIPO publi sh es A Guide to Industrial Desigl/s.20
defining whi ch features of th e inv ention a re to be protect ed as you:
property. Int e g ra ted Circ u it Topographies
4. Drawings. Wh ere appropriate, drawin gs o f th e inv ention mu st Ill'
--
includ ed . Integrated circuits are th e basis for almost all modern co m m un ications, co m-
pute rs, and similar elec tro n ic eq uipme n t. Int egrat ed circuit to pog rap h ies are)
Th e pat ented d evice, manu facturing meth od or m a terial co m positio n
may be mark ed (if appropriate) with th e word "Patented" an d th e paten t
defin ed a Ukgeo me t ~LE2n.flgu ra t io ns~ il~g ~ect ron ic circu its, -
Incl ud ing th e layers of sem ico nducto rs, metal s, insulating layers, and other
186 P~ T ~ PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CHAPTER 9 • Comp ut ers. Softwar e. and Int ell ectual Prop erty 187
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
three-dim en sional. Th ey are a spec ial form of industrial design , th ey have thoh A tra de mark can no t be identical (o r deceptively sim ilar) to exist ing tr ad e-
ow n regist rati on process, and th ey ca n be extremely va lua ble. Th e law p rot ect mnrk s o r to " pro h ibi ted marks," wh ich in clude sy m bo ls a nd logos o f th e
th e geo me try of th e elec tro nic circuit, but it does n ot prevent o the rs fW1l1 I nnadia n gove rn me n t, th e Royal Family, th e ar me d fo rces, provin ces, for eign
designin g a different geo me trical circu it that can perform th e same electro n Ii i uuntrics, a n d man y well -known internationa l in stituti on s. In additi on ,
purpose. (In thi s case , pat ent protecti on may provide broader protecti on.) uudcma rk applica tio ns must sa tisfy a series of sim ple rules to e ns u re that
tlu-y do not crea te co nf us io n ove r th e goods or se rvices being offere d, a nd do
• How it is protected. Unde r Ca na da's Int egrat ed Circuit Top ograph '
nut restrict th e public's ability to use co m mon lan gua ge and geograp hica l
Act, o n ly th e o wne r ma y make, use, o r sell th e registered top ograph y, and
II I Illes. A su m ma ry o f th ese rul es and exa m ples o f satisfacto ry and in eligible
th e own er has th e right to prev ent oth ers from making, USing, selling,
tradema rks are in th e ClI'O publicati on A Guide to Tmde-lI/l11ks.22
leasin g, o r importing th e top ograph y, o r incorporating it in an other intc
Th e followi ng exa m ple illu strates th e importan ce of search ing th e trade-
gra ted circuit. Registrat ion provid es legal prot ecti o n for IO years from t lu-
dat e of th e a pplica t ion . mark data base. The Un iversity o f Waterloo recently introdu ced a Mech atronics
Illgineering program. Th e university co ntacted Eng inee rs Canada (forme rly th e
• Obtaining design protection. Int egrat ed circuit topographi es can Ill '
I nnadia n Co unc il of Professional Engin eers) to ens ure th at the pro gram would
registered by subm itting an applicati on form, fees, a description of till'
II isfy the accredi tation process and th at th e prog ram had th e legal right to use
fun cti on of th e circuit, and a co m plete set of ove rlays, d rawings, o r pho
Ihl' term "eng inee ring. " (Eng ineers Cana da is th e registered tradem ark holder
tographs o f th e circuit. Th e registered circuit may be mark ed (whe n mall
III the te rms "eng inee r" and "e ng inee ring" as descriptors of services o ffered.)
ufactured) with th e alphanum eric titl e used to identify th e topography 011
llowever, th e term "m echatroni cs"-which indicat es that th e new program is
th e ap p lica t io n. For mor e inform ati on , CIPO publi sh es A Guide III
II co m binat io n o f mech anical, elec tro n ics, and robo tics sub jects-was not
In tegrated Circuit 'flJ/}(}g mplt ies.2 1
parched until afte r th e program nam e had been widely adve rtised. Un iversity
Trademarks ulficials were surprised to learn th at, about a decad e ea rlier, a Germa n co m pa ny
h;ld registe red th e term in Cana da as a trad emark. (Nego tiatio ns over th e use of
Trad em ar ks ar e th e co m mo n ly used logos, sloga ns, n am es, sy m bo ls, 01 Ilu: term were agreeably sett led .)
design s th at identi fy a co m pany's goods o r services in th e mark etplace.
• How it is protected. Und er Ca nada's Trademark Act, trademark regis I rade Secrets
trati on gives th e right to use th e tradem ark for 15 yea rs. Unlike othc i
forms o f intellectual prop erty, trad em arks ca n be renewed inde fin itely-c-a, (11 co urse, yo u ca n prot ect intellectual propert y sim ply by keeping it secre t.
lon g as th ey still serve th e purpose o f identifyin g a co m pany's goods 01 II nde secrets may be ve ry effec tive for so me in vention s, suc h as m anu fac-
~e rv ices in th e marketpla ce. Trad emark in fring em ent is fairly rare in pro Illring processes o r mat erial co m pos itio ns (alth ou gh th ey are irrelevant for
l e~si on al ac tivities, althou gh it occ urs in retail sa les. For exam ple, hig h. rradernark s, designs, or co py rig h t). In ge ne ral, sec rec y is maint ain ed by
p riced co ns u me r goods, suc h as prestige watc hes an d fashi on accessories lI'quiring e m ployees to sig n e m p loy me n t co n t rac ts wit h co n fide nt ia lity
bea ring illegal trad em arks, a re occasio nally found for sa le in "d isco u n t" , lauses. Trad e sec rets have no legal sta tus in pat ent law, so breach es of co nfi-
ret ail stores. Selling go ods with a co un te rfeit trad emark is illegal. rh-n tiali t y mu st be en forced under co ntrac t law or tort law. For exa m ple, if
• Obtaining trademark protection. Befor e yo u apply to regist er ;1 /111 e m plo yee reveal s a tr ad e sec ret, th e em p lo ye r ma y be abl e to sue th e
t rade mark for a se rv ice o r p rodu ct , yo u sho u ld first sea rch th e C ll'O vuiploycc for the loss under t he terms o f th e em ploy me n t co n t ract. Trad e
website to see whe the r th e sugges ted trad em ark is already registered . Thi s vcrets d iscourage disclosur e, an d a re t he refo re co n tra ry to th e purpose of
prelimin ar y sea rch ma y save tim e and effor t. If your trad emark does no t palent law, wh ich gives prot ect ion in exc ha nge fo r full disclosure.
co n flict with an y existing mark, an appli cati on form , a fee, a nd a dr awing
of th e mark (if ap pro priate) a re sufficie n t to sta rt th e exa minatio n and
ASE H I ST O R Y 9.2
approva l process. Whe n a trad em ar k is registered , th e owne r may war n
co piers usin g th e letter "R" in a circle (mea n ing "Registe red "), o r th e let.
PATEN T INFRINGEMENT
ters "MD " (m eaning "marq ue dep osec"). Even if a trademark is not regis-
tered, ow ne rs may warn co p iers with th e lett ers 'I'M (for "trad em ark") 01 l'he followi ng case hi st or y is ada pted fro m a n ac tua l eve n t in w h ich th e
SM (fo r "service ma rk") or MC (fo r " ma rq ue de co m me rce") . The .uu ho r p layed a role as an ex pe rt witn ess, but it has been dr asti call y sim pli-
Trade ma rk O ffice recommends th e use of suc h sy m bo ls, even th ough th ey lled to illu strat e th e key issues. Some facts, and a ll nam es, have been cha nge d
are not esse n tial to prot ect vour rights. _ -..L-_ 1o avo id a ny em ba rrass me n t to those involved.
PART TWO • PROFESSI ONAL PRA CTICE
CHAPTER 9 • Comput ers. Sof t ware. and Int ell e ctua l Prop erty 189
188
Bac kg round Information Unit ed Sta tes Paten t an d Tradema rk Office (PTO) maintain im me nse da ta-
bases of va lua ble in venti on s a nd design s th at a re ava ila ble, free, ov er the
An inven tive co ns truc tio n wo rker design ed a new win ch device for raising in tern et .23 ,24
materials on a co nst ruc tio n site . Th e device, whe n ins talled o n a building site,
co u ld deliver h eavy m aterials (br icks, sid ing, windows a nd roofi ng), quickly,
safely, and eas ily, to fairly hi gh levels. The dev ice was pat ented by the D ISC U S S IO N TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
in ventor, who so ld th e rights to a com pany ow ne d by Eng inee rs A and II. I. You are a co-op stude nt wo rking in a co m m u n ications co m pa ny. You have
Engineers A a nd B reworked th e design , makin g it stro nge r, mo re rob ust, and access to electro n ic switc hi ng source code an d yo u show it to a fellow stu-
more att ractiv e, but ret aini ng th e pa te n ted mec ha n ism's fu nc tio n . The co m- de n t. Lat er, you suspect th at yo ur co lleague may have logged o n wit h
pa ny th rived by m anu facturin g the win ch device, n amed the "W inc h yo ur password and looked at th e softwa re. Altho ug h the material is read-
Ato m ic," a nd selling it to co nst ruc tio n co m pa n ies. Even tua lly, Eng ineer 1\ o n ly, yo u believe he may have co pied th e co de on to a flash dri ve or CD.
wa n ted to mov e o n to a new ca reer, so Engi nee r A purchased B's sha res in the Altho ugh he is a great friend, yo u suspect th at he may be tr ying to sell th e
com pa ny. The pat ent for th e Winc h -Ato m ic belonged to th e co m pa ny, so code or use it for illicit pu rposes. Wh at sh ould you do'?
Eng inee r A ga ine d co n tro l over th ese righ ts. Co m puter so ftware is in creasin gly developed by a few e mi ne nt spec ial-
ists, and has features th at no sing le practi sin g profession al may under-
sta nd full y. Does thi s so ftware in crease th e capability o f th e professional
Patent Dispute
using it, or does it relegat e th e prof essional to the ro le o f an input tech -
A few month s after th e sale of th e co m pany to Eng inee r A, Engin eer B started n ician, wh o kn ow s h ow to o pe rate th e co m puter, but can no t co m me n t
a rival co mpa ny, manufacturing a win ch device called th e "Liftodr om c" thai o n th e th eor y in th e pro gram o r th e validity of its output"? Is th e future
also lifted building materials. Upon inspection , it was clear that th e Liftodromr di m for th e average techn ical professional, wh o will be dem ot ed to oper-
was essentia lly identical to th e Win ch -Atomic, exce pt that a key part of the ati ng tools th at are develop ed by spec ialized so ftware ex pe rts"? Wh at
wi nc h was in verted . Th at is, key o pe rati ng parts o f th e winc h mcch anlsm sho uld be done to ens ure tha t thi s dism al pr edi cti on does not co m e tru e"?
were sim ilar, but installed up side-down . ,I, Using th e Int ern et , sea rch and find th e Ca nad ia n intellectu al pro pert y
Eng inee r A co mp lai ne d to Enginee r B, stating th at th e Wi nc h-Ato m it liste d below. Th e Ca na d ia n pat en t d at ab ase is ava ila b le th rou gh th e
patent had been infr inge d . Ca nad ian Int ellectual Prop ert y Office (C IPO). Co n ti n ue your Int ern et
search on th e U.S. Pat ent an d Trade mark Office. (The web add resses are
Le g a l Resolution of the Dispute in No tes 23 and 24, below.) Are th e result s iden tical"?
Engi neers A a nd B co uld no t resolve th e dispute, so th e matter ~as tur~l'd a. A paten ted appa rat us for reducin g no ise in a jet engi n e, issued in the
over to lawyers. Each side co nsu lted ex pe rt wit nesses, an d a laWSUIt was fill-d last 10 years .
based on Eng inee r A's right s un der th e Winc h-Atom ic pat ent. The case W:I b. The ow ne r of th e t radema rk for th e Black berry wireless hand com-
even tually referred to a judge. The key qu estion was whether inverting till mun icator.
mecha n ism made it into a new invention . c. The ow ner of the trad emark: "Roll up th e rim to win ."
It was arg ued th at mech ani sm s are classified kin ematicall y, dep ending Oil d . The industri al design for th e bumper or grill of a ny recent Nor th
th e n umbe r a nd typ es o f member s and joints, a n d turning a mechani sm Ame rican veh icle.
ups ide-dow n makes n o di fferen ce to th e classification of th e mech anism. 111 \ddil ional assignments ca n be found in Appendix E.
fact, it is precisely to avoid suc h co n fusion th at th e topology (the typ e alld
degree o f interconn ecti on) is used to identify and cla ssify mechanism
t OT ES
Altho ugh th e mech anism was invert ed, it was sti ll performing th e sa m~ fum
tion . The judge ruled in Engi neer A's favour, and Eng inee r B was required II III /\ . Hodges, Alun Turing: Tile EII(~II/a or Int ell igence, Burnett Book s, Lond o n , 19in .
pay substa n tial dam ages for th e pat ent in frin gem ent. . . , 1'1 It. Marti n , tiantord Civic Center Arena Roo] Col/apse, Dept . o f C iv il a n d
Env iro n m c n ta l Engincc ring (ca se stud y), Unive rsity o f Alaba ma a t Birmingh am ,
Fede ral laws for int ellectu al prop ert y encourage creativity by prot ect III
av a ila b le at <h tt p :// m a td l.o rg/ fa ilu recases/ Bu ild in g')1.20 Cascs/ Ha rt ford .h tm »
th e righ ts o f crea tive peopl e, a nd p rovid e an orde rly way to exc ha nge creat lvi (lu nc IS, 2009).
ideas. Profession al eng inee rs and geoscient ists must be ab le to pro tec t 111 III II. Petroski, To Engineer Is [[11///(11/: Tile Role or Poi/lire ill Successful Design,
intellect ua l pro pe rty th at th ey crea te, and mu st respect th e righ ts of ot he St. Ma rt in's Press, Ncw York, NY, 1985, p . 199.
In addit ion, bo th the Canad ia n In tellectu al Property Office (ClPO) a nd III III Ma rt in , tt artfon! Civic Center Arena !<oof Col/apse. Excerpt u sed wit h permissio n .
190 PART TWO · PROFESSIONA L PRACTI CE
151 D. Kamin et zky, Design and Construction Failures: Lessons [rom Forensic
161
lnvestigatlons , McGraw-Hili, Ne w York, NY, 1991 , p . 22 4.
Associat ion of Prof essional Engin eers, Ge o log ists and Geop hys icists o f Albe rta
hapter 10
(APEGGA), Guidel i ne [or Ne/yillg 0 11 Work Prepared by Others , 2003 , p. 9, avai labh-
171
at <www.a pegga.u rg> (May 29, 200S).
Associat io n o f Profe ssio na l Eng ineers an d Geoscien t ists o f New found la nd airness and Equity in the
(PEG-NL), Guideline [or tile Use of Computer Soitwarc Tools by l'rotcssionul Ellgiul'l'/I
and Geoscientists, Ju ly 2S, 1995 (I page), ava ilable at «www.pcgn l.ca/
publications/ index.html> (May 29, 20 0S) .
I rofessionaLWorkpLace
lSI Pro fessio n al Engineers O n ta rio (PEO), Th e Use otComp utcr Software Tools by
t'rofessiona! Engineers and tile Develop ment or Computer Software AfTectillS Public
Safi't)' ant! We/fine, Toronto, 1993, p. 4, ava ilab le at -cwww.pco.o n .ca» (May 2!J,
200S). Exce rp t re p rin ted wit h pe rm ission of PEO.
191 Professional Eng ineers Ontario (PEO), The Use of Computer Sottw arc Tools, p. !J,
Excerpt reprinted wi th permissio n of PEO.
1101 D.L. Mar ston, Law [or l'rotessionu! Engineers: COllodion and lntcrnutional
Perspectives, 3rd cd ., McGraw-Hili Ryer so n, W hitby, O N, 1996 , p. 153. l'ro fessio ns suc h as e ng inee ring a n d geoscie nce att rac t inte llige nt peo p le
1111 Professional Eng in eer s On ta rio (PEO), Th e Use ot Computcr Sottwarc Tools, p . 7. \ '11h h igh pe rso na l sta nda rds, who ex pec t to wo rk in a professional enviro n-
Excerpt rep rin ted w ith permission o f PEO. uu-nl. Everyo ne, in fact , h as th e right to work in a fair a nd eq uita ble wor k-
1121 Ibid ., p . S.
plnce. l'u rt he rm o re, a posit ive work env iro n me n t usuall y improves em ployee
1131 Syma n tec, Glossary, ava ilable a t <www.sYllla n tec.co m / busin ess/secu rity_
rcspo ns c/glossary.jsp» (May 29, 200S). pl'rfo rma nce, so fairn ess a n d eq uity pay of f by creati ng a mor e successfu l
11 41 Indu st ry Ca nad a and Departmen t o f Ca nad ia n Herit age, Copyrigllt Refimn Pmcl',11 I III crprise.
(website), Ottawa, avai lab le a t <h tt p:/ / www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/ep ic/site/cr p-p rda.m i/ This cha pte r d iscusses th e impo rtan ce of fairn ess a nd eq uity in t he pro -
en/Home> (May 29, 200S). il'ssiona l workplace, starting wit h the bas is for th ese righ ts, a nd investigates
11 51 The Ca nad ia n Allian ce Again st Software Theft (CAAST), n o w affi liat ed wit h t lu:
how well th e wo rkplace m eets th e standards t hat shou ld be ex pected, and
Busin ess Software Allian ce (I\SA), availab le at c www.caast.o rg» or -cwww.bsa .o rg
(lun c 15, 20( 9). pl'cial problems u n iq ue to the Can adian workplace. The cha pt er clo ses with
116 1 Professiona l Engineers On tario (PEO), Guideline to Protcssional Practice, Toro n to , Ihl l 'C case stud ies illustratin g th e harm ful effects of discrimi n at io n in th e pro-
19S5, rev ised 1995, p. 2 1, ava ilab le at -cwww.pco .o n .ca» (May 29, 200S) . Excerj u I,·"ion al wo rkplace.
repr in te d wit h per m ission of PEO . (PEO ad vises th at t hi s g u ide line is to be
rev ised in th e nc a r fu tu rc.)
1171 Associa t io n o f Professional Eng ineers, Geo log ists an d Geo phy sicis ts o f Albe rta HIEV IN G FAIRNESS AND EQUITY
(APEGGA), Guideline [or Copying 01111 Use ofCom puter Software, Ed mo nto n, AB,
Novembe r 2005, V1.1, avai lable at <www.a pegga.or g/ Me m bers/ Publicatio ns/ III achie ve fairness an d eq uity in th e workplace, th e first steps are to recog -
gu idelines .h tm l> (Ma y 29 , 200S). Excerp t repri nt ed w ith permission of APEGG,I 111 11' the special pro ble ms th at wo men and members of minority gro u ps may
II SI Canad ia n In tellectual Property Offi ce (C IPO), A Guide to Copyrights, In d ust ry I'll I'wit h in the o rgani zation a nd to ens ure that effect ive policies a re in place
Canada, Ottawa, av ailable at <www.ci po .gc.ca> (May 29, 200S).
111 1 hiring and promoting emp loyees. Co m m u n ica tin g t hese po licies, th ei r
1191 Canad ian In tellectual Prop erty Offi ce (CIPO), A Guide to Patents, availab le at
www.c ipo.gc.ca (May 29, 200S). IIIl'aning, and th eir pur pose to all sta ff is the key to success . If some issues
1201 Ca nad ian In tellectual Prop erty Office (C IPO), II Gui de to Industrial Designs, ,II I I1ISC a nx iety or anger in a pa rtic u lar gro up, it is often becau se of mi scon -
avai lab le at -cwww.cipo .gc.ca» (May 29, 200S). ,, 'ptlons, an d th ese can be defused and elim ina ted t hro ug h o pe n d ialogue
121 1 Canad ia n In tell ect u al Prope rty Office (C IPO),A Guide to lntcgratet! Circuit 1111 1 lufo rmatio n sessio ns .
'TiJpograpllh's, avai lable at -cwww.cipo .gc.ca» (May 29, 200S). lJn lair an d un ethi cal beha viour, suc h as di scrimination or hara ssm ent
1221 Canad ia n In tellectual Prop ert y O ffice (ClP O), A Guide to Trade-m arks, av a ilable
h ,I',I 'd o n race, nat ion al o r eth n ic origin, co lou r, religion , sex, age, mental or
at <www.cipo .gc.ca> (Ma y 29, 200S).
!2:{ 1 Canad ian In tellectual Pro pert y Offi ce (C lPO) web site at -cwww.ctpo. gc.ca» (May pit 'sical di sability, or sex ua l o rien ta tion has no place in a ny pro fession-or
29 , 200S). II I whe re in a civ ilized soc iety. In Canada, th is typ e of beh aviour is illegal
1241 U.S. Patent and Trad emark O ffice (1''1'0 ) web sit e at -cwww.us pto .go v/ pa ut/ Indcx, 11 111 11'1' the Crim in al Code a n d hum an right s legisla tion . Som e professio nal
htm b- (May 29, 200S).
I Ii Is I hapt er was co n tributed by Dr. Mo nique Prize, P.En g., O.c., Form er NSERC/ Nortel
, 1111 11 for Wome n in Scien ce and Engineer ing (Ontario), Professor in the Faculty of
11I1(111l'Cring at Carleto n Univ ersity and Un ivers ity of O ttawa .
192 PART TW O· PROFE SI ONAL PHACf ICE . IIAI' I I.H ' 0 · Fnirue ss o ll il 1" lI l t v III th o l ' I Uj " 55;()00 1 WOlkp{o , 19
e nginee ring and geoscien ce Act s have in cluded cla uses to prevent dl scrlrul 1IIl' Cha rt ' r is im porta n t to profession als: a ll xm tra cts, co llec tive agree-
nati on w ith in o ur professio n s. For exam ple, the Guideli ne Oil Human RiSI/l s III 111, " 1 , wor k prot oco ls, and hand book s must be co nsiste n t with provin cial
Protessional Practi ce publish ed by Professional Eng ineers On ta rio (PEO) spl'l li 1111 11 11 11 rig h ts legislati o n a nd wit h th e Ca n ad ian C h a rte r of Right s a nd
ica lly state s t h a t ~l}J..t!a ti o n a l1sl_h arassm ent a re professional mi scondu I I II I d ll n lS. Discrim ina tio n is agains t th e law. Co nt racts, includ in g co llec tive
and su b ject to di sciplin e.' Sim ila rly, the Alberta (APEGGA) Code of Eth ics 1111 II II " llI\'llls, ca n be rescin ded , and statutes an d regul ati ons ca n be nullifi ed if
bid s di scrimin ati on , a nd APEGGA a lso publi sh es a Guideli ne {or Human I<iSh'l II 11 11 II I 10 be d iscri mi na to ry. Th e m ain d ifferen ce between th e Can ad ia n
I lilllll'r o f Rig h ts an d Freedom s a n d o t he r fed eral a n d pro vincial hum an
Issues ill Professi onai Practlcc.r Both of t hes e co m p rehe n sive guid elin es oil
freely ava ila ble o n the Associati ons' respective websites . tll lll Il'gislati on is th at th e Ch a rte r applies to all lev el s o f go vern me n t,
Nevertheless, unfai r pra cti ces persist in t he prof ession because they ;111 1111 ItIl llng age nc ies d irectly co n tro lled by gov ern men ts. In co n tra st, provin cial
su bt le o r sys te m ic, or perhaps becau se we ar e un aw are of th em a nd of 111 \ Iillill I II righ ts legi sla ti on app lies to m atters under p ro vlncl al juri sdi ction .
destr uc tive impact t ha t th ey ca n have o n in di viduals. Th ese pr acti ces alld II I il l I thei r own juri sdi cti ons, bo t h th e Ch arte r and th e provincial human
the ir underl yin g ca uses a re di scu ssed in th is chapte r, so th at read ers can n', " , III Acts a re primacy legislati on s. Th is mean s that the hum an rights Acts
ogn ize a nd elim inate th em . " 1"'1 cdc a ll o t he r laws o f that juri sdi cti on, unless ex pressly declar ed o t he r-
II II a n Act of Leg isla tur e o r Parli am ent. Z"
DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION ,1/ 0 LLM ENT PATTERNS IN UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

Dicti on ar ies defin e discriminati on as " the act io n of di scerning, dl st ln guishl uu 11 11 11'11 ar e a ma jo rity in th e Ca n ad ia n po pul a ti on , bu t th e ir und er -
things or peopl e from o th ers, and m aking a di fferen ce. " In recent yea rs III i. 1" .1 entut io n in p rofession al e n gineerin g a n d geos cie nce ra ises o bvio us
ter m ha s a lso co me to be asso ciated with seg regatio n , wh ich is defined as "III! I" ' IllIns. Figu re 10 .1 shows the e nro ll me n t patterns for both men a nd
act o f di st in gu ishi n g o ne g ro u p fro m o t hers, to it s detrim ent. " It is Iii 1111 1" 11 in engin eerin g und ergraduat e progra ms between 1991 an d 2005 . The
ha rmful as pect of di scriminati on th at this ch a pte r ad d resses. I 111 1)'.1' propo rt io n o f wom en in e ng in eer ing und ergr adua te p ro gram s in
1'1 /1 \ was II percen t; by 1991 it was 15 percen t, increas ing to 19 percent
THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS III II)'), and 21 percen t in 200 1. How ever, as Eng ineers Can ada notes:
The Ca n ad ian Charter o f Rights and Freed oms set s o ut so me basic principle IIi" proportio n of female un dergraduat e enginee ring students declined consiste ntly from
th a t sh o u ld guide the dail y life o f every citize n . '()02 to 2005. This represent s a troubling tu rnaround in a tren d that saw female engi-
11"l'lillg enrolment grow for a full t en years prior to 2001. Similar t rends have been
• Cla use 7 states: "Everyo ne h as the right to life, liberty an d secu rity of Iii ""ll'ctcd in t he U.S., where engineer ing enrolment of minority groups, incl uding women,
per son a nd th e right not to be deprived th ereof in accorda nce with Iii h,1 been tre nding downward . One explanat ory hypoth esis is th at occupatio nal opportu-
principles o f fundame n ta l [usti ce. v' II I II'S for women have grown rapidly. while males have not expanded th eir participation
• Clause 15 (1) defines eq ua lity rights: " Eve ry individual is eq ua l befor e alld III lion-t raditional occupatio ns. As a result, female university students are represent ed
under the law and has th e right to th e eq ua l pro tecti on and eq ua l benctlt III III reasing num bers in many ot her science disciplines t hat requir e fewer course pre-
o f th e law without d iscr iminat ion a nd, in par ticul ar, without di scrlmln a 1I II IIisites and offer equally challenging careers.... Female undergradu at e enrolment in
t ion based o n race, nati onal o r eth n ic or igin , co lo ur, religion, sex, age 1I • 1I111 11ccring peaked at 20.7 percent in 2001 and has declined to 17.5 percent in 2005. It
mental o r ph ysical dl sability."? I not simply that female enrolment has grown more slowly than male enrolment. The
• C lause 15 (2) also ad dresses th e right to h ave programs of af fi rm atlv: lhnoillte number of women st udying enginee ring at th e undergraduate level declined by
actio n in cases where imp rov em ent a nd m or e balance in the participa 1,0 percent over t he past five years, while male enrolment increased by 14. 6 percent. 9
tion o f under-represented gro u ps a re needed . It rea ds: "Su bsect io n ( II
d oes not preclu de any law or progra m o r activ ity that h as as its o b]« I III postgrad uate stud ies, tot al fema le enr o llme nt wa s fai rly stable, as th e
the am eli or ation o f co n d itio ns of di sad vantaged in divi duals or gro ups." !t I I . ' l l se in fema le m aster' s studen ts was m at ch ed by an in crease in fema le
For ex a m p le, th e federal gov ern me n t created a Ch air (o r pro fcssorsh lp) !til IlII'a I ca n d id a tes. In full-tim e eng inee rin g m aster s' pro gr am s, fema le
for women in enginee ring in 1989, and added five Cha irs for wo me n III 1I11 t1 I/1l ent wa s o n ly 10 percent in 1989; by 1995, the figure was 20 percen t;
science an d e nginee ring in 199 7.6 Th e Ch a irs h ave th e m andate to studv " 'Il() I it was 24 pe rcent; but in 2005 , it declined to 23 percent. Fo r docto ral
a nd develop strategies to in creas e t he participa tio n o f wo m en a t a ll leVl' I'" 1IIIIl i l /l ll S, the fem ale en ro llme n t was 6 percent in 1989; 13 percen t in 1995;
in e ngine ering an d science di sciplines where th e e nrollmen t o f wornc I I I Iu-rccnt in 200 1, a nd 18. 7 percent in 2005. Women co m pri secl 2.2 percen t
is low. II I /Iglneerin g faculty members in 1991 a nd 7.6 percen t in 200 1.' 0
194 PAR T TWO · PflOFESSIONAL I'RACI ICI. IIAI'l l.fl 10· Fa/ me s s inu! t q u lt v III 1/1" /', o}, s l looo { Wo, k,,/ o ( ,' J I)
OCIALIZAT IO N IN EARL Y CHILDHOOD

FIGURE 10.1 - Male and Female Enrollment in Can adian Enginee ring
Programs ma jor reaso n for wo me n 's low par ticip ati on in eng ine ering is the perp ctu a-
111111 of gender ste reo ty pes- tha t is, th e myth that certain job s an d ca reers are
50,000 50 % Ilppropriate for wo men a nd o thers , for m en . Traditional choices for wom en a re
I I III llin g, n ursing , hai rdressing, and sec reta rial job s; men become eng ine ers,
IOMal e • Fem ale ...... % Fem ale I
45,000 pili li s, firefighters, an d do mi na te th e trad es. The media have a large influ en ce
I I I pvrpct ua ting these stereotyp es; however, so me teach ers, parents, and guid-
40 ,000 40 % 111 1 I' co unsello rs also co ndone th em . A British Co lum bia provincial repo rt
I plnln s how girls and boys begin to fo rm gende r-ro le ste reo ty pes at a very ear ly
35,000
I v nnd exam ines th e effects of socializatio n (i.e., how ch ild ren are bro ught up )
IIIl I self-esteem o n the ed uca tio n and training ch oices o f girls and wo me n.
30,000 30%
Siqnificant gender inequa liti es persist in Canadian society and are reflected in and rein-
25,000 lorced through th e formal and informal processes of socialization. Gender socialization
hl'gins at birth, intensifies throughout child hood and adolescence, and continues as part
20,000 ~ 20%
0-- r- r- 01 lifelong learning. From the moment we are born we begin the process of learn ing how
15,000 ....- I,...---

lo be women and men. We learn what attitudes, values, and beh aviours are acceptab le
lor each gender in our society. We learn what is expec te d of us, wha t roles we can play,
10,000 how to exercise self-cont rol. how to live in a community. Social scientists call this
II'Mning process socialization. When thi s process is applied to how women and men are
I
5,000 «xpect ed to behav e, thi s is called gender socialization.V
o 0% III Failing a/ Fairness, 13 th e Sad kers report ho w teach ers tend to pay more
1III'IIIio n to bo ys. Boys are reprim anded mor e, but th ey a re a lso given mor e
I I II ou ragcme n t to an swer qu esti o ns; th ey a re challenge d more th a n gir ls, a nd
1111" are praise d more for th eir ans wers. In co n trast, girls tend to be prai sed
Source: Eng inee rs Canada, "Undergraduat e Enro lme nt by Gender," Cha rt 1-7, Canadian 1/11 II .a t ness a n d good beh aviour. It is co m mon to h ear yo ung wo me n
Engineers for Tomorrow: Engineering Enrolmen t and Degrees Awarded, 200 1 to 2005, til I rlbe how th ey were di scou raged fro m studying m ath ematics a nd sci-
Ottawa, 2006, p. 4, available at <www.engineerscanada.ca/e/files/ repo rt_enrolment_eng
1 111 1' , 14 So me guida nce co unse llors make a special effor t to encourage girls
.pdf>. Cha rt 1- 7 rep rinted w ith permi ssion of Engine ers Ca nada .
11111 bo ys to co nsi de r n on -traditi on al ca ree r c hoices . Ho wev er, o t he rs-
111 11 1' 11 a nd men -discou rage yo u ng people from doing so . In h igh scho o l,
Un ive rsities vary in th eir ability to attrac t women to technical program. "IV ou ng wom e n st udy physics, whi ch is a pr ereq ui sit e for eng ineering
Enrollm ent of wo me n a lso va ries by d iscipline, with high er enro llme nts ill 11I1I 1('s a t uni versit y.
chem ical, enviro n menta l, biomed ical o r biological, a nd industri al eng ineerlug t.upa rt a n d Ca n no n fo un d th at by g rade 7, stude n ts ha ve decid ed o n
and lo wer en rollmen ts in elec tr ical, co m puter, and mech an ical eng inee ring I 1ll ','rs tha t eithe r in clude in formation tec h nology o r exclude it. Boys se lec ted
In the pas t decad e, o the r profession s such as med icine, dentistr y, veter tnai I 1Il 'I ' I'S in informa tio n technology (IT) as th eir first choice; girls se lecte d IT
medicin e, a nd law have reach ed fem ale enro llme n ts of SO percent; man y have I rl u-lr sixt h and last choice. I S In her study of enr iche d mini-course atte n-
eve n sur passe d this level. Th e lo w percentages in eng ineering suggest that till ' 01 ,1111'1' in e ngineering an d science by gen de r, ].M .j . McDi ll found th at "age 13
profession is not yet fully op en to women . Ipp,'a red critical for girls wi th respect to choices made for the future . . . and
Mor eo ver, as Figure 10. I sh o ws, since 2003 th er e h as actu all y bee n ,I li ll i,' change is expec ted after th at age . Teen age girls appea r to h ave formed
decrea se in the enro llme n t of wo me n in eng ineering undergrad uat e progra m I Iil li g o pin io ns by thi s po int, not o n ly with respect to gene ral sub ject area,
in Ca nada. This n ew trend m ust be reversed if th e profession is to ac h ieve ,I 1' 111 also for specific topics wit h in th ose a reas ." 16 These two stud ies show th at
reaso nabl e repre se ntatio n by ge nder. At th e sa me time as this decl in e, th u I Iii ma ke ea rly ca ree r c ho ices; clearl y, fo r th e greates t impact , intervention is
enrollme n t of in te rnatio na l stude n ts (mos tly m ale) in Ca na d ian engi nee rinj II I I'dI'd when girls are between th e age s o f 12 a nd I S.
study programs in creased from 6.0 percent o f th e stude n t bod y in 200 1 1'1 III mat he ma tics a nd science co urses , girls now sho w eq ua lly stro ng aca -
9.5 percent in 2005 . 11 til "li e perfo rma nce to th at of boys, ye t most of th em avoid choosing ca reers
196 PART TWO. PRO fE SSIONAL PIlACT ICE IIAI'l t ll 10 • Fai t nc s s 1111" I ,," 11 v {II III. , i'i o] , ss io n a! W"l kp{" c,'
t h at in vo lve t hese top ics. For bo ys, th e pr oblem is di ffer en t. Ma ny hOI' Illdl h lua l pro fessors a n d dean s ca n be hi gh ly effective in brin gin g abo ut
believe that good m a rks a re n ot as importa nt as exce lling in sports, a nd 111<'11 IllIplf)vl'llle n ts. The first-yea r experience is th e most critica l, and t hi s is whe n
par ents ofte n ag ree w it h t h is beli e f. T h is a tt it ude o bv io us ly h arm s tl uh ItI 'l lal att en tio n must be paid to ret ain ing stude n ts. Some studen ts d rop o ut
chances o f ge tting the ma rks they need for un iversity en tra nce a nd o f will ItI, .ruxc th ey do no t receive ade q ua te enco u rage me n t; their ca reer ex pec ta-
ni ng scho larshi ps. III" I ~ a r ' th e reb y severely red uced . Thi s is a lso a loss for the u ni versity. Some
T he m ed ia, par en ts, a nd sc hoo ls mu st sto p pe rp e tuati ng ste reo ty ped IlI ilVl'rsit ies have in creased levels of rete n tio n a nd mo rale by in stitut in g peer
ex pec tat io ns for bo th sexes in or der to e ns ure tha t a ll studen ts reach th eir filII III' ut o rln g programs . Scho larsh ips based o n en trance qu alifi cati ons, but with
pot enti al. The resu lt of ge nder soc ia lizatio n in schools lead s to syste m ic d h 11 11 11' directe d to h igh -ach iev ing wo m en , ar e effec t ive in att ra cti ng m o re
crim in a tio n in study cho ices . Sad ly, as a result o f po or co u nse lling, SO Il I! " 11 11' 11 to eng inee ring a n d geo scie n ce. W h en an eq uit ab le ba la n ce is
yo u ng people en d u p study ing su b jects that see m a p pro priate bu t ar e 1101 II hh -vcd, thes e program s m ay be elim ina te d .
wha t they would have chosen-based o n their true interests and sktlls-i-hud
they been given m or e informat ion a n d e nco ur age ment. Clearly, ther e b ,I
need to elim ina te this so rt of mi sdirecti on . IIAT U N IV ERS IT IES CAN DO
III i1 ddl tion to stag ing effec tive recru it m ent programs, suc h as su m me r ca m ps
11101 va rio us o utreac h acti vit ies, fac ult ies o f eng inee rin g ca n in crease th e
RETENTION ISSUES
' 1I 11,llllIen t o f wo me n beyond curre nt levels by designi ng curr icular co nte n t
Ret ain in g wo men a nd min ority stud e nts in uni ver sit y engineering or g('11 I III ' ltilly, a nd by develo p ing tea ching sty les th at a re m or e a ppea li ng to
science progr am s is no w less d ifficult tha n it was in th e past, but reten tion 1I 11 1l' II. Th is mea n s incl ud ing soci etal relevan ce in th e co n ten t of co urses
rat es va ry grea tly a mo ng u n iver siti es. An impo rtan t fac tor, es pecia lly fill 11101 Iising less-tra diti o na l teach ing sty les, suc h as self-lea rn ing.
women , is th e ma sculin e cu lture of e ng ineering a nd geoscience. Robinsun 'I racting more wom en in to grad ua te p rogra ms a nd hi rin g more women
a nd Mcllwee ' ? describe th e culture of eng inee ring and geoscience as o ne th,ll III lilt mem bers wo u ld hav e a posit ive im pact. Univers it ies need to crea te
em phas izes th e importan ce o f techn o logy over persona l relat io ns h ips, fo rmal 1'11111 II' S that a llo w yo u ng fac ulty member s-fem ale a nd male- to balance
abstrac t kn o wled ge ove r ine xac t h u m an istic kn ow led ge, and male at tribute ruu ll an d career. Th e crite ria used for assess ing faculty perfo rm ance, based
ove r fem ale o nes . Hall and Sandler! " describe the ch illy clim at e for WOnll'11 ' " I d('cades of trad ition, sho u ld be re-examined to see if th ey ar e still releva nt.
faculty a nd stude n ts. Th ese ar e d ifficult aspec ts to ch a nge, since women aliI! lli l app lies not o n ly to ho w merit is defin ed and measu red , but also to how
minorit ies wh o want to be accept ed w ill ge ne ra lly help mai nt a in th e statu I /lI o1s, appo in tm en ts, a nd pro mo tio ns ar e given . !? Fo r exa m ple, exam in ing
q uo . T he cu ltu re tend s to be pr ese rved by faculty members, d epartm ent llil uu a llry o f pub licatio ns (such as th e number of citatio ns) rathe r th an the ir
h ead s, a nd deans who m ay not un derstan d th e issu es, o r wh o m ay not want "" ll1l llt y, and looking at th e po ten tia l of ca nd idates in stead of what they have
to make ch a nges fo r th e sake of a sm a ll gro u p of stude n ts. On e in centi ve ttl 1"l llIlplished by th e tim e o f the in terv iew, wo uld be fairer to ca nd idates wh o
d o so is tha t m aking th e en viro n men t friend lier for wo me n and rni n o rl th- i lll " , nken a caree r break to have ch ild ren.
a lso m akes it friendli er for eve ryo ne . ( iutdat ed ste reo ty pes a nd biases ca n a ffect the success rat es in co m pe ti-
Som e im provemen ts h ave been o bserved in recent yea rs. For exa m ple, 1111 11 fo r scho larsh ips, fello wships, awa rds, gr an ts, job s, promoti o ns, and th e
the re is definitely m or e sen sitivity regarding th e use o f inclusive la nguage III lillll ..1io n of resea rch ch a irs. Th ese biases ca n be red uce d thro ugh train in g
classroom s; fewer sex ist an d racist remar ks are heard . Obv ious ly, the lea rning uu l \('l1sit iza tio n programs, by ens ur ing fair ge nde r representation o n co m-
ex pe rience of wo me n a nd me mbers of mino rit y grou ps var ies fro m class II 11I 1I1e'( 'S maki ng deci sions, a nd by m a king a pro-active effo rt to find q ua lified
cla ss, and fro m uni versity to un iversity. Some in ap pro priate act s a nd beh av " " Il '1I for th e positi o ns o r awa rds.
lour still occur. For exa m ple, a professor m ay ignor e a fema le o r min o rit y stu
dent in a class, o r may n ot interven e w hen th e beh avi our o f so me stude n ts I
dem ea ni ng to o t he rs. W het her it is ina dv ert en t or n o t, t h is atti tud e o n tli IIAT IS S EX U A L HARASSMENT ?
part of t he professo r adds to th e p rob lem in stead of so lvi ng it. Pro fessor s aud uu lli -r and Shoo p define sex ual hara ssm ent as fo llow s:
in struct or s mu st do m o re th an si m p ly sho w sens itivity to soc ial di versity. A
ro le mode ls, they must parti cip ate ac tively in adva nci ng the co nce pts o f fair Ilnwelcornesexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical con-
n ess, eq uity, and respect. uuct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when anyone of the following is true:
Un ive rsities have made special efforts to ensure fairness an d eq uity, but II Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitlya term or condition
rea l change is to occur, th ose po licies m ust be ex p la ine d a n d e n fo rced of a person's employment or academic advancement.
U IAI' I I H \ 0 · Fa ir n ess r uu lt v '" til ,' I" "} I' " ;,,",, I WOl kplll < ' II I
198 PART TWO · PROrE S IO NAL I'HACT ICE 1111"
111 1 su perviso r an d a n em p loy ee ; a fac u lty m ember a nd a stu d e n t; a ph ysi-

, Iil i l a m i a pa tie n t. An info rm al power relati onshi p exi sts w h ere o n e peer o r
'I tlll'ag ue , w h ile n omin a lly eq ua l in th e h ierarchy, n everth el ess exe rts a n
11I 1I 1H' nce ov er anot he r.P!
All ea rlier study repor ted that , alt h ough sex ual h arassment in t h e eng i-
III 1'lllIg wo rkp lace is no t excl us ive ly a problem for wo m en, it mig ht be mor e
011 111. ult fo r th em, beca use o n ly a few wo m en m ay wo rk a t a site o r in a firm .22
1111 ' I lIlay feel isol a ted a n d pe rha ps fin d lit tl e support or sym pa t hy fo r wha t
III I }' he perce ived as a "boys wi ll be boys" a tti tud e. Co m pan ies vary g rea tly in
1111 '1l policies an d proced ures for dealing wit h h ar assmen t. Edu cation is at th e
III I II of th e so lut io n . To elim ina te h ar assment in th e wo rkp lace, co m pa n ies
III I'd a fair inves t iga t io n procedure t ha t e ns ures th at acc us a t io ns a re ade -
1",lld y verified , b ut d oes n ot victim ize th e com platna nt.P

w he n sex ual harassment does occur, providi n g mora l su p port for co m -
Itl illtl:llltS ca n hel p red uce th e stress th ey feel. Ge ne rally, in formal in vestiga-
111111 can accom plish m or e tha n for m al o n es, wh ich ar c more co n fro n tatio na l.
lit II said , in so me sit uatio ns a for ma l co m p lain t is th e o n ly possi b le a p proach .
III I or ga n izatio ns sho u ld p rovide both m echanism s wh en d evel o p in g pol icies
111 01 proced u res.
1111 B EN EF I T S OF DIVERSITY
Photo 10.1-Hawher Hurricane Fighter Aircraft. During the Second World 1111 11'11 a n d m in o riti es ca n bring n ew id eas to th e p rofessions. ln a 1996
War, the Hawker Hurricane was a combat fighter manufactured by Canadian Car N I ui.ul lnn stud y, Ann van I3eers24 in terviewed 20 female a n d 20 m a le eng i-
Foundry Co. in Thunder Bay (th en Fort William). The aircraft was designed in Btit au, 111' 1 In the Vanc o uve r ar ea . Sh e found tha t so me o f th e wom e n, w h en th ey
but produ ced in Canada under the dir ection of Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill, the I" 111 11 11' we ll es ta blis hed in t h ei r ca ree rs, wer e a b le to dev elop t h eir o w n style
University of Toront o's first woman electrical engineering graduate. She received 11101 Ipproach to prob lem so lv in g. For exa m p le, th ey used a m o re co n te xtua l
a master 's degree in aeronautical engi neering in the United States in 7929 and
I[ ljllilach , h ad good co m m u n icatio n an d people skills, a n d liked th e writing
became chief aeronautical engineer for Canadian Car in 7938. She designed the 1'" 1 II I Ihe wo rk. In h er stud y of scien ce a n d en ginee ring studen ts a t un iver -
II Ii III Britis h Co lu m b ia, Vickers an d co lteagues-t fo und t ha t a substa n tially
Maple Leaf Trainer, a small tra ining plan e, before assum ing responsibility for pro -
I II 1'1 p rop o rtio n o f fe ma les, co m pared to males, sta ted th at m aki n g a co n tri-
ducing th e Hawker Hurricane. Total Hurricane production was 2,000 aircraft-a
1111 11011 10 society was a n important criterio n w h en choosing a career.
significant contribution to the Canadian war effort.
l Iu man ex perien ce ca n co n tribu te to good design . For ex a m p le, a wom an
Source: Phot ograph courtesy of the Canada Aviation Museum, Ottawa.
" 1"11'('r in Ne w Brunsw ick in sta lled the first bab y di ap er cha nge tables in
" II I' u-rmina ls, in both me n 's an d women 's washrooms. Her ex pe rie nce as a
1111111u-r, co m bined wit h h er civ il enginee rin g skills, added useful features to
Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for
Iltl pl('vio us models o f ter mi n al desig n. Thi s featur e is n ow fo und in a irpo rts
employment decisions or academic decisions affecting t he person.
111 01 1I II In statio ns everyw here.
Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person's
Wo men 's affi n ity fo r a co n su ltative sty le of wor kin g is ve ry much in tu n c
work or academic performance or creating an inti midating, hostile, or offensive
II II Im lay's ma nagemen t p h ilosoph y. Th eir verbal and interpersonal skills,
working, learning, or social environment. 20
III u rom b ln ed with a so lid tech ni cal ed uc a tio n , become real asse ts, es pec ially
Briefl y, th e t h ree key cha rac te ristics o f sex ua l h a rassm en t ar e ther efore 1" 1 muller firms w hose eng inee rs must inter act with su pp lie rs, cli ents, an d reg-
th at th e bgh aviour is un wanted o r un welc ome; th e beha viour is se xu al 0 1 11 111" 1 agen cies. Sim ila rly, individua ls fro m o ther un der-re p resen ted gro u ps
related to th e sex or gc nde r o f th e person ; an d th e beha viou r oCCtifSII1 II li l! I"I VC bee n raised in different cult ures m ay br in g d ifferen t am i innovati ve
tex t (;f a re IaiTc>nship w he re o ne person h as m ore [onnal power tliii n th e o t her, ,I,ll nu s to engineering problem s. Eve ryo ne benefit s when di verse, ge n de r-
01' mor e infonnat pow er. Examples o f a fo rmal po wer relati onship include: ,I 11.1111 cd tea ms design pro du cts or so lve en v iro n me n ta l cha lle n ges .
(II Al'llll 10 • Fairne ss tuu! I 1111 11V III 'h, " " 'f ,, \\ iulIlIl Wurkp la ce 20 1
200 PART TWO ' PROFESSIONAL PRAC1I CE
III II co nd uc t is illegal. Indirect d iscr im inati o n occu rs wh en a n e m ploye r

ELIMINATING DISCRIMINATION
111 ,111 I'S a rule th at ha s ~ter effec t on o lle grou p th an a nOlher,-for I{O
As m enti on ed ea rlier in this cha p te r, dis criminati on is un lawfu l. '1'111 t u uI n -aso n. Fo r exa m ple, iU s not d iscrimi n atoryt o-ex(Ject a n em ployee to
Canad ia n C h arte r of Rights and Freedoms, provinc ial Hum an Rights odl' , I" .ulcq uately ex pe rien ced; however, a hiring ru le that req uir es eve ry ap pli-
and seve ra l provincia l lice nsi ng Acts or regul ati on s prohibit it. Em p lcyvi I 11111 I II havclO ye a rs o f ex pe rie nce in Ca n ad a may d iscri mi nate again st
managers, a nd e m ployees sho u ld be awa re of the se laws and ensure th at till' II " III Im m ig ra n ts. Sim ila rly, requirin g an app licant to produ ce a va lid
a re foll ow ed , If furth er assista nce is need ed , many guides are easily fo u nd 1111 Iii " I'S licen ce may d iscriminat e aga ins t d isab led peop le (if driving is not a
th e In te rn et. In pa rti cul ar, th e PEO (O n ta rio) a n d th e APEGGA (Alb ' I " Ii "' IIlIiI'lnellt o f the job). Sim ila rly, any restrictions on a n app licant's heigh I,
guide lines (hath cite d earlie r) di scu ss di scrimination from t he poi n t o f ,Vil '1 , II lit, or st rength wou ld be di scrimi na tory (prov ided th at t hese crite ria are
o f th e p rofession al, and advise em ployers and managers on ways to avoid II 11 111 I'~SI' lI li a l to perf orm t he job ).3l
1' 1I '1> loye rs an d m anagers sho uld ge t ad vice from th e human rights depart-
Iil l III If th ere is any questi on that a spec ific job requirement mi ght unfairl y
Discrimination against Women
1110'1 I so me gro u ps more seve rely tha n o t hers.
A recent su rvey ca rried o ut for t he wo men in Engi nce ring Ad v lsou " dvice to em ployees is clear: If yo u shou ld u ndergo (o r witness) d irect o r
Co m m ittee o f PEO (WEAC/ PEO), wh ich poll ed both fema le and ma le CIII:I Iil d Il'cl di scri m ina tio n, re port th e incide n t, foll owin g yo ur co m pa ny's
neers across Ca na d a, found th at Ii III Illal po licy. If yo u r con~ pa ny do es not ha"W a pol icy for h uman rights co m-
[w]orkplace challenges continue to exist for female engineers, Women feel th ey face at
1'IIII IItS, yo ur pr ovin cia l Huma n Rights Co m m issio n will rece ive it. In most
least some attit udinal barriers from th eir superiors, and a substantial proporti on of men
I'" II' IICl' S, th e licen sing Associ ation will also investigat e a llegati ons of harass-
111 1 III or di scri m ina t io n in vo lvin g a professional eng ineer o r geoscien tist.
share that view. In particular, women are concerned about opportunities to network and
to gain entry to executive levels in th eir orqanizations.I''
The study co ncl uded th at "t he wo rkplace is cha nging in positi ve ways 1111 In PRA CT ICES IN TH E W O RKP LA CE
women , but o ld, lingering beli efs he ld by eve n a few ca n act as barriers to 11111
I ' ullvl lc o b jectives fo r hiring people fro m under-rep resented gro u ps shou ld
participat ion ." 2?
In a large Ameri can study,211 th e aut hors in te rv iewed recipients of prcsil I" I l oI ~ e d o n ac h ievi ng better than, or at least th e level o f, the ava ilability o f
I ' II u nd er- represen te d gro up in t h e po ol of can d ida te s. C reat in g a co m-
gio us fellowships in scie nce a nd enginee ring to assess the ca ree r success t I
1Ii1 111'1' to ide n t ify d iver sit y issues and to des ign st rategies to in crea se the pres-
men relative to women. Th e study found that, on av era ge, men were offc rr
II I I' III' perso n ne l from under-represented gro u ps ca n be hi gh ly effectlve. V
appo in tme n ts a t th e Associa te Professor level, while eq ually qua lified W? Ill\' 1I
1111 ii ' goo d hiring pr act ices a re suggeste d below .
were o ffered appointments at th e Assistant Professor level, from the hi gh «
rated co lleges in th e U.S. This was true for all field s except biolo gy, whe: Illils sho u ld be advertised wid e ly a nd ex te rna lly besid es bei ng posted
women wer e in larger numbers than in ot her fields. Other stud ies h ave al" ln terna lly.
clearl y d emonstr at ed that bia s ex ists in evaluati ng ca nd id ates for postdocto in 1\ 5tro ng effor t must be made to enco urage qualified m embers of under-
awa rds, o r in select ing ca nd id ates for jobs. In the first study, Wenneras alld u-prcse n te d gro u ps to apply. Thi s m eans findin g and co n tac ting th em, as
Wolc129 demonstrated th at m e n 's performance ha d been ov erestima ted, wh ll 1IIl'y may be few in nu mber and m ay not co ns ult th e m a in st ream adver-
wom en's had been u nd cresti m ated; t he women ne ed ed far mo re publica tlou I slllg ch an nels.
than th e m en to obta in the sa me po stdoct ora l fe llowship . In the sew II l Jubiased inter view techniques sho u ld be used . People involved in hiring
study, m en a nd women applicants had eq ua l qualifi cati ons fo r 20 su m mr II1l1S1 be train ed to recognize inappropriate and illega l in te rview qu estions
eng inee ring job s. However, m ale selec to rs ch ose 16 me n and 4 wo m en as Ih ind th e im po rta nc e of treating a ll ap plican ts wit h fai rn ess a nd respect.
best ca nd id ate s, whereas female selecto rs ch ose I I women and 9 men as Ih ( inc way to lest t he appropriate ness of a quest ion is to ask whether eve ry
best ca nd ida tes for th e 20 posttion s.I'' oI pp lica n t- m ale, fe ma le, o r a m ember of a minority gro u p-sho uld be
.rv kcd p rec isely th e sa m e qu esti on . If the answer is no, the question sh ou ld
Il l ll be asked .
Discrimination against Minority Gro ups a nd Di sabl e d Peopl e
I l scrim in ato ry pra ct ices in hir in g a re often ev ide nce d by a pr ed ominantly
Discr im in a tio n tak es man y fo rm s, a nd may be direct or indirect. Di rec t II I
I 11I,1Il' (o r visible minority) sta ff, su pe rvised by a pr ed omin antl y m ale (o r
cr iminati on is usually eas ily identified , but indirect di scrimination is sub t11'\
lilll') se n io r mana gem ent. For exa m ple, in the 19 40 s, bank tell ers wer e
and eve n th e person wh o is di scriminating un lawfully ma y not be aware Ih,l
202 PAR T TW O· PRo r E SI ONAL I'IlACII Cr: e ll Al' ll. 1! 10 • /0;""' .\ \ 0 ,,,1 " /l d I V III II" 1'/ 0/" " ;000/ W", k,,/o (,' ?' O ~j
a lmost ex cl us ive ly fem a le, whi le br anch m an agers an d se n ior execu tives W I ' I 111, " 11101" a tten tion 0 11 th e typ e o f feedback til 'y p rovi d e, co m m u n icate the
ex clus ively m al e. Since th en , women with management potenti al have I H 'I ' I I lilt I lca rly, a nd test whe the r th ese rules h ave been underst ood .
id enti fied a n d assist ed , thro ugh p ro -act ive train in g, to qu a lify for pro m«
tions. This p ro cess p rovid es fema le ro le m od els for yo u nge r wo me n a nd 111'11 II " rss In Awards and Tri b u t e s
to in teg ra te women 's va lues into the co rpo rate cult ure. In turn, th e W O II II 'I
III II I\' pas t, it was rare to see a wo ma n bein g n OInin ated for an awa rd o r a pr ize,
who are pro moted must be co m m itted both to th e o rga n iza tio n an d 10 III I ' IIII a wo m an to be in vit ed as a keyn ot e spea ke r, Or for a woma n to se rve o n
goa l of em ployme n t eq uity, if rea l cha nge is to occu r.
II I , pl'rl panel in a technical soc iety o r p rofe ss iona l associatio n . In the first
Unex pecte d n ew ben efits a n d in sights resu lt fr om hirin g wo m e n all I
It, III h' of th e 2 1st ce n tury, there are still. profe ss iona l eve n ts whe re o n ly men
m embers o f minority gro ups, es pecia lly wh en th ey ar e encouraged to inu «
1'1"' II' in visible ro les. For the sake of fairn ess, o rga n izati ons sho uld mon ito r
du ce di versity a nd innovati on, and whe n they feel their a ttrib utes and va hu
11 11 plOportion of women a nd ~ t he r u ~d er-repreSent ed g ro ups o n execu tive
a re resp ect ed . 1I11 11111l 1ees, in gove rn ing co u nc ils, and 111 th o se rece ivi ng awar ds o r invited as
I" I crs . If th e qu alit y o f the ca nd ida tes is rea lly th e crite rio n for reward s,
11 11 11 ' 11 a nd minority professiona ls sho uld be l11 aki n g the list more o fte n.
Em p l oy m e n t Eq uity
Inslit uti n g a n em ploy me n t eq uit y program to achiev e a fai rer soci eta l repl!'
11/11 GRAT I N G IMMIGRANTS INTO THE PROFESSIONS
se n ta tio n is di ffe ren t fro m a p p lying affir mat iv e actio n o r quotas. 1\
Saskatchewa n gove rn me n t b rochure d ef ines em ploy m en t eq u ity as foll ows: 111, 1& ' , sio na ls
sho uld d o m or e than m erely o bey laws aga in st di scr imi nati on -
, III Hild give th e less advan taged. ~ help in g h and . That is th e Ca na d ian way .
Employment equity is a comprehe nsive pro-active strate gy designed to ensure that all
11I 1l1I,,'('rs Can ad a h as take ~1 a posltl.ve ste p t o a ssist intern ati o nall y ed uca ted
members of society have a fair and equal access to employment opportunities. It is a
1IIIIII ai 'S (lEGs) wit h a n atio na l pro ject to rel11 0 ve b a rr iers to th e eng inee ring
process for removing barriers that have denied certain groups equal job opportunities. .. .
1''' l\I'sslo n in Canada.V
Employment equity programs encourage employers to hire, tr ain, and promote members
of these qroups.P
I. I m p o r ta n ce of I n t e g r a t i o n
Em ploy me n t eq uity is o fte n m isunderst ood as being id en tical 10 a qUII !.1
111 1/ glatio n of immigrants is esse n tial to Ca nada's fu ture eco no m ic success . As
sys te m. Th e lat ter refers to hi rin g from o ne gro u p u n t il the desired numbe r I
1111 IIIton ed br iefly in an ea rlie r cha p te r, t he "baby bo omer s" (t he ge ne rat ion
reach ed , whe the r the candi da tes a re full y q uali fied o r nol. Th is a pp roa ch Coil
111'" 1aller the end o f the S~cond .Wo rld War .in 19 45) are beginn in g to ret ire,
lead to frustrat ion a n d anger am ong grou ps that feel d isad va n taged
uu l Ihl' ret irem en t rat e ": 111 begin to peak . 1I1 20 10, crea ti ng vaca nc ies a nd
Emp loy men t eq u ity is much fair er, and leads to a positi ve o utcome . A su rv«
'1'1"lI llIllities for p ro m otion . Howev.er, re.ttrem e nts w ill ca use sho rtages o f
o f eng inee ring grad uat es from ] 989 to 1992 fo und that most fem ale grad u
II lilll'd professio na ls, becau se Ca na d ian birth rat es h ave d ropped in recent
at es had bee n hired by o rga n izat io ns wit h em ploy me n t eq uity poli cies.I'': I
II I Idl'S, and u ni versity e nrollme n ts are no t ad equa te to fill th e vaca nc ies.
T hese sa m e o rga n iza t io ns a lso hired m al e engineers in propo rti on to til
IIIi pred iction was stud ied by Engin eers Ca na d a, w h ich o bse rves :
ex isting po ol o f m ale grad ua tes . Th is showed th at e m ploy me n t eq uity poll
cies remo ved o bs tacles for under-represented groups, w it ho ut ad d ing barrl ci ViiIually every report produces a similar forecast: regardless of current labour force con-
for th e ma jority gro u p (in t h is case , ma le eng in ee rs). d I ons, the engineering profession is facing a crisis of numb ers. .. . Labour force ana-
IV l l~ have identifie d th e solut ion for engineeri ng and many ot her professions facing th e'
mill! demographic imperativ e. If our populati on and education syste m cannot produce
Fairness in Employee Performance Assessment and Promoff o n »
III Ii ient engineers to meet th e needs of th e economy, th en immigrati on and licensing
DiTomaso a n d Farris 36 co n d uc ted a study o f e m p lo yee performance III " I ' ngineers from othe r count ries must be encouraged.38
Ameri can scien tists an d eng ineers in hi gh-tech co m pan ies. The study in cluded
1',lIgincers Ca nad a co nc lude d th at we mu st improvc th e way th at Canada
Caucasian m en , for eign-born m en , U.S.-bo rn m en fro m mino rity gro u ps, alill
", " p iS a nd valida tes lEGs .
Caucasian women . The study showed sign ifican t differ en ces in th e way s tll,lI
managers rat ed th e perfo rma nce o f men and wom en , an d in th e ex pec ta tlo u
th at men and wo me n had o f th e ir m anagers. Th e study showed that , to avoid
,I. I n t eg rat i o n Project
unfairn ess in perform an ce ra tin gs, m anager s sho u ld pu t m or e e ffor t illil III ' 003, Enginee rs Ca n ada sta rte d a nati ona l p ro jec t ca lle d From
develo pi ng o b jective a nd m easurabl e cr ite ria for assess me n ts . Th ey must abl I 11 11 lderatio n to Integrati on (FC2 I), to explore a nd overco me o bs tacles faced
204 PAIn TWO ' PIlOrE S (aNAL I'HA ClI C CIIAl' l ril 10 • t oirne ss tuu ! Eq/lily i u tI" I', oj essi o aa l Workpla ce 205
by lEGs en te ring th e Canad ian work force. Th e first phase o f th e rhree-phn« 1,,11', if mi sinterpreted , m ay cause serious offe nce to im m igrants wh~ co me
proj ect in volved co llec ting informat ion and co ns u lt ing with go ve rn men I 11. 1111 cu ltu reswh ere work is not a place for humour. Alth ou gh LaRoch e s book
age nc ies, provincial and territorial licen sin g bodi es, immi grati on age nc ies I ulmcd mainl y toward employers an d man agers, it is fascina ting read ing for
un iversities, and em ployers. New immigrants mu st, of course, learn Engl lsl: I II pro fessio n al and , 'in particula r, would help immi grants to decod e th e
a nd ad apt to Ca n ad ian culture, but th e mo st serious obstacles to su ccess 1111 I ,II I ulia n wo rkplace and ad apt to th e new cu lture.
lEGs are our procedures fo r valida ting fo reign crede n tials and expe rience, au.l
-~
obta in ing a first Cana dian job . Th e first job is critical, becau se it is th e key III
( UN C LUDING COMMENTS
ge tt ing work ex pe rience recogn izabl e to Canadian employers.
Th e seco n d- phase FC21 rep ort made 17 reco m me n dations to improve III IllIployers and man agers mu st recogni ze th e ben efit s an d new perspecti ves
integrati on o f lEGs, without reducin g ed uca tio n , ex pe rienc e, or lan guag: 11111 1 wo men and m inority grou ps bring to th e orga n izatio n, and mu st not
stan dards. Th ese 17 recommendati ons a re dir ected toward fed eral and provln 1I 111 !l'resti mate the performan ce of th ese em ployees. People from d iverse back-
ciaI gove rn me nts, licen sin g bodi es, universiti es, and immigrant settlern cru I III l lI Iti S a ncl perspectives e nr ich and imp rov e th e org an izatio n's perfor~n
groups, and ca ll for strea m lin ing of licen sin g requirem ents, ad opti on of bl' \l 1111 I' , Every orga n ization mu st set its own goa ls, of co urse, bu t all sho uld arm
method s, cross-cu ltu ral adapta tio n, ass isti ng th e tr an siti on , a nd rem ovln I" I reate a n envi ro n me n t wh ere the work is cha lleng ing, inclusive, co mfort-
unn ecessary obstac les -'? Il llt', an d pro ductive, for all e m p loyees. .
The final phase of th e FC21 proj ect, which is n ow underw ay, is to irnplc Wome n are a m ajo rit y in t he Ca n ad ia n popul ati on a nd th en un der-
ment th ese recommendation s. Th e average pr ofessional enginee r or geos. I II I'll'sentation in pro fessional eng inee ring and geoscience still p~ses a ch~l
en list sho uld su ppo rt th ese initiatives to integrate lEGs into th e pro fessional II lit I' . So me relevant workpl ace issues and th eir so lutio ns a re di scu ssed 1I1
41
wo rkplace . On a personal level, m entoring new immigran ts is a vita lly uselul 11I'1I 11'r de tail in th e rep ort WOII/en in Engi neeri ng: M ore T ha n [u st Nlllllbers.
a nd impo rtant act ivit y. Immigrant settleme n t or gan izations acro ss Ca nada l'lrc righ ts o f min oriti es a nd the disabl ed ar e clea rly specif ied in th e
o ffer lan guage train in g, skills up grading, job support, a nd many othe r necvs 111 1111 ,111 righ ts legislat ion di scu ssed ear lier in th is chapter. The s pe~ia l pl:obl em
sa ry tools for lEGs, but closer co n nections with th e licen sing Associations ,II II IlIlegrating new immigrants into th e professional workplace I S an. impor-
important to di sseminat e information , to mount professional development 1111 1 cha llenge, and th e p ro-acti ve initiative by Eng ineers Can ada, di scu ssed
co urses, to help lEGs satisfy licen sin g requi rem ents, a nd to help th em get til I IIIVl ' , is to be lauded ; it is wor th y of our full su ppo rt.
key first Ca na d ia n job . I\s our professions co n ti n ue to integrat e div ersity, man y o f th e obstacles
IIl d cha llen ges mentioned in t h is chapte r will eve n tua lly disa ppea r. Th e fol-
What We Can Do to Help Immigrants III IIg case studies (base d o n real situa tions) illu str ate th e cha lle nge s th at
I I. Th e nam es o f th e individuals a nd co m pa n ies ha ve been cha nge d to pro-
C ross -cult ura l ada pta tio n is m ainl y the burden o f th e immigrant, bill
II. I I he privacy of th ose co nce rne d .
em ployers and m anagers must e ncoura ge th e adaptatio n. The averag e profr
sio na l eng inee r o r geosc ientist ca n also assist by responding positi vely to IEC
in th e wo rkplace-a very sma ll effo rt. Fortu na tely, guida nce is ava ilab le In .. ST U D Y 10.1
eve ryo ne . For ex am p le, a n exce lle n t book , Managing Cu l t ura l Diversity 11/
Technical Professi ons, by Lionel LaRoch e, gives mu ch useful ad vice for human Il l ',( HIM I N AT IO N ON THE BASIS OF GENDER
reso urces man agers o n cross-cu ltura l tr atntng.t ?
l lil case study is ba sed o n th e "Case of th e Mism an aged Ms.," in th e Harvard
Lak och e illu strates how minor cu ltur al differen ces can lead to serious ml :
lIiI IIII'SS Ueview .42
understand in gs. For exa m ple, in a n appe n d ix co n ta in ing No rth Ame rican
id ioms, LaRoch e lists man y common spo rts say ings (fro m football and ba:«-
III. f EM ENT OF THE PROBLEM
ball, althou gh sur prising ly, he ove rloo ked hockey a nd go lf) th at are co m mon
in daily conversation, a nd points o ut th at th ese say ings may be meaninglc 1111 nrc a n eng inee r an d the ch ief exec utive offic er of a profitabl e co m pa ny
to peopl e who have never played th ese sp orts. (The term "home run" may II 1I"'d Ihe Exeter Cor por atio n . You are co n tac ted by Susan Sm it h, a hi ghl y
as meanin gless to a n imm igrant as " Hit t he m for six !" is to th e ave rng lli li'd sales manager at Exete r, who h as been "passe d over" for prom otion to
Can ad ian.) 11 11 I lor o f product developm ent. Th e prom oti on was given to Sam Brown, ? n
Th e co nce pt of teamwork a nd m ethod s of co m m u n ication are subtly till III' lI'I'o mmen da tion of th e vice p residen t of mark eting, Peter Young. Sm ith
feren t in ot he r cultures . For exa m ple, humour is co m mon in th e Can ad l.u 11 11 .k- rs this decision to be d iscrim in ati on, and is th reate n ing to sue Exeter
wo rkplace, a nd ge ne rally mak es wo rk m ore en joya ble; h ow ever, an innOCl'1I1 I " uu fair practices . She asks yo u to respond to h er co nce rns within 24 h ours.
206 PART TWO · PROr ESSIONAL PRACl I CC ' IIAP I I R 10 • Fn it n ess tu u ! I 'I II it v I II t h » /' / aJ, ' , li a l/ al Wo/ kl'l a c 207
If yo u do n o t, yo u wi ll pro babl y lose a va lua ble e m p loyee, a n d h er la wyer 11'1 1 I h,'r d ore, a lt ho ug h yo u h a ve n o h a rd ev i de n ce, yo u worr y th at gender
be ex p loring th e possi b ili ty of a se tt le me n t t hro ug h th e Hum an Rigll It il'lj u ity may permea te the organization . Also , if Smith pu rsue s h er lawsui t,
Co m m issio n or the co ur ts. II U wo n d e r w he t h er it m ay e n co urage o t h e r wo me n to co me fo rward a n d
You a rrange a m eeting w it h Young a n d th e hum an resources director, 1,11 1' sim ila r ex pe rie n c es . You rea lize th at if Pete r Young's co m me nts o n
th e m eet in g, yo u as k wh y Brown was se lec te d o ve r Sm it h. Yo u a re to ld I h,1 IId l h 's "shor tco m ing s" wer e re pe a te d in the co u rts , Exete r would su re ly be
th e differ en ce between th e two ca n d ida tes wa s m ar gin al. Young's ex p la nru l« 1I II IIId gu ilty o f di scr imin at ion. Thus, the firm wou ld ex pe rience both a fin an-
for h is recomm endat ion incl udes both o b jec tive and sub jective criteria. II I 11:11 loss a n d t h e loss of an excelle n t e m plo yee.
first co m m en t is that Brown's ex pe rience, se n iority, and fam iliarity wit h III
indust rial sector wei gh ed s lig h tly in hi s fav our. Young ad ds that, t h rou I
lllJEST IONS
Bro wn 's g rea te r part icipati on in co m pa ny socia l eve n ts and in the sq u I
ladd e r, h e was bet te r kno wn to a ll th e vice presidents, who sai d that BJ"( III I , W h a t c riteria sho u ld h a ve b een used to se lec t th e n e w di re cto r of
"looked like a w in ne r." They co u ld no t say th e sa me a bout Smit h beca use \11 prod uct d ev e lopme n t? Are these the same as You ng's cr ite ria?
was less we ll know n .
W h o sho u ld h ave been a p poi n te d to th e job, based o n yo ur c rite ria : Sam
W he n p rod d ed by th e human resources director, Young suggeste d an add Brow n o r Sus a n Sm it h? Exp la in yo ur a nswe r.
tionaI list of p robl ems a nd shortco mi ngs h e a tt ri bu te d to Smith :
I. Sin ce yo u a re th e C EO , wha t sho u ld yo u d o in th e n ext 24 h ours
• "Mark Tann en, vice-pr esident o f m anufacturing, is th o ught to be havlu rega rd ing th e potenti a l la wsu it threat ened by Sm it h?
an affa ir with Sm it h , and h e is p ushi ng her fo r pro mo tion."
I. As C EO, w hat long-te rm issu es d o yo u face if you want to ensure e m p loy-
• " If Sm it h wa s p romot ed , Exe te r mi ght be liabl e to d iscrimin ati on c ha r).\! m en t eq u ity at Exe te r, a n d w h a t ste ps shou ld yo u take to put this eq u ity
placed by Brow n becau se o f Mark Tann en 's pu sh fo r prom otion fo r III process into place?
h on ey."
• Doe s yo ur Associa tio n's Co de of Et h ics ad d ress t h is typ e of issu e? Do es it
"T he di recto r of p rodu c t deve lo p me n t is a man 's po sit ion . HUIII,I
ma ke a di ffer ence whether Peter Young, Sa m Bro wn, a n d Susa n Sm it h ar e
resources- so ft, pe rso n- to -perso n st u ff- is for wo m e n . Facto ries ar e 11 \
men ." a lso profession a l e ngineers or geoscien tis ts? If yo u r a nswe r is yes, q uote
• th e a p prop riate sec t io ns of th e co de. If n ot, shou ld th e co de p ro vid e
" Exe te r cl ie n ts prefer to d eal w ith m en . They kn o w h o w to relate to 1111'1
g u id a n ce for deal in g with this case, and wh at sho u ld it say"?
wives, m other s, an d girlfrien ds, but n ot to wom en product develop m 'II
m anager s. "
• "Wo me n a re undep endable. They ge t m arried, get pregnant, wa n t lltu ( I\SE ST U D Y 10 ,2
off , a n d a re less co m mi tted to th e job."
You ng p ro vid es n o ev ide nce to su p po rt these asse rtio ns . Howeve r, it I I X U A L HARASS M EN T

clear that th ey h a ve infl uen ced hi s decision to ap point Bro wn. He beli ev es hi IAT EMENT OF THE PROBLEM
d ecisio n mad e good bus iness se nse.
Afte r th e m ee tin g, yo u reassess the sit ua tio n . Accordi ng to th e o b jec t! tlrh c lle Kirk la nd has been a m ech an ical e ng in ee r in a co ns u lti ng firm for
ruur yea rs. Rece ntl y, sh e wrote to a senior fem al e e ngin eer to d iscu ss a se rio us
da ta pr esen ted , Brown and Sm it h we re bo th quali fied for t he position . SIllIII
has show n exce lle n t achi evem ent as a p rodu ct lin e m anager. Th e sa me co uk wo rk- re la ted p roblem and to as k for adv ice o n h ow to so lve it. Belo w a re
be sa id a bo ut Brow n . Unde rsta n d a b ly, choos ing between the tw o wou ld II 1 Iracts from he r letter:
diffi cult. Ign oring Young's su b jec tive ev a lua tio n of Sm it h's "shortcorru ng-, In my aca dem ic years I never had a ny prob lem s being a wo ma n in a male-
t he c ho ice wa s e it he r prom o tin g a woman (Smith) to a hi gher ma nagenu-n dom inated env iron me n t, and therefor e very naiv ely en tered th e work force wit h a
level or p rom otin g a m an (Brow n) , wh o ha s m ar ginal ly m ore ex pe rie n ce, very po siti ve and health y att itude tow ard men in en gineering. Today, unfortu -
You rev iew yo ur co m pa ny's ex ist ing em p loyment eq u ity policies a n d ( li r nately, th at is no lon ger th e case. After four yea rs of verba l abuse and th ree incidents
rent eq u it y s it ua tio n. Alt ho ug h o ne-q uarte r o f the e m p loyecs a t Exe te r ,III o f sexua l harassm ent from my immediat e supervisor, I have beco me so cyn ical
wo m e n, t he re a re no wo me n a t the executive level a n d n one o n the board II about me n that I no lon ger en joy my work . Most men q uite natu rally treat wom en
di rectors. Re cen tl y, yo u a n d t he hum an resou rces d irector issu ed a po lk without respect an d as seco nd-class citizens witho ut even being awar e of it.
sta ti ng t hat t h e co mpa ny wo u ld ma ke g rea t ef fo rts to e ns ure eq ui ty a n d I,il l The wor st part o f th e situation is that I feel I ca n not talk to an yone ab o u t th is.
ness in t h e m an n e r in w h ic h e m p loyees are recruited , tra in ed , a nd pr omo ted In o ur cor poration, fema le man agers arc p racti call y u nh ea rd o f a nd men see m
CHA PTER 10 • Fairne ss and Equity in t he Prof essiona l Workpla ce 209
208 PART TWO ' PROFE SSIONAL PRACTICE
to stick together like glue. The ir a ttltu dc is th at eve ry th ing seems to be my 10 welcome th em and ot he r visit or s to th e co m pa ny 's d ispl ays. You r boss
fault: "Wo me n are more sens it ive" and "Wome n a rc less reliable" a rc th e most Instructs yo u to "Expr ess our regret s to th e recepti oni st, pay h er for th e da y,
recent co m me n ts th at I bluntly received fro m m y manager. .uid call th e em ploy me n t age ncy for ano t he r person to fill th e job ."
I was consideri ng leavin g th e profess io n a t o ne point, but meetin g o t he r

wo me n eng inee rs moti vat ed me to fight back hard er and try again . Sho uld I QU ESTIONS
tran sfe r to a no the r department? Sho uld I leave th e co m pa ny"? (llut arc th ere W ha t acti on sho u ld yo u tak e?
any bett er o nes o ut th ere") Sho uld I leave th e pro fession a nd let my dau ght er Wha t laws or Codes o f Eth ics may be violated if yo u foll ow yo ur boss's
solve th e probl em s? I really do not kno w what to do . Sticking it o ut mean s dir ecti ons? Does a foreign -based co m pany ha ve th e right in Ca na da to
ad d it iona l stress in an already stress ful job , head ach es, a nd m ore a nge r. On th e speci fy th e co lou r o f peopl e in key job s? Does anyone?
other hand, leavin g mean s letting " the m" win .
:1. If yo u follow you r boss's dir ections, what acti on would (and sho uld) th e
The sen ior eng inee r ha s su fficie n t personal kn owl ed ge of Kirkland and till' "reception ist" take for bein g offens ively deni ed an oppo rtu n ity to work?
atmos phe re in Kirkland's wo rkplace to believe th at th ese allega tions are trw ' 4
(:ompare yo ur an swers with a very sim ilar case, th at of Payne v. Ol-me et al. :\
QUESTIONS
DIS CUSSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
1. Wh at would yo u sugges t Kirkland do? I. You a re th e sen ior eng inee r respon sibl e for em ploy ing and ori enting
2. How does this work at mos phe re of ve rba l abuse a nd harassm ent within ne w eng inee rs and geoscien tists in a la rge co ns u lting firm . W hat po li-
th e co m pany affect th e co m pa ny 's effective ness and profit ability? Is thl cies would yo u ex pec t th e firm to hav e in place for intervi ew in g, hiring,
a "pro fessiona l" env iro n me n t? Explain and justif y yo ur an swer. a nd prom oting em ployees a nd for resolving int ernal disputes in orde r to
3. Was th e m an ager' s behaviour in violation o f you r pro vin ce's Co de 01 ens ure fairn ess and eq u ity?
Ethics'? If so, qu ot e th e ap pro priate sectio ns. If not, wha t new clause Assu me th at you are th e sen ior partner in a n incorpo rated mid-size pro-
wo uld yo u add to th e co de to deal with spec ific issues of hara ssm ent"? fessional co nsu lting firm , and are in th e process of hiring a new profes-
siona l member. It is likely th at th e chosen person will stay wit h th e firm
for a lon g and profitabl e ca reer. Th e top ca nd idate for hiring ha s exce l-
CASE STUDY 10.3 lent university grades, three years of relevant ex pe rience since gradua-
ti on , a n d h as appli ed for a licen ce, alth ough it h as n ot ye t been
DI SCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE awarde d . Befor e yo u make yo ur final decisio n, yo u discuss th e ca nd i-
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM dat e's qualificati ons with ot he r members of your firm. In eac h of th e fol-
lowing cases, di scu ss th e human rights issues, a nd wh ethe r th e facts
Assume that yo u a re a professional eng inee r or geos cien tist working for till' sho uld affect th e person 's hiring:
Ca nad ian bran ch o f a large co m pa ny with a head office locat ed in a foreign
co un try. A hu ge intern ati onal technical Co ng ress is to be held in yo ur cit " a. Th e cand idate took a routi ne medi cal test, an d was ruled as med -
including a co nve n tio n, technical sem ina rs, and a trade show. Your company ically fit, but th e ph ysician rep orted that th e ca nd ida te ha s a minor
wa n ts to present its products a nd services at th e trad e sho w, a nd yo u arc III spina l deformity, and also was o nce tr eated for d rug dep enden cy.
cha rge of designing, co ns tructing , and staffing seve ral product displays. Till' b. Th e ca nd idate is a member of a visible minority, and ot he r members
plan includes a reception a rea and a booth wh ere a receptionist will gfl'I'1 are co nce rne d abo ut whe the r th e ca nd idate will "fit in" wit h th e rest
peopl e an d dir ect th em to th e di spl ays. o f th e co nsu lta n ts.
On th e first day of th e trade sho w, yo u hav e eve ryth ing ready-i-dt spla ys, c. The ca nd ida te is a member of a religiou s grou p th at ce leb rates dif-
booth s, and literature- and yo u h ave arrange d with a temporary em ploy ment ferent religiou s holidays than th e ot he r members of th e firm , who
age ncy to hire a recepti onist. Th e receptionist a rrives ea rly, and she a ppeal a re co nce rne d abo ut sharing th e wo rkload .
to be suita ble for th e job . How ever, before you ca n ex p lain her duties, yonl d . Th e cand idate was charged with welfare fraud as a stude n t, but th e
boss ca lls yo u as ide, obse rves th at th e rece ption ist is Black, a n d sta tes, cha rges were dr opped .
"Compan y im age is crit ical to th e ch ief exec utives." He ex plains th at Blarl e. Th e ca nd idate was co nvicted of welfar e fraud, is presently awa iting
peopl e are very rare in th e co un try wh ere the head office is located, a nd when tri al for drug trafficking, and award o f a p rofessional licen ce is th ere-
th e chie f executives a rrive, th ey de fin ite ly will not expec t a Black reception hi
- _ ......- fore in doubt.
CIl AI' I Ell 10 • Fa i m ess a lld Eq u i ty i ll t h e Pr ofessi ona l Warkpla ce 211
210 PART TWO · PROFESSIONAL PRA 'I CE
3. You have heard a rumour that a su pe rviso r is harassin g a yo ung l>l'r ~llil IOT ES
in yo ur co m pa ny. You are th e sen io r person resp onsibl e for th e dep ;1I1 111 Professio na l Eng inee rs O n ta rio (PEO), Gll idelille Oil HIIIIUII' U;Slll s ;11 Pmtessiuna!
ment in which th ese tw o peopl e work. What will you do abo u t thi s ~ I I rructice, June 2000, ava ila b le a t <www.pco .o n .ca> .(May 29 , 20(8). ," .
uati on? What measur es sho u ld be in pla ce to elim in ate suc h a sltuatl.« I I The Associa tio n o f Prof essional Engi ne e rs, Geologists and Ge~physl,C1sts. ~f
in th e workplace'? Should yo ur ac tio ns be the same o r diff erent (a nd Ii Albe rta (APEGG A), Guidel in« (or HIIIIUlII UiSIl/ s Iss li es III P:'(}fe,~ S~()/.UlI I /(/CIIC1, V 1.1,
(lcto be r 2005, ava ilab le at <www.apegga.o rg/ Mc m be rs/l u bh c<lt lOns/
what wa y) for th e foll owing four cases:
~lI i dcl i ncs . h t m l> (Ma y 29 , 20(8) . . , '
• A female em ployee being sex ua lly harassed by h er mal e immedlut III ( ',o verl1m CIt t o f Cac nad a , Tl u: Canadi an Chut tet o( U,gl
'
,ls ant! vreciunns. Sche d u le II
. . / /
to th e Ca n ad a Act 1982, clau se 7, ava ilab le at <h tl p:/ / www.laws·lustlCe.gc.ca en
su pe rviso r.
ch a rtc r> (May 29, 20 08).
• A mal e em ployee being sex ua lly harassed by his fem ale imrncdl nt
III Ihid ., cla use 15 (1).
su pe rviso r,
I I Ihid ., clause 15 (2). "A U ' c Pro 'cct
• A visible min ority e m p loyee being verbally harassed by a Wltll I I M. Prize, C. Desc he nes, E. Ca n no n , M. Williams, a nd M: KI:lwe, . 11IqU I
su pe rviso r. 10 Increase th e Parti cipation o f Women in Scicnce a nd Eng ll1cen ng
(CWSE/ Ca nada)," presented at th e Eng inc cring Foundati on co n fercncc o n Womcn
• A White e m p loyee being ve rba lly harassed by a visib le minorlt
In Eng inee ring, Mont Trernblant, Quebec, Jul y I ~ 18 , 1998. ( . it, •
su pe rviso r. I I I io ve rn m cn t o f O ntario, IlllIIUlI/ Rigll/s Code, R.S.O . 1990 , Ch apte r 11.1 9, ava ilable
at <www.e_Iaws.gov.o n .ca / h t m l/sta tu tcs/e nglish / claws_sta tutes_90 h I9_e .h t m >
4. Sex ua l h ar assm ent, as defin ed in thi s ch a pte r, includes "unwelcom
sex ua l ad va nces, requests for sex ua l favours, a nd o t he r verbal or physku (May29, 2008). , . " " , ,, ' ,, ' , 8
II I APEGGA, Gll ideli lle for 1I1IIlIall U,gllis Issues III l lO(es'\/eJl/al .1/(/CIIC~, I~· :
co n d uc t of a sexua l nature. " In other words, it means th at so meone I l 'i F.ngin cers Ca n ad a (fo rmerly Ca n ad ia n Co u n cil ~ f t:ro~ess l~nal Engll1~c rs-
a n noy ing yo u by unwelcom e acti ons o f a se x ua l o r gender-relate 1 I :CPE), Canadian Ellg illecrs (or Tomorro w: Trcllds III ElIgl/lecr~lIg Enmlment alld,
nature, Would th e foll owing be co ns ide red sexua l hara ssm ent, a nd if \ 1 I )('~rccs Aw ardcd 200 I to 2005, p. 4, ava ilable at <www.e ngll1ccrsca n•.l d~.ca/c/
pll·_cnrolmc n l.cf m> Gun e is. 20 09) . Exce rp t repro d uccd w ith perrru ssron
wh at ac tio n would be a ppro p riate, under th e circums tances?
of En gincc rs Ca nada. . .. ,
a. An o lder, sen io r female boss makes gross ly offens ive jokes and reman II1II Engine ers Ca n ada, Canadian ElIgl/lcc rs (or tomorrow.
ab out men-their ac tivities and anatomy-during work h ours. VOl II II Ihid ., p. S. . . I C I I" Min istry
II 1 It. Co ulte r, Gentler Sociati zatio n: New Ways, New Wor ld, Brlt is 1 0 urn na 1l I
must work with her o n a fairly close basis, over a pe riod o f sevcu
' If Eq uality, Victoria, IIC, 1993. . " " trls
days, during budget preparation s, whi ch occ ur qu art erly. You find lit II II M. Sad ke r a n d D. Sad ke r, Failillg al Fair ness: How A1I/ef/ca s Schools Cheat Gil s,
co nd uct is unp rofessional and wo rkin g with her is unpleasant. I:Ila rles Sc rib ner's So ns, New York, 1994. . ' '. " '
b. An em ployee in the ma chine sho p ha s sex ua lly ex plici t po sters 0l! 1111 W.Il . Pelt z, "Can Girls + Scienc e - srercot ypcs - Success? Su b tle Sex ism Il1
Science Studies," T I,c SciCIICC Teacll cr, Dccc m bcr 199.0 , pp ..44-4:.
th e full len gth of a pr ivat e locker d oor in a ch a nge roo m. Th e 10 (~1
II I 1.1.. Lu pa rt a n d M.E. Ca n non , "Gen de r Diffcrcnces in JUl1lor.lllgh Schoo l
is closed through out the da y, but is o pe n at sta rting time a nd quh Sll\{lcnts To ward s Future Plans a nd Ca ree r C h o ices, " proceeding: o( the 8111
ting time, wh en em ployees must ch ange in to protecti ve clothing I' (;e W EST, SI. John's, 20 00 . , . , ,. . "
wo rk in an electro n ics room . You do not use the locker room, and II , [In] I.tvl.). Mc Dill, "Parti cipation Trends in a nd l.essons Learn ed From Outreach,
o ne ha s co m plaine d, but yo u find th e poster s to be porno grapltl II'FPAN 2003 Conference procccdillgs. . ' . n
II I 1.(;'. Ro binso n a nd J.S. Mcllwce, "Me n , Women a l.l d th e Cu ltu re o f b l gm ecnng,
a nd unprofessional.
Sociological Qll ar/aly, vo l. 32, March 199 l , pp . 40.~-4~ 1. ' : . .
S. Prepare a di spl ay o r talk for a local hi gh school to show the cng lne erlu III I It. Ii all a nd B. Sand ler, T llc Cl assrootn Cl imate: ProJC:Il//g th e Slat ll ,: a/ll l EdIlW /UIII
o r geoscie nce ac t ivit ies a t yo u r co m pa ny (o r opportunities for tlH' ,
01 WO lllell, Asso ciati on o f Am eri can Co lleges, WaS~1Il1gt on , t?~, 1?82. , "
1111 1 I'. Ca pla n , Li(/illg a TOil o( Fcatllers:~ , WOlllall ~~ Gll ulc / 0 Surv,v,~,g : ','. tile Academ ic
stud ies at your universit y). Ensure th at yo u r m essage co n veys the id,' II'or/d, Un ive rsity of Toronto Press, lo ront o, 199 2; a n d Na tu ral Sciences a n~l . , "
th at th e ca ree r path s an d o p po rtun ities are o pe n to all, regardless of rat' I' I ' inc e rin g Research Co u ncil (NSERC) , '/i llvards a New Cuiturc: IIcpo:t o(,tlle [ ask
sex, religion, o r d isability, and so o n . Co nsider using recent vid eos ahou ':;II~e Oil How 10 In crease /111' I'arlicipaticlll or WOI//CII ill SciCIICC and Ells u lecrl//g
caree rs in e ng inee ring and geoscience a nd o t he r m eans of a tt ract ill HI'searell, NSERC, Feb rua ry 1996. " ,
I u] II,R. Sand ler a nd R.J. Shoop (cds .), Sexuai /-l~lmsslllcllt 1111 CIIIUPII~: A Gllu lc [en
yo ung people to th ese field s. You espec ially wish to portray how cllpl
!l l/Illill is/rators, Facul ty, and Students, Allyn & lIaco n, Boston, 19 97, p. 4.
nee rs a n d geosc ien tis ts appl y th eir kn owl edge for th e ben efit II II nud lc r a n d Shoop, Sexua l Harrassment Oil Campus. " ' . '.
humankind, to so lve probl em s and to design th e wo rld in which we IIv, . I C I: Mascone "Wo me n Ch e m ical hng ll1ccrs l-ace Su bs ta ntia l
'1 (,, M. C'MUol. na oint . . . , 199 2
a nd work. What will yo u say, and h ow will yo u say if? 'I,:xual Ha rassm ent : A Spc cia l Re port," Cll cm ical Ellg illecrs ['rogress, January ,
pp . 12- 22.
Additional ass ign me n ts ca n be found in Appc nd ix E.
212 PAR T TWO · PROFESSIONAL PRACT I
1231 ,M, F~ i ze, "E rad ica t ln g Sex ua l Ha ra ssment in High er Ed uca tio n a n d No n -
~rilllit io n a l Work p lilces: A Mo d el ," Proceedings, Ca n ad ia n Asso cia tio n ag a ins t
Sex ua l Ha ra ssm en t in High er Ed u ca t io n Co n feren ce, Saska to o n, Nove m be r
199 5, pp . 43-4 7,
hapt er 11
1241 A, v'.1Il Bee rs, Gellder and Engi neeri llg: Al tcrn utlve Sty les o(Engineeri ng, m ast er 's
t h esis, De par tm e n t o f Soc io logy a n d An th ro po logy, Un ive rs ity o f Bri tish
Co lu m b ia, Vancouver, J u ly 199 6.
I ri nciples of Ethics and Justice
1251 M. ~ ic ke rs, ~ LL. C h in g, a nd c.n. Dean, " Do Scie nce Prom oti on Pro grams Ma l t '
a Diff ere n ce ?" Papers atul lnitiati ves (cd . M, Frize), More th an Ju st Nu m be rs
Co n fe re n ce, Un iversit y o f Ne w Bru n sw ick, Fred e ric to n, Ma y 1995 .
126 1 l;ro,l.es,S,i(JIlal E n~in eers. O n tar i (~ (PEO) , .Nationa/Ueport o( Workpl ace Conditions I"'
Engineer», Wom e n 111 lin gt n cc rln g Advisory Co m m itt ee , Toro n to, O N, ava Ila lilt,
at < w ww.peo .o n .ca/ p u b lica ti o n s/ re po rts.h tm l# Rep o rt> (May 29, 2008) ,
12 71 Ibi d .
Il lglneers a nd geo scien tists a re well-tra ined to solve technical probl ems; how-
1281 G , SO,n n e r~ ~ 11<1, G , Holl on, "T h e Ca reer Patt erns o f Me n a nd Wo m en Scicn tlstv,'
Ame rican Scientist, Janu a ry- Febru ar y 199 6, I "I', ma ny tech n ica l prob le m s h ave eth ica l co nse q ue nces . To e ns ur e t ha t
129 1 e. v:'e n n ~ rils a n ~I A . Wo ld , " Ne po tism a nd Sex ism," Nat ure, May 19 9 7. \ u ur so lu tio n s are bo th tech nica lly co rrec t a n d et hica lly rig ht , yo u n eed a
J:{O/ M. Fo sc hi , L. Lai , a n d K. Slge rso n , "Ge n de r a n d Do ub le Standa rd s in th e lill Ie knowledge o f th e principl es o f eth ics and justi ce.
Asse.ss m ~I~ \ of J ob Ap p lica n ts," SociaI Psyc/lO/ogy Quarterly, vo l. 17, Apri l 1994 , III th is cha pte r, we exam ine four eth ica l th eori es that have been used for
pp, 32 6-33 9,
t ,il\lul'ies as fu nda menta l gu ides fo r solving et h ical pro blems. These eth ical
13 11 Profe.s sio n a l En g ineers O n ta rio (PEO ), Guideline on Human Right s ;'1 Prof essional
l'tucticc, p. 10 , IIIl 'ori es m ust be a pplied carefu lly, becau se solu tio n s th at are et h ically rig ht in
1321 N. DiTo ma so a n d G . F. Farri s, " Dive rs ity in th e High -Te ch Wor kpl ace, " Spectrum IllI'ory may so metimes be un fair in practi ce. To ens ure fairn ess, we must a lso
J u n e 19 92, pp, 2 1-32. ' ,Ipply basic principl es o f justi ce.
I:n l G. o ve rnm c n t of Saskat c h ewa n, Employment Elfll ity ( Women in the Workp lace) This cha pter also di scu sses pro fession al Codes o f Ethic s, whic h a re pra c-
Bro ch ur e, Wom e n 's Secreta ria t, Reg ina . r
III ,i1 guides to pro fessio na l co nd uct. Th e cha pter co ncludes by describing a
134 1 M. ~:r i ze, " Rem a rks o n W h at is Hap pening to UNB's En g in eer in g G rad u ates?"
A I}/~Nll llllllet in, Jun e 1993, pp, 9- 10 .
1'lIl'l'al st rategy for solving eth ical probl em s, Read ers will find th is problem -
135 1 M, Frize, "T he En g ine eri ng Pro fessio n : Is It Frie nd lie r for Wo m e n '?" IEEE «lvlng st rategy in formati ve a nd reassur in g. The eth ics and justice co nce pts
Engi lleering in M edicin e atu! /ii ology Magazine, vo l, 13, n o . 1, Mar ch 1994, III I hls cha pter are ap p lied to pra cti cal case stud ies lat er in th is text boo k.
p p, 15- I 7.
13 6 / .1? iTo m ilso a n d Farris, " Dive rsity in th e High -Tec h Wo rkp lace. "
13 7 1 I h e ~ex tboo k a ut h o r, Dr. G. An drew s, co n t rib u te d th is sectio n o n in teg ra tin g I I Hies A N D PROBLEM SOLVING
unnu g rants.
138 1 I:n g~n eers C a n ad a, Canadian Engineers [or Tomorrow, p . I I . I lIglneers an d geos cien tists a re tra ined to be problem so lve rs. When we are
13 91 En g ineers Ca n ad a, /.:rom Conside/'{/Iion 10 lntcgrati on (FC21), Ph ase II Re po rt , 111 1 I'd with a technical p robl em , we so lve it usin g well-known th eor em s a nd
j uly 2004, p . I I, avai lable a t <h tt p:// fc2 i.eng in eersca n ilda .c<J/e/ilbo ut_o verview.cflll 111 1\'5 [ro m mathematics an d science. It is reassuri ng to kno w th at basic th eo-
(Ju ne 15, 2009) .
111'\ ex ist to so lve et h ica l proble ms, also . Th ese eth ical th eor ies-develop ed
140 1 L. ~.a Roch e, M anaging Culturat Di versit y in 'Il 'c/mi caI Pro(essions, Butterworth-
I IVI' 1' the ce n turies- for m t h e basis of o u r laws, regul atio n s, a n d Codes o f
He in em ann (Else v ier), Burlin gt on , MA, 2003 .
14 I 1 Ca n ad ia n Co m m it tee o n Wo m e n in Eng ineering , Wom('l/ in Engineerin'{: More Than II ilk s. Let us begin th is ove rview by defining our ter ms. I .
lust NIII ~lb<'rs, Report of th e Ca n ad ia n Co m m itt ee o n Women in Eng i n~eri ng, Eth ics is o ne of th e fOlll.:... b. ra n ~ p h i l oso p hy (acco rd in g to o ne system
.~ l1I versl t y. o f New Bru n sw ick, Pacu lty o f Eng ineerin g, Frede ricto n NB, 1992 . III r o m rn o n use). Eac h branch in vestigat es di fferent fun da ment al qu estion s.
1421 I hl ~ cas e IS ~Jilsed o n S. Sey mo ur, "Ca se of th e M ism ilnilged Ms.," Harvard IIII' Iou r bran ch es are :
Business Review, No ve m be r- Decem ber 198 7, pp. 77- 87. See a lso A. Mi kal achkl
D. IC Mi kal a ch~i , a n d IC). Bur ke, Teachi ng Notes to Accompany Gender Issues i n ' Ethi cs: The st udy of right and wrong, good and evil, obligations and rights, ju sti ce, and
lv/anagem<'lll: Contcm potarv Cases, M cGr ilw-Hili Ryer son , Toront o, 1992, p J. 5- 8, social and politi cal ideals.
!4:{1 Payne v. O/-IRC ct a!., Hum a n Rights Tribun al o f O n ta rio , 2002, ava ilable a't
<Www.o ll rc. o n. cil/ e n / reso u rces/ a n n u a lreports/ An n ua lRe port 23 / pd f> I.ogic: The study of the rules of reasoning . For example, under what conditions can an
(Jun e 15, 200 9).
.irqument be proved true?
Epis t emology: The study of knowledge itself. What is kn owledge? Can we kn ow any-
thing? What can we know? What are th e sources of knowledge?
212 PART !-~ • PROfE SSI ONA L PIlACTICC
/2 3/ M Frizc " Frad iCIl" S I

'1',' I" ' . , , mg cxua Harassm ent in lli gh el' Ed uca lion a nd N
la( It ion al Wo rk pl aces: A Mo de l " Pro " {' " " , " . , on·
Sex ua l Ha ra ssment in High e r Ed l;catio~~{~~'~;', ~,m'lt~:mkAssocla t l on agaI n
199 5, pp . 43-4 7. I ercnc o, <IS atoon, Novcrn l u-r
I
apt er 11
1241 A. va n Heers, Geuder (///11 E//~i// '" ,. AI . .
C t
th e "s D . . "
o u rn JI,I , a n couver, J ul y 19 9 6 .
{ U II/S · ternu tivc Styles of E//si//eeri//~ m a sl"I '
, I· ·~ p'vlr l m e n t of Soc io logy a nd An thro po logy, Univers ity of i{rit is;l
'
r rinciples of Ethics and Justice
1251 M. Vicker s, II.L. C h ing a nd C B De ' "D S ' ,
a Differen ce ?" Ptlp e/:I' 0; /11 I//ith;ti;'el' (~:;' M (;;;i~~~n~ I ro;;lOti~n Progr am s 1\1.11
Con fe re nce, Univer sit y of New Br:m sw'ick' Fr I ," to re ian ust N u m be r
/261 Profession al Fn r 0 ." " , et c r rc o n, May 1995.
E//sill~'~rs, wo;n~:~l~f~r~n <>filf~~~~n(gl, I~~l' .N atioc//al Rep.ort of Wurkplace Co//ditill l/ l I
, e» v rsory o m m lt tee Toro n to ON II II
/2 71 :11~i~~ww.peo.on.ca/publica lions/reporls. hl m l# Report> '(May 29:2008)'.1va ii ' i
/2S I G. Sonn ert and G. Holt on , "T h e Ca ree r Patt erns . . 1111 11 iec rs and geoscient ists arc we ll-traine d to so lve techn ical probl em s; how-
A lI/ eriCl/// Scientist, J anua ry- Fe b ru ar y 19 96. of Men a nd Women SCle111i I , I , llIany tech ni ca l p ro ble m s have eth ica l co nse q ue nces . To e ns ure th at
/2 9/ c. We n nera s a n d A Wo ld "Ncpoti , I S' rr
11111 solut io ns are both tec h n ically co rrec t and eth ically right, yo u need a
I:W/ M F " . , . :. Ism a nt oex ism . Nat ure, May 199 7.
.: o sc hi , L. l.a i, and K. SlgerSOI1, "G e nder a n d Do u b le Sta n dards in 1" I< kn ow ledge of th e principl es o f eth ics a nd just ice.
~~~~~;I;'~~~~{19~)f J ob Ap p lica n ts, " Social PsycIToloSY Qll arter/y, vo l. 17: AP: :;eI91I'I, III thi s cha pter, we exa m ine four ethic al th eor ies th at have been used for
131/ Professi on a l Engin eer s O nta r l (pro) G ' . / 1I111ries as funda men ta l guides for solving et h ical pro blems . These eth ical
Practi ce, p . 10 . , 10 ~ .Uuidcline all Human RiSITts ill Professlrll/.i/
III. IIIi .s m ust be applied carefully, becau se so lu tio ns th at are eth ically right in
132/ N. DiTomaso a n d G. r:. Farr is "Divcr si t in th e /-I' " III" /lly may so me times be unfair in pra cti ce. To ens ure fairne ss, we mu st also
./u n e 19 92, pp . 2 1-32. ' Y Igh - Iec h Wo rkplace," Spectlllll/
'I'p l bas ic principles of justice.
~r~l~~;:;:~:e~O~~~:I~I~k;~~~~et:::~l;, ~~~~~:~:.//ent E!IJll if) ' (Wo lI/en ill tITe Workplace),
13 3/ '
lh is ch apter also d iscu sses professio na l Co des of Ethics, whic h are prac-
1:{4/M. Frize, "Re ma rks o n W hat is I'!'J ) " r Iii ,iI guides to professional co nd uc t. The cha pter co ncl udes by describing a
A PFNII II If ti J ' ' I p en m g to UNB s Eng ineering Gr ad u<l tes '!"
, II c 1// , un e 1993, p p . 9- 10. ' / Ill'ral st ra tegy for solving et h ical probl em s. Read ers will find this probl em -
/35 1 ~. ~:rize: "T he Eng ineering Pro fession : Is It Friendlie r fo r Wo m )" . Illvll Ig stra tegy in formative a nd reassuring. The ethics and justi ce co n cepts
h//Sll/eel'l //S ill Medi cine and fliolo~y MtI~tlzi//e vol I 'J I M' enI' ff!1:E
p p. 15- 17. ' , r • " , n o. r MCl1 994, III thls ch a pter are a pplied to practical case st ud ies lat er in this textbook .
/:{61 ,1?iTo m a so and Farri s, " Dive rs ity in th e /-ligh -Tech Wo rk /l!'Jce rr
/3 7/ I h e tex tbo o k aut hor Dr G An I , . ' , "
immi g ranl s. '" c rews, con tTlbu ted this sectio n o n int egrating u uc s A N D PROBLEM SOLVING
/3S/ Eng ineers Ca n ad a, Canadinn E//si //eers [ or Tomorro w 11 II 11I 1o\1 11I.:ers a nd geosc ien t ists a re train ed to be probl em solve rs. W he n we a re
1391 Eng in ecr x C lfn tl'! F ' C .I . r • •
• , , " /(/11/ . onsn cru tion to Integrati on (FC21) PI ' II R I" "d with a tech n ical problem , we solve it usin g well-know n t heorems an d
july 2004, p, II , ava ilable at -ch t t l'// f 2 ' r " ' rase epo rt,
(Jun e 15, 2( 09). I · c I.engm eerscan ad a.ca/e/about_o ver view.( 111 1 I I , I rom ma thema tics a nd scie nce . It is reassuring to kno w that basic th eo-
:'ie::~~~~)l~l;l~; ~:{t~~~~~;~, ~;::;;;::~t~:~:e~z ~~~~~~//Ilical Professions, Butter worth.

d/ vxist to so lve et h ical probl em s, also. Th ese ethica l th eori es-develop ed
1401 11 '1' 1 I he ce n tu ries-fo rm th e basis of o u r law s, regul ati on s, and Codes o f
/4 1/ Ca n ad ia n Co m m itt ee o n Women i n r ' . III ucs, Let us begin th is overview by defin in g o ur term s. I '
lu st NII/III){'f:~, Report of th e Ca n ad t , ~glll ee.Tl ng, WO /ll l'l1 ill lillsilleerillg: More '111//1/
Universit of New . . .' :: ia n OI~l m! tlee o n Women in Engi neering , 1 ~l h i cs is on e of th e fQur bran ch es of philosoph y (acco rd ing to o ne syste m
/4 2 / '1'1 ' .. . ,~ ,. Bnll~s':lck, I ac u lty o f kng meering, Fred er ict on NB 1992 III i ommo n use). Each bran ch in vestigat es different fund am ental qu estion s.
lJ ~ case IS ba sed on S. Seymour, "Ca se of th e M' " , n r •
tsusiness Review, Novem be r-Dece m be r 19S 7 Ism,m aged Ms., Harvard 1111 ' lour bra nc hes are:
D.R. Mika lac hki, a nd R./. Burke Teaclti , " ~l~. 77- 8 7. See a lso A. Mi kala chkl ,
Cas;~, MCG'::;~~(;:~i~ I~O A CCOlIII:~II1Y Gellder lssues ill
Mallagell/l'I1t : COll te/ll por;//J' IIlllics: The study of right and wrong, good and evil. obligations and rights , ju stice. and
Hum an Rig hts Trib u na l of (S~~~I~;~ ~~~;10, .IY?1 1' I~P. 5
2 iat and politica l ideals.
14:{/ Payn e 1'. out«: et al., H /I
<www o h rc on ca/en/ / r r aV,1I .I J ) c at

. " , reso ur ces a n n ua lre po rts/An n ua lRel)Ort23/,1df> Logic: The st udy of t he rules of reasoning . For example. und er what conditions can an
(1un e 15, 20 0 9). .
,II uument be proved true?
IIplstem o\ogy: The stu dy of knowledge itself. What is knowledge? Can we know any-
Ihing? What can we know? What are t he sources of knowledge?
214 Pll llT TIIREE • I' IW FESS I ONIIL EI IIIC CIIIII' I I. I{ I I • /'Ii /l l 1,1/1; II/ i t hi t:s an t! J u s t i ,: 21 1-
Metaphysics: The study of very basic ideas such as exist nee. appeara nce, reality, ,11111 IlIliI Ill' co nsidered in det ermining th e m ux lmum ben efit: th e number of
det erminism. Met aphysics asks questions about the most abstract and basic catl' l(11i I " Id,' II fl'l'ted, th e in te nsity of th e ben efit in vol ved , and its _d u rat io n (or,
of t hought : th ing, person, property, relati on , event , space, time, action, possihlllt vI II I I SI'I , the severity an d du rati on of th e pa in to be avoide d). For exa m ple,
act uality, and appearance versus realit y. 2 II lil l 'l' au to m ob ile sea t-be lt legislati on : All dri vers and passeng ers en d ure
11 10 1,i1 d inco nve n ience w hen th ey bu ckle up, wh ereas o n ly a few people
Ethics a nd logic h ave man y p ract ical applica tio n s in o ur lives. Eth ics II I I
11111 11 thebene fi t (t he avoidan ce of injury or death, wh en th ey are in vol ved
us to di stin 0]ish right fro m w rong, an ability tha"i-signa lled th e dawn I II • I
II 1' 1lil I'l lI S). How ever, we would agree that th e inten sity and durati on of th e
ilizatio n . Et h ical w ritings can be traced back ove r 3,000 years. In fact, 1111
II I" (I n ju ry o r death), avoided by relat ively few peopl e, is so severe that it
e th ica l co n cep ts that we co m m o n ly ap p ly today a re o lder th an 0 111' 1111
I I I \ I I ~I,II S I he br ief in conveni en ce (buck ling -up) en d ured by everyo ne else.
ma the ma tical and scien tific disciplines (such as calcu lus, sta tics, d yll:1I11 1
III «valuating ben efits, it is important th at we apply certa in crite ria:
st ress analysis, a nd so forth), which o riginated in th e 17th ce ntu ry. I.II ~:I.
also im po rta nt to en ginee rs an d geoscien tists, becau se it is th e basis o f 111 II I I,,' hcn efl t to o neself must not be given any greate r value o r importan ce
ematical der ivati on . By co n tras t, episte m o logy an d m eta physics a re lil ll 111 111 the same benefit to a ny o th er indi vidual.
th eoreti cal, an d have v~'Y few practi cal ap plicatio~s . - - t~ I I prefe rence sho uld be given to person al friends o r favo ured gro ups. All
- --- III'I1 d lis sho uld be awa rde d with out regar d to race, cree d, co lo ur, Ian-
FOUR ETHICAL THEORIES 1Io1 !!, " sex, an d so o n .
Ih'lId ils mu st be di stributed eq ua lly. Th at is, w hen selecti ng a co urse o f
Man y prominent ph ilo sop hers hav e devot ed th eir lives to developing l'Il 11 \ III I O il, a n eq ua l distributio n of ben efits is pr efer abl e 10 a n un equal d is-
th eori es, a nd a th or ou gh di scu ssion o f th eir th ou gh t wou ld fill a th ou -au II 111 11io n.
tex tbooks. We ca n h ardly h op e to co nde nse thi s tr easury of ph lloso phk
th ou ght into a single chapte r. However, let us discu ss a few basic et h ica l III III sum ma ry, utilitari an ism ~t e s tha t th e best co urse of actio n in a n eth-
o ries tha t ap ply directl y to co m mon et h ics problem s, a nd wh ich are a lr« I iI proble m is t h e so lut io n th at produces i:h em-;lx~mnn ben efit -fo r th e
em bedde d in o ur custo ms, law s, an d Code s of Ethi cs. " 1II'si n um ber of people, with th e ben efit m ost eq ually d ivid ed a m ong
Man y eth ical th eo ries have evo lved ov er th e cen tu ries, bu t th e four llil 11111 I ' peop le.
ries selected below are likely th e best known . Th ey d iffer sign ifica n t ly, ,II I I II Ilta rianism is very valu abl e in making eth ica l decisio n s. Th e utilitarian
llil II I Is easily und erst ood ; it is co nsistent with th e co nce pt of dem ocracy;
none of th em is universally su perio r to th e others; eve n so, it is startling III
ho w well th ey ag ree wh en appli ed to certain eth ical probl em s. Each th coi I' uu l III many cases, it is easy to ap ply. For ex am ple, income tax is eas ily justi-
identified by th e nam e of its proponent, bu t many ea rlier phil osoph ers II I 110 d I, uti litarian theo ry. A modest hard ship (payin g tax) is imposed eq ua lly
II I III resid en ts (as a percen tage o f in come). Thi s yield s an immense ben efit
tr ibuted to for m ulat ing th e th eori es, a nd ma ny modern ph ilosop hers 11 01
" I I nl cry, because th e tax doll ars suppo rt h ospitals, schoo ls, a nd esse n tial
suggested improvem ents.
111 11 istructure. If we wer e to elim inate income tax, in divid uals wo u ld have to
• Mill's utilitarian ism ['llIl'ld' their o wn pri vat e h eal th ca re, sc h o o ling , a n d road s- a vi rtua lly
• Kant's formali sm , or du ty et h ics 11l 'l ll lssib le ta sk. We may so m etimes disagree with th e details, suc h as tax rat es
• Locke's rig hts eth ics Il l d «xcm pn o n s, bu t in come tax yields th e maximum ben efit to the greatest
• Aristo tle's virtue et hics 111 1I 1I IIl'r of peo ple, with t h e hardship fairly eq ua lly distri bu ted.
Mill's Utilita rianism

It il l 'S Fo rm a li s m , or Duty Ethics
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) was t h e m aj o r p ro pon ent o f utili t arianl xru
which states tha t, in any eth ical p robl em, the best so lutio n produces th e run 1111' th eory of duty eth ics, or "for ma lism," is based o n the work ? o f Immanuel
imum ben e it for th e grea test number of peoPle .3 TI{];tll-eo ry is probably tlu I 1111 1 (1724- 1804), w ho pro posed th at e v e_r~ !!.l~\.Lv i d u a l h as a fund am en tal
most co m mo n just ificati o n fo r eth ical decisions in eng inee ring, geoscien« dill 10 act in a co rrec t eth ica l ma n ner. Thi s th eo ry evo lved from Kan t's belief
a nd , ind eed , in mod ern soc iety. De mocratic govern ment itsel f ca n be justiflc I II I ubscrva tio n th at eac h pe rso n' s conscienc e im poses a n abso lute "cat egorical
o n ut ilitarian gro unds, since it permits th e maximum good (co ntro l ov er g O \ 111'II(' ra tive" (o r un conditional co m man d) o n th at person to foll ow th ose
crn rn cn t) for th e m axi mu m num ber o f peop le (the ma jor ity of vo ters). IlIlIrs 'S of actio n th at would be acce pta ble as universal principl es for eve ryo ne
The difficulty of applying t he utilita rian prin cip le lies in qu an titativeh III tol lo w. For exam ple, eve ryo n e has a dut y no t to tell lies, becau se if we tol-
ca lcu lati ng th e "ma xim um ben efit. " Mill pro posed th a t t ~ y fa ~.t () 1 I lil led lying, th en no p rom ises co uld be tru st ed , and o ur soc iety wou ld be
217
', 1,,, //' /" 1 o] Ltld es " lid J ust ice
CIIAI' I I' 1l I I • 1
216 PAR T TIIIU E • I'llOrL IONAL r uu S
. il im n ct o n Briti sh poli ti cal thought in tl: e

unst abl e . This m ak es se nse to m o st people; alm ost eve ryo ne h as Ill b III 1 11\ k rs w riti n gs h ad a po w e r f~ I' I tl Am er ica n revolutions. BaSIC
. t I the Pre nc h a m tc di
se nse o f duty, and beli eves that rul es o f co n d uc t sho u ld be rul es t h a i \ ' \'1 '1 II I ' Illey also m ouva ec . C tit tio n a n d in the Ca n a Ian
, I I I ' the U s ons I u
sho u ld fo llo w. 11110111 rig h ts ar e em~ec c ec 111 1'1 ci1~rter reco gnizes that everyo ne has t he
Kant beli e ved th at the most ba sic good was "good wi ll, " OJ' :11 11 11 ,11 " ' I' o f Rights a n d f·reed oms. re
see king to fo llo w th e ca tegorica l imperative o f o ne's co nscie nce. '1'111\ I 1"lwl1l g rig h ts: . I" thought b elief, o p in io n,
marked co n t ras t to Mill , who beli eved that uni ver sal h appiness was 1111 ' II f o ns Cience re igion, ,
I'lIl1 d ame n ta l freed om a c I s'socia tio n (cla use 2).
m at e good. In Kant 's philo soph y, happin ess is the res u lt o f good will \I " pression , peaceful asse mbly, a nc a . ( to sta n d fo r elec t io n) of the
d esire a n d intention to do o ne's duty. . . ' I t to vote in a n elec tIOn o r '
Ih'1 1IOCratlc n g 1 s . I t i e asse m b ly (cla use 3) .
Kan t e m phasized t hat it was the intention to do one' s duty t ha I W ,I r of a legIS a IV ,
u o use o f Co m m o n s a . ' an d leave Ca n ada (cla use 6).
nificant, n ot the ac tua l results o r co nseq ue nces. O ne shou lcl always d ll 1111 IlllJility righ ts to en te r, remain 111 , " . f the IJer son a n d the righ t n ot to
dut y, eve n if th e sho rt- te rm conseq ue nces are unpl easant, s i I II I' II I e, I'Ib e rty , a n d sec u. n ty o
I q~ al righ ts to lif d withf f
principles o r uncIa-
st re ng t he ns o ne's will. For exa m p le, even "w h ite" lies shou ld n ot be loki 01 1, lII' de p rived o f these rights except 111 acco r a nce
since th ey w eaken th e resol ve to follo w o ne's co nscie nce. Th e fm lll,1I
1I\ I'IItal justi ce (cla use 7) . I d the right to eq ua l b enefit a n d
theory co n te n ds th at in so lving an e th ica l dil emma, o ne h as a duty 10 11 1111 ",q uality rights befo re a n d unde r t~1e aw a n
ru les that a re ge ne ra te d from the co ns cie nce (t he ca te gorical imperative} , ," . f the law (cla use 15).
that if a per son st rives to d ev elo p- a good will , h appiness will result. Ma n , pro tect io n 0 ' I these b asic rig hts a n d th at they
. tl at everyo ne 1as ' , .
t he rul es that su p port this un iver sal concep~ wei'ikn o wn - "Be lw llI' I We m us t recog l1lze 1, I Ch a rte r does n ot co n ta in every
. . 1 o n How ever, t re c d
" Be fair," "Do n ot hurl o t he rs," " Keep yo u r p romises," "Obey the law," alld 111.\l1d not b e Il1 fnn gec up . I . ' I ts th at h ave been hammer e
. . t the fund amenta n g 1 ' 0 I
o n-a n d not sur p rising ly, o ur happiness wo u ld ce rta in ly in cr ease if eve r ' 1111 ,I ii I th a t sh o uld eXist- Ius f I_ the pas t two ce n t ur ies. t t er
d i tl e co u rts a aw over d -
fo llowed them . 11 11 III Parlia m e n t an 111 1 S of these rights a re e nacte In
Lock e's theor y. o rne . "
Ka n t also sta te d tha t a co nse q ue nce o f foll owing the ca tego rical im pc ran 1I1111S ha ve evolve d from . ' _ f lll1certain ty an d so me " ngh ts are
. S . exist 111 grey a reas 0 '
wou ld be a n in creased respect fo r hum anity. Life sh ould always be tr ealt'd .11H' r legislat Io n. o rne I o f these three types fo llo w :
I k f r selfish ness. Exa m p es
~n e n d o r goa l, ~~e r as a m eans of ac h iev ing so m ~ o t her goa] . Kant 's III I'llilled as a c oa a . 1 t to a wo rking e nvi ro n -
I t everyone h as the n g 1 , .
m ali sm would co n de m n wat er o r a ir pollution as unethical, a n d wo u ld in clud I.ocke's t heo ry suggests t ra t o r racia l d iscriminatio n . lll1s
a ny ac tivity tha t e n da ngered life, regardless of the purpose o f the ac t iv it " I . f f a m sexua l h arassmen , I
men t that IS ree r ' te sy Few would challe nge It, anc
Kantian for ma lism , everyo n e (an d each eng ineer or geoscien t ist, in parti culm t be co m mo n co ur e . f
right wo u ld a ppea r a . ' I b law s The right to a smoke- rce
h as a n in di vidual duty to prevent ha rm to human life and to co ns ide r the w, I , I ' I ' n Il ro vll1Clal a o u r, . . . I
II is ge n e rally II1C ucec 1 _ nunicipal a n d pr o vmcia
far e of society to be pa ramount. (As yo u will see later in this cha p te r, 111 1 . nt 'IS n ot in the Cha rte r, but m an y I
\'IIVlfo n m e
ax io m from Kan t is the first rul e in almost eve ry Co de of Et h ics.) [aws n ow gua ra n te e it . t in the Ch a rter o r in oth er
I • I I ' 1 rights that are n o I . . ,
In su m, Kant's fo rm ali sm e m p hasizes the im porta nce of foll o wing U II I Ilo wever, m any peop e c a ll~ nd must be exam ined ll1dlvld u-
versa I rul es, the impor tance o f hum anity, a n d th e sign ifica nce of the in ll'll !l" 'i slatio n . Th ese rights fali into grey areas a o n cOllftesy to ex te n d the right
(') . I I see m to be co m m
ti o n o f a n ac t or ru le rather th an the ac tual o u tco me, in a specific case. 'l'h ally. For exa m ple, It wou c bl t d to lo ud noi se, the right n ot to
o n ly p rob lem with a p p ly ing fo rma lis m rel at es to it s in flexlbtlity-c-d u t!« '1 I . rh t n ot to be su jec e I
10 p riva te e-m ai , t re fig I These rights ar e b asec o n
. I the In te rn et, anc so o n .
based o n th e ca tegorica l imper ati ve n eve r h ave excep tio ns. For t u na te ly, IV Ill' in su lted o r buillec o n '. d they should be respected unless
ca n obtain furth er gui da nce by co ns idering the o t her et h ica l t heo ries. . ' I ' n d ivid ual libert y, a n
h uma n chgl11ty anc I . I .r zhts satisfies a grea ter good .
it ca n b e p roved that denymg sue 1 n g I'. .ts As a n exa mple, cons ide r
Locke's Rights Ethics , I h Y d o es have uru . f
lti ghts-based eth lca t ea r Ie cha lle nge the co n ce p t a
. I' n today so me peop . .
The rights-b ased eth ica l theor y co mes ma inly fro m the thought and wr iting in co m e ta x aga ll1. w e . ' . I . dividual's right to reta in
. ' tl t it Il1ffln ges o n t t e in I"
o f John Locke (1632-1 70 4).5 Rights-b ased th eor y sta tes that ev ery individua l Inco m e ta x, clallmng 1a . . t that they h ave a right to smoke in pub IC
h is o r h er pr operty. O t he rs II1SIS ' . I s bee n rul ed illegal in m o st
_ h as ri ght ~i mp l y by virtue of h is o r h er ex iste nce. The righ t to life a n d till'
bui ld in gs, ev e n though suc h beh aVIOur ra
righ t to the m aximum possib le in di vid ual lib erty a n d human d ignity ar e fu n
d am ental ; all othe r rights flow o u t o f them . Each in d iv id ua l's righ ts are ba sic; ,1I1aclia n cit ies . . Some rights a re in dis -
d ,nen ts cover a spect rum . .
o t h e r people h ave a duty not to infringe o n those rights. Thi s co n t ras ts w it h lea rly, righ ts-base argu i , I t fall 'In to a grey area, suggestll1g
d d l ' I w · o t he r fig 1 s ,
Kant's d ut y-based e t hica l theo ry, w h ich conten ds t ha t duty is fund amenta l; !,\ltable a n d ar e c mbe ec 111 a , h er ever p o ssible, but are n ot a bsolu te.
in the rig h ts-based t heo ry, duties a re a co nseq ue nce of perso na l righ ts. Ih a t t he y shou ld be respect ed w
218 PART TIIREE • PROFESSIONAL ETHICS CHAPTER 11 • Princip les of Ethi cs and Ju sti ce 219
Ho wever, some people clai m rights th at are really selfishness in disguis e, 11 1 TAB L E 11. 1 _ Su(llma ry of Four Ethical Theories
summary, rig hts-based et h ics h as a n important p lace in resol vin g et h k ,I
dil emmas, but the th eo ry is nOlSltffident to deal with every sit ua tio n . Sta te m en t Co n flic t
Mill 's An ac tio n is eth ically correct A co nflic t of in terest may
Aristotle 's Virtue Ethics Ut ilit a r ia n ism if it p rod uces th e greates t a rise whe n eva lua ting
ben efit for the greatest th e ben efits, or whe n
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was one of m an y ear ly Greek p h ilosophe rs who number o f peo ple. The du ra- d ist ribut ing th em eq ua lly.
th ou ght s are sti ll relevant ove r two mil lennia lat er. Aristo tle o bser ved tha I 111 tion, in tens ity, and eq ua lity Ben efits mu st not favo ur
5luality_o r gQQ2.!.less of an ac t, o b ject, ~ pe rson depe nded o n th e fu nc t io n II of dis tri bu tio n of the ben efits special gro ups o r person al
goa l co nce rned . For exa m ple, a "good" cha ir is -co m fo rtable, and a "good sho uld be co nsidered. ga in .
-kn ife cuts welt.? Kant's Each person has a dut y to o nflicts a rise when
I>uty-Uased follow th ose co urses of actio n following a un iversal
Sim ilarly, happiness o r good ness will resul t for hum an s o nce th ey alln
Et h ics tha t wo uld be acce pta ble as princ iple may cause har m.
their specifica lly h uman qu a liti es to fun cti o n fu lly. Aristo tle o bse rved t il l un ive rsal principles for For exa mp le, tellin g a
hum an s have th e powe r of th ou ght-the o ne sense th at a n ima ls do not hal' everyo ne to follow. Hum an "w h ite" lie is not
Therefore, he pos tu lated th at hum an s wo uld ac h ieve true happiness by devol life sho uld be respected, and acce pta ble, eve n if telling
o ping qu aliti es o f characte r usin g th ou ght, reason , deducti on , a nd log ic. II people sho uld no t be used as th e truth causes harm.
a mea ns to ach ieve some
ca lled these q ua lities of cha rac te r "v irtues," and he visua lized every virtu e 1
ot her goal.
a co m prom ise be twee n two ex tremes or vices.
Locke's All indi vidu als are free and It is occasiona lly di fficult
His guide to ach ieving virtue was to select th e "go lde n mean " betw een lit eq ua l, and each has a right to de ter mi ne whe n o ne
IUghts-Ua sed
extre mes of excess a nd deficiency. For exa m ple, mod esty is th e go lde n nll',l1 Ethics to life, health, libert y, posses- person's rights in fringe o n
between the excess of vanity an d th e deficien cy of humilit y; co urage is th e go ld. sions, a nd th e produ cts of ano the r person 's rights.
mea n between foo lhardi ness and cowa rdice; and generosity is th e golde n nll',1 his or her labour. Also, peopl e occasiona lly
betwee n wastefulness and sting iness . claim self-serving "r igh ts."
Aristot le's virtue-based ph iloso phy is ad mira ble, and most peopl e have ,II Aristotle's Happin ess is ach ieved by The defi nit ion of vir tue is
VIr tue-Based deve loping virtues, or q uali- occas io na lly vague and
in na te amb ition to lead a virt uo us, ba lanced life. Alt ho ug h th e co nce pt I
Ethics ties of cha racte r, throu gh difficult to apply in spe-
virt ue is sub jective, o pe n to int erp ret ation, and no t a universal rule, it still " dedu cti on and reason. An act cific cases. However, th e
so me o bv ious applicat io ns. In parti cu lar, Aristo tle's co nce pt of th e go lde n nu-n is goo d if it is in accor da nce co nce pt of see king a
is extremely useful in so lving eth ical probl em s by co ns ide ring th e ex tre mes ,III with reaso n . Th is usually go lde n mean betwee n two
seeking th e comprom ise- the go lde n mean , o r th e " ha p py m ed ium 't-e-betwc mean s a co urse of act io n tha t ex tremes is of ten useful in
is t he go lde n mean betwee n ethics.
th e extreme s. Th is a pproach is o fte n useful in et hica l p rob lems.
----- ex tremes of excess and
deficiency.
AGREE ME N T AND CONTRADICTION IN ETHICAL THEO R I E
The four t heories described a bove have survived the test o f cen tur ies, and As a n exa m p le of agreeme n t bet ween th e th eori es, co ns ider th e Go lde n
of t hem are useful in fin ding fair so lutio ns to et h ica l problems. Tab le II II II It': " 1)0 unt o @lers as o u would have ot he rs do unto yo u." Thi s is a clear
offers a brief summary of the t heories. Each t heory h as a wide range o f appl 1,' '' 'lnen t of Kant'S fo rm ali sm : it im poses a duty o n th e in d ividual to respect
ca tio ns, but n on e is supe rior in eve ry situa tio n . Phil osophers have lo ng lu: hurunu life as a goa l rathe r th an as a mean s to ac h ieve so me o the r goa l. On
see king the one u ni versal pri ncip le on whic h all et hica l th ou ght is fou nch Iii, II I Iter hand, it co u ld be co ns ide red a utilitari an principle, since it brings
but a sing le uni fyin g co nce pt h as yet to eme rge. I II' maximum goOd to th e ma ximum number of peopl e. Any incon veni en ce
In many app lications, all fo ur theories agree com plete ly. Some ti mes , 111 '\ III li lt' ind ivid ua l is balan ced by th e eq ua l o r greater ben efit to th e peopl e
eve r, th ey co n tra d ict, and eac h th eor y yields its ow n unique an swer to II IIII who m t hat IJerson co mes into co n tac t. The propon ents o f rights-based
sa me pr obl e m . ~e _calLthILC~d.!.£!ory typ e o f et hica l pr obll'lli 1111 \ ~ wo uld agree wit h th e Go lde n Rule, but wo u ld claim th at th e duty of
"dilemma ." A d ' em ma is ~o l~.!.w n ly defin ed as a n e t h ica l prob lem Iii i11l Ii ullvidual to ,Jct fairl y co mes from th e rights of o the rs to be treat ed fairly.
~eq ~~s a person...!.o choose betwscn two oPRos ing co u ~s of action. (N III 1111111 1 , Aristo t le ""ou ld recogni ze "fairness" as a virtue . Th e four ethica l th e-
We ofte n use th e term "d ilem ma" in thi s textboo k for problem s with 111 11 II, nrc th erefore co ns iste n t in identifying th e Go lde n Rule as a good m axim
- ......._ - _ ,. .. .. 1.1; " .. h,,,.....,,n beha viou r, as we would ex pec t.
CIIAP! ER 1 \ • 1 ' '; lI ti/'' ' ' ~ o] tui tcs n llrl Ju sti ce 221
220 PAin TIIREE • PROFESSIONAL r u uc s
I d em e n t im pli es th at t hese duti es h ave been m et: th e ab use is we ll

Sim ila rly, th e bas ic eth ical precepts o f most religions a re su ppo rted II
uo wn and Sm it h h as refu sed assista nce. Legault also has a d ut y to co l-
four et h ica l theori es. Co n sid e r th e Ten o rnma n d me n ts from thl' lit II Ii
k agu es, whose job s m ay be jeopardized if th e proj ect fails. Legault also ha s
Exod us, wh ich a re th e ethical basis o f judco-Christian religions. Each, ,I
01 d u ty to th e gene ra l p ublic to ensur e th at the so ftware is developed p ro-
co m ma nd me n ts clea rly imposes a duty o n th e individual and att he sa il II ' I I
it'ssiona lly, runs efficie n tly, and do es not co n ta in hidden bu gs. In fact (as
gran ts righ ts to o thers, req ui res virtu ou s beh aviour, an d creat es a sla h l,' I II
d iscu ssed late r) every Co d e of Ethics sta tes that t he public interest should
ro n me n t th at yields th e m aximum ben efit for all. An in vestigati on o f II \I' I ,
, orne first. The dut y-ba sed theor y ove rwhe lm ing ly indi cat es th at Legault
precepts o f all th e grea t religions wo uld sho w sim ilar agreeme n t.
1III ISt in sist t hat Smi t h seek t reatm ent , eve n if it m ean s rep o rt in g t he
Eth ical th eo ries ag ree rem ark abl y well in man y cases, but th ey m ay" I1I1
d iet in ot her sit ua tio ns. For exam ple, co ns ide r th e fo llow ing hypothet ieal, , I'm blem to man agement.
It l ~hts theo r y. Conve rse ly, the rights-based theo ry WO Uld . say t hat
• m lth's health is a private m atter. Sm ith has a right to personal pnvacy, and
An Ethical Dilemma I,l'gault h as no righ t to in vesti gat e Smith's heal th or to di scu ss it w it h
BACKGROUND INFORMATION II l1 yo ne .
Pro fession al eng ineers Smith an d Legault are both fai rly sen ior em pl••v (Jllvio usly, the duty-ba sed an d righ ts- based theories yield simple, clea r
with ove r 10 yea rs of experience. They a re part o f a IO-person team asslH Il lid."" bu t t hose rul es co n trad ict eac h o t he r. We must exam ine the .ot her tl~e
to develop an d test a massive so ftw a re co n tro l sys te m fo r an electrica l 1'1 1\ " iI's to hear wha t they say. The utilitarian a nd v irtue -based th eo ri es require
ge ne rati ng plant, which is under co nst ruc t io n . They are good frie nd s, II I I IIhjective jud gm ent, so m o re information is usu all y need ed before we ca n
occas iona lly party togeth er aft er work. Sm ith drinks h eavil y and o ft 'II t.d 11'1'\ the m . In thi s case , t he deg ree of da nger to o thers, the serious ness of th e
illici t hard drugs . Legault sus pec ts that Sm it h ha s a n ad dict ion o r depcnd vu Ii ll l \l ' o r d epe nde ncy, and Sm it h 's willingn ess to see k treatment are relevant
on alco hol. At times, Sm ith has w ide m ood and att it ude sw ings. Th e pll ll'
I II lo rs.
m an ager has ca u tio ne d Sm it h for abse n teeis m, but no di sci pl in ary ac t lou \
ta ken . Legault occasio na lly co ncea ls m in or erro rs a n d "covers" for SIIII I I lJ ti litaria n ism . The utili tar ian th eor y ba la nces th e risk of harm to th e
abse nces . pro ject an d to the public (if Legault does not in terve ne), agains t th e. risk o f .
As a friend, Legault is co ncerned th at Smith's erratic beh aviour will I ' V, I harm to Sm it h's career (if Legault ex poses the add iction) . The estima ted
tu all y result in di sci plin e of so me sort. Equally important, Legault is WOld n te nsity of suc h h arm is a fact or. If th e sof tw are fail s ,the fina l va lida tio n
that Sm ith's a lcohol and drug abuse is affecti ng Sm it h's work, and thai II lest, the project will be d elayed , the em ployer will suffer a loss, the who le
softwa re may be fault y. Legau lt has repea ted ly tri ed to co nvince Sm ith to s, t 'a m may suffer, an d Smith's health problems m ay become know n anyway.
treatment, but Sm ith denies th at an y p robl em ex ists. Legault hesit at es to t.d Legau lt' s failur e to act m ay sim ply have de laye d th e in evit abl e, and m ad e
I he o u tco m e worse for everyo ne. The utilitarian th eo ry- even ba sed on
a ny fur th er action becau se of their close personal friendship.
such meagre in fo rm ati on-would favou r in tervention , becau se th e greatest
QUESTION
goo d , for th e greatest num ber, wo uld o utweigh Sm ith's potential lo ss.
Today, th e con trol software failed a pr elim in a ry test. Legault has checked II I Virtu e . T he virtue -based theory wo u ld reco gnize d ru g a n d a lco ho l
depen de ncy as extreme and undesirabl e . The go lde n m ean be twee n absti-
data dump, a n d it a p pears th at Sm ith's co d ing is th e likel y cause o f th e Iaihu
nence a nd ad d ictio n is moderat e use. The v irtue-based th eo ry would co n-
The en tire team is d ism ayed. Legault faces a dil emma : shou ld Legault ('II I
tin ue to protec t Sm ith as a friend , or should Legault rep ort Smith 's dru g II demn Smith's ab use, a n d the refore imply tha t so me ac tio n sho u ld be
an d suspected alco hol depende ncy? taken to allev iate it.
AUTHOR 'S ANALYSIS II GEST ED DECISION

In a real sit ua tio n, yo u would have much mo re info rma tion, bu t a few fa, I Ivon wit h the limited in formati on provid ed, three of th e four th eori es clearly
a re o bv io us: Every pro ject mu st meet tight d eadlin es, so faulty softwa re COlli, I I " om me nd in terven tion . Ho wever, wh ile thi s may be th e end of th e ethica l dis-
cause an ex pe nsive dela y. The software will be full y test ed for safe ty befuu . usslon, it is not th e end o f th e probl em. Knowing th e right co ur se of action,
release, but sloppy codi ng m ight ca use in efficient o pera tio n. Let us ap ply IIi 1IIItii ng the co urage to implement it, and doing so fairly are s~pa;ate. m~tters.
ethica l th eori es to the dil emma. Id eally, th e p rocess mu st be fair, a nd mu st p reser ve Sm ith s d lgl1l ty an d
!'If.respect. Legaul t mi ght sti ll co nvince Sm ith to ta ke sick leave .a nd e n te r a
• Dut y theory. As a friend, Legault has a d uty to help Sm it h ove rco me Iii
It'rove ry progra m, thus sa lva ging Sm ith's caree r and fina nces. Sinc e a large
d e pendency, a nd must n ot ac t o n unp roven a llega tio ns . The problem
222 PART TI/ REE • PROFESS IONAL ETHI CS
CHAPTER 11 • Principles of Ethic s
--------------_._. - - _._._-- on (L~u sti c'!.
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223
co rpo ra ti o n typi call y ha s a n Em p loyee Assista nce Pro gram (EAI') to help
be permitted to defen d hi m self o r hersel f. In law, th is ~)rin Ci pl e i ~ b e.s ~
em ployees with se rio us person al probl ems, co n tac ting the EAP would bel
know n as habeas cuqJilS, wh ich was a British Act passed In 16 79. H d b e (~ s
good sta rt. O th er help may be av aila ble. As a last resort, Smith sho u ld Ill'
corp us e;t itles peopl e imprison ed w it h ou~ c ha rge to ch a.lIe nge .t h e lr
rep orted to th e d ep artment m an ag er. Th e role o f Legault, as a friend , is not 111
d eten tio n- a vital person al righ t. It is still a funda m en tal pal t o f OUI law,
co ncea l th e p robl em, n or is it to be a sn itch; rathe r, it is to apply th e d ecisiou
fairl y, with a minimum o f personal chaos. a nd is cited in th e Ca n ad ian Ch arte r o f R ight~ a nd F reed o l~l,S. ~ () .' ,' ,
T h e right to b e judged by an impartial person ' . I IllS, p lln c ~ I~ l e
In sum ma ry, exa m in ing a dil emma using th e four et hical theo ries usuall '
req uires eth ica l d ecision s to be based so lely o n .th e n~ erIt s o f t he case.
gives th e right so lutio n. Wh en th eori es co n trad ict, th en th e th eory that I
O bvio us ly, a jud ge or decision m aker mu st be unbl a s e ~l , and n~u s t have no
most appropriat e must be foll owed. This requires a value jud gm ent, and h
pe rso nal in terest or in vo lvement in t he case . O t he rw ise, the [ud ge w o u ~ d
th erefor e su b ject ive. Th e good n ew s is that th e person making th e su b jec t ive
ha ve a co n flict of interest, an d th e o u tco m e would not be see ~ to be fair.
jud gm ent will have a clear co n scie nce if the decision is made in a n order! '
W he n a judge (or d ecision maker) has a co n flict of in terest,. th e lU ~l g ~ m ust
p rocess, is co ns iste n t with a recogn ized ethical theory, an d is mad e fairl '.
d ecl a re th e co n flict, ste p asid e, a nd tu rn the ro le ov er to a n imparti al judge.
Fairn ess is ex plored in th e next sec t io n.
Ove r th e yea rs, man y more specific righ ts h ave been esta blishe d, based ~ n
PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE these two basic axio m s of n atural just ice. Fo r exa m ple, a perso n cha rged Wit h
;r crim ina l o ffen ce has th e-right to require th e pro secu tor to d isclo se .a ll fac~s
If yo u are faced with an ethica l dil emma, and your d ecision ag rees with om- and docu m e nt s upon whi ch th e cha rge is based. Na tu ral justi ce req uires this
of the eth ical th eori es ab ove, it is probably right, but is it fair ? Cur io usly, all full d isclo sure to a llow th e person to p resen t a p roper defen ce.
.!!.h ical decision ma y be unfair, eve n)( it agrees with .~Jtl i~~ l t!leQries . In .1 Sim ilarly, in pro fessio na l di scipline hear in gs ( d i s c~l s s ed i J~ ~ h a p t.e r 4),. a
.word, yo u must a lso see k justi ce, wh ich is a key su bd ivisio n o f ethics. A legal perso n w ho inv estiga tes an allegatio n o f mi s.c onduct IS proh lbi ted 1'1.0;11 . Sit-
d ictionar y gives the foll OWing definition o f just ice: "II sta te o f affairs in which ting o n th e Discipli ne Co m m it tee t hat d ecid es th e o utc o me . It m ig h t be
co n d uct o r actio n is both fair a nd rig h t, giv en th e circu m sta nces.vf argue d t hat a perso n wh o is already famili ar wit h t he case WOUld. m ak ~ a
In other word s, yo ur d ecision must satisfy both th e test o f "righ tness," h ' better jud ge (o r a faste r decision ). Ho weve.r, we e~ c1 u de a ny o ne ':ltI.l p rIor
ag reeing wit h th e eth ical th eori es, an d also the test o f "fairness." Fairness h knowledge o f th e case to av o id a ny percep tion of bias th at wo uld vio late th e
harder to identify, alt houg h its o ppos ite , " un fairness," is usually o bv io us. 1.1'1 princip les o f na tu ral justi ce .
us exam ine th e co n ce p t of justi ce, and co ns ide r h ow unfairness mi gh t arise,
Ju st ice m ay be categ o rized in several ways. The following overview COIl
GUID A N CE FO R TH E PRO FESSIO N A L .
sidc rs four basic ca tego ries o f justice, d ep end in g o n th e a p p lica tio n ."
Profession al engineers and geosc ien tis ts may need to resol ve in t ern al .d l ~ pu.t e s
In th e ir co m pa n ies, o r m ay be asked to se rve o n C o m p l ~ i n t o r D l s c lp l ~n e
1 . Proce d u ra l Justice-Fairness in the Decision-Making Process Co m m ittees wit h in th e pro fession . In do in g so , th e professiona l mu st always
fo llow th e prin ci ples o f natural justi::e. Tha t is, yo u mu st alwa ys
Accord ing to a well-known say ing: "J us t ice must be done, but it must a lso lli '
SCCII to be done." Th at is, the d ecision-making process itself must be fair, and • Get all-:i the information . Allow each perso n to state thei r po int o f
must treat th ose involved with di gnity and resp ect. For exam ple, co ns ide r ;r v iew, and to challenge state me n ts mad e by o th ers. The ~oa l is t (~ ~ ns u re that
superviso r wh o fires an em ploy ee fo r in compet en ce, ba sed o n rumours fro II I o u o bta in all of th e in for m ati on need ed to m ake the righ t decision . :-V hen
co-worke rs, without di scu ssin g th e reasons with the em p loyee. Even if till' y s ibl e it is fairer to as k th ose co nce rne d to di scu ss th e co n flicts di rectly
po Sl , . I D" .
em ploy ee d eserved to be fired, eve ryo ne would see thi s as an unfair process , with o ne a no ther, rather tha n interviewing th e people se pa rate y. Il ~ Ct ,
In o th er wor d s, even if th e d ecision was right, the p ro cess wa s unfair. face-to- face exc hanges help to reduce mi sunderstan di ngs a ~ d inaccu racies,
Fortu na te ly, fair pro cedures hav e evo lved o ver th e ce n tur ies ba sed o n two Mak e ce rtain th at a ll d ocuments are di sclosed to everyo ne Invol ved. '.
principl es th at are usuall y ca lled " natura l j~. " 'J]J. lwo _ptincill!£s are: ~ l '
-
• Ac t Imparftalt y and consistently . Do not let ~ n y p~ rson a l be,nelIt"
-
right to be h eard, and th e right to be jud ged by an impartial person. Th ese
--- -
pr in cipl es are ca lled i~, " becau se -they are o bv io us ly fu nda m en tal and
se tr-evt de n r, Like ax iom s in mathematics, th ey do n ot n eed any furth er pr oor ,
co n flict, or bias affec t th e o utco me. Avoid an y em o tio na l lIl .v ?l v e m ~ n t 0 1
pe rso n ality di fferen ces (w herev e r po ssibl e). Ma inta in a POSiti ve (~ t tl t u d e ,
an d nev er pr e-judge th e o u tco me . In o the r wor d s, yo u mu st a~ t In good
fai th . W h en a co n flic t o f in terest is un avoi d abl e, yo u m ust d isclose th e
• The ri ght t o b e heard. Th is p rin cipl e requi res that a person must Ill'
co n flict. If the co n flict o f interest is se rio us, yo u m ust ste p aside, a nd let
in formed when th e person's rights o r property are in jeopardy. and must ~r'l1n p() np p l~p (11 "11 ;111" :'l " l l l1p r in rl rp"-() I,,p t h p nrnhl pln
22 5
• Prin cipl es of Et llics ond Ju st ice
CHAPTER II
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224 PART TIIREE • PROFESSIO NAL ETHICS
, . The flat tax is m o re " eq u a I," SO

the sa m e percentage of hi s o r h er in co m e .
2. Correct ive Justice-Fa irness in Rectifyi n g Wrongs
wh ich is fai rer? Id b e oq ua l b efor e th e law, but in pr ac-
When so meon e harms a person or damages a person 's proper ty, eth ical 1I11'. , • Et h ics d ictates t ha t ever~one ShOU the CO: lrts , po or people ca n gel legal
use
ries agree that th e person ha s th e right to rect ification, rep lacemen t, or rcpa h n ee, wea lt hy people ca n aff o rd ~omidelle-class people h esit at e to use t~le
(Alternatively, t he person w ho ca used th e h arm or da mage has a d uty 10 rCl'111I 'lid fro m th e go ve rn me n t , bu . ' . J befor e th ey ge t legal aiel.
it .) Th e rectificatio n must b e fa ir; this is co rrect ive (or retributive) just It" ~ou rts because they must spe n d their life sav mgs
Ca n ada's crim in al law, tort law, and professiona l disciplinar y powers are IH'1l . f ' 'I
I ' this eq u ality? Is It air r
tical ap plica t io n s of cor rective justice. s , for I)rof essional en gin eers an d geo-
. . ' a ma jor concern f lIu
Dist rib u tive [usn cc IS c • I h n vir onmental problems 0 po -
Fairness is difficult to ac h ieve in serious crim in al ca ses in vol vi n g m u rd vi , .
ra pe, or bodily harm , wh er e n o reparation reli eves the harm done. In ti ll' , '\en lists. We are pr esently face d WIt 1 t e e . " I)ea k" o il an d sus ta in ab le
I " ' glo ba l wa rm mg, c ,
cases, th e o ffen der is punished, and th e most co m m o n punishment is im prl linn , green h o use gas em Issio n" I I ca rries the burden in th ese m at -
W h o gets the beneht anc w 10
o n me n t. What length o f se n te nce is fair for a given crime? Is th e pu rpose " I th'velo p m en t '
th e imprisonm ent to re move th e perpetrator from so ciety, to pu ni sh the pl'l I,-I'S? Fo r ex am ple: . I' ' nin at ely when the
, use fossil fue ls Inc ISCfll c ,
petra tor, to rehabilitate th e perpetrator, o r to det er o the rs from sim ilar bcha v Is it fair for No rth Ame nca ns to f decades will ca use sea levels
iour? Th ese q u estion s of fairn ess ari se o fte n in crim in a l justice, b u t .u , . J over the n ext ew , , I I
res u ltin g glo ba l wMllllng, ' I Ho lland and Ban gla c es 1 ,
beyond th e sco pe of th is textbook. However, tort law and professio na l dh.1 I l in g co u n t fles sue 1 as
to rise an~1 flood ow-.y f "envir onmental " refu gees'!
pline ar e ce rta in ly relevant, as we see below . thus crea tll1g a ge ne ra t Ion o . n sume n on-renew ab le resources
tt ge ne ra tIOn to co . I0
• Tort law. Th e word tort m eans injury o r damage, and to rt law req ul«: Is it fa ir for the cu rte r I 'ving fu tu re ge ne ra t IOnS w 1
I I Jh tlessly thus c e p n
eng inee rs a n d geoscientists to be responsibl e for th ei r ac tio ns and dC'11 inefficie n tly a nc t 10Ug , t Iy for sim p le su rviva l?
sio ns, Thi s asp ect o f co rrec tive justice is d iscu ssed at lengt h in C h a p te r ma y n eed these reso urces d esp era e f s of th e "Trage dy of th e
o f thi s textbo ok. bl rns ar e m odern or rn k
These e n viro n me n tal pr o c ' 15 to 17) of this textboo ' .
• Profcssional disciplinc . Th e Assoc iati ons t h a t license professlo ual , s" an d are di scu ssed in Part 4 (Cha p te rs
( ,om m o n , ' c
engi nee rs a n d geoscientists protect th e public by deterring unli censed p l 'l
so ns from pract ising, an d by d isciplin in g licensed professionals. Unde r 111\ o Faolrness in political Rights and Duties
rtO I Jus t Ice -
Act , eac h Associ ation must respond to complaints an d must di sci pl iui II. Po I rca . . . )o litic al rights and duties, and
pr ofessionals who ar e found gu ilty o f mi scond uct , wh ich usually in clude , ed with fan ness 111 I '
I'olitical justi ce IS co nce rn lid we divide pow ers between fed er al , pr ovll:!-
in compet ence, n eglig ence, and breaches of the Co de o f Et h ics. Th is aspv I I\ks q ue stio n s suc h as: Ho'::y s..b.~ 1 we e ns u re that eve ryo ne h as an
o f co rrec tive justi ce is di scu ssed at len gt h in C h a p te r 4. , , - cn ts? How cO l
. Ial, an d muniCipal goverI1l:1 ' ries Jener al ly su ppo rt d emo cr acy as t l e
qual vo te in elec tio ns? EthICal th~~ I .; m o st d emocr ati c: o u r t rad it io nal
l
3. Distributive Just ice-Fairn e s s in Social Be n e fi t s a nd Burd e n s h\'st fo rm of govern me n t , but w u c 1t non (w h ich h as been pr oposed and
, f 'II represen a I . I tl
Il\ajo rit y ru le, o r p rol~or .lOn, . da o r multi-st ep elec tio ns, in w h ic 1 re
Distr ibu tive justice add resses th e qu estion: How sh ou ld the benefi ts and bu rden dd cated in two provmClal ref~l e~ ), I ' " ru n -o ff" elec tio ns, thus gua ran -
of our socie ty be distribut ed ? Th e eth ical th eori es giv e sligh tly d ifferen t rules: I'd t re ellllll na tec 111
I I' ~ s po pu lar cane I a es ~ , ti c su p po rt?
Right s, d uti es, and virt ue th eories wo uld require benefits and burdens to III' ll'c'in g a win ne r with m aj orit y elem o cr,a rant areas o f [usn ce. an d il affects
share d eq ually. Ut ilitariani sm req uir es th e great est good for th e grea tes t n u m ber, " f the m ost lln po r , c , > .
political [ust ice IS o ne 0 , f eI cons tit u tio n al mattel s
eq ua lly distributed . How ever, an y th eor y can be applied unfairl y, For exam ple, C'1l1ad Ian s m ay m I
til ci tize n s. Although many ' ' to so lve en viro n me n ta l pr ob ems .
in th e days o f slave ry, utilitarian ism wa s occasio na lly mi sused to suggest th.u I"f cal interventIOn t
IHlrin g we m ay n ee d po I I I 1:1 be rat 'l on ed o r cur tailed to pr even
, . . n s l OU c ' , "1
imposin g seve re hardship o n a minor ity (slaves) wa s ba lanced by a great benefit 1m ex am ple, if carbo n e m ls~ lo ' I_ everyo n e must be tr eat ed fa it y.
to man y othe rs (slave -ow ne rs an d th eir fam ilies). Obvio usly, suc h un fair d isto i fl lobal warm ing, political justi ce must prevai
tion illu st rat es th e d an gers in careless applicati on o f the et h ical th eo ries.
Mo reove r, eve n if we acce pt t hat benefits and burden s sho u ld be sh a red ° I C ments on Justice
eq ua lly, what is th e fair est interpret at ion of eq ua lity? For exa m ple: o rn e Fln a om . , n Classifyin g justi ce into it s differ ent
. ' y et h iClI deCislO. c • • • • t ' Iy
W\' see k [usn ce In eve r ' . tll 'l ca l theor y Il1c!Jscnmll1 a
• Ca n ad a 's in come tax sys te m is "graduat ed "; the tax rate in cr eases wilh . ' sigh t App lyll1g an e ' thi \
in com e, T ha t is, th e wealth y p ay a hi gh er rate than th e p oor. SOIlI\' I pes is h elp ful to ga m Il1 . '" . JI t " but unfai r an el u n jus t. To so lve c u ca
su it in decisio n s that are n g 1 ,
ad vocat es recommend a " flat" in come ta x that requires eve ryo ne to pa II\:l Yre
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226 PART TH REE· PROFESSIONAL lT Hl CS
CHAPH ll 1 1 • t't in cin! '5 of Et h ics an d Ju st ice 227
rnn slstcn t a round th e wo rld, in sp ite o f th e differ ent po liti ca l syste ms , cu l-

rural influences, a n d re ligious beli efs.
Pro fess io na l Asso ciat ion s a re em powered to wr ite a nd en fo rce Cod es o f
1.lh ics th at gu id e t h e professio na l co n d uc t o f enginee rs and ge osc ie n t ists.
i hcse cod es ar e also sur p rising ly co n siste n t. In frin gem en ts ca n lead to pen al-
II 's e n force d by th e p ro vin cla l ju sti ce sys te m o r by t h e Asso c ia t io n (as
-x plaln ed in Ch a pter 4) . Th e Co des of Ethi cs fo r th e p rovin cial and te rritori a l
Assoc ia t io ns ar e found in Appendix B.
•c ne ra l Principles
Codes of Et h ics usu all y include statem en ts o f ge n era l princip les, foll o wed by
instruc t io ns fo r s pe cific co n d uc t th at e m p h as ize t h e duti es to soci ety, to
«mp loycrs, to cl ien ts, to co llea gue s, to su bo rd in ates, to the professio n, and to
on ese lf. Althoug h th e va rio us co d es ex p ress th ese duti es differ ent ly, th eir
Photos 11. 7a and 11. 7b _ The eN "F' "F'
III tent and t h e results are ver y simi lar. Th e foll owing paragraphs su m m a rize
b . . ,ower, toronto (L eft) Th CN 7i
3~llyt:~r: 9~~ :a~ the w~rd~ tallest buildinq and freesta;ding struc~ure fo~1~~r
what the Cod es of Ethics h ave in co m mo n.
, n impressive Icon on the Toronto sk ti Th . I
of 553 metres (78 75 feet) a d ' th yune. e towernses to a heigl,' OUTY TO SOCIETY A professional e nginee r o r geoscien tist must co nside r hi s
Antennae on the'tower broad:a:~ si en~~;~e of telecommu.nicatio~s for Toronto. IH' her d uty to th e public- or to so c iety in ge nera l-as th e most important
communication companies The CN g7i '" ma~y Canadian rodio, television, an I duty. In o the r wo rds, p rof essiona ls h ave a d u ty to p rot ec t th e safety, h ealth ,
construction required inno:a tive tech~qW~;SIS :h tnbute to Canadian ingenuity. Its and we lfa re o f so ciety w he n eve r so ciety is affecte d by t heir wo rk. Thi s goa l is
su ti . e concrete core and three curved .u hievcd through professiona l se lf-regu latio n . Th at is, th e go vern m e n t del e-
ppor mg arms were formed using a novel "slip ~ "
jacks, which moved u . - o~m supported by hydraulic Wltes it s a ut ho rity to th e Asso cia tio n s, w h ich defi n e sta nd a rds of ad mi ssion ,
pwards, gradually dec~easmg m size, to create the tower's
eleqantl to ered
Ri ht T .
:9
deciare: th: CN :a,:pe. In 7 5, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
er one a th e Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
disci pline licensed m embers, and regu lat e t h e profession . This a rra nge m en t
benefits SOCiet y, becau se th e Associ ati o ns ensu re that professionals ar c co m-
~h;tO)Sh;:sd~Slr.~;~ the CN T~wer required extensive analysis and testing. The pctcnt, reli abl e, up-to-dat e, a nd eth ica l.
boundary layer ~ind t~~:;t:t~~;c~~i::~~~ ~; ~:s~~ ~~t:r~~ing tested in the OUTY TO EMPLOYE RS A professional eng ine er o r geoscien tist must act fairl y
.rnd loya lly to t he em p lo ye r, and m ust keep th e e m plo yer's bu sin ess co n fide n -
Sources: (Left) Corel "Toronto" CD 11462 019' (Ri
Tun~el Laboratory, University of Western Ont~ri ~ ~ Courtesy of The Boundary Layer Wille! 11011. Fu rthe rmo re, a professio na l is obliged to d isclose any confl ict of in terest.
Reprinted w ith permi ssion. o. anada Lands Company (CLC) Lim il<'e!
OUTY TO CLIENTS A p rof essional en gine er or geo scien tis t in pri vat e practi ce
has t he sa me ob ligati ons to cl ients as an em p loyee h as to th e em p loye r.
pr obl em s, we need th e eth ica l th eori es (t h e . I • , . •
o f ac tio n) b t t l ya re O U I gu ides to th e righ t co u r»
r U l e p rocess an d th e d ecision rr .
Et h ica l prin cipl es and fairn ess lead t . ' t i l ust m eet th e test o t fa irnes-, OUTY TO COLLEAGUES A p rofessional en ginee r o r geoscien tist must act wit h
pitfa lls. . ( 0 JU s Ice, a n d help us to avoid eth lra t rour tes y a n d go o d w ill to ward co lleag ues. T h is sim p le s tate m e nt of t ile
(;o ld e n Rule is su ppo rted by all four eth ica l t h eori es. Prof essiona ls sh o u ld n ot
permit Jersonal co n flicts to int erfer e wit h I~ss i o n al 'U;1 ;;-i iO"nsl~ps . Mo st
CO DE S OF ET H IC S AS GUIDES TO CON D U CT Codes of Eth ics state speci fica lly that fe llow professiona ls must be informed
whe n ever th eir work is reviewed .
To put eth ics in to pr actice tno I
t heories. Over th e cen t u rie~ rn os peop e wa nt clear ru les, n ot p h ilo so ph ic,i1
o n eth ics a n d justice but gi ~ . manIY l~ wS a r.ld reg Ulati Ol.ls h ave evolved ba sed I)UTY TO EMPLOYEES AND SUBORDINATES A professional e ng in eer o r geoscie n-
IIlg c care r gu lda nce Fo r ex: I ' . list m ust reco gni ze th e righ ts of o th ers, es pec ially if th ey ar e e m p loyees or
civ il laws a rc effec tive gUides t " . ... xa m p c, cl'lm lll a l a lld
o pelso n at co n d uc t. I h ese laws a re slllp risingiv subo rd in ates.
- - .....-
228 PART THREE · PROFESSIO NAL ETHICS CHAPTER 1 1 • Prin cipl es of Ethics ond Ju sti ce 229
DUTY TO THE PROFESSION A professional eng inee r or geoscien tist must main of the en viro n me n t and th e need for workplace health and safety. Clause 9
ta in th e d ignity and prestige of the profession, an d m ust avo id scan dalous Inst ruct s professio na ls to "r eport to th eir asso ciation o r ot he r appropriat e
dl sho no urab le, o r d isgraceful cond uct. agen cies any hazardou s, illegal o r un ethica l pro fessiona l decisions or practices
hy me m bers, licen sees or ot he rs."
DUTY TO ONESELF Finally, a professiona l eng inee r or geosc ien tist must ensuu-
th at th e duties to ot he rs are balanced by the individual's own rights. A pril MANITOBA Manitob a's Cod e of Et h ics was rev ised in 2000. It spec ifically
fessio nal person mu st insist o n ad eq uat e paym en t, a satisfactor y work envl state s th at breach es of th e code may be consid ered un skilled practi ce or pro-
ronm ent, and th e righ ts awarded to everyo ne th rou gh th e Charter of Righi I .sslo nal misconduct and thus subj ect to disciplinary action under the Act.
and Freedoms. The profe ssional also has a duty to strive for excellence and let This code is arranged as five basic "Canons of Co nduct" to guide professio na l
main tain com petence in t he rapidly changing tech n ical wor ld. behavio ur, The five cano ns co m prise 38 very spe cific clauses that offe r useful
advice on var iou s aspec ts of professiona l p ractice. Som e of the clauses in
Manito ba's code do not appear in ot he r codes, but are goo d ad vice for pro-
A Comparison of Codes o f Eth ics
lessional pra cti ce any whe re. Exam ples:
Th e pro vin cia l and territorial Cod es of Eth ics are co m pared and d iscussed
Ca n o n 1 con ta ins 3 clau ses th at specifically require practit ion ers to obey
below. The seven gen eral duties are in each code, but may be expressed dll
the laws of th e land . It also no tes some specific area s where co mp liance is
feren tl y. Som e Codes of Eth ics may im pose add itiona l dut ies. To read III"
necessary.
Code of Eth ics for your Associa tion, visit yo ur Association 's webs ite, Ip sted III
Ca n o n 2 co n tains 9 clau ses to help practitioners protect t he physical,
Appendi x A. The codes are also reproduced in Appendix B. \
eco nom ic, and enviro n men tal well-bein g of the publi c-wh ich is defin ed
as the "prime responsibility" of pra ctition ers-and em phasizes th e imp or-
ALBERTA Alberta's Code of Eth ics was revised in 2000 and is now su m ma
tance of qu alit y in professiona l work .
rized in a bri ef preamb le and five sim ple ru les of co nd uc t. Th e five rulv
Ca n o n 3 contains 13 clau ses ex plaining how to apply skill and knowl-
instruct professiona l engineers, geologists and geophysicists as follows :
edge to satisfy th e ne eds of a client or em ployer in a professiona l manner.
• In t heir areas o f practic e, to hold para moun t th e health, safety and wcl Several clauses descri be specific conflicts of int erest, and exp lain t hat they
fare of t he public and to hav e regard for the environment. are not acceptable.
• To undertake o n ly work that they are co m peten t to perform by virtue III Ca n o n 4 co n tains S clauses d escribing how to uph old th e hon our,
the ir training and ex per ience . in tegrity, and dignity o f th e profession. Among other things, th ese clau ses
• To co nduc t th ems elves with integrit y, honesty, fairn ess, and obj ect ivity III relate to th e exc ha nge o f information, proper ad vertising , and th e
th eir pro fessiona l activities. reporting of peop le who are vio lating the Act.
• To co m ply wit h app licab le statutes, regulatio ns, and by laws in th eir pil I Can o n 5 con tains 8 clauses that give very meaningful advice to practitioners
fcssiona l practices. to be fair to colleagues and to support their professiona l develo pm ent.
• To upho ld and en hance th e ho nour, d ign ity, and rep utation of th eir pil I
fession s and , thu s, the ability of th e profession s to serve the p uhlh NEW BRUNSW ICK New Brun swick's Code of Et h ics is found in Section 2 of th e
int erest. 'OOS APEGNB By-laws. Th e code ha s five par ts.
Alberta's code focuses on rules of personal cond uct, rather than on dill II' Fo re w o rd . Thi s co nc ise introduction su m marizes th e duties o f eng inee rs
to o t he rs. Thi s brev ity makes the code easier to read and to und erstand and geosc ien tists.
Alt houg h the code do es not explicit ly inclu de all of th e du ties desc n l u-d Professlo n a t Life. Th ese 9 clau ses set so me guidelin es for profess io na l
above, the APEGGA Guide for Ethicat Practice expands on the code and, III practice and person al co nd uc t. This part (like a sim ilar o ne in British
23 sub-clauses, co vers all of th e seven duti es co m mo n to th e othe r codes . I I o lu mbia's code) spec ifically includes protecti on of th e en viron me n t and
the need for workpl ace health and safety. A clause unique to th is code
BRITISH COLUMBIA British Colu mbia's Code of Eth ics was revised in 199'1. II adv ises p rofession als to "o bse rve th e rules o f professiona l co nd uct whic h
is clea r and succi nct, wit h 10 clau ses (similar to tho se o f several ot her provl n ap ply in th e co un try in whi ch th ey pra ctise and, if th ere are no suc h rules,
cial codes) th at spec ify the duties that professiona l engineers and geoscienlh i observe those establishe d by this Code of Ethics ."
owe to society, to client s or em ployers, to colleagues, to the profession, and I" Relat io ns with the Publfc. These 7 clauses focus on dealin gs with the
th em selves. In co n trast to some codes , clau se 1 specifically includes pro tect 1"11 general publi c. One of th ese clauses is unique in that it forbid s discrimination .
230 PAUl III RLI • PIWI [ SSIONAI IIIII CS
CIIAP I I R II • l' ti ll d " I" 1, (JJ [ t ll;cs (J11l1 Justi ce 231
• Relations with Clients and Employers. T h ese 17 c la us es d<'lII

m an y key a spect s o f professiona l pra cti ce-a ccepting ta sk s, e 11S 11I 1I 1 RING , ,s C oe Ie' o I' Ethi
O n ta rio . cs for e n g in ee rs conta in,s , a ll
tlNf ARIO- ENGINEE , in' 'I few u n iq u e cla us es, such as requ iring
sa fe ty, avo iding co n flic t of inter est , co ns ide ring e nv iro n me n ta l e ll l " I ,iI t ile d u ties listed a bove, in c lud g " t th e pl a ce of b us in e ss, a nd
recei ving pa yme nt, a nd so 0 11. l' I y h is o r h er lice n ce a c
I IIl' e n g in e e r to c ISP a , ' I' th eir cl ie nts t h at t h ey arc
• Relations with Engineers and Geoscientists. T hese 14 c1ausl 's • "I I, 'I ti g e n g rn ee rs to III or rn ,
" 'l liliri ng moon Igl III " th at may resul t from thi s
' " lp loy ed and to state a ny u: 1I ~
ce rn re lati on s with COlle ag ues , So me of th ese cl au ses g ive very Spl" " I' ita ti o n s o n SCI vice c ,
. A t' is un ique sin ce infractio n s of t h e
guidan ce; for exa m p le, t h ey u p h ol d t h e prin cipl e o f adeq uate co n llll'll ' " I' I' .io na l Engi neers c I , ,
loll us, O n ta rio s 1'0 eSSI , I A t less t he in fracti o n s arc cons id e red
tion , prohibit m ember s from usin g free e ng inee ring d esign s fro II I " 'I 1' , b le u nd er t l e c u n , ,
' llde a rc n ot e n orcea I' " ' I" co n d uc t w h ic h q ua llfl cs
pli er s in return for specify ing th eir product s, a n d in stru ct m embe rs Il c.1 I ' b le or lin p ro eSSlo nd ,
'd isg ra cefu l, di shonoura e , latio n defines professiona l
asso ciate with a ny e nte rp rise th at d o es n ot con fo rm to e t h ica l prac t i••, ' , I iscond uct A se p a ra te regu
lhvm as pr o tession a rru , I' , ce and inco m pe te nce, a nd
I ' ' \ d es h arassm e nt, neg Igen " ,
mlscondu ct, anc 11K u . 'I ' I. to con d uct is th e ref ore III two
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR T hi s provin ce 's Co d e o f Eth ics co m p ris«, ," I' 1'1' t I' in terest 1 re gu« e
«vcral fo rm s 10 co , n IC 0 I '1" ' t ' I' p ro fession al m isconduc t), O n e
I'lirls (t he Co c e 0 ~ lICS ,
introdu ction and three sect io ns th at s pecify t h e duti es o f th e professi " " ,1 I' Eth i an d th e e e uu Ion 0 , "
t be u nique to O n ta rio IS per-
' I t clause th a t seems 0
1 is n o t u~ pr ,actiti on e r to e ngage
e ng inee r o r ge oscie n t ist to th e publi c, to the cl ient o r e m p loye r, a n d til III
profession , It is cl ear, co nc ise (22 cla uses), a nd eas ily un d e rst OOd, pro fessio n a l mI SCOll( uc ,c .
mlu ing, co u n se llin g o r assisttng a ,I)c' rso,n w"10 IS
' I' ' I'l l e ng lnee n ng,
111 th e prac tice, o t p ro essio t c eers O n tario is cu rre n tly su rveying
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES NWT's Co de o f Et h ics h a s a p ream b le / ln d 12 Hili. , > 2009 Professio ,
na I I'~ n g m
ll c
o f Co n d uc t t ha t e nco m pass a ll o f t he seve n duti es a lluded to in th e prcv lon (Note: As o t Jun e
'
, ., ,
' t determ ine w le 1 I
1 t.1 er to change th e reg u lati on s to
c
ull pro fess io n a l eng ineers 0 , , I I ' t h e Act C h ec k th e PEO web -
sectio n , Th e prea m bl e to this co de e n t re a ts m em ber s to se rve in /l)[Jb lic af/,III make t he Co d e o f Et h ics fu lly en to rce,,' ~ c UIlC ei ,
wh en th ei r p ro fess io na l knOWledge may be n e fit the pub lic and to d e llllill li e for recent inform ati on on th is deci sion .)
strare u nde rsta nd in g for m embe rs-in -trainin g u n d e r t h e ir s u pe rv isio n ,
T he first ru le sp ec ifica lly requ ires e n g inee rs, geo logi st s, and geo p h ysir h l " n t ario Co d e of Ethics for geosc ie n tis ts is very
I NTARIO-GEOSCIENCE I he 0 " 1 ti 1 e leven sec t io ns a n d m an y su b-
to ha ve proper regard for th e ph ys ica l en v iro n me n t. Th e co de incl udes IIi, '
I' t in s a n in t roc uc 10 1 r , ,
.nmprchc nsive . t co n a " , ' a ll o f th e d ut ies typica lly
dut y to ad vi se th e provincia l regi st rar of an y pra ct ices by o t he r m embe rs "I , ns, The eleven sectio n s, w h ic h en compass c
ccuo
th e Asso ciati on that a rc co n t ra ry to t h e Co de of Eth ics , tonneI 'In Co des, of Et
~ h ics , arc t itl ed as fo llows:
Se rv ice and Hu man We lfare

NOVA SCOTIA-ENGINEERING T h e Nova Scotia e n g inee ring co de is ca lle d til' Pu b lic Under standing
Ca n o n s o f Et h ics a n d is an a p pen d ix to t h e By-La ws, Th e code is co m p re h t'lI Bus iness Ethi cs
sivc (2H clauses) a n d co n ta ins c la u ses a n d duti es typi cal o f th e o the r Act s, Ti ll Du ty to Ot hers and t h e Env iron ment
co d e is un ique, h owev er, in that it in stru ct s e n g inee rs to refrain from co nd u, I
C o m pe te n ce and Know ledge
co n t ra ry to th e public go od, eve n if directed by th e e m p loye r or clie n t to i ll I Sig n in g a nd Seali ng of Do c u m e nts
in suc h a mann er, a n d sim ila rly in stru cts e m p loye rs n ot to direct e m p lo yel' Fait h fu l Age nt or Trustee
to p erform act s that arc unprofessiona l or co n tr a ry to th e publi c good ,
Co n flic t of In ter est
O ve rru lin g of Jud gm e nt
NOVA SCOTIA-GEOSCIENCE Th e Nova Scotia geoscie nce Co d e of Ethi cs h a s all
Profes siona l Adve rt ising
in trod uc tio n and 12 c la uses t hat co ve r a ll o f th e duti es, ex p ressed in fa m ilial
term s, Se ve ra l less co m m o n te rm s in cl ud e dut ies to repo rt a n y ill ega l II I Brea c h o f Co d e , .. .. I
u n ethi ca l geosc ie n ce dec isio ns, a nd to assist geosc ie n ce so c ie ties, sc h o o ls, a lld ' , " , , ' .,' n ce Co d e o f Et h ics is spccl f ica l ly d elln~ e
A brea ch o t O n tario s geosCle " , .. t wit h t h e O n ta rio
th e sc ie nti fic geosc ie nce press, > ,' ' I u scon du ct . ( I h is co n t ras s
as a n ac t o f profession a n .." I f s p rofessiona l mi sconduct se para te ly.)
Pro fessiona l Eng in ee rs Act, w h ic 1 e e m e
NUNAVUT The fed era l govern m ent created th e territory o f N u n av u t in 199 ) ,
C
'1'1 i grn , g C 0 d co f Et
, ccnn , h ics, for PEl is clea r a n d
a nd t h e Asso c iation of Professiona ls, Geo log is ts a n d Geo p hys ic is ts of th« PRINCE EDW ARD ISLAND ic er , I ' I 26 clauses under t h e h eadin gs
' , ti g o f a Io rew orc ,IllC c ,
No rt h wes t Territori es (NAPE G G) wa s g ra n te d a u t ho rity to regulate th e profes co m p re h e n s ive, co ns is m , , , I I' b lic Re lat ion s w it h C lie n t s a n d
of Profcssio na ~I e,
' , I 1 ' 1' Rel ati ons WIt h t i e U ) 1 , c
s io ns o f en g in ee rin g, geo logy, a nd ge o p hys ics in N u nav u l. Un ti l N u n a v u t c , " All of th e d ut ies m en ti on ed above
e n ac ts its Ow n Co d e o f Et h ics, readers sho u ld co ns u lt th e Co de o f Et h ics 1'0 1 I I, I tio ns Wit h Enginee rs.
Em p lo ye rs, a nc ce a I , I_ >1 ' PEl t hat p rovi n ce h as n o
th e No rt hwest Terri tories, arc included , Since geoscie nce IS u n regu atec in ,
co d e for geo sc ie n t ists,
232 PART THREE· PROFESS I ONAL ETHICS
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- CHAPTER 11 • Principles of Eth ics and J ustice 233
QUEBEC-ENGINEERING Quebec 's Co de o f Eth ics fo r eng ineers is th e lo ngesl «II A ST RAT EG Y FOR SOLVING COMPLEX ETHICAL PROBLEMS
a ny provin ce (o ver 70 clauses) and h as a unique arran gem ent. The basil
duties not ed ea rlie r are all rep resented in th e code . Besid es th ese, th e co de Ila The Codes of Ethics are usefu l guides for professiona l practi ce. Most et h ical
clauses th at define add itio nal duties for eng inee rs a nd that also provid e useful decision s are sim ple, an d we so lve th em by using co m mo n se nse . However,
pro fessiona l ad vice. The Que bec code is far too co m p lex to sum marize hell', some et h ical probl ems ca n be mor e cha lleng ing, perha ps becau se logic sug-
but is include d in Appe nd ix B. Eng ineers from other provin ces ma y well Iiud gests o ne decision, but yo ur intuition (or yo ur emot ions) tells yo u a not he r. A
its det ailed cla uses of interest and va lue. strategy for so lving th ese ethica l dil emmas is useful. Even if yo u never use th e
orma l strategy for eth ical probl em s, it is reassu rin g to kn ow it exis ts.
QUEBEC-GEOSCIENCE The Que bec Geo log ists Act ca me into force in Aug u-, t Engin ee rs a n d geoscie n t ists ha ve a n adva n tage in reso lvin g et h ica l
200 1. Th e O rde r o f Geo log ists o f Q ue bec prepared a draft Code of Ethir-; dilemmas, since prob lem-so lvin g and decision -making techniques are a rou-
wh ich is p resently bein g stud ied for adoption by th e Qu ebec go vern ment line part of th eir pro fession al ed uca t io n. The desig n pro cess provid es th e
Th e dra ft code is ver y lon g co m pa red to o the r co des (except th e O IQ co de), tram ework for an et h ical prob lem -so lvin g strategy.
and includ es all of th e duti es sugge sted above, to th e public, th e clien t, 111l'
em ploye r, a nd th e professio n . One sectio n co nce rns rul es for adver tis ing . he Des ign Process /
SASKATCHEWAN Saskat chewa n' s Code of Ethics is o ne of the sho rtes t (2 malu New designs do n ot sp ring fu lly develo ped into th e m ind of th e designer.
cla uses a nd 9 sub-cla uses). Neve rthe less, it in cludes a ll of th e typ ical dull, ' Crea tio n requires a series of ste ps, in cluding inspi ration an d dedu ctio n, in th e
specified earlier, in clu d ing the d ut y to report any possible illega l practices, pro light o rde r and at th e right ti me . The process usuall y begin s with a vague ly
fessio na l incompeten ce, o r professiona l m isco nd uct to th e Associatio n, and tlu I' .rceivcd need , and en ds by imp lem ent ing a p lan t ha t sat isfies th e need . Th e
dut y to be awa re of th e societa l and env iro nme n ta l co nse q ue nce s of projects, vtcps in t he desig n process ar e typi ca lly as fo llow s:
I. Recogni ze that a problem o r need exists, a nd ga the r informati on abo ut it.

YUKON Yukon's Co de of Eth ics for Engin eers ha s 29 claus es, which cove r 1111
Define clearly th e probl em to be so lved, and a ny co ns train ts that limit
seven basic duti es noted in th e ea rlier sec tion . Since geoscience is unregu lated
in Yukon , no Co de of Ethics ex ists for geoscien tists. t he so lutio n .
Thi s overview shows that th e codes for each pro vin ce a nd territor y are shu
:1. Ge ne rate or prop ose alt ern ative solutions o r m ethod s to ac h ieve th e goa l
ilar, but n ot identi ca l. Th e co des are useful guides to personal co n d uc I
(synthesiss.
4. Evaluate th e ben efit s a nd cos ts of alte rna t ive so lutio ns (analysis).
Ad herence to a provin ce's Code of Eth ics is not vo lun ta ry, nor is it a lofty idl',11
Choose th e o ptim u m design (or re-defin e th e prob lem and rep eat th e
th at wo uld be "n ice, bu t not essen tial" to achie ve. In every jurisdict ion (except
process) .
On tar io), th e Code of Ethics is enforceable under th e Act, a nd clea r violatlo u
h. Im p leme n t th e best solution .
of th e code may result in disciplinary ac tio n in th e form o f a reprimand, SII
pen sion , o r ex pulsio n fro m th e profession, as descr ibed in Cha pte r 4. III Whe n faced with a problem o r need , many people wan t to " jum p in " and
On ta rio, Regu lation 94 1 under th e Professiona l Engin eers Act defin es prou- olve it imm ed iat ely. How ev er, th e ear ly ste ps are cr it ical; acti on with out
siona l misconduct separately from th e Code of Eth ics. thought is usually fooli sh .
TECHN ICAL SOC IET IES A ND CO DES OF ETH ICS

Alm ost every techn ical soc iety pub lishes a Code of Eth ics. Severa l o f tilt' , AIJp lying the Design Pro ce s s t o Ethical Problems
codes are in App end ix C, a nd th e code for th e Nat io na l Socie ty of Professio n II rile des ign process is actua lly a meth odi cal problem-so lving techn iqu e. It ca n
Enginee rs (NSPE) is in Append ix D. The NSPE code is ve ry sim ilar to III, Ill ' mo d ified into a st rategy fo r solving eth ical pro blems, as follows:
p rov lncia l codes, a n d ha s bee n en do rsed by man y en ginee ring soclc uo
Ho wever, th ese codes ar e vo lu n ta ry guides to conduct and sho uld no t be CO i l I , RECO G N IZ E T H E EXI STENCE OF A PRO BLEM AN D GATHER IN FO RM AT ION
fused wit h t h e Asso ciation Co des of Ethi cs (d isc usse d ab o ve), w h ic h ;11 iii hical prob lem s may be diffi cu lt 10 recogn ize, especia lly in th e ea rly stages.
e nforcea ble und er pro vin cia l o r territoria l Act s. In techn ica l soc iet ies, ,I I I Ilt'grettab ly, so me prof essiona ls are sim ply unaware th at they are resp on sib le
in fractio n of th e Co de of Ethics ma y lead to reprim and o r expu lsion fro m 11 11 IIII' I he safety of th eir work a n d fo r avoid ing ad verse impacts o n soc iety and
society, but suc h pe na lt ies a re ex t re me ly rar e. In Ca na da, th e licen s!u I III.' enviro n men t until th ey a re charge d with infracti on s of th e Code of Eth ics.
Associat ions a re far more effec tive in enforc ing th eir Codes o f Eth ics, a nd III Whe n a prob lem is recog n ized, it is usually vag uely defin ed . We must inves-
regul at ing professional co n d uct. lzat e it tho rough lv, and so lve it imoartl all v, (No te th at th ese a re th e kcv
235
CHAPTER 11 • Pri ncipl es o] Et hics nnd J us ti ce
23/. PAIlI III IlLL • PllorL IONAI [l Il IC
. . efits acc rue as a result of thi s so lu tio n, and

aspec ts of n atural [ust ice.) We typi cally ask th e q uestion s th at all news repo ru-i Utilitarian cllncs. W I1dt ben . . ' I P Are the ben efit s and h ardshi ps
for who m? What hardsh ip s are \I1 VO vee .
are tau ght to ask: W ho, What, Where, When, Why, How? For exam ple:
eq ually d istr ibuted'? . I . )lied to eve ryo ne eq ua lly?
• Wllo is in vo lved '? (Identify th e individuals inv o lved , and their m otiva tio uv I I . Can thi s so lutio n ie ap] I
Duty-based et ncs. ' . I' I tth st and the scr uti ny o f yo ur co -
• W /1l7! typ e o f harm o r damage ha s occ ur red (or may pot entially occur)' Ca n the so lutio n be pubh sh ee anc WI
• w here, when, wil y, and now has ha rm occ ur red (or ma y potentia lly OCClll)1
leag ues and t he public'? . ' I ' cspec t th e rights of all parti ci-
For exa m p le, a man ufact uring process, o nce th ought to be harml ess, 11101 \ Ri Tilts-b a sed et h ics. Does th is so uuon r . ."
g /I . Does anyo ne su ffer harm:
")" ' . '
be sus pec te d as a ca use of ca nce r o r toxicity in the wo rkplace. Th is is a n elli pa n ts (o r sta keho lders . . , clo p o r su ppo rt virtues? Is
l · Does the solutio n (lev
ica l (and perh ap s a legal) problem , becau se wo rkers ca n not be placed at 1'1\1 Vi r t u e -b a se d e t n cS. , t ble ex tremes '? In particu lar,
in thi s way. How ever, m o re in fo rm atio n is needed . A su perviso r m us t nll'.'1
with th e peop le in th e wo rkp lace, and d ocumen t an y inciden ts t ha t mi ght
::~:~~~~~i~:~ l:\t ;~~e~~~il~~~~:~ ~~:~~t:I~I~I~~~~~~)I;ofessiOn?
su p po rt thi s allegati on . Inform at ion abo ut the manufacturing process a nd 1111 NG AND OPTIMIZATIO N .
toxic agent must be gathe red a nd verified to co nfirm th is suspicio n. If III . ~ . D ECI SIO N MAKI ' . ' ' sis one co u rse of ac tio n usu all y satis-
in formati on shows a clear and p resent da nger, th en actio n m ust be take n II I \ ELECT T HE OPTIMUM Du n ng th e <l1~c1IY
ti1er ' this co urse of acti on is the best
lies the above qu esti ons better than any 0 ,
protect those at risk (as d iscussed in Cha pte r 8) . Ho wever, in most cases, 11 ' 1
acti on sho uld be taken until all o f th e releva nt in formation has been co llcc t« t or OfJt i /1I11/1I so lutio n .
a nd ex a m ine d , becau se t he prope r co urse of action ma y be qu ite diffe rout In so me cases, the alte rna tives are eq ua lly bal-
nECONSIDER ANY DEADLOCKS . I '1 Slll)erio r Wh en this h appen s, yo u
from wha t was in itia lly ex pec ted . e of act lo n IS c ca t y . I f I
.mccd , an d no co u r s , f the beginnin g, and an swer t re 0-
must t race back th rou gh the process rom
2 . D EFI NE THE ETH ICAL PROBLEM
Th e next ste p is to defin e t he et h ica l root of t he prob le m . You m ust ask yo ui lowin g questi ons:
se lf: Wh at ex ac t ly is wro ng? What is unfai r a bo ut th e situa tio n ? Do a ll\ . f . riation been gat he red?
Has a ll the necessary In o t I ,
ac tio ns co nt rave ne th e law, th e Associatio n 's Co de of Eth ics, or an y other law W,'\S th e I)rob lem defined c1e.>arl y? . I"
. " I ncernee r
o r regu lati o ns ? Ofte n what first appear ed to be a n et h ical problem was rea l" Have I so ug h t advi ce trom th e I: eo p e C? b erloo kcd'
a rumour, a mi sunderstanding, o r a di sag reem ent ove r technica l fact s. W hen • > . , npro rmse solut io n ee n ov ,
Has an a lte rna tive 0 1 .COl , I It 1'\ti ve been fully evaluate d?
th e fact s are full y kn own , ac tio n ma y be un necessa ry o r obvio us, and yo u call , e nces o t cac 1 a en ,
Have a ll th e co nse q u . f i t 'est affecti ng my jud gm ent'?
skip di rec tly to th e imp lementatio n step. However, in so m e cases, th e et hic al • Is a person al ben efit or co n fitct 0 m et ,
probl em is indeed an eth ica l di lemm a with no clear ly co rrect answer. YOIII > c uesti ons ca n be answer ed sat isfac to rily
next job is to ge ne rate po ssib le so lut io ns . RESOLVE DEAD~OCKS l~ the ab ove e ~f act io n , yo u sho uld probab ly selec t th e
and th er e is stil! no o pttm ut u co urs fit t yo u as th e decision m aker. In
3 . GENERATE ALTER NAT IVE SOLU TI ON S (SYN TH ESIS) , I 10t yield a ben e I 0 r c •
cou rse of ac tio n that uoes I . I ' ny per sonal ben efit, becau se It
This ph ase of problem so lving requires crea tive thoug ht and is usu all y diffl a closely balan ced decisio n, yo u must avo tc a
cult. Man y alte rn atives may ex ist, and th ey mu st all be co ns ide red if we all' will appea r to be bias. st select a nd fo llow th e
to find th e o pt im um so lutio n . Th e creative met hods used for so lving deslgu f . . w olved then yo u mu
If no pe rso nal ben e It IS 1l , . t Thi s in volves a persona l
probl em s (suc h as brainstorming) apply eq ua lly to et h ica l prob lem s. Avoid all " der m ost appropn a e. '
et h ica l th eor y th at yo u co n~1 > ;1 clear co nsc ience, since yo u m ad e th e
et h ica l dil emma with two eq ua lly und esirab le co ur ses of ac tio n . Crea tive value jud gm ent , but yo u wil l h ave .
thinking wil l a lmost a lways yield a better alt ernative. decisio n carefu lly, logicall y, a nd etll1cally.
4. EVA LUATE ALTERNATI VE SOLUT IO NS ( A N AL YSIS)

. . alua tio n we wo uld double-ch eck that th e
FAIRNESS CHECK Finally, 111 OU.I ~v" , 1fair co nd itio ns o r unexp ected
T he co urses of ac tio n are th en a nalyze d and co m pared. As a first test, th e so lu '. '1'1 t is d oes It Im pose any U I , I
solutio n was tair. ra , I ti 1 passes th e fairness test , t len
tio n (or decision ) must satis fy th e law and the Code of Et h ics. If t he laws and 'side effects o n th ose co ncerned? If the so u 101 ,
t he co de do not a pp ly to th e case, th en we wou ld lo o k to th e eth ica l th eories, you can defend yo ur decision fu lly.
Finall y, in o ur eva lua tion , we would as k whether the so lu tio n has a ny un faii
side effects. Th e a na lysis can be sum m arized in th e follow ing qu esti ons: 6. I M PLEME N T THE SOLUTIO.N '. , . t Altho ug h th e app rop riat e ac tio n
. I lecision IS the nna : s ep . ., I
• Le g a lit y. Does th e so lutio n sa tis fy th e law and the Associ atio n 's Code 0 1 Imp leme n t ll1g t ie c . I . ' I Ie to act quick ly and decisive Y
will va ry from case to case, it is usua lly ac VISd ) ,
Eth ics'?
236 PART THREE ° PRO FESSIONAL ETHICS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _C_H_A_P_T_ER_l_l_O Principl es of Eth ics and Ju sti ce 237
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
wh en ethic a l decisio ns a re required , espec ially if health , safety, o r sorneone's In et h ics, as in an y di scipline, practi ce makes per fect. Tha t is, testing yo ur
reputation is a t sta ke. problem-sol vin g abi lity will imp rove it. Th e next th ree cha pte rs illustra te
appl ica tio ns of eth ics a nd justi ce using case st ud ies from profession al em ploy-
A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THIS STRATEGY
ment, managem ent, or private pra cti ce.
Thi s st rategy may see m too forma l, but tr y it a few times. After applying it rig-
orously to a few pr act ical probl ems, read ers find th at th ey recogni ze eth ical
pattern s, a n d ca n se lect a ppro priate so lu tio ns qu ickl y a nd intuiti vely. The D I S CUSSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
formal stra tegy is need ed o n ly for diffi cult cases.
I. Codes of Eth ics typi cally forbid sta te me n ts that maliciou sly injure th e rep -
• Utilitarian b ias. Thi s st rategy is so me times criticized for being weighted utation o r busin ess of ano the r profession al. Some peopl e might co ns ide r
too heavily toward utilitari ani sm . It aims for so lutio ns that satis fy all o f the a p rohibition aga ins t mali ciou s sta te me n ts to be an in frin gem en t o n
four eth ica l th eo ries (or at least most of th em ); in that sense, thi s sea rch fo: freedo m of speech. For exam ple, if a co lleague makes a ser ious erro r in
relative balance is itself a form o f utilitariani sm . How ever, thi s sho uld lx- jud gm ent, or eve n a serious calcu latio n e rror, pointing il out in good faith
an adva n tage, becau se eng ineers a nd geosc ien tists are acc usto me d to uti li wo u ld be ben eficial. Writ e a brief di scu ssion to defin e th e bound ar y
tariani sm; aft er all, it is at the roo t of most applied scie nce . be twee n stateme n ts th at are justified critic ism and th ose th at are clea rly
• Et h ics, morality, and religion . Read er s will note th at th e term ma licious. In yo u r answer, define th e te rms "ma licious," a nd "good faith ."
"mo rality" is rarely used in this textbook, even th ough morality and ethics 2. Some Codes of Ethi cs include duti es th at do not appear in oth er codes .
mean virtually th e same thing. Th e term "ethics " is th erefore used for co n Exa m ine th e Co de o f Et h ics for yo ur Assoc iat ion. Does it require profes-
siste ncy, Also, religion is a n impo rtant aspec t of et hics an d moralit y. Man sio na ls to
of the eth ical th eori es have t he ir roo ts in religiou s teaching, a nd when
• ad vertise in a di gnified, professional manner "?
applied to ethica l problem s, religi ou s precepts usuall y agree with th e ct h-
• report infra ction s of th e Co de of Ethi cs to the regi strar of til e
leal th eori es. For man y Ca nad ians , religion is th e most important guid« ,
Associati on "?
Howeve r, in keeping with th e Ca na d ian Cha rter of Rights and Freedo ms,
• set fees based o n th e di fficulty o f th e wo rk and th e degree of respon -
professiona l decision s mu st be indep endent of an y specific religion.
sibility"?
• Other methods of applted ethics. Many other fo rmal meth ods have
• refu se to pay co m m issio ns or reduce fees to obtain professional work '?
been prop osed for et h ica l problem solving, but non e is uni versally recog
• obey th e law o f th e land"?
nized . Method s for "applied eth ics," or iginally ca lled "mo ral cas uistry," gil
bac k over th ree cent uries. Casuistry began in th e 17th ce ntury and was a "sill For eac h o f the a bove clau ses: Is thi s duty specified in yo ur Code o f
cere effort to apply rigorous sta n dards of critica l argument to th e qu estio n', Eth ics"? If not, do you agree that th e clau se is an appropriate gu ide for
of moral co nd uc t." 12 This olde r method is very different from th e prob lem professio na l co nd uct? Exp lain yo u r reasoning briefly.
solving tech niqu e discussed h ere. In fact, th e term "casuistry" is now a vel ' :L Crit ics of Mill's utilitar ianism say th at this ethica l th eo ry is relati vistic,
dispa raging label for argume n ts th at are poorl y formed o r hyp ocritical. since it dep ends on su b jective co m par iso ns an d co uld yield different
resu lts under sligh tly different co nd it io ns . Even wor se, utilitarianism ca n
The strateg y proposed in thi s ch apte r is merely on e more to o l-a 10 01,
en co urage narrowly pra ctical and /o r se lfish atti t udes becau se acts are
how ever, th at e ng inee rs a nd geoscien tists may find useful for solving eth ical
seen as et hica l if th ey in crease pleasu re o r redu ce pain. Co nve rse ly,
problems.
Kant's duty-based eth ics is based o n absolute rules th at encourage hon -
esty, un selfishness, eth ical characte r, a nd se lf-sacrifice, an d Kan t ex pec ts
CONCLUDING COMMENTS ON ETHICS AND JUSTICE everyo ne to follow th e same ru les, thus creating an ethic al co ns iste ncy .
Man y peo ple have an intuiti ve sense o f ethics; th ey a pply th eir Code o f Ethir s Deba te th e ben efits and disad vantages o f th ese two th eor ies of eth ics.
eas ily, a nd th ey have th e in nate crea tive ability to ge ne rate ethica l an d fait Co m pa re a n d co n tr as t th e rela ti ve n a ture of utili tari a n ism wit h I h e
so lutio ns . Fo r the rest of us, th e m eth odi cal strategy ex pla ine d in this chapr.« absolute nature of duty-based et h ics by providing at least o ne exa m p le
ma y help to develop th e ability. Th e st rategy may be applied to personal cth where eac h would differ an d wh ere eac h would agree.
ical probl em s (also ca lled "m icro-ethical " probl em s) or to larger societal, e nvi I\ dd itio n al assign me n ts a re locat ed in Appen d ix E, an d case st ud ies illus -
ro n me n ta l, or hum anitar ian eth ica l p robl em s (also ca lled " macro-et hic al" Iiolling et h ics and justi ce in em ploy men t, man agem en t, a nd p riva te prac tice
p robl em s). J:l li n ' fou nd in th e next three cha pte rs.
238
PAin TIfREE • PROFESSIONAL [ Ilfles
NOTES
/1/ Thi.s cha p ter is based on hundreds of Sources I' . .. .

marn work suppo rting each of tI f l ' " ublre<ltJOns are cited on ly for Iii,
' l
o f t Ilese works are readily aV'lilabln f
e our et llcal
.
th eories
,
Co '
.
(
pies or rep roducllllll I
hapt er 12
. 1I . f
.I ) c III ull on the Internet.
' , , ~ rom vanous' I)ublish ers,' an cI several are av,,11
/2/ .J.T Steve nson "Philosophy," '1" C
I,'ounda tion of" , IIC
Canada Toronr n , " 1 I I '
I' ,
ana , /1111 1' lIcycl o!Jedi C
II,
'
opyrtghr, Histori c II
t hics in ProfessionaL
' , dVtl l a ) e at <www.ca
' anacf'lan encyclop edia ,ca
(M ay 24, 200S),
/3/ J,S, Mill, Ul i l itaria ll iS/II, publi sh ed b Park ' . . mpLoyment
reproduced in Ulilill/riall i~/1I 0 1 '/ er, ~o n and Bourn, Lond on, 1863
Go\!('nlllleJIl (eel II B A 't' )' II ,~ Jerly and COll sidera tiolls Oil Represm la/ive'
, " c on r publi sh ed by J M De t & 5
also avai lable in full at <lltI p '/!I ks ' . n . ons Ltd" London I" lilt
/4 / I. Ka n t, n il' lvlelaphys'i CofEl hfo' )~~9s7,g(t)oglel',ca> (May 2S, 200S). '
' I I by "Ihornas Clark
PU II) ISicc " Fd "in b ,' rans' ated from , Germ an 1iy Jj . W, Sell1pl,
. ',
<h tt p://b?Oks,gOogle. ca> (Ma~ 2S, ~~~~) .I S36, ava llabto in full at
/51 ,)" l ocke, I'll'0 Tl 'eaI'iscs 0 f Governm ent 1690
London, IS24, available in full 'II <1~ ttl)"/II' re~roduced by C. BaldWin, prinu-r , Mo st e ng inee rs a n d geosc ie n t is ts a re professi on a l e m p loyees, w orkin g in
/6/ Govern men t of Can ada "II", C ' tt (;1 )00 ·s.google.ca> (May 28, 2008).
to the Cana da Act 1~S~' "IV'I' I' {I"IIIII, Wil l tar ter of Rights
'
( May 2S, 200S).
r , 1.1) e at < lttp'// www law . ti
.
r: Freedo/ll s, Schc d uh- II
. , S· IUS Ice.gc.ca/en /cha rtl"
team s o n c ha lle ngi ng proj ect s. An overw h el m ing maj o rit y o f them a re sa tis-
lied w it h their wo rkin g co n d it io ns , according to a co m p re he ns ive survey by
17/ Aristotl e, lithica N icnomactie« c '~ 22 ell' . I\ng in ee rs C a n ad a (summar ized in C h a pte r 6) . t Ho w eve r, workin g co n d itio ns
Nichomach us. The work or ' . ': ' f lICS lectures tran scribed by Aristotl e's SII I I .irc n ot und er th e co n t ro l o f th e licen sing Assoc ia tio ns; individual s mu st
'. , reViewS 0 II are wid I ' ' 1'1
ivla sle'1J1eces o] Worl d Phi losophy (e I FN M' c y ava : d rle: for exa mple, 51' 1' negot ia te, a n d must in si st o n , professional sta t us a n d wo rkin g con d it io ns ,
IS/ I.. Duha ime "Justice " L " II)' I ~ (. . . ~gl ll), Ilarp erCollin s Publishe rs 1 )"1
~ , , (s a IC WII{/IY, avarlable at ' ' In this c ha p te r, we di scuss pr acti ce and et h ics issu es that a rise in profes-
19/ ~~tW.d u l~,a l me.(~I:g/Lega I Dict iona ry. aspx> (May 2S 200S) sio n a l employm ent. Th ese issues in clud e technica l a uth ority, workplace di s-
.. . olum, I.egal Ihcory Lexi con 0] S· Jus ' . » . r •
Ja n uary I] , 2004, available at <lsolum . tico, poston on Legal Theory Lexicon putes, a n d co n flic ts of inter est. We a lso exa m ine th e professiona l resp onse to
2004/o 1/ legaf theory le 2 11tllll>' U .tY ]S
Pepad.co m/ legal_theorY_lexicon/ un et h ica l m an ager s, th e limits o f an em p loye r's auth ority, a n d w h ist le-b lowing .
/ 101 G - - - . un e 2009)
J ove ~nll1 en t of Canada, The Cl/l ladh/ll CIII;rl " f ' ' , . • Five case st u d ies illu strate th ese workplace issu es a n d e t h ica l dil emma s, and th e
1II 1 ASSOCIati on of I'rofessio rn l En " ' •. . C' ( ~ O RIShl.~ {/I1I11'reedo/ll s, Clause III cha p te r closes with th e Ctui ltenge: space shuttle di sa st er : a traged y that co u ld
(AI'I'GG ' gme cis, ,eologlsts and Geopl ."
~ , .A), Cll ide f ill' El h iCIII Pm cl iC' . . '1 1I '. ' I
f
IYSICIStS 0 Alberta
200S). c, avai a) c at <www.apegga.com> (May 2S, have been pr evented , but th e technical ad v ice of an e ng inee r was over-ru led .
/121 J. Haldan e, "Applied Eth ics," in Tlldl/ackw ' . .
N. Bun n in and E.I'. Tsui-Ja mes) BI"k . ~ " ~OIlI!}(/1I1011 to Pllliosophy (cd.
pp. 494-4 9S. ' de well lublrshlng, Oxford , 2003, TECH N ICA L AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
/ 13/ J;R. l lcrkert , "Microe thics, Macroethi cs and I' . . .. " Acce p ti ng an em p loy me n t o ffe r crea tes a co n t rac t. The em p loye r ac q u ires the
E/IIelgillS Tecl/llolo'{ie~ and Eth ic II " . '. , . rofession n] I~ngm eering Societies"
. . ' , I 1/ ssucs /II EII'{/lleerill'" I' / ' Ii ' authori ty to set legitimate goals, a n d in struct th e e m p loyee; th e e m p loyee agrees
N at lona
.
l Academ y of Engtnccrt
'
a
erlllg, C[ober 14-I S 20 0 '~
. o' a JUS fII /II a Worksho/J
,
at <www.nap.edu/ calaIO"/ 1HlS" ht I (M r r pp. 107-11 4, availahl<'
10 use hi s o r h er p rof essional ability to ac h ieve th e em p loyer's goa ls, a n d in
c> ,J. m > ay 28, 200S), return, o b ta ins a p p ro p ria te co m pe ns a tio n and working conditions. However,
so m et im es t he e m p loye r and e m p loyee di sa gr ee o ve r professional o r et h ica l
issu es .
T he n eed for e m p loye r a u t ho rity is o bvio us; lack o f d irecti on cou ld lead
to c h ao s and bankruptcy. T h e e m p loye r must have management a u t h ority to
direc t th e co m pa ny's resources, wh er eas th e professiona l mu st have techni cal
au t h or it y to a p p ly e ng in ee ring or geoscie n t ific kn o wl ed ge a n d s kills . In a
we ll-ru n o rgan iza t io n, th e di stinction bet w een managem en t a n d technical
aut ho rity is well und er st ood; pr ofession al s show mutua l resp ect , a n d coo p-
erat e to ac h ieve t h e e m p loyer's goa ls.
Ho w ever, w ha t wo u ld yo u d o if yo u r e m p loye r ove r-ru led yo u, o r asked
yo u to pe rfo rm acti vities that a re illega l o r un ethi cal'! T hese problem s are n ot
co m m o n , but d o occur. Let u s co ns ide r a ran ge of cases .
238 PART THREE · PROFESSI ONAL O llI E
NOTES
II I Thi s ch apter is based o n hundred s o f so urces. Publi cati on s are cited o n ly fill 1111 apt er 12
m ain wor k suppor ting eac h of th e four eth ica l th eori es. Co pies (or rcpro d urt hIII
o f th ese work s arc readil y ava ila ble fro m va rio us publish ers, and seve ra l arc 111',11 1
a ble in full o n th e lnt crnet . I 'l hies in Professional
12 1 .I.T. Steve ns o n , " Ph ilosop hy ," Th e Canad ian Encyclopedia, Co py righ t, Historl . II I
Fou ndatio n of Ca n ada, Toronto, ava ila ble at <www.can ad ia ne ncyclo pcd la.. , I
(May 24 , 200S). l.mployrnent
131 j .S, Mill , Utititutia nism, publi sh ed by Par ker, So n and Bourn , Lond on, I S6:1 ,
re p rodu ced in Ut i l ltari an ism, a ll Libert y a nd Considerations 0 11 Representative
Go vernment (cd . [-LB. Act on ), publish ed by j .M, Dent & Sons Ltd ., London , 1'/ /1
a lso ava ila ble in full a t <h tt p:/ / boo ks.goog]e.ca> (May 2S, 200S) .
141 I. Kan t, The Metll plty sic of" Ethics, 1797, tran slat ed from Germa n by .I.W, Sen ll' l,
pu bl ish ed by Th omas C la rk, Ed inburg h, IS36, ava ila ble in full a t
<h tt p:/ / boo ks.google. ca> (May 2S, 200S).
151 J . Locke, Two T reatises of"Covenll llell t, 1690, rep roduced by C. Baldw in, prlnur , 111\ 1 L' ng in ee rs a n d geosc ie n tis ts a re pr ofessi onal e m p loyees, wor kin g in
Lon don , IS24, ava ila ble in full at <h ttp:/ / boo ks.google.ca> (May 2S, 200S). 1," IIIS o n c h a lle n g in g pr oj ect s. An ove rw helm ing m aj ority of th em a re sa tis-
161 Governme n t o f Ca nad a, ni l' Canadian Charter of"Uishts an t! Freedoms, Sched uh I 111 '01 with t he ir work ing co nd itio ns, according to a co m pre he ns ive sur vey by
to th e Canada Act 19S2, ava ilab le at <h tt p:/ / www.laws.justice .gc.ca/en /charl.·1
(May 2S, 200S).
I II HIIIL'ers Ca n ad a (su m m a rized in C h a pte r 6). 1 Howev er, wo rkin g co n d i t io n s
171 Aristo tle , Ethica N ichomachc a, c.322, eth ics lectures trans cribed by Arist otl e', \Iii Ill' 11 0 1 u n d e r th e co n t ro l o f th e licen sing Associa tio ns; individual s mu st
Nic ho mach us. The wo rk, or reviews of it, a re wid ely ava ilab le; for exa m ple, "" III 1l,l la te, a nd mu st in sist o n, pr ofession al sta tus and working co nd itio ns.
M asterpieces of" Wortd Philosophy (ed . EN. Magill ), Har pc-Collln s Publishe rs, 1'1'1 1 hi th is c h a p te r, we di scu ss pr actice a n d et h ics issu es t ha t ar ise in profcs-
lSI L. Du hai me , "Justic e," Lesal Dicti onurv, ava ila b le at
" Hlal .m p lo y rn e n t . Th ese issu es includ e techni cal authorit y, workpla ce di s-
<www.d u haim e.or g/ Lega lDict io nary,aspx> (May 2S, 200S).
191 L. Solu m, " Legal T heory Lexicon OIS: Ju sti ce," post ed o n Lega! Th eory Lexicon,
I" III 'S, a nd co n flic ts o f inter est. We a lso ex a m ine the p rofessional resp on se to
Janu ar y II , 2004, avai lable a t <Iso lum .type pad. co m / lega l_t h eor y_]exico n / 11111 '1 hlcal rnanagcrs, th e limits o f a n e mployer's au t ho rity, a nd whi stl e-bl owin g.
2004/0 1/l egaUh eor y_le_2.htm l> (lune I S, 20(9). 1II'I'I 'aSe stud ies illu strat e these workplace issues an d et h ica l dil emmas, and th e
1101 Govern m ent o f Ca nad a, T he Canadian Charter OOUStlt S and Freedoms, C la use III , hlll'll'r clo ses w it h th e Chal lenger space sh ut tle di saster: <I tra ged y that co u ld
II II Assoc iatio n of Profession al Eng ineers, Geo log ists and Geo p hy sicists of Albert, hlll'l' been pr ev ented , but th e technical ad v ice o f <In e ngi nee r wa s ove r-ru led .
(APEGGA), Guulc [or Ethical Practice, avai lab le at -cwww.a pegga .co mc- (May 21\,
200S).
11 21 j. Hald an e, "Applied Et h ics, " in The Blackw ell Companion to Philosophy (ed . II HNICA L AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
N. Bunni n an d E.I'. Tsu i-Ia m es), Blackwell Publi sh in g, Ox ford, 2003,
p p. 494 -49S . 11 1'pling <I n em p lo y m e n t o ffer crea tes a co n tract. Th e e m ploye r acquires th e
11 31 j. R, Herkert, "M icroc th ics, Macroct hi cs, a nd Prof ession al Eng ineeri ng Soc ictlev, ' uu ho rity to set legitimate goa ls, a nd in struct th e em ployee; th e e m ployee ag rees
Ell lels illS Technologies and Eth ical Issues ill Engi neering: Papers [rom a w orkshoi,
III 11 ~1 ' hi s o r her pro fessional a b ility to ac h ieve th e e m p loye r's goa ls, a n d in
Natio n al Acade my o f Eng ine er ing, Octo ber 14-1 5, 20m, pp . 107-1 14, availahh
at <www.na p.ed u/cata log/l IOS3.h tm l> (May 2S, 200S). 11 111 111 , o bta ins a p p ro p ria te co m pe ns a tio n a nd working co nd itio ns . However,
IIllll'limes t he e m p loyer and e m p loyee di sagree o ve r pr ofessional o r e t h ica l
1 III'S.
The need for e m p loye r a u t ho rity is o bv io us; lack o f directi on co u ld lead
III chno s an d bankruptcy. T he e m p loyer must h ave management a u t ho rity to
dlll'I'! th e co m pa n y's resources, whe rea s th e professional must ha ve technical
1II IIIority to a p p ly e n g in ee rin g o r geoscie n ti fic kn owl ed ge and skills. In a
i-l t-ru n organ tza t io n, th e di stin cti on between m anagem ent and techni cal
1II IIIIor ily is well under st o od ; pr ofession al s show mutual resp ect , a n d coo p-
' lilli' to ac h ieve th e e m ploye r's go a ls.
l lo wev er, w ha t would yo u d o if yo u r e m p lo ye r ove r-ru led yo u, o r asked
\ 11 11 to pe rfo rm ac tivities th at a re illegal o r unethical "! Th ese pr oblem s <Ire n ot
" 1I 111ll0n, but do occu r. Let us co ns ider a ran ge of cases .
240 PAIn l " fl EE • PllOr E IONAl r r u: S
CIIAPTER 12 • Et hi cs i n t't ojessiono! Employ me nt 2/11
Over-Ruling Technical Recommendations

t he few minutes av ailab le, th e em p loyer asks th e eng inee r to ph oto copy
OccasiOl,l a lly an em p loye r or clien t over-ru les th e ' ' .
01 a pr ol ession al eng inee r or geoscie ti t I' . techn lCd l recomm enda ll, III Ih e riva l's pl an s. Co py in g th e plans is co n t ra ry to th e Co py rig h t Act ,
n IS . 'o r exa m p le: wh ich for b ids suc h un authori zed co py ing (a lt ho ug h reading t he plan s is
• Th e o pe ra tio ns m an ager in an o il ex plo ran not a n offence).
ch aSing ex pe ns ive eClu i,)/llell t· f '1. c IOn co m pa ny in sist s o n pili
o r 0 1 a n d g'\Sex I . ' In sit u at io n s like this, th e n ecessar y acti on is clea r: th e e ng inee r mu st
geoscie n tist knows th e eq uip mo t . I' P ordtlOn, even th ough 11 11
. I .- ' n IS o utc at ed and unn e '" .ulvisc th e e m p loye r that the action is illegal and mu st not break th e law.
ac Vi sed th e man ager again st b . ' .' , cess a iy, and li d
. UYlfl g It. I he manager beli l,III p lo yer s do not h ave th e a u tho rity to direct an e m p loyee to break th e law.
eq lllp me n t mi ght be useful in ft . . «xer ue ieves that III'
u u re, an d sh o u ld be bo ., t
o f ex cha nge rates. If th e m an a ' . ug 1 n ow, becau -.
' agei over-rules th e gees ' .
c Ilases th e ex pe nsive eCluil)me n t it '11 . . clen tlst, a n d pili Acti vities Contrary to the Code of Ethics
, I WI SIt Idle Seni o
co m pa ny s ha re holde rs will want t k : I' m an agem ent a," '
. ' • c 0 now why. 1 h ey will " eng in ee r may be as ked to perform an acti on th at, whil e not clearly illegal,
1\ 11
geOSCien tIst requested th e I)UI"Ch . ' 1 . pl esume tha i III, '
. I asc, anc th e ge OSCien tis t' . h a breach o f th e Cod e o f Eth ics o f the Associati on. For ex a m p le:
IUCgllle n t mi ght affect his 0 I . . s perceiv ed POOl
r n er caree r prosp ect '1'1
un ethi cal, bu t it is a techni cal e WI . s. i e purch ase is 1101 Usin g th e ISO sta n da rd for gea r design , a m achine design engi nee r ca lcu-
rror, lilt sho u ld th e geoscien tist do?
lat es th at a gea r train h as a fact or o f sa fety of 1.82 aga ins t fa tigue failure.
- . Ma ny et hica l g Uides spec ifica lly m ention thi s t ' .
Ia irf y co m mo n probr em 2 '1" ype of case, because it is I Th e e m p loyer, wh o is n ot a technical pe rson , asks th e eng inee r to "rou n d
. ie proper acti on wh e . . o il" th e factor, so that th e gear train m eets th e cli ent's spe ci fica t io ns,
rul es th e ad vic e o f a professional is to n an em p loye r o r cliel1l OWl
w h ich require a fact or o f sa fety o f 2.0. This is techn ically wr ong, becau se
• ex p lain yo ur advice to th e em p loyer o r cl ien t' " . ro u n d in g to two figures g ives 1.8 (not 2.0) . Moreover, th e fatig ue life is
clea rly the co nseq ue nces o f ' . 1Il w n tlllg , and also ex p laill inadeq ua te, alt ho ug h thi s fac t ma y n ot become evide n t for m an y yea rs.
• 0 Ign onng yo ur ad vic e
ge t a response i r1 w n' to
IIlg, to e ns ure th at th e a I . ' The d esign er must refu se, because th e e m ploye r's request co n trave nes th e
ha ve been under stood Thi " . , . ' , CVICe and th e co nse q ue n n ',\ Co d e of Eth ics, whi ch requires co m pe te nce and integrity (o r honest y,
o . IS IS pd lt lcu larl y impor!"lnt I I
o r client is n ot a techni cal p rofessional. unr w len t ie em p loyl'1 de pe n d ing o n th e co de ). The requ est might also b e attempted fraud,
• th e em ploye r o r r t wh ich is illegal . In d esign, integrity is important; we can forgive err ors,
c len ' now has full resp onsibilil fo r the rt- -i
co nseq ue n ces. You h ave sat isfl I y o r t ie d ecision a n d all )' because we all make them , but we ca n not for give intentional fraud.
. ' ' . ICC yo u r resp on sibilitie I
rnvolvos illegal o r un eth ical act ' iti , ( 0 s.' un .ess th e dcciston A p rof ession al geoscie n tis t wor ks for a co m pa ny that was recentl y tak en
c , IVI res. In tha t case th f ' -,
an o bligatio n to public wclfa ., . , I" c , e pro cssiona t still has over by a larg er co rpo ra tio n . Th e co m pan ies' tw o ex plo ratio n a n d anal ysis
, re, as C rscussed below.)
units a re being co m b ined , an d so me em p loyees will be su rp lus to n eed s.
Illega l Activities T he unit man ager asks th e geoscie n tis t to review a nd co m m en t sec retly o n
t h e co m pe te nc e o f a co lleag ue, a n d p rovid es co pies of th e co lleague's
O n rare occasions, a p rofessional en ' inee r o r ' . . re ports an d ex pe nse acco u n ts. Th e manager 's fin al co m me n t is "O n e of
er~ga?e in an ac tiv ity that is clea rly ~on tra r geosCie.n tIs: , ma y be as ked to yo u is o n th e wa y ou t." This request is clearl y co n tra ry to the Co de of
cn m llla J law, a civ il o r bu sin ess la y to th e IdW. I h e law may be a Et h ics . Every co de requires professiona ls to tr eat co lleag ues with co u rtesy,
• , w, o r a regulati
0 • I
o t an Act (suc h as a n e nViro n me n ta l I" o n m ac e under th e auth ority fairness, an d in good faith (o r sim ila r wordin g, d ep ending o n th e co de) .
, regu a tio n) O fte n th'
pr essure on man agem en t to ge ne ra te ro fits is ' ', IS oc curs becausl' Mos t Co des of Ethics speci fica lly forbid secr et reviews o f colleagu es. Secret
p ro fession al to "c u t co rne rs" Fo PI ' co nve rted into pr essure o n the review s ar e contrary to the concept o f natural justice.
r I' exa m p c:
• A geoscien tist is as ked to approve th e' In th ese cases, th e professio na l sh o u ld decline to act o n the em p loyer's
wast ewat er that is kn own to co tai . Im p ro per di sposa l o f indu stria l req ues t. An em ployer ca n no t direct a p rofessional eng inee r to v iol at e th e
n din toxic o r ca rcino . I
d ispo sa l is co n tra ry to provincia l e . . c ge n re c lemi cal s. This Cod e of Et h ics. Th e em p loyer m ay be unawar e that th e Co d e o f Et h ics h as
• An eng inee r a n d hi s em ploy er me~tV~~:;lmental ~e?ulations. lega l sign ifica nce under th e p ro fessional eng inee ring an d/or geoscience Act.
mil tee to d iscuss ten d ers for co t . a muntclpn] govern me n t Com- It may be su ffic ien t sim p ly to inform th e e m p loye r o f this fac t. An em p loye r,
Illeeting, th e clerk re tu rns til e e ns. ruc t:o n of a n ew town h all. After the ma n age r, or cli ent wh o is a lso a profession al e n ginee r o r geosc ie n tis t is
o n grn cer s pr e)" . . .
cle rk in ad vert entl y incl udes th e 'eli . ' IIII ina IY plan s. How ever, th e eq ua lly bound to foll ow th e Co de o f Et h ics (a n d m an y o t he r profession s h ave
pi e Iflllflar y plan s o f a riva l cOllSulta n t. In
sim ilar Co d es of Eth ics) .
242 PART THREE· PROFESSIO NAL ETHI CS CHAPTeII 12 • EUd 5 ;11 i't ol cssiona ! Emu toy men!
Activiti es Co n t ra ry to the Co n s ci e nce of the Professional Et h ica l p roblem s so rne tim es have un fai I' per so na l co nse q uen ces. Obey i n g
'o u r co nscie nce and refusin g to fo llow th e e m ployer's directive m ay res u lt in
A profe.ss ior~a l m i.1Y be asked to perform an ac tivity that, whil e not illega l, ,11101
disci plinary ac t io n o r di smissal. Th e possibi lit y of di smi ssa l, t h e co nseq ue nces
not a v io lation 0 1 th e Co de o f Ethi cs, n ev erthe less co n t ra ve nes hi s o r h e r II '"
of un e m ploy me n t, a nd the remedies for wro ng fu l di smi ssal (disc usse d in the
scie nce . Co n sc ie n ti o us o b jec ti o n has a lon g a n d hon ourabl e hi st or I III
nex t c h a pte r) sho u ld alw ays be co ns ide red .
Ca n ada, a n d o b jec tio ns to slave ry, nuclear weapon s, a n d unjust war s are lVl'II
kno:",n . Co nscie n tio us o b jecti o n is not co m m o n in th e profession s, bccuu
prof essio na ls sim p ly avoid working in un et hi ca l (or margina lly e t h ica l) ind ll ' I'RO FES S IO N AL EMPLOY EE GUIDE LINES
tri es. Exam p les o f suc h industries ar e:
Workin g con d it io ns ar e n ot under th e co n t ro l o f th e licensin g Assoc ia tio ns,
• Industries th at produce non-essential and potentiall y h armfu l o r addic t I o Co d es o f Et h ics d o n ot co ve r typi cal e m p loy me n t pr ob lem s, suc h as
product s, suc h as di sti lleri es, brewer ies, win eri es, a n d toba cco processo r , nlarics, ben efit s, h ours o f work, hirin g o r termin atin g professi onal
• Indu st ries t ha t o st e n sib ly e n te rta in , b u t m ay ca use addi ctiv e beh avkuu vmp loyces, a nd so o n . So m e o f t h ese issu es ar e ex p la ine d in law tex t boo ks"
and se rio us finan cia l loss, su ch as cas in os, slo t machin es, lotteri es, ;111" nud a re reg u lat ed by pro v in cia l lab ou r laws, bu t la bo u r laws usua lly se t mi n -
sim ila r ga m b ling ; unum va lues t hat rarel y a p p ly to pr o fessiona l e m p loyees.
• l ~l d u st r i es that m anufacture landm in es, wea pons , a m m u n itio n o r eXI'I. , Th e Ca n ad ia n Soc iety o f Professional Eng inee rs (CSPE) was es ta blis hed to
sives: a n d provid e pr ofessional e ng inee ring e m p loy me n t adv ice . CSPE is intended to be
• Industri es t ha t pollu te or create dangero us by-produ cts. II na tiona l federati on o f advo ca cy groups, as ex p la ined in C h a pte r 6, but t h e
Ont ario Society o f Pro fession al Engi n eers (OSPE), es ta b lishe d in Apr il 2000, is
Eac h individual must co ns u lt hi s o r h er co nsc ie nce to d ecid e w he t he r ,III th e o n ly provin ci al br an c h und er th e CSPE umbre lla (as o f 200 H). An
e t h ica lly m ar gin al in d us try ben ef its society eno ug h to justify wo rking for It Ame rica n advocacy gro u p, th e Na tio na l Socie ty of Pro fession al Eng inee rs
Gove rn me n t p rohibiti o n s o f a lco hol a n d ga m bling in th e 1900s wer e unsu, (NSPE), has been es ta b lished for se ve ra l d ecad es, so NSPE inform ati on ma y be
cess fu l. Th er efore, Ca n ad a ha s c h ose n (a lo ng with most West ern co u n tries) III III' use to Ca nad ia n e ng inee rs a n d geoscie n t ists .
bal an ce the ~ t h.ica l eq ua tio n by co n t ro llin g th ese in d ust rie s mo re str i n gc u t tv, In 19 73, NSPE pu b lis hed a se t of gu ide lines for professio na l e m p loyees
i~ n d by alleviating the mi se ry o f po llution or ad d ictio n by regulations, wvl .rud e m p lo ye rs. Th e c risis that initiat ed th e gu ide lines was the U.S. go ve rn -
far e, and soc ia l progr am s. Ne ve rt he less , man y Ca n ad ia ns fac e a dllenuu .i mcnt's c u t backs o n ae ros pace expe n di t ures in the lat e 1960 s, includin g ca n-
w he n asked to work in suc h industri es. For ex a m p le: u -lla t io n o f th e proposed su pe rso n ic t ra ns port a irc ra ft (SST). Man y e ng inee rs
• A so ftwa re e ng inee r is h ired to d ev elop ban kin g so ftwa re but, du ring 01 md sc ie n ti sts wer e sud de n ly a nd un expect ed ly un emp loy ed, a n d su ffe red
~ l ow peri od, th e em p lo ye r ask s th e e ng inee r to d ev elop computer gra p h li ,('verT fin a n cia l har d shi p in t h e fo llowing years. In 2006, NSPE re-p ub lish ed
to r slo t m achines in a ga m b ling casino. Slot m achin es a re legal (in casi no the g u idelin es in a fourt h revi sion, and it is sti ll a usefu l g u ide to th e profcs-
and !icensed restaurants, d epending o n th e provin ce), but m an y peo pj vlona l work p lace - for both e m ployees a nd e m ployers ."
co ns ide r th em to be decepti ve and unethi cal. Slot m achin es do n ot reveal The purpose of the NSPE gu ide lines is to esta b lish a professiona l workplace
the tru e odds of winning. Cas in os th e mselves ar e d esign ed w it h a d el ilx -r based o n "e th ical practi ces, co-o pe ra tio n, mutua l resp ect , and fair treatment."
:lte ly d istra c ti n g a tmosp h er e . Th e ma ze-like, Wi ndow less, noi sy sur ro u nd Addi t io n a l ob jectives are to safegua rd t he pub l ic, to e nc o u rage p rofessio na lism
Ings det er ga m ble rs from reali zlng th e tim e o f da y, th e wea ther, o r eVI'1i nnd professio na l growt h, and to co m ba t di scrim ination based on age , race, reli-
the way o u t. In add iti on, a s ign ifica n t p roporti on o f ga m b lers beco uu ' hm, politica l a ffilia tio n, ge n de r, o r sex ua l prefer en ce. The gu idel ines co n ta in
addicte d to betting, a n d lose eve ry th in g: th eir famil y life is a ffec te d; thvh more t ha n 60 detailed clauses, w h ich are di vid ed into fou r sec tio ns: Recru itm ent,
sta nda rd of livin g drops; and so me req uir e co u nse lling or socia l ass lsta n« - F,lllploy me n t, Professiona l Dev elopment, and Terminalion"Alt ho~lgii-t he NSPE
tuid ell nes do no t h ave any legal mitho rlty ir';-ei ti, er th ~lJr"' i ted Sta tes or Ca nada,
--
The so ftwa re e ng inee r does not wa nt to put h is or h er c rea tive effort inr «
promoting ga m b ling, so what sho u ld he or she d o '! they give va luab le advi ce for all professio na l e m ployees. The guid elines a re ava il-
ublc o n lin e from NSPE, a nd ar e a lso reproduced in Appe nd ix D o f this textbook.
In thi s case, laws and Co des o f Ethi cs do not give much gu ida nce. '1'111
e t h ica l stra tegy in th e previ ous c ha p te r mig ht yield a co m p ro m ise so lutio n
I' RO FESS IO N A L EMPLOYEES AND LABOUR UNIONS
si mp ly to move t h e so ftw a re e ng inee r to a n o t he r p ro jec t, unrel at ed I I I
ga m l~l i ng . I-I o~ever,. if no a lternative ca n be found, th e e ng inee r may fal I ' I'rofessiona l e ng inee rs and ge o scie n tists have a right to nego tia te pa y sca les,
a se rIOUS e t h ica l dil emm a : ign ore hi s o r h er co nsc ie nce, o r find o t hvr hou rs o f work, a n d o the r co n d it io ns o f e m ploy me n t. Idea lly, th e professional
e m plo yrn en t. vm plo yee sh o u ld h ave a per son al co n t rac t spec ifying sa lary, hours o f work,
CIi APfE R 12 • Lt h i s ill Professi Ollal Emp loy me ll t
244 PAR T THREE' PROFESSIONAL LT HI CS
II1 11st e ns u re that the em ploye r remed ies t he haza rd a nd not ifies regu lat or y
ove rt ime requirements, ben efit s (sick leave, vacations, pen sions, pr ofcsxluunl
insuran ce, a nd so o n), regula r rev iew o f performance and working co nd it I. '" I icnc ies and o thers wh o m ay be affect ed . . , .,
' l> I_I w hat do yo u d o if the e m plo ye r ignores a haza rdou s plOb le m .
promoti on o r rais es based on merit, terms for perma nent e m ploy me n t a lll'l I owevcr, ' . .I I ty
probationar y per iod (or altern ativ ely, terms for co n tract ren ewa l), and so f. II I Ii lh is creates a dil emm a: yo u r duty to t he e m ploye r co n flICts WIt 1 you ~ uu .
III th e public welf are. The pub lic we lfare must take preceden~e, aCC~ 'l" n g .to
How ever, so me ti mes a n em ployer ma y refuse to negotiate t hese basic (1111
uie Cod e ofl~t hics, so the profession al em ployee is usually faced wIth . thl ~e
ditions. Th e eng inee r is th en faced with a diffi cu lt ch o ice: acce pt un fa ir (. II I
pllssibl e co ur ses of acti on: co rrect the p robl em , bl ow t he wh ist le, o r resig n IJl
diti on s, resign , or tak e part in "co llec t ive ac tio n " (g ro u p ncgo tla ttou "I
uni onizati on) against t he em p loye r. Professional em ployees have a du ty lo I Ii, protest .
em ploye r, but also have a dut y to themselv es, a nd to th e profession as a w hn l. Co r re c t the problem . T he em ployee sho u ld first tr y to co rre~ t t.he
and j!llI.s not acce Jt un rofessional wQ~k i ng _con d i t ion~ or in ad eq uate ia v, r '1'1 "
p roble m and change co m pa n y po ICY· li S IS. U ,
sually th e m ost effec tive
' .. . . ,
Labour legislati on , in both Ca na d a and th e United States, establishe d It 'III · ctio n eSlle ch lly if th e illegal actions are nu no r ,lI1d/OI t he
co u rse 0 I a , c • I f '" '1I 's
ago that p rofessional em ployees have th e right to tak e co llec tive ac tio n, alld e m p lo ye r is o pe n to improvem ent and cha nge. II t 1.e p ro ~s~ lO n, .
eve n to fo rm or join uni on s. Every provin ce has a Labour Board and a Lalli11 11 im m ed iate su pe rviso r di sputes th e sit uatio n , th e profeSSio na l h.'~S ~ d ut ~
Relati on s Act th at ca n provide gu id a nce and ass ist e m ployees wh o a rc lll il nder the Co de o f Et h ics to inform th e em ployer o f th e pot entia l co.nse
templating co llec t ive ac tio n. Of co urse, Q~~ na ls wh o arc a lso <:£m p;lIl\ q uc nces when a p rofessiona l opinio n is di sregarded or ove r-ru led. II the
~g!rs ar e no.t permitted to ic;>in uniorl s, a~d it would be illogica l for tlll' I su pe rviso r st ill refu ses to ac t, the p rofessiona l ~ou ld ~ike~~. ".go over th e
to do ~o , but o t he r pr ofession al em ployees have no suc h p ro hibit ion . . 's h ead " to se n io r m a nage m e n t. h lrt h c , deCiSion s wou ld
su pe rv iso r . , .
- 1-lo wever, form in g a uni on invol ves co n fro n ta t io n, ge ne rates burea ucrat \
de pe nd o n th e fact s of the case. . .. . . . . . J . " >.
and tak es tim e a nd effo rt. Th erefore, union izat ion sho uld be a last resllrl IUo w t h e w liistlc. The e ng inee r co u ld ale rt ex te rnd l ,egu I ,~to I Y d gen ~ , e s
Profession a l e m ployees sho u ld fir st tr y to n egotiat e per sona l (o r gHlIq' 1 tha t the co m pany is ac ting di sh onestl y. Thi s is ca ll~d wlllst le-b.lowl ~g,
em p loy me n t co n t rac ts , becau se co n t rac ts ar c sim ple r and , wit h effec t II'I and it is an unplea sant a nd unfriend ly act . Co m p.an le: uS~ la Il Y ,f~ n ~1 lea-
advi ce and negotiati on, ca n be made as legally binding as union co n trac ts. so ns to di smiss whistl e-b lowe rs. How ever, in ra re sl t~latlO ns, ~I e dpro.-
Profession al e m ployees wh o a rc unable to negotiate per sona l or g rollp fessio n al em lloye~bas in formed em plo yers a nd ss-n.!..or ma nagem ent of ,I
~ p l ox m e n tso n t!a cts m ay be for ced to union ize . In thi s case, th ey sho uld clea r a nd ~ rious ha zard to the public, but they have refusel~ or n egl ~ct~~~
form a co llec t ive gro u p co m posed en t irely o f p rofessiona ls, if possib le. II I to co rrec t it , th e n w hi stl e-b lowi n g m ay be t h e, o n I Y_.2 I~tl on . W h l ~.t
usuall y unwise for pr ofessiona l em ployees to join an ex ist ing sta ff or lalx uu blo w in g- is- ,;;t recomm end ed un til a ll. o t he r r.o ut es, h a~~ been til ed .
uni on , becau se t hey usual ly wi ll be a minority in t he u n io n , a nd pe rha p (W h ist le-blo wing and its problems arc di scu ssed In Ch d pte ~ . 1 ~. ) .,
becom e o b liged to sup po rt labou r ac tio n that is not in th eir interests . Re s i g n in I)rotest. The e m ployee co u ld resign in pr?t: st. I ~l1S co u rse o f
When professiona l em ploy ees resort to co llec tive action, th ey do so reh« ac tio n may be necessar y in se rio us cases, w h e~·e. r:m all1l ~l g .wI ~.h : he com~
tant ly, Suc h acti on is no t un ethi ca l. Th e need to uni onize usua lly indica te pa ny mi ght imply co llus io n in th e illegal ac nvines. In SUC h. cd~es; ~ Yl ~ ,
th at th e em ploye r fa iled to se t fair po licies and negotiatin g proced ur es. fessio na l employee sho uld alway s co ns ult a lawyer befor e rcsigrnn g.. I he.le
m'ay be gro u nds for co ns ide ri ng a for c.ed resi gn~ti ~n as w ro nglu l dIS-
m issa l. (Wro ng ful di sm issa l is di scus sed 111 Ch ap tel 13.)
UNETHICAL MANAGERS A ND WH ISTLE-BLOW ING
A professional em ployee who find s evide nce o f illega l or crim ina l ac tivit ies 111 ON F LI CT OF IN T ER ES T -AN OVERVIEW
til e workpl ace~ st rch as fraud , t1~eft, i~ isrep resen~tjon;-or dest ructi ve en viro n
I'rofessiona l people, wh et her em plo yees , man agers or co ns u lta n ts, n~ust. ~i l~l
mental pra cti ces, has a duty to rem ed y th e situa tio n . Th e proper ac tio n depend-
lor a hi gh level o f person al co nd uc t. Co n flicts o f interest m~lst be avou eu ,
o n th e case; usu; lly th e ' profess roni"{l~ou ld rep ort the fact s to hi s o r hl'l
hecau sc they arc un et hi ca l, t hey arc al most always un p ro fessio na l, an d th ey
em ploye r (o r su pe rv isor) for ac tio n . Q u ick reporting is important, because de lav
m ight be interpret ed as co ndo n ing th e illegal ac tiv ities. ~ 12e n d i ng o n till' llccasio na lly ma y be crim ina l.
orga n ization, th e em ploye r (o r su pe rviso r) m ay need to obta in au thor ity fro II I
a se n io r manager o r owne r, wh o is ultimately responsib le fo r th e o rgan izat io n, Ge neral Defi nition of Confl ict of Interest
Further ac tio n is urgent whe n th e illega l ac tivity is a hazard to th e public. FOI . . . ' . I -ce lves an y
'I' t I' Interest occu rs wh en ev er a prorc sstona rcce i
ex a m ple, if an audit of to xic materi a ls rev ea ls that negligen t storage practi ces all' III ge nera I, a co n t IC o · . I I
benefit or h as a n y relati o n sh ip th at interf er es Wit h th e duty owcc to t 11.'
permitting po isonou s liq u id s to see p into th e en viro n me n t, th e professio na l
24 7
246 PART THREE. PROFE SSIONAL ETHI CS
---- --------~--------
-
cl ient o r em ploye r. .II. sim pler terms, a co nf lict of inter est occ u rs wh enever all • Ar ra n g i n g futurc cmploymcnt. As a p rof ession al, yo u a re free to
.em ployee sec ret ly receives a ben efit or paym ent fro.!n-;;lOre ti1,in- o ne perso n resign a nd join a new co m pa ny, o r sta rt yo ur ow n pract ice. Howeve r, if th e
[gr th e same activities. Secret paym ents are also ca lled "secret co m m issio ns" new co mpa ny co m pe tes with (or eve n provides serv ice to) yo ur fo rm er
in th e Crim ina l Code . em ploye r, yo u may have a co n flict of interest. Does the information tha t
Every Code o f Eth ics requires disclosur e of a ny co n flict of interest. Secret yo u o btaine d o n th e job belong to yo ur for me r em ploye r, o r is it yo ur pro-
paym ents a re unethi cal, co n trave ne th e Co de of Eth ics, and ar e illega l ill fessio na l ex pe rience'! Th e interpret ati on dep ends o n th e facts o f th e case .
man y cases. How ever, co n flicts ar e not always abo ut money. A co n flict 0 1 If yo u have tak en any of yo ur form er em ploye r's trade sec rets or co n fi-
interest co u ld ar ise ove r a ben efit , suc h as hockey ticket s, free trips, or sexual den tia l in fo rmation to the new co m pany, yo u h ave a serio us co n flict of
favo urs. Th e benefit might be ind irect, suc h as secre tly assisting a close friend inte rest, and th e former e m ploye r may be ab le to sue you . Also, if the
or relati ve, or so me th ing intangibl e, suc h as a n o p po rtu n ity to m eet a e m plo y me n t agreement with yo ur form er e m ploye r included a n on-
celebrity. co m pet itio n clause, yo u may h ave breach ed th at co n tract. Th ese points
sho uld be clarifi ed befor e making a ch ange , becau se a lawsuit is ex pe ns ive,
even if yo u may win.
Common Conflicts of Interest
Co n flicts o f interest may occ ur in seve ral ways. In th eir book The Responsibl»
Public Servant, Kernag ha n a nd Lan gford defin e seve n co m mo n categ or ies 0 1 Subc ategories of Conflict of Interest
co n flict o f int erest ." Th ese co m mo n ca tego ries a re IS ed15e1ow, an exp lf I hc. l th e co n flicts o f interest above may be furth er subd ivided into at least three
in a form mo re relevan t to eng ineers and geoscientists. categor ies:
• Ac ccpti n g secret commissions. Accepting a sec ret paym ent or a sign il
ican t gift fro m anyo ne with wh om yo u have a bu sin ess relati onship gen LEAR (OR ACTUAL) CONFLICT In this case, th e p rofessional's serv ice to th e
em ily crea tes a con flict of interest. Th e co n flict ex ists, eve n if no obvious client or em ploye r is clear ly co m pro m ised . For exa m ple:
ben efit is give n in return. The most sha mef ul exa m ple is acce pting a bribe A professional em ployee is responsibl e for monitor ing th e qu anti ty a nd
for ign oring shoddy wor k, or favouring certa in suppliers o r services. Secret q ua lity of co ncrete deliv ered to a runway co ns t ruct ion site . The p rofes-
commissio ns. .arc
'--= -
ille
.
ral. sio nal has a sec ret ag reeme n t with the ow ne r o f th e co nc rete co m pa ny :
• Mis using thc em p lo ye r -s facilitics. Using th e em ployer's co m pute rs, The professiona l igno res th e fact th at so me co nc rete is mad e wit h chea p
teleph on es, or supplies for pri vat e ac tivities is th eft, an d needs no furt her pit- run grave l, rath er than crus he d sto ne (as requi red by th e co n trac t). In
ex p lana tio n . ret urn, th e co ncrete co m pa ny secretly supp lies th e co nc rete to build a
• Sccrct employment or "moonlighting." If yo u create a pri vat e bu st doc k at th e professional's su m me r co ttage.
ness (eve n if yo u run it in yo u r spa re tim e), whi ch is kept sec ret from yo ui
em ploye r, yo u have a co n flict of int erest. The co n flict is mor e seve re II I'OTENTIAL (OR LATENT) CONFLICT In th is case, th e profession al docs no t have
your bu sin ess co m petes with yo ur em ploye r for client s, o r if yo u spe nd a co n flict o f int erest at present, but th e situatio n is suc h that a reasonable
tim e o n yo ur person al co m pa ny th at sho uld be spe n t o n yo ur em ployer's
person wo u ld predi ct a co n flict to ex ist in futu re. In o the r wo rds, th e po te n-
pro jects. An em ploye r pays a pro fession al fo r knowledge, skill, an d initia
Iial for co n flict ex ists. an d a probabl e eve n t co u ld tri gger it. Fo r exam ple:
tivc, and it is un fair to d ivert th ese, secre tly, to personal gain .
• Self-scrvi n g dccisions. Using yo u r positi on wit h in a n o rgan izat ion III A profession al eng ineer o r geoscien tist intends to run in a n elect io n for
hir e relati ves, o r to d ivert bu sin ess to a favo ure d co m pany, is a co n flict 01 mayor o f a sma ll to wn . A ch ild hood friend, wh o o pe rates th e sa nd and
interest. Thi s is also ca lled "se lf-dea ling " or "a buse o f priv ilege." g rave l co m pa ny th at spreads sa nd o n th e town streets in Winter, o ffers to
• In flucn cc p cddling. Using yo ur position wit h in a n o rga n iza tio n 1(1 co nt ribute $25,000 to th e e lect ion ca m paign. The friend wishes to re mai n
sup po rt a group, ca use, o r politi cal party for whi ch yo u h ave affinity is ;1 ano ny mo us , (Mun icipa l donors may rema in ano ny mo us in thi s provin ce,
co n flict of interest. Thi s is a se lf-serv ing decision, as in th e case above, bill an d no tax receipt s a re give n.) Th e professiona l acce pts th e mon ey. Unt il
th e be nefi t to th e profession al is less tan gibl e. the electio n is held, no co n flict of in terest exists. Ho wever, if t he profes-
• Abusing co n f id c n t ia l infornmtion. As a professional, yo u have ;1 sio n a l is e lecte d as mayor, th en th e situatio n cha nges. O ne of th e ma yor's
d uty to kee p th e em ploye r's inform ati on co nfiden tial. Acting o n co n n d ut ies is to n egoti at e th e a n n ua l win te r co n trac t fo r spread ing sa n d o n
dcnt ial in form ati on fo r person al ga in is an abuse ofIJ rivilege a nd a clc.u tow n st ree ts. Th erefor e, a pot en tial co n flict o f interest ex ists: th e pro fes-
co n flict o f interest. sio na l, if elected, mu st negot iat e a sa nd-s pread ing co ntract with a person
248 PAR T THREE · I'IWH SSIONA L [[ HICS
Cll AP f UI 12 · IIIIi 5 i ll t't oj c ss io nn ! [ lII p {OYlll c lI l 249
who. ha .s made (~ I ~ rge se cret pa Y I~~nt to th e professio na l's ca nl p,lil:1I Not e s on Case Studies
ObVIo usly: secrec y IS t h e problem . I he potent ia l co n flic t sho u ld Ill' d l
clt~.sed before th e elec tio n. Th e vo ters can judge w h e t her t h e co n tlh I I Me t h o d ica l strategy. Th e first case ( 12 .1) illu strates th e stra teg y fo r
se no us, and ca n e n sure that t h e professiona l, if e jec te d do es t I'. so lvin g e t h ica l problem s, in d etail . Th e seco n d case (12 .2) applies t h e
su p po rte rs. ' . n o ,IVIIIII st ra tegy less form a lly. The remainin g cases co m p ress th e interm ediate
ste ps, and give o n ly th e fin al d ecision . Try th e form al strategy a few tim es.
~ER~.EIVED CONFLICT In t h~ s ca se, t h e p ro fessio nal d oes n ot ha ve a co n flict III Afte r so lving a few prob lem s, read er s usua lly u nder stand t h e m et h od and
II1t el est : bU ~ observe rs be liev e (o r m ight believ e) that a co n flict of inlL'lI' ca n dev e lop pra c tica l et hi ca l so lu tio ns q ui ck ly a nd in t u itively.
do es ex ist. 1'01' exa m p le: I Lim ita tio n s . Case st ud ies a rc artifi cial , becau se readers a re give n o n ly a
• su m m a ry of the fact s, a n d ca n not spea k to th e parti cipants to ga t he r th e
A professiona l e ng ine e r o r ge oscie n tis t is assigned to 11 ' · · I " fu ll informati on . Even so, case stud ies a rc useful for devel oping d ecision-
. . '" . " . ' lie .ln a( mll1lsll .1
t!ve .assistant. I h e lob o pe n ing is advertised, candi dates a re interv iowou mak in g s kills. In real cases, yo u wo u ld sec k information assertive ly, in
1 ~l e l el,lCes are c hec ked,. a ~l d t he best ca n d idate is hi red . Ho weve r, by COl l i ' kee p ing w it h n a tura]' ju stice, w h ic h req ui res a ll v iew poi nts to be h ea rd.
Cld en c~, t h e n ew ad mllllstrative assist an t h as the sa me last nam e as t" , Siln ila ri t y to real cases. Case st u d ies a re ba sed o n real e ve n ts, or
p~ofe~sl o.na l : CO ~ leagu.e s I.l~ay beli eve that t h e assistant wa s hired becau« re ports o f real eve n ts, but a ll names (a n d so me d et ail s) have been a lte red
0 1 a f'\Inll~ leJatIOn sh'l). 10 av oid this perceived co n flict o f inter est '1 fo r anon ymity. Any sim ila rity to real peopl e in ac t ua l situa tio ns is e n ti re ly
usu all y su fficie n t to ex p lain pub licl y t ha t no relation ship ex ists. ' I co i ncidcn tal .
A voidin g Co n fl icts of Inter est CASE STU D Y 12.1
Yo.u ~a n a vo i~l co n flicts ver y s im p ly by refu sing to acce p t g ifts or bribr-, l O B APPLI CATION D ILEMMA
~ef u::I.~lg to mi su se your auII.lOrity for per sona l gain , a n d refusi ng to favo ll:
speCl f ~c p~o ple: Wh ~ n a co n flict a rises accide nta lly or un a vo ida bly, secrecy I" St atem e nt o f th e Problem
th e plOb.lem', h il i d Isclosure w ill elim in a te (or reduce) it W I fli
di sci I tJ r . le n a co n ICt 1\ Ralph X, a co m pu te r e ng in ee ring st ude n t, is in hi s fina l univer sit y year, a n d
f o~e.(, .1e. c lent or e m p loyer is abl e to e ns ure that n o ben efit OJ abo u t tw o m onth s from gra d u a tio n . He ha s applied for seve ra l jobs, but
avo un ns m IS in volved , For ex a m p le:
received n o job o ffers. Th e uni ver sit y pla cem ent o ffice tell s Ralph o f a job
• Professiona l pe I ki oppor tu n it y at a nearby tobacco company, and a rra nges a n interview .
.. ' '. o p e, . ,:,,~ r .lI1g lor the sa me co m pa n y, m eet o n th e jo b a lld
ma lly one ano t h er, I h IS IS fai rly co m m o n; th ese lin ks a re cmotio na ! '111 I Th e job interview e r ex p la ins that t h e to bacco co m pa n y ma n ufac t u res cig-
rarely , . I ' II JI . "I arettes usin g recentl y bu ilt h igh-sp eed au tomat ed ma chin er y, and t h e job
(.. . cx p ama ) e. owever, s uc h a rrangem ents c rea te pot entia l co n fllct-,
o f 1I1~ ~rest, a nd mu.s~ be d~scl osed, at lea st to su pe rio rs. Th e supe rio r GIll in vo lves di gita l co n tro l. In fact , Ralph 's first ass ign me n t wou ld be to o p ti m ize
e ns ure th at n o co n tl rct o f inter est ex ists. th e co ntro l software to o b ta in m a ximum p rodu cti vit y from th e n e w
ma c h ine ry. It is pr ecisely th e typ e o f e ng inee ring job th at Ralph wants, and
.' I.n s U IJ~ m a ry, profes~ i ona l peo p le ar e often in a positi on o f a uth ority 0 1 wo u ld be a go o d e n try to th e di gi ta l co n tro l field . Ralp h asks about a lterna-
p ll,vlieg e, 'lI: d m us.t rcs tst t he te mpta tio n to give or receiv e favoured tr ea t. tive jobs, suc h as resear ch work that is unrelat ed to manufa ctu rin g o r pro-
~n ent. Co n flicts of int e rest ar e un ethical, co n t ra ry to the Code of Etl . , I mo ti ng ciga re ttes, bu t th e co m pa ny h as n o o t he r vaca nc ies. Th e intervi ew er
111 m an y cases ' II IN " lICS, am ,
, ~ .'. ' I eg a . eve r accept a secre t co m m issio n . Always di scl ose ' offe rs Ralph th e job at a n a tt rac t ive sa la ry.
co n fllc t 01 interest. <I
Ethi call y and e m o ti o n a lly, Ralph d oes not want to work for a tobacco
co m pa n y. Ralph 's father wa s a hea vy sm o ke r, who di ed o f lu ng ca nc e r about
INTRODUCTION TO C AS E STUDIES 10 years earli er, w hen Ra lp h wa s 12 . This was a tragic e pisode in Ralp h 's life,
a nd hi s fath er 's d eath wa s a tt ribu ted, at least in part, to smo king . C iga re ttes
:r h e case. st l~d ies belo w (a n d in th e foll OWing c ha p te rs) in vol ve e th ics justice have been p roven to be add icti ve and harmful. Also, h ow co uld h e face hi s
a n d l~rol ess lonal p ractice. Each case st udy d escribes a pra cn cat probl~m ; mo t he r? Sh e su ffered aft er hi s fath er 's death, and s he wo u ld be ve ry sad to see
as ks lor a decision th at is Su pporte d by t he Code o f Ethi cs and /or b: " r a nt
ce pts of 'II . ,. . . ( ,ISIC co n- Ralp h wo rking for a tobacco company,
' 1 . e lICS am justice. lry to so lve ea ch ca se before yo u read th e sugge ste d Financia lly, Ral ph has eno ug h m oney to su rv ive fo r a not h e r few mon th s,
so UtlOIL
bu t he wants to repa y loans from hi s m other. His lar ge st ude n t d ebt is c u rre n tly
/
250 PART T1I RCC • PllOrE SI ONAL Er Il I CS
CIiAP ICll 12 • Lill i" III l'III/I' l s /all,,1 f mp lay m ut '"I
in terest-free. T he banks arc co m pe ti ng to o ffer him a lin e o f cred it as SO I Ii I ,I Ka n t reminds Ralph th at h u ma n bein gs sho u ld alwa ys be treat ed as an
he gets h is .eng ineering d egree. According to the placeme nt o ffice, job 1'1:11 I end o r as a go al, and n ever as a mean s of ach ievi ng so me o t he r go a l. In
mcnts c.on tll1 ue in to th e su m mer, and o th er job opportu n ities a re po ssibl e, 1'"1 a .ccp ting, Ra lp h wo u ld sac rifice hi s se lf-respec t for sec u rity. A job th at
un cert ain .
req u ires h im to den y hi s t rue co nsc ience would be dem or ali zin g, a nd is
un like ly to lead to a p rodu ctive ca reer.
QUESTION
Lo cke's right s-ba sed et h ics wou ld li kel y co n t ribu te littl e to reso lvi ng
Sho uld Ralph accep t th e eng ineering jo b o ffer at th e cigare tte facto ry"! Ralp h's di lemm a. C iga rettes a re ha rmfu l, but not illega l, so the co m pa ny
has the righ t to m an ufa ct ur e them . Unfort u nately, no one has a righ t to a
A UT H O R'S SUGGESTED S OL UT ION good job , a lt ho ugh it may be all ad mira ble concept.
(\ risto t le's co ncep t o f seeking virtue is ve ry releva n t, since th er e is littl e
Th is case wa s selected to illus t rate th e m o st diffi cult typ e of ethi cal dil emm a
virtue in manu facturin g a harm ful product.
th ose that fall o u ts ide th e Co de of Ethics. Thi s case co ncerns eth ics and CO li
sci:nce, but tob acco prod ucti on is legal, and the Co de o f Ethics gives us " " Decisio n makin g. Given th e above a na lysis, th e aut hor co ncl udes tha t
g tll da n~e . However, th e eth ica l th eori es and th e problem-so lvin g stra tegy II I Illost t heo ries sho w that Ralp h sho uld re ject t he job o ffer and co n tin ue to
cusse d 111 C ha p te r 11 g ive us m ore in sight: loo k, aggressively, fo r a better job. Some u ncertainty is in vo lved, b ut the risk
Rec(~gnize the problem and gather information. Ralph recog ul z- I wo rt h it.
that he laces an e th ica l d ilemma: he wa nt s a job, bu t hi s co nsc ience rebl'l I;airn ess check. We must make a fina l c hec k fo r fairness. T hi s case d ocs
agai nst manu facturin g cigare ttes. He h as a lready gathe red relevant In form I 1101 a p pea r to h ave a ny un fair sid e effects, but th e sit uatio n co uld be differen t.
tio n from th e jo b interview a nd from th e placem en t offi ce, a nd he has ex.u u 1'01 exa m ple, if Ralp h 's m oth er we re losin g h er hom e be ca use o f a n un paid
in ed h is finan cial situa tio n. He is still in hi s fin al yea r o f universit y, so lu - I IIl ort gage, it would likel y be u n fair for Ralp h to reject the to ba cco job o ffer
not reall y un emplo yed ye t. ,11 11 1 dela y rep ayin g hi s d eb t to her.
I>e.fine the problem. Th e problem ma y, at first , appear to be si m pt, Discu ss io n o f the decision-nUlking st r a t eg y. Thi s case illustrates a ll
acce p ting or .re!ecting a job tha t has a good sa la ry but a d ista stefu l p ur pose ,'Illiea l dil emma that is no t co ve red by laws or Codes o f Eth ics. Some read ers
Ho wever, thi s IS no t the pr ecise p robl em . The tru e questi on is whe the r III II l1 gh t prefer to sec k reli gious gu ida nce in suc h cases. The et h ica l theo ries are
accept a n im m ed ia te jo b offe r, w ith th e sec u rity th at it offers, ve rsus ,"" ru nslstc n t wit h most rel igion s, a nd are intended to spa n cult u ra l differen ces.
un ~erta inty ~ nd work of appl yi ng fo r bett er job s a nd a tt ending in terview III clos ing, what co ncl us io n wo uld you reach '? You may we igh th e ut llltaria n
wh ile strugg lll1g to pay bill s and lo ans. bl'lIdits d ifferently, or yo u lIlay be able to suggest mor e a lterna tives. In q ues-
Gen e rat e alternative solutions. Ralph sho uld not make a fina l dt" I 1II ill S o f co nscience, th ere is no righ t an swer; h owever, a de cisio n m ad e in haste,
sio n witho ut co ns ide ring all th e a lternati ves. I I I strict ly for perso na l ga in, is a lmo st ce rta in ly wrong. The aut ho r respects o the r
dl'\'ision s, provided th at th ey are based on ga the ring in for matio n, co ns ide ring
• ~~a lph co uld reject th e jo b o ffer, a nd loo k m o re aggr essively for a bettl 'l
ulu-ma t iv es, and weigh ing th e eth ica l nature of the alterna tive s.
lo b. It necessa ry, he co u ld ge t a lin e of credi t.
• Ral ph co u ld reject the offer, but acc ep t a part-ti m e jo b to av o id borrow lun
( J\SE ST U D Y 12 .2
mor e mo ney. Th e part -tim e jo b mi ght interfer e wit h h is jo b sea rch.
• Ra lph co uld acce p t th e o ffer, a nd tr y to igno re hi s co nscience .
• Ralph co u ld acce pt th e o ffer, and keep looking for a better job . (No te: Till A( EPT I N G A JO B OFFE R
o pt io n is di sh onest, and is ther efo re eth ically un acceptabl e.) ~ rATE M ENT O F THE PROBLEM
Evahmte the alternatives. Evaluate t he fou r alt ernat ives above, usin,
1\ 1 a Iime o f eco no m ic recession , a n elect rical eng inee ring stude n t, Joan Fu rlong,
the eth ica l th eori es d iscu ssed in th e previou s cha p te r:
h ucnri ng grad ua tio n . She is see king a perman ent position with a n elec tro n ics
• ~i ll's l~ ti lita l: ia n i sm tells Ralp h to ba la nce th e benefit o f a sec u re job (and r umpany in digit al circuit d esign and ana lysis, but she accep ts in tervi ews fro m
hi s eth ica l di st aste for th e job ) agai ns t th e ben efit o f a better job (an d till' I" 1111 electro n ics and pow er co m pan ies. Her resume clearly states her q ua liflca-
un certaint y and fin an cia l strugg le th at goes with it) . Duration an d in tell 111l11 S, job ob jective, and in terests, whi ch arc in digita l circuit de sign . With her
sity o f th.~ ben efits sho uld be co ns ide red; a first job typi cal ly lasts fro m f\ llIllua tio n d ay ap proac h ing, she receives a n o ffer fro m th e Algo nq uin Pow er
three to liv e yea rs, and se ts th e ton e fo r the rest o f a ca ree r. Each readl 'l I 'u m pan y for a job worki ng on sche d uling su bstatio n main ten an ce. The salary
wo uld balan ce t hese facto rs d ifferen tly, but m ost wou ld likely co nclude I', goo d, so she wr ites back imm ed iately and acce pts. Abo ut two weeks later, she
tha t th ree to five yea rs in a d ista st ef ul jo b is to o hi gh a price for sec u rity, II 'cl'ives a lett er from Ace Microel ectro n ics o ffering her a positi on o n a new
252 ~A~Tl I R E [ • PROFESSIONAL [TIlI CS
253
-:
CIlAPTLIl 12 • Lt b it:s ill /'/ o/ es \i /'",/ [ mll/oy me llt
project in d igita l circuit design. The sa la ry is rough ly eq ual to the Algo nq llill
obligatlo n to Algo nquin th at ca n not be erase d With a sim p le apo lo gy. The
o ffer, alt ho ug h th e em ploymen t m ay end wh en th e project d oes. Furlo nl: I
company has prob abl y sen t rejecti on leiters to the o ther ap pli cants for th e
un certain wha t to do. She sinc erely wa n ts to work in circuit design a nd not III
position a nd may sta nd to lose m o re th an the recruitmen t cos ts if th e m ain -
sche d uling ma inten ance. She identi fies three possible co urses of action .
renan ce p rogra m is delayed . (peopl e o utside the co m pany rarely un der stand
Honour thc AlgOluluin agreemenr. She co uld h on our th e agrcenn-u:
the grave co nse q ue nces of failing to recruit personnel. ) Th e argum ent that th e
with Algo nq uin a nd declin e th e off er fro m Ace. She wo u ld likely th ank AI",
Code of Et h ics d oes not ye t a pp ly to Furlong is spur ious, legali sti c, a nd un ac-
a nd te ll the m she has a lread y acce pte d a n offer, althou gh she might be il l "I'
ceptab le as a justifica tion for her actio ns.
to join th em o n a later pro ject in a few yea rs' tim e, o n ce she has satisfied 11"1
o bligatio n to Algo n q uin . Rcvo k c thc Algo n q u i n agrccmcnt, but o f fcr rcimburscmcnt.
Sometimes in life we make se rio us mi stakes, and the o n ly way to rem ed y th ese
Rcvol<c t h c Algon q u in agrccmcnt. Sh e co uld writ e to Algo nq uin, 11' 11
m istak es is to ad m it th em , a po logize, and o ffer restitution . Eve n marri age- a
th em her plans ha ve cha nge d, revo ke her ea rlie r agreem en t, a nd apo log ize 1111
vocla l co n tract that is at least as sac red as accept ing a job offer- has provisions
th e in con veni en ce. Sh e is a wa re of t h e Code o f Et h ics of her pro vln cl .rt
Ior divo rce. [I' Fur long gen uine ly believes th at accept ing th e Algonquin o ffer
Associatio n, but she is not yet a member of th e Associatio n and does n ot fl', '1
was a ve ry serious error in jud gm ent, she sho uld ad m it her mi stake a nd offer
bo und to fo llow the code . Alt h o ug h she is a stude n t me m ber o f the ln srltuu
rcstltutio n . Algo nq uin will likely request th e retu rn of ex penses paid d ur ing
o f Electrica l a nd Electro n ics Eng in ee rs (IEEE), th e IEEE code does not have a uv
I he recruitmen t (at least), a nd of co urse Furlong will never receive an offer
cla use th at pertai ns to thi s parti cul a r sit uation .
l rom th em again . So Fur lo ng w ill pay a price for realigning her ca ree r path .
Rcvokc t h c Algo n q u in a greement but offcr rcimburscmcnt. Sill'
l'his is no t a n ideal co urse o f acti on . How ever, restit ut ion ack no wledge s her
. co uld write to Algo n q uin as a bov e, but also o ffer to reimburse th em for II I, '
1'1hica l d uty and ens ure s th at th e person who benefit s most from this co urse
rec ruitme n t ex pe nses they paid o n her beh alf.
of actio n (Fu rlo ng) co m pe nsa tes Algo nq ui n for at least part of its losses.
In su m m ary, th e auth or lean s stro ngly in favour of th e first a lte rna tiv e-
Q U ES T IO N
III o ffe r o f em ploy me n t (like a n y legal ag ree men t) sho uld never be accep ted
From th e e thical persp ective, which of th e ab ove three o p tio ns is best ? unless it ca n be ho noured . Furl ong ha s a duty to fulfill it. Mor eo ver, she may
row to e n joy th e job at Algo nq ui n Power, an d m ay be pleased that she fol -
AUTHOR'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION lowed her co nsc ience . Th is is clea rly the m ost et h ical decision .
Th is problem is not spec ifica lly ad d ressed in Codes o f Ethics, alt ho ugh ever I' ASE S T U D Y 12.3
code sta tes o r im plies that a profession al has an o bliga tio n to act i'l "gootl
fait h" or wit h "good will" toward clients, em ployees, an d em ployers. I o wever, I'i\ RT- T I M E EM PLO YM ENT (MOONLIG HT I NG)
th e NSPE g uide lines d iscu ss thi s probl em specifica lly : " Hav ing ace, pted all
HATE M EN T OF THE PROBLEM
e m ployme n t o ffer, a pplican ts ar e et h ica lly obliga ted to hon or the 'o m m lt
men t unl ess a nd until they give ade q uate no tice of in ten t to term ina te "6 Also, I'llilip Forte is a licen sed professional enginee r who has wo rked for Federal
whe n we ap ply th e eth ical th eori es to thi s case, all o f th em clea rly su po rt 1111 ' tructura l Design for 10 yea rs. Un fo rtu nate ly (fo r reasons th at are no t clear to
NSPE dir ecti ve. To illustrat e, co ns ide r th e th ree alterna tives. el t her Forte o r hi s em ploye r), the co m pany has not had man y large co n trac ts,
Honour t hc Algo n q u in agrccmcnt. Clea rly, th is decision iji m ost cth .iud For te 's sa lary is very low. For the past 10 years o f h is em ployme n t, hi s pay
ical. All of th e et h ica l th eori es di scu ssed in th e previ ou s cha pter ' uppo rt t lli ~ rnlscs hav e rarely exceede d cos t-o f-living in creases. As a result, he h as been
co ncl usio n. Honou rin g ag reem ents is a vi rtue, a nd utilitari a ns wo uld a rglll' turced to take o n ex tra wor k in h is spare time. He sec retly brings th e work to his
that hon ou rin g agreem ents- even whe n th ey are no t ideal-permi ts soc iety I I I 1111ice in th e eve n ing , where he uses th e design an d analysis so ftwa re o n his
o pera te sm oo t h ly, ben efiting everyo ne. Kant's phi losophy wo uld spec ifically r om pu t er wo rksta tio n. He is ca refu l to pay for a ny of fice su pplies o r ph ot~
tell Fur lon g th a t p ro mi ses mu st be h on oured : she m ad e a prom ise II ' Ill pying o ut of h is o wn po cket , and he a rgues t ha t th e co m pute r wo uld be stt-
Algonq uin a nd has a duty to fulfill it. Moreover, sh e ma y grow to en joy till' Illi g id le in th e eve n ing any way, so his em ploy er is suffering no loss. In fact,
Algo nq uin job an d end up feeling pleased th at she fo llow ed her co nsc lenr«, l'ortc co n te nds th at h is even ing wo rk is ben efiting hi s em ployer, since it enables
Fur long's perso na l righ ts a re not a n issu e, beca use she freely ac cepted th e Offl' l, 11 1111 to kee p wor king for Fed e ral Structura l Design in spite of his lo w salary.
How ever, Algo nq uin has a legal right to require her to hon ou r h er agre eme n t.
Rcv okc thc Algonquin a g rccmcnt. Revo king o r ig nor ing the o blign I UEST IO N
tio n to Algo nq uin is clea rly un eth ical. As ex plaine d ea rlier, Furlo ng ha s all
It et h ica l for Forte to ca rry o n hi s part -time e m p loyme nt in thi s mann er'!
254 PART TIIREE • PROFESSIONAL ETIII CS
,,, ,,'w, ". t t liit v ,,, "7 ""'"["""",,, , , , 2' I
pote n tia l hazard to the pu rch asers who use th e boat s, so Adam s h as a n ct h-
AUTHOR ' S SUGGESTED SOLUTIO N
ical d u ty to ta ke im med ia te actio n to redu ce o r elim inate th e h azard .
T I,l i ~ G~~~ in ~o l ves a ~ Iea r co n flict o f in terest, w hi ch is co n tra ry to eve ry ol!,' Ada ms's first ste p sho uld be to inform th e e ng inee ring man ager ab o ut the
~I Lth lcs: Many el.lg ll1eers " moo n lig h t" (that is, work part-time o n eve n ing problem . Mo st likely, she wou ld d o this by wr itin g a n in tern a l m em or andum
,:11(\ w e e~end S). It IS no t un eth ical fo r an e m ployee to work for m or e th an O l lt ' describing t he erro rs in the sales br ochures. Most co m pan ies a re honest and
emy ,loye l, but e m ploye rs mu st be fully inform ed o f t he situa tio n in o rde r I" wou ld take immedi ate actio n to co rrec t th e sales b rochures, rega rd less o f the
~ e l l fY th at. th e e m p l~yee is not co m pe ti ng with the e m ploye r, a nd t ha i li lt ' rost. Th e new br ochures sho u ld state th at th e o ld br ochures a re in co rrect, and
e m p,loye e. IS no t abusing o r di verti ng th e e m ploy er's reso u rces. direct th em to be di scarded.
Fo rt e IS not acti ng eth ica lly in thi s situa tio n, since he di d not in form h l In rar e in sta nces, the br o chu res may indi cat e d elib erat e di sh onest y. For
em ploye r o f hi s par t-ti me em ploy me n t. Secrecy is the problem . It is irrelcva I example, if Ada ms d isco ve red th at incorrect ca pac ities we re pri n ted in the
to a.rgu e, th at th e e m ployer is ex plo iti ng Forte by payi ng a poor sa la ry t;. I; hrochu res, a n d /o r sta m pe d o n t he bo at s' se ria l nam epl at es, th e p ro b lem
forcin
' ,, ' g Forte
' " to, work
I IW~~O . I).S . I'' or t ~ h a s a n o b l i ga ti o n to h i m se l f a n d to t h'e p llI ' wou ld be much mo re ser io us. Th e co m pa ny's m an agem ent co uld be gu ilty o f
tcssion ~ I n eve l ~ Code o f l,t h lcs) to Insist o n ad eq uat e pay fo r professio na l wor l nlisrep resen tat ion, wh ich is illegal, a nd po ssib ly crimin al. If a se rio us ac cid en t
, M ~l eo ~el: l'o rte may be pla cin g hi s ca reer a t m o re risk than he reali zes. II were to occu r (suc h as an ov e rloa ded boat sin king, resulting in loss of life), th e
Fo rte IS o ffering se rvices to th e gen era l public w he n h e m oonlights th en 'Ill l'rroneo us br o ch u res an d incor rect ca pac it ies wo uld becom e p ub lic kn ow l-
.so me ~)l'o :ln . c e s (sue I1 as O n ta rio) ' h e mu st o b ta in a Ce rti fic ' a te'- 01 l'l!ge, a nd the eng inee r co u ld be cha rged wit h in competence o r eve n w ith co l-
Au tho n zatio n, an d th e qu esti on o f liabil ity insur ance mu st be add ressed . lusio n in th e mi srepresentati on .
A pr ofession a l e ng inee r o r ge o scie n tist wh o di sco ve rs th at h is o r her
C ASE ST UD Y 1 2. 4 «mployc r is di sh onest must qu ickl y di ssocia te fro m a ny illegal acti vit y. The
professio n al must also co ns ide r whe t he r to blow th e wh istle o n a d ishonest
FAL SE O R MI SL EADING EN G I NE ERI N G DATA I N A DV ERT I SIN G l'lllploye r, o r resign in pr o test (or bo th ). O t he rw ise, t he p rof ession al risk s
!ll'ing lab ell ed a partici pa n t in th e illega l activit y.
STAT EME N T OF T HE P ROBL EM
A U d l:~y J A,d a l~l s i ~ a I,i.cen sed m e~ llan i ca l e ng inee r with mari ne cx pe rie nrc,
ASE STUDY 1 2 . 5
working for a m anu facturer o f fib reglass pleasure boat s. She ha s co nd ucted
bu oyan cy tests. o n a.1I th e boa ts m anufactu red by th e co m pa ny and has rah'd
ALTE RED PLA N S AN D I N A D EQ U ATE SUPE RV I SIO N
t1~ e ~1l1.11 :a pac l t~ 0 1 eac h, acco rd ing to th e procedure specified by Trans port
~ d n d d d. She noti ces t hat the co m pa n y's sa les broch ur es show p hot ograp hs "I STATE M EN T OF THE PROBLEM
S l~ peo ple Ol.l.bo(~ rd a boat that is rated for a maxim um o f five peopl e. In lit.
Ass u m e tha t yo u are a licen sed civil (stru ctura l) engi nee r em plo yed by a la rge
pi 111 ted spec ificat io ns, th e sa les broch u res state th at the bo at call 110Id a ' Il'tail co m pa ny. You work directl y fo r th e co m pa ny a rch itec t, who d esigns th e
. f " fi rr c , m ux
Imlll.ll 0 . I~.e.a d u l ts: , She believes th at th e sales b rochures are mislead ing and IIl' W reta il sto res, incl udi ng ren ovatio n s o r ad d itio ns to ex isting stores. As a n
I~O~SII~I,y .1 : 'I ~': l d o u s . Ihe error wo uld be cos tly a nd perh ap s em barrass ing I " nrchi tec t, yo u r boss co nce n t ra tes o n crea tin g sto res that a re eye-catc h in g,
cha nge, since th o usan d s o f the broc h ures have been pr inted and dl stribu t . I
~d~l~lS ~:,':
ro lo u rfu l, a nd attractive to th e custo m er- co ncepts that wil l ge t ma ximum
spea ks b riefl y to a sa les re p rese n ta tive, w ho rep lies, "The boa t ales. Yo u r job is to sho w th at th e a rch itec t's co nce p ts a rc sa fe by in sertin g th e
f.l ~dtln g o ka~ w h.e n we too k th e pictur e." Ada ms knows t ha t th e boat is sa fe in rructu ral de ta ils, prep ar in g th e st ruc tur a l dr awings, o bta in ing th e bu ildin g
st ill wat er Wit h SIX people o n board, but cou ld flo od a nd sin k in roug h wa le: I'l'rm it s, a nd su perv isin g the co ns t ruc tio n . La rge co ns t ruc tio n p ro ject s a re
u-udcr cd o u t fo r co n t rac t. Ho wever, a co m pa ny crew co m plete s sma ll jobs
QUESTION Inte rn a lly. The crew m an ager was train ed as a fram e ca rpe n te r, a nd was la ter
ll,rtified as a technol o gist , but is neither a n a rchi tect nor a n engineer.
W ha t actio n (if a ny) sho uld Ada ms ta ke'? In th e past seve n yea rs, yo u have successfu lly su pe rVised the d esign o f two
I lrge new sto res and t heir co ns t ruc tio n by co n t rac to rs. You have a lso planned
AUTHOR'S SUGGESTED SO LU T ION uhou t 20 sma ll pro ject s, w h ich h ave been ca rried o u t by th e co m pa ny crew.
' \tl'l'en t ly, ho weve r, yo u d iscov ered th at th e c rew m an ager ha s so me ti m es bee n
The Code o f Eth ics fo r every Associati on states that th e sa fety and welfare " I
t. ~le g~neral pub lic mu st be co ns ide red param ount (m o st im po rtan t). th h II~ l\l'viat ing from yo u r pla ns o n the small job s. In yo u r tech ni ca l d iscu ssions, he
1I'lI s always agreed to co m ply wit h yo u r inst ru ctio ns. Now yo u rea lize t ha t he
Situa t io n, t h e b ro c hures c rea te a fa lse idea o f th e bo at ca paci ty. T h is is ,I
256 PART TIIREE • 1'1101 1 S I ONAl I uucs
CIiAP f EIl 12 • lt hi c » ill l ' roj c s s i o u n ! [ mp l oy m e ll ' 257
h as co ns iste n tly been a lte ring yo ur pl an s-for ex a m p le, by su bs tit u ting 11 11

t ha t ki lled 114 peo pl e a n d in ju red m o re th an 20 0 o t h e rs. Thi s w a ~ th e
fcrent struc t u ra l ste el sha pes , cha ng ing joint co n n ec tio n d esign s, ch a ng ill '
dl'ad lies t st r uc tura l failure in No rt h Ame rica s ince th e co l la pse 0 1 th e
co lu m n locati ons, an d using sa lvaged st ruct ura l ste e l in st ea d o f n ew scct to u-
( ucbec Brid ge in 190 7 (d isc ussed in C h a pte r I) . T h e ca use of th e Hya tt
You a re gen ui nely un certa in o f th e e x te n t o f hi s c h a nges; yo u a re also un l't'l
ra i n a bo ut t he fac tors of sa fet y in the "as built" st ruct ur es. Ik gen cy co lla pse wa s eve n t ua lly tra ced to a min or c ha nge in th e d esi gn o f
IIIC' fill ings su ppo rting t he upper walkwa y. Both walkwa ys were to be hung
You co n fro n t th e c rew m anager, so mew ha t angri ly. He resp onds th at Ill '
I,OJl1 steel ro ds roughl y 18 m (60 tt .) lo n g. Ho weve r, suc h ro d le n g t h s ar e
was simply " us ing cos t-saving m easures" a n d th at "t he c ha nge s d id n' t a ffl'l I
dl lficu lt to t ra ns po rt, so t he fabri cat or sugges te d th at two s hor te r (9 m )
stre ng t h ." Moreo ver, h e in sists th at h e h as "25 ye a rs o f ex pe rie nce in pro;, 'e I
tccl rods be used, ins tea d o f th e longer (18 m) rod . The sho rte r rods wo u ld
man agem en t" and th at h e h as h ad "ve ry few p robl ems in the past." YOII
hot h be bo lted to th e fit ti ng that s u p po rted th e upper walkwa y. Thi s
re port th ese fac ts to you r boss, t he a rch ite ct, w ho is "s im p ly too bu sy wi t II
I hange see m ed m in o r; in fa ct, h owev er, it d o ub led the load o n t he, fillin g-
proj ect dead lin es to worry ab out per sonn e l pr obl ems. " Th e boss in struct s yel"
,I point th a t wo ul d h a ve been o bv io us , if an yon e h ad dra\:n a free-b ody
to "so rt it o u t yo u rse lf." You reali ze th a t yo u a re partl y to bl am e for 11 11
d iagram of t he filli ng. The d esign e ng inee r did n ot rec a ll seell1g t h e c h a nge
probl em becau se yo u were respon sib le for "supervi si n g, " whi ch in c lu de
11''i llest , but th e e nginee r's sea l appear ed on t h e re vised dra ~ ing s . Th e co l-
e ns ur ing t ha t yo ur p la n s we re foll o wed. Th e crew m an ager is e m p lo yed iiI
Llpsc was a t ragedy for th e v ict ims . It was a lso costly for the in suran ce c? m-
yo ur co m pa ny, so yo u trusted h im m ore than yo u would ha ve trusted ;111
p.ui ies a n d for th e e ng inee rs wh o lo st the ir licen ces a n d were forced Int o
ex tern a l co n t rac to r, a n d yo u fa iled to in sp ect th ese sma ll p roj ect s a n d prepa r.-
as- bu ilt d raw ings . 11,11 1kru ptcy .? . .
teMessu rier and the Cltfcorp Tower. Wi lli am Lelvlessuri er wa s hired
QU ESTION 11\ a st ruc t ur a l co ns u lta n t to the C itico rp Tower in New York C ity, a 59-storey
IIl1l1 d in g wi t h a st ruc t ur a l s te el fram e. Aft er th e b uild in g wa s c o ~ n p le t~ d ,
What ac tio n sho u ld yo u ta ke'? I dvlcss ur ie r h ad occas io n to rec hec k hi s st re n gt h ca lcu la tio n s, at whi ch po int
Ill ' real ized th at w he n stro ng winds bl ew from a ce rta in directi on, th e forces
AUTHOR'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION 1111 I he bolte d jo in ts wou ld be s ig n ifica n tly g rea te r than he had ea l: ~ ie r ca ln.l-
lilli'l l. He c hose to face hi s erro r direct ly. Wind tunnel test s co n fi rm ed hIS
Unde r eve ry e nginee ring Cod e o f Ethi cs, th e enginee r's primar y respon stb un, Il'lI rs, a nd h e rev ea led hi s co nce rns to th e b uildin g d esi gn ers and to th e
is to e n sur e th e sa fe ty o f th e publ ic. T he m an ager 's ass e rtio n that " t he c ha n g« I lk-u t, C itico rp . Citicorp ag ree d to i m me d iate acti on, and repairs w er e made
d id n ot a ffec t st re ngt h" is n ot ad equat e, s incc h e is n o t qu a lified to make th.u III n -co rd time before th e b u ilding risked being d emolish ed by a hurrican e.
judgm ent. Clea rly, yo u a re uncertain a bo ut th e fa ct ors of safety in the fin ,1i urp ri singly, eve n th ough the repairs cos t mi llion s of dollars, LeM essurler w~ s
design, so yo u must tak e so me action o n thi s pr obl em . Regardless o f th e pres h lvkl cd fro m most o f th e finan ci al lo ss and wa s hi gh ly prai sed for hi s
su re o f d eadlin es o r the cos ts involved , yo u must co nvince yo ur bo ss, tI ll' I" Olllpl , e t h ica l ac tio ns . (No te : This importa nt case is di scu ssed in d etai l in
ar ch itect, th a t t h is probl em must be re med ied . Un de r th e Co de o f Et h ics fell I hnp tcr 14 .) . ,
ar chitect s, she o r h e h as a n o b liga tio n to respect yo ur ex pe rt ise in d e tl'l The above two cases illustra te th at m inor c h a nges o r e rro rs ca n some t imes
mi ni ng st ruc t u ra l stre ngt h .
III' critica l. W h e n face d w it h th e possibility o f s t ruc t u ra l flaws, th e e t h ica l
In th is case, th e e th ica l anal ysis is easy. Th e Cod e of Et h ics requires ever \ II ' po nse is to ad d res s th e prob lem direc tl y, d et ermine the s t re ng t h acc u-
professio na l to put p ublic sa fety a h ea d of person al ga in o r inco nve n le no-, ''' h'ly, a n d tak e a ll necessar y ac tio ns to e n sur e sa fe ty.
a nd th e m ain decisio n is h o w to do it. In o rde r to g ua ra n tee sa fe ty, yo u mu«
re view a ll 20 o f th e p roj ect s as qu ic kly as p ossibl e to det ermi n e th e act ua l fal
to rs of sa fe ty in th e as-bu ilt st ruc t u res. St rcng ths w ill have to be rccalcula n-u • 1\ E HI S T O R Y 12.1
wh ere ne cessary, and wi ll h ave to be filed with th e o rigina l d esign calculn
lio n s to docu m ent t he as-bu ilt s tre ng t h. If th e as-b ui lt st re ng t h is m ar gina l II I III1 CHA LLEN G ER S PACE SHUTTLE D ISASTER
in ad equat e, imm edi at e st ruc t ur a l re pairs wil l have to be taken to increa ~I '
1111 ' (:Iw l/ellser space s h u tt le ex p los io n in 1986 is probab ly th e m o st infam ou s
st re ng t h . In th e fu t u re, yo u wi ll h a ve to m on ito r the sma ll p roj ect s rnou -
I IIgl1 1cering t raged y of a ll lim e. Milli ons of pe op le we re wat chin g th e .t de-
closely. Two in cidents in vo lving Ame rica n st ruc tu ra l proj ect s a re ve ry reh-
va n! to this case st ud y. I l'tI lau nc h wh en Challenge: ex p lode d , resultin g in the loss o f se ve n lives,
1II IIIIense cos ts, a n d severe p robl em s for th e Ame rica n space pro gram . (More
Hyatt Regency h o t el. In 1981 in Kans as Cit y, Mi ssouri , tw o co ncreto
k-wcrs saw th e co lla pse o f th e World Trade Cen te r o n Septe m be r 11, 200 I,
walkways spa nni ng th e lobby of th e Hyatt Regen cy h otel suffe red a co lla pse
Ii II I II resu lted from a terrori st a ttac k, a nd was n ot a n e ngi nee ring fau lt. )
258 PART TIIREE • PROF[ SSIO NAL [ TIl I CS
CIIAI'H!l 12 • L t h i 5 i n l'f oj c H i on "t [mpl oym cnt
The Cha l lenger ex plosio n ca use d th e first deaths of America n ast ro na uts
during a m ission (altho ug h th e re had been thr ee deaths in a gro un d test for
tile first Apo llo missio n, a nd three Soviet death s when parachu tes failed to
deploy at th e en d of th e first Soy uz mission). Th e Chul lenger di saster was a
wrious setbac k for the U.S. spa ce program .
In v e s t i g a t i o n
America n Presiden t Ron ald Reagan co n vene d a co m m issio n to in vesti gat e th e
( 'lui llengcr ex plos io n . The in vesti gati on in vol ved o ve r 6,00 0 peopl e, a nd th e
result ing 25 6- page report was issued in Jun e 1986.9 After ex te ns ive delib era-
lio n, t he co m m issio n co ncl ude d th at th e Chal lenger explosio n was cause d by
the failure of a rubber O-ring sea l betw een sec tio ns of a rocket booste r. Hot
gas fro m th e rocket motor esc a pe d past th e O-ring (a nd past a seco nda ry
(l-ring intend ed to doub le th e fact or of safety) . Thi s generated a lateral thrust
that eve n t ua lly b ro ke a su p po rti ng st ru t. Th e st ru t failure perm itt ed th e
booster rocket to swivel, pun cturing th e ce n t ral hyd rogen fuel ta n k, w h ich
led, in turn , to an explos io n o f th e sh utt le's hyd roge n fuel.
The investigat ors also learn ed th at o n th e eve of th e laun ch , eng inee rs
Photo '~. ~ - The Challenger Space Shuttle Explosion. The Challenger spar f ' 1ricd to delay th e lau nch , beca use th ey were uncert a in how t he O-ring sea ls
shuttle mission, un officially called the " Teacher in Space Proj ect, /r was launched on wou ld perfo rm in suc h co ld weath e r. Th e invest igati on th en fo cused o n
January 28, 798 6. At 73 seconds after launch, a series of structural failures caused NASA's man agem ent style; th e co m m issio n co n cl ude d t hat th e Chal lenger
a fue~ tan k t? explode. The shuttle and its crew of seven were lost, in th e most launch decisio n was flawed .
heavilv televised eng ineer!ng failure in history. The subsequent inquiry revealed tha t
ma nag ers over-ruled engmeers who tri ed to delay th e lau nch for safety reasons. f h e a -Ring Problem
Source: AP/ Bru ce Weaver.
When the roc kets fire, th ey crea te eno rmo us st ress in the rocket cas ing in all
three dimension s. Th e jo int between th e rocket sectio ns d istorts, and th e ga p
Introduction between th e sec tio ns wid ens und er thi s stress. The O-rings keep th e join t
scaled, preven t ing th e hot gas from esca ping. Th e O-rings, whic h a re co m-
On J~r1lJary 28, 1986, th e U.S. Na tio na l Aero na u tics a nd Space Ad ml nlstra n . n, pressed in a groove, mu st be resilient eno ugh to "s pring back" to fill th e gap
(NASA) la unch ed th e space sh utt le Chll ll ellga at Cape Can averal, Flor ida . 'I'll,' and kee p th e jo in t sealed as it wid en s du e to joint st ress and di stortion . Th e
laun ch had .been delayed by bad wea th er, a nd th e weat h er o vern igh t had temperatu re is im po rta nt , becau se lower temperatures in crease th e har dness
~)ee.n exce ptio na lly co ld (fo r Flo rida). At 11:38 a. m ., th e rocke ts were fina llv Ill' the O- rings and decrease th eir resilience.
Ignited . ' / Roger Boi sjol y was th e Morton-Thi ok ol enginee r most fam iliar wit h th e
. At fir~~, the sh uttle rose acco rd ing to the flight plan; ho wever, at 59 second- l lori ng design . He had co nd uc ted temperature test s o n O-rings, and as ea rly as
II1to .the flight a plume o f flam e was ev iden t near th e booster roc kets. By 64 set luly 3 1, 1985, he had reco m m ended in writing th at th e pro b lem o f O-ring
~ r~ ds, tl~ ~ f,lame I~ad burned a hole in th e booster; at 72 seco nds, th e booster's vroslo n (bu rned by hot gas) be stud ied . Fur t her more, he had warn ed th at
stru t detd ~h e.d ,flOlll t h: e~ t e rn a l tank . At 73 seco n ds in to th e fligh t, til,. failure to "so lve th e prob lem wit h the field jo in t" co uld resu lt in loss of a
booster st l .l ~ck Chll llc llgCI s fight Wing and th en struck th e fuel tank. The ta n l shuttle, probab ly o n th e launch pad. III He was au thorized to se t up a n O-ring
ex p lode d. Ihe sh u tt le w~s at an a ltitude o f 14,600 m an d travellin g at abo ut rea m, a nd in Oc to be r 1985 he so ug h t advice fro m 130 vend o rs and ot her sea l
Mach 2 when th e cxploslo n occurred . Th e explosio n ma y have killed the crew .xperts. Ho wever, no he lp wa s forth com ing fro m th ese so urces. I I
m en~ber~; th e crew m od~l l e separated fro m th e rocket during th e ex plosio n and
~as 111. fIee.fall f~I" 2 mmu tes an d 4S seco nds. It hit th e oce an at a speed 0 1 Th e Evening Teleconference-Boisjoly Is Over -Ruled
dbo u.t 320 krn/ h. I here were no survivo rs. Fragme n ts of the sh utt le co ntin ued The eve n ing before th e la unch , weather for ecasters predi cted th at th e lau nch
to ra m down o n th e rescu e team for a bo ut an hour after th e ex plosion ."
site te m pe rat u re wo u ld d rop to 20°F (-6°C) o ve rn ight. NASA e n gineering
CIIAPT[ R 12 • Lt hi c» ill /, / " j es>i Oll al Emp loy me ll t 261
260 PART TlI ll H • PRo r e s ION AI IfI IC
II'I'nt ua lly, he bega n to feel isol at ed . He drifted o u t o f co n tac t with hi s co l-

managers wer e worri ed ab out th e e ffec t o f thi s unu sua lIy low tern ncr a tu n - III I II gues-espec ially the NASA m an agem en t- an d fin a lly resigned . In 1987 he
~h e rock et bo o st er s. A lat e-ni ght teleconfer en ce was held , in vol vlu
lI1l'd lawsuits aga inst Mo rto n-Th iokol a nd NASA fo r person al damages.
3 ~ peopl e. Engine ers and manager s from Morton-Thi ok ol (t he manufa ctuu -:
Iloi sjo ly wa s see n as a n et h ica l whi stle-blowe r- h is recommen d ati on to
01 th e rocket boo st ers) presented th eir co ncerns a nd recomm endati on s to Iii l"' lay the lau nch h ad been o ve r-ru led. O ne un an swered qu esti on is wh ether
N AS~ ma l~a g ers at th e laun ch sit e. Thi s criti ca l eve n ing co n fe re nc e I
III' co uld h ave d on e mo re to ob ta in co ld-te m pe ratu re O- ring dat a a nd present
d e ~ cl'lb ed 111 d etail in a d efinitive bo ok , Tile Challenger Launch Decislui.
I mo re co n vinci ng case for lau nch dela y at th e c ruc ia l lat e-evening telecon -
written m or e th an a d ecad e a fte r the tra ged y. 12
n-u-nce. Bo isjo ly in sists th at h e made th e pr oper et h ical choices durin g hi s
. . Th e tel ec~nf~r~ n c ~ focu sed o n th e performan ce o f th e O-ring sea ls al Iii IlIl'inee rin g ca ree r, o fte n a t th e risk o f h is job. In 19 88 h e recei ved th e
circum fcrcn tla l [oint In th e roc ket. Boi sjoly sta ted th at no previous sh u u l mcrican Assoc ia tio n for th e Ad va nce m e n t o f Scie nce (AAAS) awa rd for
had bee n lau nch ed at temperatures below 53°F ( 12°C), a nd th at th e roll I I IIl'n ti fic Free do m and Resp on sibilit y for h is e ffo rts to act et h ica lly in th e
bo ~st er ~ re :ov ~red from that flight showed exte nsive d am age to th e prlm.u
Iven ts leadin g to th e C/w l/ellgel' sh u ttle di sast er. U
? ~ ll ng, . I ~l d lCa t l n g. that th e O-ring had fail ed to sea l p roperl y. Fortu na te ly, Iii Th e key d ec isio n to o ve r-ru le t h e recomm endati on s o f the enginee rs,
.1 ~ l n t h .l ~ two .O-l'Ings, and th e seco nd a ry O-ring had co n ta ine d th e hot gol
11I,lde by Kilm in ste r o n th e eve o f th e launch , was clearl y a n eth ica l a nd m an -
I he eng mcc rt ng m anagers at Morton -Thi ok ol advised NASA's laun ch sl. l l Iw'm en t erro r. The best th at ca n be said for th e d ecision is th at it was m ade
th at th e lo w temperature co uld ca use failure of both O- ring s; th ey th en 11'1 under du ress. Th e e ng inee ring m an agers were under inten se pressur e to m eet
~ 1~l me n~led that. ~ I~e I ~un ch .b: d ;la yed until th e a m b ie n t temper auu Ihcd ul es dri ven by political a nd fin an cial pri ori ties, wit h a space sh u tt le th at
1.~'lCh ~d .'lt least 53 I, (12 C)'. Boi sjol y s d at a also included di sconcerting result \ IS still ex pe rime n tal, a nd not a tested, p roven vehicle. T he pr essure had
110m a laun ch wh ere th e prun ar y O-ring had fail ed w he n th e laun ch tc rn pu I hanged th e man agem en t philo sophy from "la u nc h o n ly whe n e ng inee rs ca n
a tu re was 73° F (23 °C).
IlIllve it is safe to d o SO," to "Iaun ch unl ess enginee rs ca n p rove it is un safe to
. At NASA, Lawren ce Mull oy, an enginee ring m anager a t th e next level (oil till So ." It to o k seve ral yea rs for NASA to red esign and recertify th e ro cket
a four-level laun ch a pp rova l prot ocol ), qu esti on ed th e reco m mend atio n "
hlillsters, an d to get th e space sh u tt le flyin g again .
d elay .tI~e l a~lI1 ch. Mull oy pointed o u t th e di screpan cy in th e dat a present-s!
by Bo isjo ly from th e previou s boo st er s. O ne O-rin g had fail ed during a fald
l ~w-tem.l ~ el:a tul:e I (\l~ncl.l , but o ne had fail ed during a fairly hlgh -temperutuu 1he Co l u m b i a Disaster
1,:I ~II1 C ~l ' . ~ hi s mi ght I~l~h.c ate th at temper ature is not th e key fact or in th e jolill 1111 Feb ruary I, 20(B , a second sh ut tle d isaster happen ed : th e Coll11 l1!J;a b rok e
f ,~ I1 ur~ . I he Mort.o n-I hi ok ol gro u p asked for a bri ef d elay so th at th ey co uld II I' on re-e n try from o rbit. Thi s di sast er too k place at a very hi gh a lti t ude, a nd
d iSCUSS th e questi on a mo ng th em sel ves. 11!lserve rs o n the gro u nd saw the d ebris as seve ra l b right met eo rs st reak ing
. ~~1 th ~ clo sed dis cu ssion. wit h M o rt on-Thi ok ol e ng ineers and manag«: II lOSS the sky. An acci de n t in vesti gati on board wa s co nve ne d . After inten sive
14
Ho isjol y .l l ~ d th e oth er engine ers remain ed co n v inced that, in spite of Iii
Illvestigatio ns, th e board issu ed its fina l rep o rt o n August 26, 2003.
a ppa rel: t dl scr e~ )an cy in th e data, th e co ld temperature would serious ly alll 'll In sim ple term s, this seco nd d isaster happen ed becau se a piece o f in sulating
.t ~ l e .O-l'I ng perform.an ce. How ev er, th ey co uld not ex p lain th e di screp ant \
1II00 In broke aw ay from t he fuel tan ks and st ruc k the wing o f th e sh u tt le. The
.1 hell' kn owled ge o f O-ring perf orman ce at low tem peratures was o bv io uvl .t.uuage we n t unnot iced durin g flight, but th e heat o f re-e n try was able to pen -
~nad equ at e . At this point, Morton -Thi o kol 's vice pr esid ent , Joe Ki l m i nxu-r
l lfate t he left win g, weak enin g th e in te rn a l struc tu re. The sh utt le d isi nt e-
lI~te:'ven ed to. pr epare ~ I~ e. formal r~commendation to NASA. After so m e pl'llli 1 ,l t l~d, and th e pieces th at did not burn at hi gh alt it ude fell to th e gro u nd in a
(~ I ng, th e fo u t Morton-I hiok ol cngl necrt ng man agers ag reed to reverse the 1111
wath 1,00 0 km (622 mil es) long. The disast er wa s a point ed reminder th at the
.t ~ a l recOl~lm ~ l~d ati on .and ap!)ro ve th e laun ch , effec tive ly ove r-ruling Boi sj« ,I
I'ace sh u ttle is not a test ed a irline r, bu t a ve h icle still under development.
I h: ~e1 ec onf el en ce With NASA resumed ; Kilm inster a n no u nced th e cha nge III
0 p111l0n a nd recommended that the sh u ttl e launch go a he ad . Th e sh u ttle IV I
UI S C USSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
laun ch ed th e next morning at II :38 a.m. and explode d 73 seco nds lat er.
I, A professio nal em ployee is assigned to purchase co m pute r hardware and
Discussion of the Ethics so ftwa re for a new design offi ce to h ou se 10 design ers, eng inee rs, a nd
geo scie n tis ts . The pr ofessional ca lls for te nde rs an d co m pe titive tests fo r
In .tI~e
afte rm at h ~ f th e explos io n , th ere was plenty o f blam e to go a ro u nd cu tlin g-ed ge d esi gn so ft wa re, but purch ases the co m p u te r h ard war e
~ Iol sl ol y .wa~
a p po in ted to the in vestigation team a nd was initiall y in volve.l fro m a local su p plie r, wit h ou t co m pe ti t io n . The hard wa re p rice is hi gh ,
In r ed ~ sl ~nln g t~l e sea l. I-I e p ro vid ed informati on freel y to th e President ' bu t not o ut rageo us. The e m ploye r d oes not know th at th e su pp lie r is th e
co nu russio n, w h ich led to severe fricti on wit h h is co lleag ues and su pe rk u
C II ~R 2..2 • ~ ; c s i I/ "r oj cssi ol/ol Emp{oymc l/t 263
262 PA RT THREE · PROFES I ONAL [ I IIIC
Th e Association of Profcssio n al En gineers, Geo log ists a nd G COI~h:Sici~ts o f

professiona l's co us in . Does th e p rofessional per son have a co n flic i II I 121 Albert a (APEGG M, . I ' r. I' l l ' l Practi cc 200 S () 17 avai lab le <It
Gil/ de ute l''! : IlCO I r . , . r
interest'! If so, is it an actual , potenti al, or per ceived co n flic t"! Wlt" l
pen alt y (if a ny) is th e professional sub ject to? rll ~~:~',:1 ~1~~e~~·~~~1~.\tl~~,~(~~r:~~~~;1PIOyment Law," C1~aptc~ 1~12i~~~mCli(l/l l.lIlV
2. A profession al eng inee r or geo scie n tist wh o accepts an offer o f em plo v J( Arcilil eclllre FI/ ~il/eeril/l> ant! Geosciel/ce, Pear son PrcntlCc 11 ,1 , . (
merit is crea ting a co n tract. In return for a sa lary a nd o the r benefits, IIIl 'll ~ ' f 0l1'l 1 SoCi~t~ ~ f Prof~ssiona l Engin eers (NSPE), Guulcl incs 10 E~ l/plo)'lI lel/ l or
I <I I , . ' 1 AI " 1"'1 VA Jun e 10 2006, available at
professional ag rees to use h is or h er ability to help the em plo yer achk -v- I 'ro(essiol/ al El/g lI l{'('("s, 4th cc , ,
1\ cx anc na , .' , ' ' (M' 2'{ 2008)
<www.ns 1e. org/ resources/doc u m e n ts/ pei /gl\l dc lt nes_r:v~ .doc> , . <I: .: "
legitimate goa ls. Assume that yo u have been hi red to design elec trica l "' II ' I J W Lan gford T il e Uespol/ sible I'IIIJ/IC Servant, I h e ln stitutc for
15\ K Kern ag ian ,111( . . " M M I I I "F t h ics and
mech ani cal co m po ne n ts for a ma chinery manufacturer. Dur in g a reCl ", R~sea rch o n Publi c Policy, Halifax, 1~90, ~I uot cd in . " .a.c~ OI~a, u, "
sio n, th e e m ploy e r decid es to diversify into new area s to at tra ct 1111111 Co n flict of In terest," Ccn tre for Appli ed L,.thl ~s (CAL~!, <I volil,lble at (
. 1" 1- 10 co Z'I/s I1ecial items/r cad ll1 g/ethlcs.htm l> (june t 5, 200 9!.
bu sin ess. Wou ld an y of th e fo llow in g tasks be unacceptab le, acco rd ing 1" <www armsc ea VI . , ' - . I' I 'II I l or
. . I S ' t o f I'r ofessiornl Fn gin ecrs (NSPE), Gll ide/llle s 10 :l lIp 0)'1//1
yo ur co nsc ienc e'! That is, if th e em ploye r asked you to parti cipa te III 1111 Natlo n a l : OC IC Y " ' 2
I' rolessiolwl Ells i ll eers, Part I-Recruitment (em p loyce cl.ause ). « 433
designing the foll owin g ma chin ery, whi ch (if an y) wou ld yo u refuse 1' 1 G Vol and FI/~illeerill~ b)' Design, Addi son Wcsley, Readll1g, M ~ , 1~ ~ 9,. I:· ..
do, o n e th ica l gro unds'! 171 I C1\~ , :'C h allenger Explosion, " from WI,ell 1c'c/ lIlOlog)' Falls: S'S/lI f ICCIIII
Itli 'i;'cill/(:/~I)~~;'I Disaslers, A ccid ellls, atul Flii/Ilres o( I!/(' Twen tiet h Century (cd .
• Bott lin g eq u ipmen t for th e beer a nd liquor industr y. N Sch l';ger) Gale Rcscarch, Detroit , 1994, p. 6 U . .
• Medi cal eq u ipmen t to m ake ab ortions safe r and m or e co nve n ie n t.
\
1)1 U~/;orl I;r t/ w'l'resid el/tial COll lll l issiclll Oil the Space Shuttl« Cl w l/ ellSer A CCl;le/" t ,
• Pill -m akin g m achin es for th e birth co n t ro l or pharrnaceutiru l · t DC 1986 avai labl e at <h tt p:/ /scicnce,ksc. nasa.gov/sh u ll c
Was Iling o n , , ,'" f t · I t I> (M'IY 23 2( 08)
in d ust I' ies. it ssions/S I_I/d ocs/r og crs-commission/table-o -co n ten s. 1 m . .' ', ' .
• Sec u rity locks for th e prison syste m.
I 101 :~ MlIo'iSjoly Int croffi ce Mcm o to ILK. Lund, Vice President, Engll1eel'll,~~'
W·c'Is'a tch ' Divi'sio n Mort on Thiok ol, ln c., Jul y 3 1, 1985, il~ D. Vau ghaI ,\ . Ie
• Equipment for nucl ear pow er plants. ,, , . ' •t f CI C'lg0 Press c1 lIcago
Cl w l/ m 'er Lllllllcil Decisioll , Ap pcnd lx B, Uru versi yo. 11 , ' " :; . '
• Rou lette wh eels for cas inos . 1996 , I;~ 44 7. Also in l<oS('/' Hoisj ol)': T he Cl w l/ ellS('/' D1.Wlst(:,; th e ~n l ll1~ ~.tlllCS
• Rifles o r handguns for th e Ca nad ian arm ed forc es. Ce n ter for Engin eeri ng &: Scien ce, availab le at <www.o n hn eeth lcs.OI g/cms/
• Rifles for hunters. 7 12 '~ as px > (May 23, 2( 08), . f
111 \ R.M', ' lI~i s iol y, " Pre-Disas ter Background," th e ? n li n ~ Et h ,cs Ce n tc r or . . _/
• Printing eq uipmen t fo r lotter y ticket s. Eng ine ering & Scicnce, ava ilab lc at <www, o n h n c~t h lCs . org/ CM s/pro fp r<lct l ce
3. You are working as a professiona l engineer in a sm a ll co ns ult in g CO ll i 11essays/ th io kolsh ull lc/sh u ttle_pre.as px > (May .z.~, 20( 8). ' ,. , ) , . '
II I \~. Vaughan, 'I'll{' Cl w l/ el/ger u uinct. D ecision, Ul1I ve rslty of Ch IC,lgO I ress,
pan y that giv es its eng inee ring e m p loy ees co ns ide ra ble latitude in sclll'd
Ch icago , 1996 . . " , ,
uling ta sks, meeting deadlin es, and repo rting ex pe nses . Th e co rn pa u , 1:1 \ Rogre r Boisiol : T ile Cl w l/ el/s er Disaster, th e O n h n~ l-.t ~lICS Cen te r. ,
1 G I I Y J ct al Col lII lI lJia A ccir/ell t h ll'esllgallO/1 Hoard Uepol l, Volu me I,
presid ent co n ta cts yo u, a n d sta te s that sen ior m anagem ent has recol: \1-11 H,W. e rm an , r., ,., , , . 200 '~ 1 25
ni zed yo u r profession al attitude and attention to hi gh standa rds. 'l'l« Co lu m b ia Accid ent In vestigatio n Board, A,rhngton , VA, Augu st ' , I· ,
presid ent a lso expresses co nce rn abou t the lax a ttitudes of yo u r co l av ailab le at <h tt p://caib.nasa .go v> (May 23, 2008).
leagu es, wh o see m to be abusing the freed om ex te n de d to th em. Discu « ,
ex plain, a nd justif y whe the r it would it be et h ica l for th e presid en t I I I
offer, and for yo u to accept
• a sec ret assignm ent to monitor th e beh aviour of yo u r co lleagues a rul
yo ur imm edi at e su perior and report back to the presid ent.
• a promotion to head e ng ine er to repl ace yo u r immed iat e su perior, (,"
th e ba sis that th e head engineer is not co m pe te n t as a manager a u.l
sho u ld be repl aced .
Add itio na l assig n m en ts ca n be found in App endix E.
NOTES
111 Eng incc rs Ca nad a (for merly th e Ca nad ia n Co u ncil o f Profcssion al Eng incc rs-
CC PE), Na t ionu l SII/ve)' o( t he Canadian EI/gil/ e('("il/g l'rof cssion, 2002 , Ottawa,
avai lablc a t <www.engincerscan ad a.ca/c/fi lcs/su rvcysum ma ry2002.pd f>
(Iunc IS, 20( 9).
r
hapt er 13
t hics in Management
Accord ing to sta tis t ics, m ost prof ession al e ng inee rs and scie nt ists becom e
n-rhri ica l managers d uring th ei r care ers. Prom otion to m a nagem en t m ea ns
mo re sa la ry a nd aut hor ity, but a lso mo re resp onsib ilit y. W he n eth ica l pro b-
II' IIIS ar ise, such as neglige nce, co n flicts of inter est , or cor ru pt io n, th e man -
II}.\l'r m us t deal wit h th em . O ther em plo yees loo k to th e man ager as a ro le
model, so decisive, eth lea l leade rshi p is im porta nt .
Th is c ha pte r d iscusses so me o f th e et h ical issu es faced by man ager s, par-
rlrnl arly wh en h irin g profession als, reviewing th eir work, and, wher e neces-
oIry, d ismiss ing t hem . Six case stud ies illust ra te pract ica l eth ica l p rob lem s
t.md mo re case stud ies a re loca ted in Appen d ix F). Th e cha pte r e nds wit h a
l oI\C his to ry of th e co lla pse o f th e Vanco uver Seco nd Na rrows Bridge, whi ch
hows th at negligent prof essional pra cti ce ca n lead to traged y.
A D H ERIN G TO THE LICENSING ACT
1 Ill' most o bv ious resp o n sib ility o f a man ager is to ens ure that the profes-
ln na l e n g in ee rin g an d /o r ge oscie nce Act is bein g o beyed . Tw~cO l~n
IlI lringe me n ts a re a llow ing u nli cen sed per sonn el to wor k as p rof essio n a ls,
nul m isus ing tit les. Th ese practi ces are co n t rary to t he Act in eve ry pro vin ce
II lid territor y.
II nli ce n sed Personnel
1 l'ry province a n d te rri to ry requ ires pr of ession al e ng inee ring a nd gco-

Ik-nee to be per form ed (o r su pe rvised ) by a licen sed profession al. In fract io ns
uvually occ u r o n ly in sm all co m pan ies w he re no n-techn ical o wne rs, unaware
Iii th e law, may h ire unli cen sed personn el to perform thi s work. How ever, if
uu liccn scd peo ple Me working as eng inee rs o r geoscien tists in yo ur co m pa ny,
till ' manage r must co rrec t th is practice, eve n if it has end ured for yea rs, a nd
t'W Il if resent me n t a nd a n tago n ism mi ght resu lt. M an a g er~l~ t in sist th a t
uny e m p lo yee p racti sin g eng ineering or geosc ienc e be licen sed . W hen this is
110 1 poss ib le, the em ployee m ust be put und er th e su pe rvisio n o f a licen sed
I' l o fess io~~1 1. - .- - - - -- - -- -----
CIIAP I I Il 13 • Ethi cs ill Mallag emellt 267
266 PART TIIREE • PIlOFE SS IO NAL ETII IC
Misuse of Engineering and Geoscience Titles fe rm in a t ln g Employment f o r Ju st Cau se

f\ ma n age r mu st tak e respo n sib ili ty for te rm in a ti n g or disc.har~in g
Th e misuse o f engineering and geo scien ce t itles is a lso an offence un der eW Ir
Act. Ma ny compa n ies h ave pos itio ns w ith th e wo rd "en gin eer " o r "geo sckn \'m plo yees w hen th eir serv ices a re no longer requi red . Th ese te.rmll1a tlOns
tist " in t he ti tle, such as " Pro ject Eng ine er" or "Ch ief Geoscient ist. " Th cs.: mu st be in acco rdan ce with th e em ploy men t co n t rac t o r pUb h ~h ed co m-
impl y tha t th e pe rson ho lding th e pos itio n is a licensed professiona l. Two sll pa ny poli ci es. In additio n, e m plo yees m ay be d isc ha rged fo r ,usl ~(It.lse,
uati ons ma y ar ise, dep ending o n th e pe rson 's q ualifications: which is defined as a "f un dam enta l brea ch of the e m plo ymen t co n t ract, IUs-
tifyin g termination ."!
• Unqualificd personnel. If an un licen sed perso n is using a professlon.il
Those mat ters that would allow an employer to terminate an employee, without notice
title, and is indeed, practising engine ering or geo scienc e, th e pro ble m
ext remely serio us-t h is is an offe nce pun ish abl e unde r the Act. Suc h situ or severance pay, are as follows:
a tions mu st be rect ified immedi ately, If the perso n is elig ible for a licc ncv ,
1. Serious misconduct;
th en a n app licat io n sho ulClbe- iliaCiC im me d iately; if th e perso n is nll l
2. Habitual neglect of duty;
qua lified , th en th e perso n must be rep laced by a lice nsed professiona l. 3. Serious incompetence, not just management dissatisfaction with performance;
• Erroncous titlc. If an unli ce nsed person -is using a n enginee ring o r gl'lI 4. Co nduct incompatibl e wit h his or her duti es, or prejudicial to th e company's
scie nce titl e, but is pe rfo rmin g ta sks that do not require a licence, th en 01
business;
new job titl e is needed . The title m ay be elega n t, bu t it m ust not .fQ!] 110i 5. Wilful disobedience to ' a lawful and reasonable order of a superior, in a matt er of
ven e th e Acl. Assign ing_a. n ew jo b t itle is usu all y a sim p le so lu t io n,
substance;
a ltho ug h tact an d d ip lomacy may be needed .
6. Theft, fraud or dishonesty;
Using a mi slea ding engineering or geoscien ce t itle co n t rave nes tl li' 7. Continual insolence and insubordination;
Act, so th e manager 's failure to change th e t itle mi ght be in ter pret ed , I 8. Excessive absenteeism, despite corrective counselling;
-----
co n tributingta th e illegal pra ct ice of th e profession, whi ch is itscl CO il
trary to th e Act .
9. Permanent illness; and
10. Inadequate job performance over an extended period as a result of drug .o.r alcohol
abuse, and failure to accept or respond to the company's atte mpt to rehabll1 tate.
H IRING A ND D ISMIS SAL
tf one of these elements of misconduct exists. and is ascertained even after the employee
The manager usu all y hi res a nd di sm isses techn ica l staff. The ma nag er sho uld has been discharged. th e company can rely on th at misconduct and not pay th e
therefo re be fam iliar with th e provincial regu lations for h iring and di sm issal employee any severance allowance. f
Som e key points foll ow.
Employ ment Co ntracts and Policies

Wro n g f u l Dismissal
Th e best method for emp loyi ng profession a l eng inee rs is th rou gh clear-c ui Whe n a n em ployee is di sm issed, and th e reason is no t just cause, as def.in ed
em ploy me n t co n t rac ts that spe c ify dut ies, co n t rac t d u ratio n (eithe r finll Ilhllve the di smi ssal m ay be wro ngf u l. Wro ngfu l dis m issal case s so met ime s
len gth o r indefinite), remuner ation, pay raises, va cation en title me n t, sta tu I lid U;J in the co ur ts, so bot h the em ployee an d th e manager m ay need legal
tor y holidays, a nd so forth . Som e co n trac ts even include definitions o f jll\l

Ildv k e. .
ca use for terminat ion, along wit h term s and a mo u n ts o f severan ce pay . In a co m prehen sive a rticle o n wrongfu l di smissal, lawyer I-1?w~rd Levi tt
However, a large c~ p(ll1 Y may have so m an y professio na l em plo yee s that d" scribed six situat io ns th at co uld also be co nside red wro ngf ul di srui ssal even
person al co ntrac ts can n o t be negotiated . In th is case, t he co m pa n y m anag\ ' II, techn ica lly, th e e m ployee was no t di smi ssed :
me rit sho u ld establish a nd pub lish em p loy m en t po licies th at ap p ly to all
e m ployees. Th e professio na l t he n receives a lett e r of appointmen t that refl'l Forced resigna tio n;
to th ese po licies. How ever, th e poli cies m ust be fair , and th ey mu st be negll n cmo tlon:
tinted an d ad m in iste red fairl y, o r the em ployees ma y resort to un ionizat io u A dow n wa rd ch ange in reporting fun ction;
T he NSPE Guidelines 10 Emplo)'lIIellt for Ptofessional Engineers (d isc uss ed ill A un ila te ral chan ge in responsibilities;
Cha pte r 12, a n d reprodu ced in Appendi x D) descr ibes topi cs th at sho u ld 1,\' A force d transfer; a nd . ' :3
inclu ded in pro fessiona l em ploym en t po licies. Serio us m iscond uct of th e em ploye r to wa rd th e em ployee .
268 PART THREE · PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 269
In sum mar y, managers mu st be a ler t to t he co m p lex it ies ,o f supe rvising Code of Et h ics. Managers sho uld be sensitive to th is pro fessio na l co urtesy.
th e wo rk o f ot he rs. A ma na ger need s leade rsh ip ab ilit y, se ns itivity, a nd a pro - Th is ru le do es not apply, of course, when th e profession al has left th e place of
fession al a tt itud e. Kno wledge o f th e law (or access to lega l ad vice) is also em ploy men t, and duties have been reassign ed. Obviously, any new em ployee
usefu l- ad vice sh o uld a lways be so ug h t before th e hard decisions a rc made, must review th e departed em p loyee's work for co n tin uity.
not after th e fact.
M a i n t a i n i n g Competen ce
REVIEWING WORK AND EVALUA T I NG COMPETENCE
Most provincial Acts spec ifically requ ire professio na l engine ers a nd geoscie n-
Th e law requires profession als, wh et her th ey are em ployees o r managers, til tists to maintain co m pe te nce, as ex plaine d in Cha pter 3, but ~ g e rs haye
pr acti se o n ly within th eir lim its o f co m pe te nce . Prof essiona l e m plo yees a slut _ to_en co urage and assist. The em ploye e mu st show in itiative, but th e
sho uld not und ertake-a nd managers sho u ld not assign-work that is not manager m ust support it.
withi n the co m pe te nce of th e profession al. For exa m ple, wh en a co mpa ny ta kes o n a new project or install s a new
com p utel' sys te m, professio nal em ployees mu st upgrade theiI' skilis and/or
Reviewing Work for Accuracy know ledge . Th e manager sho uld arrange orientation, review co u rses or work-
sho ps, and so fort h to assist e m p loyees to lea rn t he new skills need ed . Th is is
In eng inee ring and geoscience, key decision s are never made o n th e bas is II I a win-win arrangement for em plo yee and em plo ye r.
a sing le unch ecked calcula tio n . Im port an t a na lyses or calcu latio ns, a nd t ill' When a professiona l fa ils to keep skills up-to-dat e, d rifts into inco mp e-
assump tio ns on w h ich th ey ar c base d, a re a lways doubl e-ch ecked for errors .
renee, a nd refuses to exe rt th e effort to become mor e effective, t he manager
Professiona ls ex pec t th eir work to be ro uti nely rev iewed by a seco nd pe rso n,
must make a difficult decision. An inc ompet ent professiona l sho u ld not be
becau se erro rs co uld be ex treme ly cos t ly. For exa m ple, st ructural design, aero
practising; in fact, eve ry lice n sin g Act cite s in co m pe ten ce as a ba sis for
space, and nuclear indu stri es have sta nda rd pro cedures for double-checki ng
removing a licence. Dism issa l may be necessary, but the task of th e manager,
a ll calcu latio ns, and t he decisio ns resu lti ng from t hem .
as in a ny p robl em-sol vin g exe rcise, is to ga the r inform atio n, gene rat e alter-
Th is rou tin e c hec k greatly inc reases th e acc uracy o f the work, improve
natives, exam ine th ose alternat ives, an d see k th e optim um cou rse of action .
co n fide nce and safety, and lowers the risk o f failure a nd liability. Th e perxo»
The o utco me will dep end on the facts of the individua l case, but the manager
wh o performed th e or igina l calculatio ns is a lways in form ed pr ior to th e review,
III USt deal with th e professiona l em ployee fair ly a nd eth ically.
give n th e opportunit y to clarify a ny doubtfu l po int s, a nd show n th e resu lts.
Reviewing Work to Assess Perform ance O NFLICT OF I N TE R EST IN MA N A G EME NT
It is co m mo n pra cti ce for th e ma na ge r to eva luate th e perform an ce o f .i ll (:hapter 12 gives a deta iled overview of co nfli ct of inte rest , and lists seve n
em p lo yees a n n ua lly. Th ese a n n ua l rev iew s mu st be discu ssed with th e pro le romrn o n forms o f co n flict (or "abuse of pr ivilege," as it is so me times ca lled).
sio na l, a nd typi ca lly, t he profession al is give n an o p po rtun ity to challenge I II Manage rs must set an exa m ple by avoidi ng co n flicts o f in terest. Ot h erwi se,
I hey will not be able to monitor em plo yees for t h is problem . Ma nag ers sh o uld
ex plain an un satisfactor y eva lua tio n a nd to in clude t hese co m me n ts with til,
ma nager 's eva lua t io n. lnkc the initiativ e by estab lishing clea r poli cies o n co nflic t of interest.
Addition al perform an ce reviews may be necessa ry if pe rform an ce sho w I)olicy on unsolicited gifts. Som e co mpan ies have a strict policy th at no
a n inadeq ua te leve l of co m pe te nce. Ho wever, a manager sho uld never a ~ 1 II gifts o r ben efit s (m eal s, e n te rtain men t, or trav el) ma y be accepted from
profession al to review secretly th e work of an other professional. Thi s pren'JlI clien ts, su ppliers, o r co lleagues. Th is is sim ple, easily understood, and easily
whi ch is included in mo st Codes of Eth ics, is simple co m mo n co ur tesy alill applied . Other co m pan ies set a limit for th e va lue of small gift s, suc h as $20 ,
sho uld app ly to a ny professiona l e mp loye e. A secre t review is like a tria l III but this is always subjective; th e va lue of a gift or benefit may no t be know n .
a bsen tia, a nd this is co n trary to nat ura l just ice. Professiona l work is based 1111 Dlsclo si n g conflicts of interest. All em ployees are ex pec ted to disclose
specialized know ledg e, and th e person who checks it m ust be able to Ulllll'l con flicts of interest, and this sho uld be stated clearl y in a co m pan y poli cy.
sta nd th e o pin io ns and co nclusio ns expressed. A ca reless o r cava lier revl.«
co u ld inad verten tly da mage so rn eo n c's professiona l reputati on , w hic h h I
II I SCR I M I N A T I O N IN PROFESSIONAL EMPL O YMENT
va luab le asset , crea ted throu gh yea rs o f st ud y a nd ex pe rience .
In sum ma ry, frequen t reviews of a pro fessio na l's work for accuracy, an d ,III 11 11' ma na ge r p lays a key ro le in hirin g profession a ls, eva lua ti ng th e ir
a n nual review for perform an ce, a re routine and sho u ld be expec ted. HOWl'" I l"'rformance, pro mo t ing th em , a nd (when necessa ry) d ismi ssin g th em . Th e
sec ret rev iews o f o ne em ployee's wor k by a no ther em l}~oyee co ntrave'.:... H_' -.
1' _' 'I~\IIn a ger is in t h e fron t lin e of th e battl e aga in st di scri m inati on in
II I AI' I I I( I I • I. lid ~ i ll Nalll/ g e lll c II I 271
270 PART THREE ' PRorE SSIONA L l il l i e
e m p loy me n t. ln Ca n ada, th e C h a rte r o f Rights a n d Freed om s p rohibi ts dl I\ U THOR 'S SUGGES TED SOLU TION
c rim in at io n. Hir in g must be o n m erit , pro m oti on must lie ba sed o n 1" '1
I'llis case in vo lves a b reach o f a p rof essional Act. A p ro fessio na l licen ce is
Iorm an ce, a n d di smi ssal mu st be based o n [ust cause, as di scu ssed a hov
valid o n ly for th e p rovince in whi ch it wa s issu ed , a lt ho ug h a licen ce ca n be
Alt ho ugh much pro gress h as been m ad e in o ve rco m ing di scrlmlnati ou iii
uluai ne d in th e n ew location fairl y eas ily. W h en a per son moves to a differ en t
rece n t yea rs, ce rt a in gro u ps, suc h as wom en, Aborigina l peoples, a n d pcul'''
provin ce o r terr it o ry, a licen ce a pp licati o n mu st be su b m it te d to th e
wit h di sab ilit ies, a re still un d er-represen ted in e ng inee rin g an d geoscicu. .
Asso cia tio n in th at juri sdi cti on . Th e p ro cess is routin e, a n d additi o n a l
T h e probl em is espe cia lly o bv io us w h ere wo m en a re co nce rn ed- t he y a ll' II
I cc ns tn g co n d iti o ns a re rar el y requi red . A n ew licen ce will ge ne ra lly be
sligh t maj ority in th e ge ne ra l po p ul ati on , yet th ey a re d efinitel y a min ru lt ,
lvsucd wit h a m in imu m o f in convenience.
in o ur p ro fessio n s.
The re ca n be littl e d o u b t th a t Xav ie r is gu ilty of pr acti sin g profession a l
Th ese g ro u ps h ave a legal righ t to be tr eated fairl y. Th ey d o n ot eX I" ', 1
"lIgi nee rin g without a licen ce . He h as used th e bu sin ess ca rds th at cl ea rly
preferen tial tr eatm ent, but artifi cial o bsta cles must n ot be cre ated fo r t Ill'lIl
,Iy " P.En g ." with out p rot est or co rrec tio n , a n d h e is n o t licen sed in ~h e
Discrimi n ati on is d iscussed in detail in C h a pte r 10, " Fairn ess and Eq u it ' iii
provi nc e w h er e h e is wo rkin g. Conseq ue n tly, h e is co m m it ti ng a n infractio n
th e Pro fession al Workplace."
II I' th e Act, alth ough th e fact th at yo u, as m an ager, h ad t he bu sin ess ca rds
prepar ed co u ld be co ns ide red a mitigatin g fact o r. You will be gui l ty o f a
C A S E STUDY 13.1 breach of t h e Co d e of Et h ics if yo u per mi t Xav ie r to co n ti n ue to pr acti se
• "lIginee rin g. .
UNLI C EN SED PROF ESSIONAL Mo re impo rtantl y, yo u must det ermine w ha t wo rk Xavie r h as d on e tor
Ill ' cl ie n t. If Xav ier wa s in a junior o r tra in ing posit io n du rin g hi s first few
S TATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM mont hs w it lllliC firm , and if hi s work has l5CCilsu pe rvised by ano the r e ng i-
Yo u ar e th e man ager o f th e e ng in ee ring d esign d ep artm ent for a fairly lal :' uvcr, as would usu all y be d on e initiall y, then th e risk to th e clie n t o r to th e
co n su lti ng eng ine ering firm . As part o f yo u r job, yo u hire a n d dismiss dcp.ut public m ay be m inim al. Da ma ges may be limited to th e em barrassme n t a nd
merit staff m embers, in cluding eng inee rs, d esign e rs, co m pu te r tech n iciun the possib le ove r-b illing of fees.
a nd clerica l wo rkers. Six months ago yo u hired Jor ge Xavier, w ho had recen tII Howeve r, if Xav ie r h as b een makin g ind ependent de c isio n s o n e ng i-
moved to yo u r are a from an oth er p ro vin ce. Du rin g th e em p lo yme n t lntervivt , ncc rlng p roj ect s, th en yo u r e n ginee ring firm would be liab le for a ny p rob -
yo u e m p hasized th at it was esse n tia l th at he be licensed . The letter o f a p po lui k-ms th at a rise from th o se d ecisions. Yo u must review th e work th at Xavier
mcn t se n t to h im st ipu lated th at h e was bei ng hired as a profession al engilll'I'1 lias do n e, an d d iscu ss th is liability prob lem wit h th e co m pa ny law ye r. You
After Xavie r sta rted work, yo u had a sign placed o n hi s d oor and had busuu -, may also h av e so me liability, as m anager, since yo u a re resp on sibl e fo r ve ri-
ca rds printed , both of w h ich h ad th e "R l.ng." designa tio n a fter hi s n am e . lying th e q ua lificatio ns o f th o se w ho wo rk fo r yo u .
You a re startl ed to recei ve a co m p la in t fro m a cl ie n t w h o cl a im s tl1 ,II As to w he t he r Xav ie r s h o u ld be d ism issed , a n d th e gro u n ds fo r t h at
Xavie r is n ot a licensed pro fessional eng inee r. Th e clie n t is furi ou s th at yllil dism issa l, it d ep ends o n w h ich o f th e three foll owin g sit uatio ns a p p lies:
a nd yo ur co m pa n y wo u ld se n d unqu alified peo p le to work o n her p ro]r I If Xav ie r failed to ap ply fo r a licence aft er six mo n th s o f em ploy me n t, but
You co n tact th e p rovi n cia l Assoc ia tio n, w h ich co n firms th at Xavier d oes 11111 ha s a va lid licen ce from a n ot her provin ce, th en h e h as co m m it te d p rofes-
ho ld a licen ce. No w, you ar e fur io us. sio n al m isconduct (or n eglect o f dut y), w h ich is just cause fo r di sm issal.
If Xav ie r h as a p p lied for a licen ce, b ut th e a p p lica t io n is sti ll be in g
processe d , a nd if h e h as a va lid licen ce from a no the r provin ce, th en h e
QUESTIONS
ha s p robab ly co m p lie d wit h yo u r req u ire m e nt s, a n d d is m issa l wo u ld
W ho is resp on sibl e for thi s prob le m? Ca n yo u fire Xav ie r for just ca u» p rob ab ly be un just .
Wou ld it mak e a ny d iffer en ce if If Xav ie r h as ne ver bee n licen sed in a no the r p ro vince, an d if h e h as been
u n ab le o r unwilling to o b ta in a licen ce in yo u r prov in ce, th en h e h as
• Xav ier is licen sed in an o t h er p rovince, but h as neglected to a p p ly fOi ,I
be en di sh o nest in h is em p loyme n t in ter view wit h yo u, a n d such fund a-
licen ce in yo u r pr ovin ce?
me nta l d ish on esty wo u ld be just ca use for di smissal.
• Xav ie r h as a p p lied fo r a licen ce in yo u r prov in ce, but th e pr ov inc lnl
Assoc iatio n is st ill p rocessing th e licence? ~ Xavier clea rly co n t raven ed the Act wh en h e used th e " P.Eng ." titl e in hi s
• Xav ier has n ever been licen sed in an y provi n ce? work wit hou t a va lid licence. Th erefor e, h e m ay a lso be sub ject to a cha rge
CIIAl' l Lll 13 • UII; C5;/1 MO/loge me/lt 273
272 PART THREE· PllOF ESSI ONAL LIHI CS
under t he Act, eve n if he does have a licen ce from a not he r provin ce. Til,' h 10 serve th e public welfare, not th e financial in te rests of its members. Afte r
provi ncia l Associa tion wou ld dec ide wh et he r to charge him , a nd th e chnlf:' ou d isclos e yo ur co n flict of interest , it m ight be acce pta ble for yo u to a nswer
wou ld be heard in the provincia l co ur t. qucstlons a nd/or express yo ur o pinion of th e cha nge . However, yo u defini tely
As th e man ager, yo u mu st bea r so me responsibility for any emba rrassmen t ho uld no t particip at e in th e for ma l vo te o n cha ng ing th e sta nda rd.
o r liab ilit y th e firm su ffers. You sta ted th e requirem ent fo r a licen ce clea rlv, Mr. X (w ho prop osed th e ch a nge) has a sim ilar o bligatio n to disclose th at
but yo u d id no t follow up to ve rify th at , in fact, Xavier had a va lid liccm I', Ill' ha s a co n flict of interest. Your di sclosure will likely enco urage him to do
and that he had the legal rig ht to use t he " P.Eng. " desig nation . A co rn pau , II. If not, hi s sile nce might be a n un ethical at tem pt to ben efit fro m this co n-
th at offers engin ee ring serv ices to th e pu bl ic has a d uty to ver ify th at its ellf:1 Illct o f in te rest. You sho uld not acc use h im wit ho u t mor e evide nce, but yo u
ncers keep th eir licen ces up -to-dat e. ruuld ask all members of th e co m m ittee to declare wh eth er th ey have a co n-
lilet o f in te rest sim ilar to yo urs.
Co n flicts of interest a re fairly co m mo n o n sta nda rds co mm ittees, for the
C A SE STUD Y 13.2 mple reaso n that th e best- in form ed peo ple a re th ose involved in the des ign
• .md ma n ufac tu re o f t he co m po nen ts co nce rned. Ho wever, co n flicts of II
CO NCE A LI N G A C O N FLIC T OF I N TE REST tntercst mu st be di sclosed . We mu st not to lerat e u n fa ir o r un eth ica l abuse of
STATEM EN T O F T H E PROBLEM uch positions o f tru st.
Assume tha t yo u a re a n engi nee ring man ager in a fairly large auto mo tive pal l
manu facturing co m pa ny. You a re a member of a sta n da rds co m m it tee for aut« ( ASE ST U D Y 13.3
mo t ive eq uipme nt. Th e com mi tte e co m prises ten peopl e: three industr y !"l'"
resentatives (incl ud ing yo u), t hree gove rn men t represe ntat ives, an d 1I 111'I III CL O SI N G ERRO RS IN PLANS AND SPEC I FIC AT I O NS
e ngine e ring professo rs. The chai r is a staff me m ber fro m a technical soc ict "
\ ATEM EN T O F THE PROBLEM
During t he meeting, Mr. X, a n in du str y repr esenta tive, prop oses a challl'" I
to t he standa rd for a n auto mo tive co m po ne nt. The cha nge wo u ld impn» VIIU are the e ngi nee ring man ager for Acme Assem b ly, whi ch design s, tabri-
t he quality slight ly, but it req uires specia l ma nu fact uring equipmen t. YIIII I " lIes, a nd assembles ma ch ine ry. You have received a co n tract to co ns t ruc t 20
co m pa ny man ufact ur es th is com ponent, and yo u rea lize th at if the Cha lll' Llrge gea rbo xes th at have been des igne d by Delta Desig ns, a co m pa ny th at
we re a pproved, yo ur co m pa ny would benefit g rea lly. Your co m pany h a ~ I umct imes co m pe tes with Acm e. How ever, Delta is ex treme ly bu sy, a nd does
patent ed process for th e com po ne nt, whi ch co uld be ada pted to make til 11111 have th e ca pa city fo r this work at th e prese n t tim e.
ch ang e. How ever, co m peti ng pa rts man ufacturers wo uld suffer, since III,' One of your engineers no t ices th at th e sizes o f shafts a nd gears o n the
wou ld hav e to develop new tec h nology, or licen se yours. Illawings see m rathe r small for th e torque and power ratin gs o f th e ge,~rboxes;
vou r rough ca lcu latio ns co n firm th at o pinio n . You call th e ch ief eng
1l1eer at
You believe Mr. X's co m pa ny woul d have th e sa me ad va n tage , since II I
co m pa ny has a diff e rent pat ented process, but yields th e sa me result. You :11 Ilo 'lta, who te lls yo u he is too bu sy to double-ch eck th e d raw in gs. He. ha~, full
uncerta in whether yo u sho uld men tion a ll t h is to th e co m m ittee. You did 1111 1 llIlIfidence in h is design ers an d says yo u should "ge t on with th e lob . He
propose this cha ng e, but it wo u ld improve t he au to mo t ive co m po ne nt 1'II111t s o ut t hat yo u are em ploye d in th is co ntract as t he fabrica tor, n ot as th e
sligh tly, and yo ur co m pa ny would ben efit, stric tly by cha nce. 1II ' ~i g n er, a nd sho uld not be revi ewin g h is work .
QUE ST IONS q UEST IONS
Is this a co nflic t of inte rest? Do yOL!-have a n ethica l o bliga tio n to infor m \11 1111 yo u h ave a n et h ica l o b lig a tio n to pursu e thi s apparent disc r.el~an cy?
co m mittee th a t yo ur co m pany will ben efit from thi s c ha nge'! Do yo u haw 0111 Would it make a ny di fference if failure of th e gearboxes would cause 1I1 1ury o r
ob ligation to po int out t ha t Mr. X (who proposed the cha nge) ma y also benc ru 111',11 h, rat he r tha n just inco nven ience a nd re pai r'!
AU THO R ' S S UGG EST ED SOLUTION UT H O R'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION
You have a clear co nflict of int erest, whi ch you mu st.d isclose to th e co m m it \1'1 Iludcr th e Code of Ethics, a n engineer has an ob liga tio n to e ns ure th at the
Th e Code of Ethi cs states that an engin eer m ust place the welfar e of SOcl,'1 . Ih- nt is fully aware of the consequences of faili ng to follow th e engineer'S
above narrow perso na l interest. The main fun cti on of a sta ndards co m rn ltto, ulvice (as exp la in ed in Ch a pte r 12) . In t h is case, a single teleph one ca ll
CHAI' I I'H I 3 • /. tlli ( ; II M(IIIC1Ye III e II/ 275
274 PART THREE' PflOF ESSIONAL ETHI CS
probabl y wo u ld no t sa tisfy thi s requirement, eit he r et h ica lly o r legall y. YOII uy tra ini ng. You have just fini sh ed eva lua t ing in iti al o re assays for a n e~l:
sho uld fo llo w up th e telephone ca ll with a letter o r e- ma il h at describes til(' opened pa rt o f the min e. Th ese show mu ch low er o re co n te n t t.han anttci-
reason s for yo ur co nce rns a nd req uests w ritt en in st ructio ns to pro ceed . '1'111 ' paled . Th e C EO is ver y di sappointed at th e new s. You re~ssure hll:l th at " "
I 'suits ar e pr elim inary a nd that mo re th o rough resul ts wi ll be ava ilab le 1~1 a
ch ief eng inee r at Del ta wo u ld likel y reali ze the grav ity of the situa tio n . a nd
thank yo u for avo id ing was te fu l ex pe ns e. wee k or so . The C EO had hoped to pr esent goo d new s abo ut th e I.'x p lora tIo n
Ho wever, if th e ch ief eng inee r in stru cts yo u, in w riting , to pro ceed wi th III shareh o ld ers at a m eeting to be held in th e next few d ays.
the fabr ica tio n , t he n yo u sho u ld fo llow h is in structi on s. In thi s co n tra ct, y011i The CEO tell s yo u to keep th e results co n fide n t ia l a nd not to rep ort o r
jo b is fab rica tio n, not d esign, a nd th e designe r is usu all y th e o n ly person w ho discuss th em-not eve n with th e co m pa ny's e m ployees- u n t il afte r th e
fully underst ands th e ex pec te d load s, o pe rati ng co nd itio ns, an d in te nde d U ~ I ' hareh older s' m eetin g.
o f th e gear boxes.
Th e o n ly exce p tio n wo u ld be t he case wh ere yo u ha ve co nv inc ing p rool
t ha t th e d esign is clea rly inadequate, a nd th at failur e o f a gea rbox wou ld 1'1' UES T IO N
likely to ca use in ju ry, deat h, or se rio us risk to pu blic we lfare . Th e rn an u fru h it et h ica l to hide t h is information from th e sha re hold ers, wh o a re th e
t u ring co n t rac t obv io us ly d ocs not in clude fu nd s for yo u to review t he d cslg u,
owners of the co m pa ny?
so fur th er advi ce wo u ld be need ed . You wo uld co ns ult yo ur e m ploy e r abo ut
negoti ating a new co n t ract, o r d eclin in g (b reac h ing ) th e ex isti ng co n trar i
Since the pr ob lem in vo lves t he Cod e of Et hi cs, in m a n y provin ces yo u co uld
a lso ca ll yo u r Associati on for co n fide n tia l ad vice o n how to proceed . (See til(' AUT HOR 'S S UGGESTED S OLUTION
di scu ssion later in thi s textbook o n w h istle-blow ing .) li ds q ues t io n is importan t, but it revea ls a mi sunder standing .abo u t co rpo -
The p rob ability is very low th at th e ch ief eng ineer at Delta is negligent, 100I e ma nage me n t struc tu re. Th e sha reholde rs ar e in d eed th e ultllnat e. owners
inco m pet ent, o r in volved in frau d . However, seve ral we ll-know n tragedi es hav 1II Ihe co rpo rat io n , but they d o not run it . The sh a reho ld ers elec t dtrcct o rs,
occu rred , in wh ich w hi stle-blow ing wou ld have saved man y lives. Fo r exa m ple who fo rm a board o f d irectors. In turn, the bo ard ap po in ts the o ffice rs o f
• Fo rd Pinto. Th e Ford Pint o , built in the l 9 70 s, wa s p ron e to gas -raul III I.' co m pa n y- t he presid ent, CEO, trea surer, and so o n- a nd th: se peopl e
rupture when th e ve h icle wa s hit fro m behind . A design mod ifica tio n III IIII.' responsib le for th e day-to -day opera tion s of t he co m pan y.. l', m pl ~yees,
p revent th e ruptu re (a nd t he fire th at o fte n ens ue d) would have cos t o ulv tuclud ln g the geo log ist, tak e direction from th ese co m pa ny o ffice rs. So .t he
abo u t US$ I 1 per ve h icle . An eng ine er resign ed fro m Ford in prot est, and uu ple a nswe r to thi s questi on is that th e geo log ist h as no legal or ct h lca t
d isclo sed th e fau lty design. " dill y to re port di rectl y to the sha reholde rs. .
• DC-IO ca rgo door latch. Co n va ir had a subco n t rac t for the d esign 0 1 In the mining, o il, a nd ga s industri es, geo log ica l d at a a re ext rem ely se nsr-
th e ca rgo d oor o n th e DC- IO passen ger a irpla ne . The door lat ch fai ll'd tlvc info rma t io n a n d ca n b e th e ba sis for im po rta nt fin an ci al d eci sion s.
durin g a ca bin pr essu rizati on test , and a sen io r eng ineer wro te a memo III IJllaut ho rize d di scl o sures ca n lead to ab usiv e stoc k market ta cti cs. Mo st
the ma na gement at Co nva ir, itemi zing th e da nge rs in the d esign . Co n v:1I 1 hoard s au thor ize only th e C EO to issu e public state me n ts .
man agers ke pt th e inform ati on co n fide n tia l, eve n tho ug h a ca rgo dOll! In fac t , all public di sclo su res from m in era l co m pa n ies m ust follow ,t.he
blew o u t in flight ove r W indsor in 19 72. Th e informati on was revea led lrict gu idelines set o u t by the Ca nad ian Securities Ad m inistrat? rs (CSA). I he
o n ly aft er a DC- IO crash at Orly Fie ld in Pari s killed 346 peopl e in 19 7,1, I .SA gu id eli n es a re a fa irly recent se t of rul es int roduced .a ft~ r th e nr e-.X
IIl1ning fraud (d isc ussed in C h ap ter 2) . Eve ry geosc ie n t l~ t 1l.1Vo lved . In
In se rio us cases such as th ese, t he d u ty to publi c sa fety mu st tak e pri orlu
IlIl'pari ng min era l stud ies sho u ld be familiar with the CSA gUlde h nes, wh ich
o ve r th e dut y to an e m ploye r, cli ent , o r co lleag ue .
II'gula te all p ub lic statem ents relating to m in era l proj ect s, be t h ey o ra,l, o r
writte n (in cl ud ing n ews re leases, prosp ectuses, a nd annua l re po rts). I he
CASE STUDY 13.4
uldclin es a lso req ui re all di sclo sur es to be based o n a technica l report pre-
p,lI"l~d by a "q ua lified person" (as d efined in the do cumen t an d di scu ss.ed in
D IS CLO SI N G PRELIMINARY MI NIN G DATA
I hapter 2). Fur t hermore, they require this rep ort to ad he re to a particu la r
STATEMEN T O F THE PROBLEM \mlll at. 6 So th e ans we r to th e quest ion in thi s case study is ve ry clearan y
disclo su re o f the a re assay resu lts b y th e geo log ist wou ld be un ethi cal and
You arc a p ro fession al geo log ist resp on sib le for a ll o f th e ore assays in a m i n.:
You report directl y to th e mi ne' s c h ief exec ut ive o fficer, w ho is an acco u n ta nt I'lOlJably illegal.
276 PART THREE · PROFES SIO NAL ETHIC S
CHAPTER 13 • Et h ic s in Man ag em ent
- - --
CASE STUDY 13.5 Q U ES T IO N S

, r
PRO FESSIONAL A C COUNTABILITY IN MANAG EMENTl Sho uld Eager be held acco u n ta ble for the e m ployee s' ac tio ns? W ha t lesson s,
f any, ca n be learn ed fro m th is case'!
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Ethe l Eager, P.Eng., is a mechani cal eng ine e r at a well-kn own spcc lalty .chem A U T HOR'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION
ical s co m pa n y. Th e co m pan y makes co ns u me r produ ct s in Ca nad a for th«
No rth Ame rica n mar ket. It also has plants in th e Un ite d States , whi ch CO lli As a m idd le man ager and a professional engi neer, Eager is acco u n ta ble to her
pete wi th Ca nad ian plants for No rth Ame rica n p roducti on mand at es. vupcrlors, possibl y to th e poli ce, and to her profession , becau se she kn owin gly
Eage r sta rted o u t five yea rs ago in a juni or p roductio n position , reportin g .rllow cd a di sh on est enviro n me n t to flourish . All of th e stake holde rs in volved -
to t he producti on su perv isor Ca m Co m placen t, P.Eng. When Eager sta rted al I olger, her su pe rio rs, her peers, her em ployees, a nd even her su p pliers-have
the Ca nad ia n pla n t, it was hi ghl y successful. Ho wever, ove r th e five yea rs 01 utfcrcd , o r w ill suffer. Becau se she is a p ro fessional enginee r, Eager has a dut y
her e m ploy m en t, th e plant ha s become stead ily less co m pe titive relative to 1IIIder the pro vincial Code of Eth ics to all o f these stak eholde rs to act a t a ll
o ther fin ns and its sister plants in th e Un ited Sta tes . When Co m placen t retired um cs wit h devo t io n to hi gh ideal s of per son al h on our a n d pr o fession al
recentl y, Eager was prom oted 10 fill his job . Ilill'gr ity. She a lso has a duty to ex pose, before th e proper tribunals, unpro fes-
Eager pa ssed her Pro fessional Practi ce Exam while working at th e coni on al o r un eth ical co nd uct by ano ther eng inee r.
pan y, and she is aware o f th e importun ce of professional e t h ics in e ngl Altho ug h th er e a re miti gatin g c ircu m sta nces in thi s case (c.g., Eager 's
neering. O ve r th e past five yea rs she ha s noti ced severa l unusu al pr acti ces and ll'lal ive in experi en ce a nd her em ploye r's lack o f an eth ics pr ogram ), Eage r h as
eve n ts in th e plant a nd in th e o ffice . For exa m ple, su pplies o fte n run 0111 I,' II'll cd two va lua ble lessons:
before for ecas t, in vento ry is in vari abl y bal an ced by assu m ing losses, a nd then Th e mea n in g o f acco u n ta bility;
a re freq ue nt sho rta ges in custo mer sh ipme n ts . In the human resources area , Th at the re are no sm all et h ics p robl em s.
she h as noticed a tenden cy to " ho rse play" o n th e graveyard sh ift, as well as In h ind sigh t, Eager now knows th at tu rni ng a blind eye to the probl ems
wha t she wou ld co nside r to be in st an ces of racial a nd sex ua l harassm ent , III her pla n t was wro ng . She mu st a lso reali ze that th ere would have been ben -
Also, p rocedu res fo r recordin g th e hours that em ployees act ua lly work all' 1'11 15 10 dea ling with her co nce rns as they a rose, a nd th at no w th ere arc co n-
ve ry cas ua l, and o ve rt im e is h igh . 1''I lll' nCes to h e r h avin g ign ored th em . She sho u ld have ex p la ine d to
Th ese di screp an cies di sturbed her, a nd Eager had ap proac he d her boss, I n mp lace n t that, as a profession al eng ine e r, she was duty bound to act o n her
Ca m Co m placen t, about th em seve ra l times. Each lim e, he played down 111 '1 II IIICl'rns . She sho u ld have sugges ted 10 him that, togeth er, th ey di scu ss th e
co nc ern s and said being "easy" o n th ese sub jects helped keep morale and pro 1I11I I'ct wit h se n io r managem ent. Had Co m placen t been unwillin g to co n -
d uctivi ty up . Alth ou gh Eage r was person all y co nvinced th at so me em ployee Io h'l' th is ap p roac h, as a last resort, Eage r co uld have co n side red go ing alon e
we re chea ting th ei r em ploy e r by taking product s hom e and m isrepresenlin ' III vni or managem e n t or o bta in ing adv ice from th e pr o vin cial Associa tio n .
t he ir ho u rs of wo rk, as a junior e m ployee she had d ec ide d to ta ke her mall
agc r's ad vic e to keep qui et. I A E S T U D Y 13.6
How ever, sho rtly aft er she repl aced Co m place n t as su perv isor, Eager W;I
info rmed, ea rly o ne Mo nday m ornin g, th at th ere had been a maj or th eft attlu - II JI EN T PLA GIARI SM
plant o n th e weeke nd. A tru ck had pull ed u p 10 th e wareh ou se without bein )\
cha llenged , load ed up , a nd di sappeared . Fortunately, th e poli ce so o n caugh: I AT EME NT OF THE PROBLEM
th e two thi eves, wh o turn ed out to be em ployees, o ne o f th em a relative 0 1 01 1111 "1'1' T. is a n enginee ring stude n t in th e last week of hi s co -o p su m me r work
sen io r e m ployee . Ind eed, th e poli ce soon found th at a network o f em plo yee 111111 a l a large manufacturing co m pa ny. O live r ha s en jo yed th e job, worked
was invol ved. Th ey now wa n t to intervi ew Eage r abo ut fu rther in vesti gati on s 111111 1, lea rne d much , a nd been well paid. He is on ver y good personal term s
Mea nw h ile, Eager has just rece ived a fax from th e co m pa n y's v ice IHl'sl li lt hi s boss, and th e bo ss will likel y give O liver a n exce llen t work cva lua -
de n t fo r Nor t h America n m anu facturing, w ho wa n ts to inv estigate wh y 1111' 111111 , However, Oliver ha s no t ye t w ritte n a wo rk rep ort. W he n h e returns to
Toro n to plan t's co sts have been so hi gh and wh y p roducti vity has bee n so lo w III1I V1'I'~ity next week, he mu st subm it a wo rk report, describin g a p ro fession al
relat ive to th e co m pa n y's ot her plants. The fax co ncl ud es: "U nd ersta nd ma]«t 1' 11111'1 1 Ill' u nd ertoo k during his wor k term . A p ro fesso r m a rks th e report , un i-
th eft has occurr ed. Will be in Toro n to tom orro w to review yo ur situa tion." ' I II standard s arc a p plied, th e g rade is reco rded, and O liver's grad ua u o n
The fu tu re o f Eager and her plant lo o ks grim . ', " dd he dela yed if th e rep ort is ull sati sfact or y. (Th is is a routine rcq ulrc mc u t
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~C:.:.H:.:.A:.:.P_.:_
T ::ER 3 _ 0 Et h ics in ManQg ,:~
.:--:l :.-
278 PART THREE ° PROFE SI ONAL ET Il I CS
at m ost Can ad ian un ivcrsitics.) O live r had severa l interesti ng jo bs tha t W I' II ' the att en tio n o f the boss's em ployer, a n d co uld prevent th e em p loyer fr o m
suita ble rep o rt to pics, but he was " too bu sy" to/ wri I.' an yth in g down . I k- I hirin g co-o p stude n ts in future.
beginning to wo rry- he has no plau sible exc use fo r failin g to write a re po rt How t o avoid IJiagia rislIl . If yo ur wo rk in cl ud es an y m at eria l
Olive r mentions h is prob lem to hi s boss. Surprisingly, the boss s uggl'~ I\ (includ ing se n te nces, photos, d rawings, or figures) fro m any o the r SOu rce,
th at O live r co u ld save a lo t o f tim e by sim ply subm itti ng an o lde r work repllil cite th e co m plete so urce- it is easy to do . Failure to cite so urces is pla gia -
as hi s ow n . The boss has a file ca bine t co n ta in ing co pies of work repo r t rism. In particu lar, a ny mat eria l cut and pasted fro m web sites rn us t be
writte n by for mer wor k-te rm stude n ts. Most o f the rep orts are a lso sto red I I fu lly ide n tified wit h a proper reference th at cites the URL and t he ela t e.
co m pu te r m em o ry o r on CDs. Autho rs are gu ilty o f plagia rism if t hey sub m it repo rts co n ta in ing Int e rn et
mate rial that is no t fu lly cited .
How to dctcct plagiarism. Written m at eria l p lagiarized fro m t h e
QUESTIONS
Inte rne t is easy to det ect. A key wo rd sea rch, using wo rds fro m the p la -
Sho uld O live r sub m it a work re port w ritt en by a former st ude n t as hi s oW1I 1 giarized rep o rt, o n an y sea rch eng ine wil l genera lly detect th e so urce v ery
If he does so, a n d is caug h t, w hat penalties d oes he face? Is he less gui ll\ q uick ly. In addit ion, a Web se rv ice fo r d et ect in g p lagiari sm h as b e e n
becau se h is boss suggested th e idea? Is th e boss gu ilty o f a ny un ethica l act ion I develo ped and is available to pro fessor s for a no m in al fee. R Man y uni v e r_
sities are also developing in-h ouse so lutio ns for plagia rism th at inVo lv e
sca n n ing parts o f sub m itte d reports to create a data base for sea rch i n g .
AUTHOR 'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION
Even o ne pa ssage in a rep ort co uld be proof o f plagiarism if t he so urce h a s
A person who sub m its a rep ort wr itt en by so meone else is co m m itting plag\.1 no t been cited.
rism . Every Code o f Eth ics o r et h ica l th eor y co nde m ns plagiarism as un ethica l, Whcrc to Iearn morc, Several excelle n t guides to avo id ing plag ia rism c a n
eit he r directly o r indi rect ly. (In co m mo n pa rlan ce, thi s is an et h ica l 11 111 1 be found by a sim ple In tern et sea rch usin g " plag iarism" as th e sea rch te rm.
brain er.") Obv ious ly, Oliver sho u ld resist th e temptati on to subm it a plagld
rizcd work rep ort , ge t bu sy, and use the remaini ng week to w rite t he report.
A SE HIS TO RY 1 3 .1
We a ll have a duty to prevent plagiarism , yet plagiarism has incr eased di d
matical ly in t he pa st decad e (especia lly in schoo ls a nd u n iversit ies). Ti ll
I II E VA NC O U V ER SECO N D NARR OWS B RI D GE CO L LA PSE
-
increase is prob abl y caused by th e easy ava ilability of writte n materia l o n till '
Intern et. Unfortu na tely (for so me), the Internet also provides too ls for detectln 1'1 lis case hi stor y reminds e ng inee rs and geoscien tists t ha t serio us failu res ca n
plagiarism, a nd un iversities have severe pena lties for it. IIccur d uring co ns t ruc tio n . In fact, th e risk o f failure ma y be hi gh er for tern ,
Plagiari zin g a wo rk repor t unde rmi nes bot h the ed uca tio nal process alld I'or a ry su p por ts, for ms, a nd scaffo lds because they are rar ely ana lyzed as th o r-
th e coopera tive program. Co -o p em ploy me n t is not just a job. Co-o p illli' 1I11g h ly as th e ma in, per man e n t st ruct u re. Man ager s m us t d oub le-c he ck
g rates work ex pe rience wit h academic study, and th e work rep o rt tes ts IIII ru lcu lario ns for critica l co m po ne n ts, es pecia lly when less expe rienced profes-
in tegrat io n . If Olive r's plagiari sm wer e d iscov ered, t he co nse q ue nces wo uld xlo nals co nd uct the work.
ty pically be as follows: O n J un e 17, 1958 , two spans of th e Vancou ver Seco nd Na rro ws Bridge
( I IOW know n as th e Iro n Workers Mem o rial Bridge) co llapsed d u rin g COn-
• Aca d e m ic pcnafffcs. Plagiari sm is a serious aca de mic o ffence t ha t U ~II
a lly results in sus pe ns io n for a first o ffence a nd ex pulsion for a seco nd Iructio n . Eightee n workers were killed . The lat eral bu cklin g of bea m-webs in
I te m por ar y to wer ca use d th e tra gic accide n t. A fairl y sim p le ca lc u lat io n
o ffence . Bot h sus pe ns io ns a nd ex pulsio ns a re usuall y sho w n o n g rad,'
transc ripts . Eit he r will dela y grad ua t ion fa r m o re t han a late repo rt. wo uld have sho w n that t he beam-web s wer e u nsafe. The foll owing d escr ip,
• Futu rc rccoln lllcndations . Obv iously, professor s and co-o p em p loyer I O il o f the tra ged y is re prin ted, wit h permi ssio n, from W.N. Ma ria n os, Jr.,
will h esit at e to recomm end stude n ts for jo b o pe n ings o r for g rad ualI ' "Va nco uver Second Narrows Bridge Co lla pse . II
ad m issio n if th e stude n ts have been sus pen de d or ex pe lled fo r plagia rtsru

Cha racter re ferences a re also need ed to obta in a professional licence. II ckg r o u n d
The fact th at t he boss was will in g to help O live r co m m it plagiari sm wo uld
I'll ' Seco nd Na rro ws Bridge co n nec ts Vanco uver, British Co lu m b ia, wit h its
not lessen the pen a lti es for O live r; in fact , it mi g ht ex te nd th e di sclp liruu \
no rt hern suburbs across Burrard Inl et , t he city's h arb o r. Th e struc tu re was
ac tio n to include the boss (assu m ing tha t th e bo ss is a licensed e ng inee r or g('il
hu ilt for th e British Co lum b ia To ll Hig hways a nd Bridges Authority. T h e m ain
scie ntist). The boss has breac hed the Code of Eth ics a nd co u ld be repor ted to 1111
hrid ge, a stee l ca n t ileve r tr uss st ruc tu re, has a to ta l len g th o f o ve r tw o
- _ .......-
Associa tio n. Also, th e uni versity wo u ld almost ce rta in ly br in g suc h co llus io n i «
280 PART THREE · PROrE S I ON AL EII IIC
LilA I' 11 1/ I I • I I II i n i ll M(fll(f g ulll clIl 28 1
piles. Th e upper layer, a se t o f four beam s se t side by side , su p po rte d th e

colu m n bases.
On j u ne 17, th e first side span was suppo rted o n a perm an ent co nc rete pier a t
o ne end, and was overha ng ing th e first falsewor k bent , designated "be n t N4,"
a t the o the r. At ] :40 P.M. th at aftern oo n, bent N4 co llapsed, plun gin g th e par-
tially co m pleted span int o Bu rrar d Inlet. The falling metalwor k pull ed th e per-
ma ne n t pier it was resting o n o u t o f line, whi ch cause d th e ad jacen t appro ach
truss to co lla pse as well.
Imm ed iately aft er th e acc ide n t, th e go vern me n t o f British Co lu mbia appo in ted a
roya l co m m issione r, She rman Lett, ch ief justice o f th e provin cial su preme co urt,
to determin e th e cause o f th e co llapse. Th e co m m issio ne r selected five leading
en gineers to in vestigat e and rep ort o n th e matt er : FM. Masters and j .R, Giese o f
the Un ited Sta tes; j.IUI. Otte r a nd Ralph Freem an of Britain ; and A.B. Sa nde rson
of Canad a. Mat erials testing an d spec ial in vesti gati on s were co nd uc ted a t th e
Un ive rsity o f British Co lu m bia a nd testin g lab orat ori es in Vanco uver.
The co m m issio ne r's rep ort co ncluded th at th e co lla pse was ca used by fa ilure o f
Photo . 13. 1 - Va~couver Second Narrows Bridge Collapse. Eighteen people
th e fo u r u pper grillage beams. The webs (the vertical port io n ) of th e beam s
were killed wh en iailure of temporary construction supports caused th e Vancouver
bu ckled lat erally, ca using th e co lla pse o f th e falsewo rk ben t co lu m ns.
Second Narrows Bridg e spans to collapse on June 77' 795 8 • The
I,
b n'dge was rebUI'1I
and opened in 7960, and was lat er re-nam ed th e Iron Workers M emorial Bridge. Faulty design o f th e falscw ork or temporar y co lu m ns led to th e grillage failure.
So urce: © Bettmann /CORBIS. T he co m m issio n di sco ver ed two maj or erro rs in the Dom ini on Bridge
Co m pa n y's grillage design ca lculations . Th e first mi sta ke was in chec king th e
th Ol~S:I ~ld fe~t (6.10 1:1). Unlike o ld e r, sim pler, a nd shorte r bridges whose span grillage bea m shea r streng th (the ca pac ity of a beam to ca rry a load in its ver-
01 sec tio ns lest Ind ep end entl y o n th eir pi ers or ab u tm e n ts th ose o f o'
tica l plane; shea r stress tends to tea r a beam vertica lly, usuall y at su p por ts o r at
ti l I ' , a (, III
I .~ver mdge ru n co n ti n uo us ly o ve r o r ex te nd beyond th e piers. Th e rnalu po in ts o f co nce n tra ted load ). The cross-sec tiona l a rea o f th e en tire beam was
1~lldg~ ~las three spa ns: a 1100 fo ot-long (335 m) ce n tre spa n balan ced by I wu used in th e ca lculation rath er th an just th e areas ca rrying th e load . Th is mis-
side ,Sp,l/1S, o ne 465 feet ( 142 m ) a nd o ne 466 feet ( 142 m ) lon g. Fou r stcl'l take wo uld lead th e grillage design er to believe th e bea m streng th was about
II ~I ~S spa.ns , e(~~h 276 Iect (84 m ) long, make up th e north ern approach to till ' twice as mu ch as it actua lly was.
main blltlge. I he st ruc ture was d esign ed by Swa n, Wo os ter and Pa rtn ers " A seco nd ca lculation, wh ich chec ked th e need fo r web stiffene rs, was a lso incor-
~a n couve r eng inee ring firm. Do m in io n Bridge Co m pa n y was th e co n t rac;," rect. Stiffene rs are met al plat es welded to beam webs to give them ad d itio na l
l,o r th~ const ruc~io n o f. th ~ stee l spa ns . The fou nd ati on s and bridge pie rs W\'I" stiffness a nd resistan ce to bu cklin g. Th e co n trac tor's eng inee r had used th e
co ns t luc ted by I ete r Kiewi t So ns and Raym ond Internati on al.
o ne-inc h (2.5 cm ) t h ick ness o f the beam flan ges (the hor izon tal e leme n ts)
ra the r t han th e ac tua l 0 .65- in ch ( 1.6 e rn) web thi ckn ess. Th is led to th e
D et ail s of t he Collapse erroneo us co nclusion th at no stiffene rs were need ed .
By mid-Jun e J 95 8, th e a p p roa c h spa ns were in pl ace a nd e rec t io n o f III ' 1\ se pa rate in vesti gati on by Dominion Bridge Co m pa ny ca me to th e sa me
nor th ern s. ide spa n M the main bridge was in pro gress. The len gth o f til e . ' co nclusio n- tha t in correct ca lculatio ns led to a fat all y ina d eq uat e gr illage
. '. I I ' ' Sp,111
le~lull e( t re use 0 1 t~o temporar y su p por ts for co ns truc tio n, since th e sid,' design. O ne o f th e e rro rs in calculatio n was even d iscovered befor e th e acci-
SP<l.~l wo uld no t be se l l-s l~ ppOr ti ng until its full len gth wa s in place. Each t eru den t, but no co rrective acti on was pur sued . The two eng inee rs resp on sible for
POI<l ly.su ppo rt, ca lled a falsework ben t, co ns isted of two co lu m ns, o ne und"1 th e calculatio ns were both killed in th e co llapse .
e(~c h Sl(~~ o f th : s pa n. The co lu m ns wer e built o n tempora ry pier s in t lu: Wood blocks and plywo od pad s had been included in th e grillage to p rovid e
hai bor, I hese piers were sup por ted by a gro up o f fo u nda tio n piles. The )o;ld
so me bracin g of th e beams. Lab orat or y tests in di cat ed th at th ese blocks were
I.ron~ ~a:h C~)l u m n was di~t.ri buted to th e fou nda tio n pil es by a g rillage - a two o n ly margin ally effective at best. Most o f th e woode n blocks were not even
layer g ild 0 1 stee l beam s. I he lo wer se t of beam s sa l o n top o f th e fou nd a tln n
located a t th e most effec tive bracin g poin ts. The in vestigati on perf ormed a t th e
282 PA RT THREE · PROFESSIO NA L ETIl ICS
Cl l AP fEI! 13 • Et hics in Ma nag em e n t 283
Un ive rsity o f Brit ish Colu m bia a lso ind icat ed th at th e a b ility o f the beam we bs
failu re e m p has izes th e need for u t iliza tio n o f a ll po ssib le c he c ks o n co ns t ruc -
to resist buck lin g was no t ade q ua te ly pr ed ict ed by the usual d e: ;gn for m u las fo r
tio n proced ur es."
co lu m n bu c klin g.
Today, t he lead ing b rid ge d esign firm s co n ti n ue to ca ref ully review a nd che c k
In hi s re port, th e ro ya l co m m issio ne r la id th e blam e for th e co lla pse o n th e
th e co n t ra c tor 's co ns t ruc t io n p lan s a nd ca lc ul a t io n s. T he co lla pse o f th e
Domi ni on Bridge Co m pa n y. The co m m issio n fo un d th e co n t rac tor negligen t for
Vanc o uve r Seco nd Na rro ws Bridge was neit her th e first nor th e last in c id e n t o f
" (a ) failing p rope rly to d esign a nd su bs ta n t ia lly co nstruc t fals e ben t N4 for th e
m ista ke n te m pora ry co ns t ruc t io n ca lc u la t io n s lea d in g to d isastro us co nse-
lo ad s whi ch wo uld co me u po n it .. . (b) fa iling to sub m it to th e e n g inee rs p la ns
q ue nces. T h e ac c id e nt v iv id ly h ighl ig h ts t he importa n ce of in d e pe n d e n t
sho wing the Ia lscwork t he co n trac tor p ropo sed to usc in th e e rec t io n .. . and (c)
c hec kin g o f cr itica l aspec ts o f th e co nstruct io n process."
leaving the d es ign o f th e u pp er g rillag e o f false ben t N4 to a co m pa ra tive ly in ex-
per ien ced e ng inee r, a nd fa ilin g to p ro vid e for ad eq uate or effec tiv e chec kin g o f
the d esign a nd th e ca lcula tio ns m ad e in co n n ectio n wi th th e d esign ." I>l S C U S S ION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
The co m m iss io ne r a lso fou nd th a t a fai lur e in the co ns t ruc t io n p ro cess had I. Assu me that yo u a rc a pro ject ma nage r, a nd o ne of yo ur key resp on si-
co n trib ute d to th e acc iden t. His repo rt po int ed o u t th at t he br idge design e n g i- bilities is to make tim e and cos t estim ates for the project. Th e proj ect is
nee rs, Swa n, Wooste r a nd Partn er s, had a respo ns ibility to ma ke su re the co n- fairly co m plex, so yo u r ca lculatio ns result in very h igh esti m ates-so
t ractor su b m itted t he Ia lscw o rk pla n s and ca lc ula tio ns for th e ir a p prova l, as h ig h th at yo u fea r t he proj ect may be ca ncelled. O lder co lleag ues o n
required by th e p roj ec t co n trac t. Th e e ng in ee rs ce rta in ly knew th a t t he b rid ge yo u r team te ll yo u: " Ma n y ea rlie r project s wo uld have been ca ncel led if
was und er co ns t ruc tio n, and th ey h ad pr ep a red th e sec t io n o f th e p roj ect spec- the tru e cos ts had been kn o wn thi s ea rly in th e ga me." Mor eo ver, th ey
ificati o ns t hat requ ired e ng inee r's a p prova l o f th e te m pora ry Ia lsew ork st ruc- a rgue th at no o ne ca n eve r be reall y su re of w ha t so me th ing is go ing to
tures. Co m m issio ne r Le tt co ncl ud ed th a t " t he re was a lac k o f ca re o n th e pa rt co st: "Afte r a ll, th ese a rc o n ly esti ma tes !" Yo u kno w fro m ex perience
o f t he e ng ine e rs in not req uirin g th e co n t rac tor to su b m it p lans of th e fa lse- t ha t seve ra l ea rlie r pro ject s exceede d t he co st estim a tes, but t he fu nd s
work. " Iro n ica lly, th e sa tisfac tor y performan ce o f Do min io n Brid ge o n ea rlie r we re found, a nd the proj ect s were success fu l.
project s m ay ha ve co n t rib u ted to th e d esig n e ng inee r's la xn ess in pursuin g th e The o lder co lleag ues urge yo u to reduce yo ur es tima te s so th at the
falscwork plan s an d ca lc ula tio ns for re view. pro ject will not be ca nce lled . You have put a lo t o f ca refu l work into
yo ur esti ma tes, a nd be lieve yo ur figur es a rc as cor rect as a ny estima te o f
The co m m issio ne r recommen d ed th at o n future la rge b rid ge p roj ect s th e co n-
the fut u re G ill eve r be. T herefo re, if yo u redu ce th e estima tes , yo u know
su lt in g e ng in ee rs recomme nd a llo wa ble s tr es ses for temporar y co n st ruc t io n
yo u w ill be lyin g. Furt her m or e, yo u kn ow yo ur o wn rep ut a tio n in th e
su p po rt st ruct u res, a n d th a t the co n t rac tor he req uired to su b m it a ll co n st ruc-
co m pa n y will be dam aged if it becomes a pparen t tha t yo u shave d yo u r
ti on p lan s a nd calcu la tio ns for a p prova l p rior to co nstruc ti o n . Th e co n trac tor,
esti m a tes. Ho weve r, if yo u r project is ca nce lled, so me of th e peop le in
h o we ver, wo u ld a lw a ys re ma in legall y resp on sib le for th e ad eq ua cy o f
co nstruc tio n met hods a nd tempo rar y struc tu res.
yo u r project team may be laid o ff. You a rc ca ug h t in a d ile m ma , a nd as
a man ager, yo u mu st decid e o ne wa y o r the o ther. Exp lain ho w yo u
wo uld try to so lve thi s eth ica l di lem m a. W hat additi on al inf orm ati on
Imp a c t wo uld yo u need'! Assume th a t yo u have th is inform ati o n (and state it),
then w rite a brief summa ry o f yo ur decision a nd YO llr reason s for it.
After t he inq u iry, co n st ruc tio n resum ed o n th e b rid ge. Two co nc re te b rid ge Assu m e t hat yo u a re a licensed professio na l eng inee r ill a fa irly la rge
pi er s d am aged in t h e co lla ps e h a d to be re b u ilt. Th is req u ired t he ca ref u l e ngin eering a nd geosc ience co ns u lti ng co m pa ny . You h ave rece n tl y
rem o va l o f two th ousan d c u bic ya rd s ( 1529 m') o f re in for ced co ncre te . The co l- bee n p rom ot ed to man ager a nd tran sferr ed to man age a bra nch in a
lapsed su pe rst ruc tu re spa ns we re sa lvaged , a n d so me und am aged m embers wes te rn city. Th e bran ch is swam ped with work, a nd yo u rely heavily o n
we re re used . Erec tio n of th e b rid ge co n ti n ued ac cor d ing to th e ori g ina l pl an , a n o lde r assistan t, w ho h as been w it h th e co m pa ny for a bo u t three
w ith th e not abl e ad d itio n o f ca ref u l c hec king a nd review o f a ll co ns truct io n ca l- dec ades , You no ti ce th a t t he ass ista n t h as th e Sign : "Assoc ia te
c ula t io ns a nd plan s. T he ad dit io na l tim e a n d m at eria ls req u ired to reco ns truc t Geosc ien tist" o n h is door, and the sa m e title o n h is busin ess ca rds. You
th e d am aged por tio ns o f th e b ridge ad de d fo ur m illion d o llar s to th e ori g in a l check th e perso nn el files, a nd rea lize t ha t t he assistan t h as extens ive
co n trac t pri ce o f s ix tee n m illio n d o lla rs. pe rso na l ex pe rie nce a nd is a n inc redib ly va lua ble e m p loyee, bu t
Th e ed ito rs o f Ci vil El1s il1eeril1S m agazin e not ed t hat th e co lla pse " illustra tes th e
o bta ined his ex pe rt ise in th e field a nd has neith er a licen ce as a geosci-
eve r-p rese n t risks th at a rc in he re n t in co nst ruc tio n , d ue to hu m an e rror. Th e
en tis t, nor ce rtifica tio n as a tech nol ogist or technician . Is th e "Asso ciate
284 ~AR ~IREE • PROFESSI ONAL ETHICS
Geo ~c ie n tis t" co n trave n ing th e profession a l geosci e n ce Act in y0 111

pro vin ce o r territor y'! If so, w ha t (if any th ing ) wou ld yo u do ab o ut it, .1
th e man ager ?
hapt er 14
3. Ren ee Lang lo is is a professiona l geoscientist w ho has recentl y 1ll" ' 11
appo in ted p resid en t of a large dr ed gin g co m pa ny. Sh e is ap proache d 1.\ I th ics in Private Practice
sen io r exe cutives of th ree compe ting dr edgin g co m pa n ies lind asked I"
coo pe rate in bidd ing o n fed e ra l gov ern me n t dr ed gin g co n trac ts. If ~ 1 1l
subm its hi gh bid s o n the n ext three co n trac ts, th e o the r co m pa n ies will
( nd Consulting
submit hi gh bid s o n th e fo urt h co n tract and she will be ass ure d o f 1-:" 1
ting it. Thi s proposal sou nds good to Lan glois, since she will be abk- I"
plan more effect ively if she is ass ure d of rece iving th e fourth co n trac t. I
it ethica l for Lan glois to agree to th is sugges tio n ? If not , what actiuu
sho u ld be ta ken ? If she ag rees to this sugges tio n, does she run a ll \
greater risk th a n the o ther exe cut ives, assum ing th at o n ly Lan glois h 01 l'ro fcssiona l eng ineers lin d geoscien tis ts in pri vate pr acti ce ha ve th e slime
licensed professio na l? lIoi sic duties as em ployees or man agers, but usuall y have more va riety in th eir
Addit iona l ass ign me n ts ca n be foun d in Appe nd ix E. wor k a nd mor e flexibility in th eir sche d ules. Th ey a lso make more money,
provid lng that th ey ca n co pe with the added respo nsibi lities and stress of run-
II lng 1I priva te en te rprise. ln this cha pte r we discu ss seve ral important aspects
NO TE S
III priva te pr acti ce: t he co ns u lta n t's relati on ship with cli ents, th e e t hica l
11/ B.M S.a muels and D.R. Sande rs, l 'racti cal Law or Architecture, Eug iuerril/g, and .ispec ts of adve rti sing, th e co m pe ti tio n fo r co nt rac ts, lind th e rev iew of
Geoscience, Ca nad ia n Edi tio n, Pearso n Pre n tice Ilall , Up pe r Sadd le River, N], nuot he r pro fession al's wor k. Several case stud ies illu str at e eth ica l pitfall s, and
2007, p. 238.
II case hi story recounts ho w lin eng inee ring consultant ove rcame an immense
121 Ho ward A. Levitt, "The Law o f Dismi ssal in Canada," as qu ot ed in CSI'EA KEI<
- rhi cal ch al lenge.
Ca n ~d i a n Socie ty of Profession al Eng ineers (CSPE), Sept em ber 198 I , pp. 1- 4. '
Reprint ed wit h perm issio n of Ho wa rd A. Levi tt.
Levitt, "Th e Law of Dismi ssa l in Ca n ada."
I H E C LI EN T - C O N S U LT A N T RELATIONSHIP
C. E. H:I;ris, M.S. Pritchard, a nd M.j . Ra h ins, EI/g il/ eeri l/g Etll ics: Concepts and
Cases, I homson Wad sworth, 2005, p. 142 .
lite e ngin ee r o r geoscie n tist in privat e pra cti ce is usually a co ns u lta n t,
Har ris, Prit ch ard , a nd Rabin s, lil/gil/erril/g Et hics: COI/CCpts and Cases.
.nlvising 1I cli ent. Typica lly, t h e clie n t h ires th e co ns u lta n t to m onitor a
C~ n a d i a n Secur ities Adm in ist ra to rs (CSA) , Na tio l/ al lllS tntll1eu t 43- 10 1: Sta ndout ,
of Disclosure fin M il/era ll'rojects. Docu m ent NI-43- 10 I ca n be found o n seve ral project-for exa m ple, th e design o f a building, o r th e development o f a n o re
secur i ~ ies wcbslt es, suc h as those in British Colu m b ia <www.bcsc.bc.cas: deposit. Th e client need s th e co ns u lta n t's adv ice to co n firm th at 1I co n t ractor's
On ta rio <www.osc.go v.o n .ca» : Q ue bec <www.la uto rttc.q c.ca» : or Alber ta work is prope rly per fo rme d. Th i;-crell te~ 1I three-wa y rei:lti~lip bctWeen
<www.a lbcrtasccu rtt lcs.cmn-, (May 10, 2( 08).
171 Case Study I :t 5 is adap ted from jam es G. Rid lcr, P. Eng., "Acco un ta bility : At til,' t h c clicnt (o r owner, who may or may not have any techn ical knowled ge),
Co re 0 1 P; o fession al Engine ering," EI/g il/eeril/g Dimensions, vo l. 18, n o . I , t h e contractor (des igne r, builder, o r develop er, skilled in th e act ivity,
.Januar y- I·ebruar y 1997, pp . 40 -4 I . Used wit h per mi ssion o f ja m es G. Rid ler aru l but who mllYor mllY not be a licensed professional), a nd
PEO. '
181 t h c consultant (p rofessio na l eng inee r o r geoscien tist, wh ose ro le is to
Tumitin (plagiarism prevention) we bsite at <www.turn it in .co m/static/ ho me.h tllli
(May 23, 2008). wa tch over th e inter est s o f th e o wne r, technica lly, but also assist s th e
191 :V.N. Ma ria nos, Jr., "Vanco uve r Seco nd Nar ro ws Bridge Co lla pse," from W il e/I pro ject to move alon g q uick ly, safely, honestly, and fal rly) .
rec/!'./(Jlog~ Pa ils: Sigl/ if ical/ t Techn ol ogical Disasters, A ccidents, and Fai lu res or
tile Il.vel.l tl etll Century, 1st ed itio n by Sch lager, Neil (Edit o r). 1994. Repri n ted with
The cl ien t-cons ulta n t relati on ship may take many for ms, dep ending o n
pernussron o f Ga le, a d ivision of Thomso n Learn ing : www .thomsonrights.co m. lite kno wledge, skill, lind personalities of th ose in volv ed . Th e result is 1I wide
Fax 800 730-22 15. range of clien t-consu lta n t relat ion ships. D.G. Johnson descr ibes three typ ical
rvlati o ns hi ps alo ng thi s ran ge:
The "independent" model: The client explains t he problem and t hen turns over
decision-making power to t he consulta nt, who takes charge of th e problem and makes
decisions for th e client. The consulta nt does not provide technical knowledge to th e
284 PART THREE . PRO FESSIONAL ETHIC
G eo~ci e n t i s t " co n t ra ve n in g th e p rofession al geoscie nce Ac t in yruu

pr o vince o r te rri tory'! If so , w ha t (if a ny t h in g) wo u l yo u d o a bo u t lt, , I
th e rna nage r?
hapt er 14
:~ . Ren c~ Lan gl oi ~ is a p ro fession al ge oscie n t is t wh o ha s recentl y hl 'l'll
a p P.o lI1 ted p r~s ld e nt o f a lar ge dredgi ng co m pa ny. She is a pproach ed III
se n io r execu t ives o f th ree co m pe tin g d red ging co m pa n ies a nd as ked I"
thics in Private Practice
coo p~ ra te in bidding o n fed er al go vern me n t dred gin g co n t rac ts. If sl"
sU bm ~ ts I~ igh ~ids o n th e n ex t three co n t rac ts, th e o t he r co m pa n ies will
nd Consulting
s~l bn~ l t .1~ I~h bid s o n th e fourt h co n t rac t a n d she w ill be assur ed o f /-W I
tin g It. I hi s 'p ro po sa l so u n ds good to Langloi s, since she will be a ble I "
!)lan l~lOre e ffec ti vel y if she is assu red o f recei ving th e fo urt h co n t rac t. 1
It et h ica l fo r La ng loi s to ag ree to th is sugges tio n '? If n ot, w ha t a ctlllll
sho u ld I~e tak e n '? If s h e agr e es to t h is sug ge s ti o n , d o es s he run 01 '1 1
~rea ter risk than th e o t h e r exec u tives, assumin g that o n ly Langloi s is 01 Pro fessio na l e ng in ee rs a n d geosc ie n tis ts in p riv at e pra ctice ha ve the sa m e
licen sed p rofessio n al'!
basic duties as e m p lo yees or manage rs, but usua lly ha ve m ore va rie ty in th e ir
Additi on a l ass ign me n ts ca n be found in Appe n d ix E. work a nd m ore flexi bili ty in their sc h ed u les. T h ey a lso m ak e m o re m on ey,
providin g that th ey ca n co pe with th e ad ded resp on sibilities a n d st ress o f run -
NOT ES nlng a p rivat e e n te rp rise. In this c h a pte r we di scu ss se ve ra l impo rt ant as pe c ts
III priva te p rac ti ce: t h e co nsu lta n t's rel ation sh ip wit h cli ents, th e e t h ica l
III I\: ~l ~.;~m l~e ls:lIl d .D.R..Sa'.Hlers, l'racti cal Low of Architecture, Ellg ill eerillg, and asp ec ts o f adverti sin g, th e co m pe t itio n for co n t rac ts, and t h e re vi ew o f
Canad ian Ed ition , Pearson Prenti ce 11<111, Upper Saddle Ri ver NJ
( / ((},\ (/ (//CC ,
nno t h e r pr ofession al's work. Seve ra l case stu d ies illu strat e et h ica l pitfall s, a n d
2007, p. 238. ' r
/2/ ,1 case hi story reco u n ts h o w a n e n ginee ring co ns u lta n t ove rca m e a n imm ense
"~":ar~.1 A.,L~:itt , "The La w. of Di ~miss<ll in Canada," <IS quoted in CSPEA K EI/ ,
ClIl ,~d l <l n Society of I'rofcssion al L~n gin cers (CSPE), September 19HI P )-4 i-thlcal ch a lle nge.
Reprint ed with pcrmi ssion of Ho wa rd A. Levitt. , p. .
13/ Lcvltt, "The Law of Dismissal in Canada."
14/ C.E. 1 1 :I~ri s, M.S. Pritchard, and M.J. Rabin s, Ellg illeeri llg El h ics: Concepts and f H E C LI EN T - CO N S U LT A N T RELATIONSHIP
Cases, I ho mson Wadswort h, 2005, p. 142.
151 Il arri s,.Prit~h art.I ,. and Ra bins, Ellg ille er il/g El hics: Concepts atul Cases. rile e n g inee r o r geosc ie n t is t in private practice is usu all y a co n su lta n t,
161 Canadian Securities Adm inistrato rs (CSA) N ationat tn strument 4 '> 101 ' "/ I -I ad vising a cl ie n t. Ty p ica lly, th e cli ent hires th e co ns u lt a n t to m onitor a
' 1)" I r: . , . - ., - . , J (/ //{ (/I, \
o1 I.~ c. osllre f (JJ~ M lI/e m l l'rojecls. Docu ment NI-43- 10 1 can be fou nd on several pro ject-for exa m ple, t he desig n of a build in g, or the d evelo pm en t of a n ore
sec u.n~ l cs wcbsitcs, such as those in British Columbia <www.bcsc.bc.c.o : deposit. T h e clie n t n eed s th e co nsu lta n t' s ad vice to co n firm th at a co n t ra ctor's
O n tario <www.osc.gov.on.ca>; Quebec <www.lautorite.qc.c<l>; or Alberta work is ,;roi')erl y pelform ed . Th i;create~-a three-w ay re~lti ~h iP behveell
<www.albcrtasccuritics.co m> (May 10, 200H).
/7/ Cas~ Stu~ly I,3 ..~ i s .ad~pt~d fr~1l1 J,:lIl,les.G. I~i d ler, P.Eng., "Accountahthry. At 1111' t h e client (o r o wne r, who m a y o r m ay n o t h ave a ny tech n ica l kn o wl ed ge),
JCOle of I 'ro fessiona. ! I~n g lll een n g, Engincerius
. , ., vol. 100 , no. Ir
.;') D im ensions t h e contractor (d es ig n e r, builder, o r d eveloper, skilled in the activi ty,
1 :~~~I.arY-I ' ebru ary )997, pp. 40- 41. Used with permission of James G. Rid lcr and but who may or m ay not be a licensed professiona l), a nd
18/ 7111"11ilil~ (plagiarism prevention ) website <II <www.lurnitin.com/st<l tic/ homc html t h e co n su tt a n t (p ro fess io n a l en ginee r or geosci e ntist, w h o se ro le is to
(May 23, 200H). . wa tc h o ve r the interest s of th e o w n e r, technically, but a lso as sists th e
19/ ~.~. Ma~·ia ~,l~s:.JI:.: " ~~ ncOl,I;cr Sccor.l d Narrows Bridgc Collapse," from Whel/ pro ject to m ov e along quic kly, sa fely, hon estl y, and fairl y).
hd~l/oloS~' 1(///.\ . ,\ lgl/ ll lClll ll l ec/lI/ol oglCilI Disasters, Acciden ts, an d Fuil ures of
Century, 1st edit ion by .Schlager, Neil (Edi T he cl ie n t-co ns u lta n t re lation sh ip ma y tak e man y for m s, depe n d in g o n
the Twentieth
. . . to r]. 1994. I'\eprlll
. I CtI w .i t II
I~enn, ss, o n of Gale, <I division of Tho mso n I.earning: www.thom sonright s COlli Ihe kn ow led ge, skill, a n d per sonaliti es o f those in vol ved . Th e result is a w id e
Fax HOO 7:{O-22 IS. .. ,
ra nge o f cli ent- consultant relation ships. D.G . John son d escribes three typi ca l
rela tio ns h ips a lo ng this range:
The "inde pe ndent" mod el: The client explains t he problem and th en t urns over
decision-making power to t he consulta nt, who takes charge of t he problem and makes
decisions for th e client. The consultant does not provide technical knowledge to the
286 PART THREE· PROFESSIO NAL ETHIC S
CHAPTER 14 • Et h ics in Privat e Pract ice and Cons ul t in q 287
client , but acts in place of the client, keeping th e client' s inter est s in mind, in a pate r-
on b us iness ca rds, sta tio ne ry, n ewspa pe rs, maga zines, d irect ori es, and sig ns
nalisti c but independent way. This is one end of t he client -consult ant spect rum, and it
on wo rk pr emises, o ffices, a n d ve h icles .
is generally ~ceptable, since it robs th e client of t he ability to make any choices.
O n ta rio regul ati on s permit ad verti sing, provided that it is d on e in a p ro -
The "balan ced" model: The consultant int eracts with the client, by providing engineering tcssion al and di gnifi ed m anner ; that it is factua l and d oes not exagge ra te; and
advice and evaluati ng the risks and benefits of various alternat ives, but the clien t makes tha t it d o es not directl y or indirectl y critic ize another lice nsed e ng inee r o r t h e
th e choice of th e action to follow. This relationship is similar to th e ideal pati ent -p hysician em ployer o f a no the r licen sed e nginee r. Th e regu lati on also ex p ress ly forbids
relation ship, where t he professiona l may have t he knowledge and expertise to solve the Ihe use of th e enginee r's sea l o r the Assoc ia tio n's sea l in a ny form o f ad ver-
client' s problem, but th e client must be informed of th e possible choices, and th eir bene- lising .:! Licensed professionals m a y use t he Association 's n ame and lu gu un
fits and risks, before making a decision to proceed with treatment. In a balanced rela- business ca rds a n d letterh ead to sig n ify lice n sin g by t he Assoc ia tio n, but a
tion ship, th e client and consulta nt must treat each other as equals. The consulta nt has a pro fession a l se a l ca n no t b e u sed . Th e se a l h as a lega l sig n ifica nce (as
responsibility to provide engine ering expertise to the clien t, but the client retain s power expla ined in C h a pte r 6) that is tota lly in compatible with a d ve rt ising . In its
to make the key decisions. The balan ced relationship is the approx imate mid-point of th e Guidelin« to l'rofessiolla l Practice, I'EO (O n ta rio) publish es seve ra l ad ve rtising
spectrum, and is generally th e opti mum client- consultant relationship. lu ll'S, whi ch a re reproduced be low wit h permi ssion.
Ad ve rtis ing may be co ns ide red in ap pr opriat e if it :
The "a gent" m ode l: The consulta nt is simply an agent or "order-ta ker" for the client,
and contac ts t he client for instru cti ons before acting. This is th e other end of th e 1. Claims a great er degree or exte nt of respon sibility for a specified project or
client -co nsulta nt spectrum, and it is also generally unaccept able, since t he client does project s th an is t he fact;
not make full use of th e enginee r's knowledge. This relationship may also be seen as n . Fails to give appropriate indi cations of cooperation by associated firms or indi-
demean ing by t he consultant .' viduals involved in specified projects;
Ill. Implies, by word or picture, engineering respon sibility for propri etary produ ct
In a ny proj ect , th e co ns u lta n t a n d th e cl ie n t sh o u ld ag ree o n th e workl n or equipment design;
re l a t i~ ns h i p , w h ic h wou ld usu a ll y be n car th e middl e o f th e SpeC11'l 1i 11 iv. Denigrates or belittles anot her professional's projects, firms or individuals;
descri bed a bove. In a good relati on ship, in fo rm a t io n flows bot h wa , v. Exaggerate s claims as to the performance of th e project; or
bet ween cl ie n t a n d co ns u lta n t, both a re ade q ua te ly a ware o f key a reas of 11 11 VI . Illust rat es portions of th e project for which t he advertiser has no responsi-
wo rk, a ~lCl we ll-in fo rmed d ecision s ar e mad e in a tim el y m ann er, leadi ng 111 01 bility, wit hout appropriate disclaimer, thus implying greater responsibili ty
successfu l resul t .
t ha n is factual. 4
In su m ma ry, ad vertising is acce p ta ble if it is factual , truth ful , and co m -

ADVERTI SING FOR NEW PROJECTS
munlca tes accura te in form a ti o n a bo u t q ualificati on s, ex pe rie nce, location , o r
A pr ofessional in p riva te pra cti ce m a y n eed to ad verti se. This is a th orn y is\ 11l availa b ility in a di gnified m ann e r.
th at p lag ues a ll t he pr ofession s. Adve rt ising is important to a tt ra ct clien ts a 1101
t ~ en su re th at th ey o b ta in acc u ra te in formati on ab out profession al qua lifl , , I COM P ETI T IV E BIDDING FO R NEW P ROJECT S
u on s a nd ex pe rie nce. Un fortu na te ly, m edi o cre, se lf-se rv ing adve rtis ing d 01i1 1
nates a ll.o u r co m m u n ica tio ns m edi a, from n ew spapers to t h e In te rn et, a nd II I i\ de ta iled procedure for selec ti ng a n en g in eer in pri vate p racti ce, Q ua lity -Base d
de me.'lI1 l1lg tu .p ro m o te pro fession a l se rv ices as if th ey wer e soa p, so u p, "I Selectio n (Q BS), wa s de scr ibed in C h a pter 7. The procedure invo lves three stages
c:he:V lllg g u m.. ~~r: pr ov in ce and te rrit o ry th erefore restri cts adverti sing of JIll I an d se pa ra tes th e process o f selecti ng th e be st-q ua lified e nginee r (or firm) from
Iess io na l se rv lce~. I he key go a ls ar e to e ns u re ho n esty, fa irn ess, and resp ect. tile process o f neg ot iating the fee s. Th is pr even ts many prob le m s that co m -
Ge ne ra l restr ict ion s are usu all y fo und in th e Act o r th e reg ula tions, a nd 1111'1 1 mo n ly ar ise w hen e ng inee rs arc se lec ted o n a co m peti tive basis by lo west bid.
(~ eta i led a d v i.c~ is usu a lly in t he Co de o f Eth ics o r in professiona l pra cti ce guill, Howev e r, it sho u ld be e m p h as ized th at seek ing pro fessio n al se rvice s by
~lIl e~ . Advertislng a professiona l's ava ila bility, ex pe rience, and a reas of ex pert hi lo west b id is lega l and e t h ica l; in fa ct, fair co m pe titio n is ben efi cia l. In gen ui ty
~s fair, acce p ta ble, a nd ex pec ted . "Ca lling ca rd" o r "business ca rd" ad ve rt lslug, Ih rives o n h ealthy co m pe t it io n . Ho wever, t her e is a dan ger in competit ive
III th e back pages o t m ost technical publicati ons, is ver y profession al. bid d in g, as ex p la ine d in O n ta rio's Guideline to Professional Practice:
In Albe rta , th e AI'EGGA Guideline [orEtltlcal Practice requ ires a ll adve n ts. With professio na l se rvices t her e are ult imate ly on ly two element s th at a client is
m cnt s, pr opo sal s, p rese n ta tio ns, a n d so lic ita t io n s for p rofession al e nga)', ' reta ining, i.e. th e engineer's knowledge and time. Short -chang ing on a professiona l engi-
mc nt to be "fa ct ua l, clear a n d dig n ified." 2 In Q ue bec, Regul ati on I 0 und er 11 11 neering fee will result in the subst itution of less skilled engi neer s or tess time put into
Act gives ve ry pr ecise rul es co nce rn ing th e inform ati on that m a y be co nve /( '01 the assianm ent . thus note nti allv short-c hanaina the oroiect. 5
288 PART THREE . PROFESSIONA L ETHI CS CHAPTER 14 • Ethi cs ill I' t/ val,' rui ct i c« an d CO IISIt /ti llg 289
How ever, so m e co m peti tiv e activities in o bta in ing co n tracts a re co nsl.I Anot he r prob lem wit h co n fiden tiality ag ree me nts arises in en viron me n tal
cred un fair an d un ethi cal. For exa m ple, any ag reern er t to pay a kickb ack, gi ll , proj ects. Wher e dan ger to the public is in vo lved, t he Code of Et h ics (or
co m m issio n , o r co ns ide rat io n, eithe r o pen ly or sec retly, wo uld be an UII I. Ii I env iro n men tal regulat ion s) may req u ire th e co ns ulta n t to reveal infor ma -
and un eth ical (an d likely illegal) method o f obta in ing co n tracts. Man y codl' \io n . Co n side r a case wh ere a co ns ulta n t advises a clien t to rem edy a n
also describe su ppla n ti ng a co lleague as u n e t hi cal , wh er e sUjJjJ/£I l1li l/.'I I e nviro n men ta l hazard . What happe ns if th e clien t refuses to do so? If the
defin ed as in terven ing in th e cl ien t- eng ineer relati on ship o f a co lleag ue a u.l, co nsu lta n t has signe d a co n fide n tia lity agree me n t a nd lat er b lo ws th e
th rou gh inducemen ts o r persuas io n, co n vincing the client to fire th e engilll'I'1 wh istle to the aut ho rit ies, th is co uld be in terp reted as a b reach o f co n tract.
a nd h ire th e in truding enginee r. Clea rly, th e co ns u ltan t is facing a serious eth ical di lemma: breach th e co n-
Iract , o r o bey th e law. O n ta rio's Guidel l ne /0 Protesstona t Practice suggests a
EN S URIN G COMPETENCE co m pro m ise: in clude a clause in t he co n fide n tiality ag ree me n t sta ti ng
that if th e clien t sho u ld fail to act o n ce rta in hazards wit h in a specified
Professiona l co m pete nce, gaine d th rou gh ed uca tio n o r expe rienc e, is a valn per iod o f tim e, th e co ns ultan t is en ti tle d to fu lfill any rep ortin g require-
able asset. The clien t is payin g for that co m pete nce. Any pro fessio na l wh« men ts th at a re spec ified in law, after first no ti fying the clie nt." Any con-
acce pts a n assign ment th at is beyond his o r h er level o f co m pete nce co uld II; sulta n t pract ising in th e enviro n me n ta l area sho uld get lega l ad vice o n th e
guilty of eit he r u n pro fession al co n d uc t or in com pet en ce. Eithe r o f t1 l1' \ ' prope r wo rdi ng o f suc h agree me n ts.
co uld lead to di sciplin ar y actio n.
Th is does no t mean th at a profession al must be an expert in every ph ase 1,1
a pro posed proj ect before accepti ng it. However, the person m ust be con fide nt ONFLI CT OF IN T ERES T IN PRIVATE PRACTICE
that he or she can beco me co m peten t, th rou gh study or research , in a reason
able per iod of time. Alterna tively, th e profession al mu st be able to hire a ('Il l As noted ea rlier, a co n flict of interest ar ises in a professio n a l relati o n sh ip
league o r co ns ultant with th e needed ex pertise, without delaying the pro]« I whe n the professiona l has a n int erest th at interferes with th e service owed to
I il l' clie n t. Fo r exa m ple, a n e nginee r who recomm ends th at a client purch ase
Th e essen tial point is th at th e client's project m ust not be placed at risk ( II;
becom e need lessly ex pensive) beca use of the professio na l's lack of competen« I'oods or services from a co m pany in which th e eng inee r has pa rti al owne r-
You a re ex pec ted to kno w yo ur level of co m pe te nce; yo u are also expected hip (of wh ich th e clie nt is no t aware) h as created a serio us co n flict of int erest
to ex pa n d yo ur kn owled ge a nd ex perience and maintain yo ur co m pete nce (.1 th nt is co n tra ry to th e Co de of Eth ics.
discu ssed in Cha pte r 3). Yo u m ust be realisti c abo ut your ab ilities-a di fficult Co n flicts ca n be mu ch sim pler th an t hi s. A co ns u lta n t ma y be tempted
task a t t he best of t imes . Ho wever, no o ne kno ws th e lim its of yo ur kn owl til sugg es t t hat t he cl ient ado pt a co ur se o f ac t io n wh ere th e main ben efit
h to red uce t he co ns u lta n t's workload . Un less th ere is a sim ila r red uct ion
edge better th an yo u do yo urse lf.
I II fee, t he co ns ulta n t h as a co n flict of in terest th at mu st be di sclosed fu lly
10 th e cl ient. In eve ry in stan ce o f co n flict (or pot enti a l co n flict) o f inte rest,
CONFID ENTI A Ll T Y ' IN PRIVATE PRACTICE
I il l' co nsu ltan t m ust mak e a fu ll di sclosu re to th e cl ien t of a n y perso nal
Unde r th e Code o f Ethics, pro fessio nals a re obliged to keep th e client's affah Interes t, wha teve r th at may be. If the clien t agre es that the co n flict is insigni f-
con fide ntia l. A client will so me times ask ~Iita;rt to ;Jgn a con fiden tlallt j 1\ a n t, t he n work ca n proceed, but th e cl ie n t is ma kin g a fu lly in fo rm ed
agreemen t. Since professiona ls int en d to main tain co n fidentiality an yway, 1I1l'\' \ ho lce.
are usually willing to sign th ese agree me n ts. The requi rem ent for co n fiden tialll ' A clie n t w ho la te r lea rn s th at a co ns u lta n t ben efit ed per son all y an d
ca n create eth ical pro blems, ho wever. Co ns ide r th e follow ing two cases: \'net ly fro m a decisio n t hat was oste ns ibly ba sed on tech ni ca l fac tors wo uld
I ll ' just ified in co n tac ti ng th e provin cial Associa tio n to lod ge a co m plain t of
• If a co ns ulta n t is hi red by a new client who is a co m peti to r o f a for me r client, III'( iIcsslonal misconduct.
a co n flict o f interest may resu lt. The co nsu ltan t must no t accept a co n tr.u I
th at requires d isclosure of a previou s client's affairs, be th ey technica l, busl
ness, o r personal. Th is applies espec ia lly to prop rietar y informatio n a nd III
I EVIEW IN G THE WOR K OF ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL
trade sec rets tha t co uld result in finan cial loss to th e fo rmer clien t, if d h
closed . Even if th e co m petito r does no t ex pect th e professional to d isclose lh c issue of reviewin g another pro fession a l's work is especially sensi tive wh en
th e in fo rm ati on , th e appea rance of a co n flict o f inte rest may rem ain . In th h I hey a reconsulta nts in pr ivat e practice. As a genera l rule, a professional mu st be
situa t io n, a ny co n fide n tia lity ag ree me nt signed wit h th e for me r client lnf'o rrned whe n h is or her wo rk is to be rev iewed, but it is no t necessary to
sho uld be reviewed . Und ert ak ing work for th e co m pe tito r is obvio usly risk ' obtain t he perso n' s perm issio n for th at review. In all insta nces, t he welfa re of th e
~90 PART THREE · PROFESSIONAL ETHICS CHAPTE R 14 • Et hi cs ;11 trriv o t e I'racti ce an d Consu l t in q 291
clie nt o r th e ge ne ra l publ ic must co me befor e th e profession al's personal w lsl u- r llcnt has an eth ical right to review t hese ca lculatio ns a nd to make a co py for
On ta rio's Gui del ine to Professiona ! Practice sum ma rizes th e situa tio n as fo llows: I'l'rma nen t reco rd . How ever, t he time necessar y to prepa re th e ca lcula tio ns in
I forma t un de rstandable to th e client sho uld be in cluded as par t of th e co n-
The Code of Ethics permit s engineers to be engaged to review th e work of anot her pro.
I racted service.
fessional enginee r ~hen t he connection of th at engineer wit h th e project has been ter-
minat ed. Before und ert akin g th e review, reviewers should know how t he info rmation will
Occasio na lly t he co m putatio n techniques o r the data o n whi ch th e co m-
be used. Even when satis fied t hat the connec tio n bet ween th e parti es has been termi-
pulatlo n is made m ay be propriet ar y, and th e professional m ay n ot wish to
nat ed, reviewers should, wit h th e agreement of th e client , info rm t he other engin eer
divu lge th em . In this situat io n, the co nd itio ns for review ing the ca lcu latio ns
th at a review is conte mplate d. They should recognize th at th e clien t has the right to
vhould be n egoti at ed be for ehand, a nd th e ex te n t o f d isclosur e sho u ld be
with hold approval to inform th e engineer, but [should] satisfy the mselves th at th e rea-
unde rst ood in ad van ce. The usu al proced ure is to p rov ide th e propri et ar y
sons for the owner's decision are valid before proceeding wit h t he review. dat a to the client wit h th e clear u nderstan d ing th at th ey will be ke pt co n fi-
dentia l.
If a client asks an enginee r to review t he work of another enginee r who is still engaged
on a projec t, eit he r t hrough an employment cont ract or an agree ment to provide pro-
NEGLIGE NC E AND CIVIL LIAB ILITY
fessional services, th e reviewer should undert ake th e assignment only with th e knowl-
edge of the other engineer. Failur e to notify t he enginee r under t his circumsta nce l'he professio nal in privat e prac tice must avoi d th e two m ain so urces o f lia-
constit utes a breach of t he Code of Ethics. On th e ot her hand, should a second engineer bility: b rea ch of co n trac t and negl igence. These are usu all y in ad ve rtent and
be engaged by anot her person (say, a building depart ment) to provide professional engi- un fortun at e, becau se th ey ca n lead to massive person al finan cial loss. Some
neering services on th e sa me projec t , he or she would have no obligatio n to advise the prot ect io n aga inst loss is ava ilable for th ese risks.
original client of th e commission.
A breach ofco ntract is a failu re to co m plete th e obligatio ns in a co n trac t.
Seni or enginee rs are ofte n asked to review a design prepared by anothe r engineer. (Most By incorpora t ing a pr acti ce, the indi vidu al m ay ga in so me p rotecti on
en gineers are expecte d to have their work routin ely reviewed as part of an ongoing aga in st m assive per so na l fi na ncia l loss d ue to lawsu its resu lti n g fro m
quality control and professional development process.) If reviewers find th at design breac h of co n t rac t.
cha nges are necessa ry, they should inform t he design enginee r of these findin gs and th e NesliSCllce is a failure to exe rcise du e care in th e per forman ce o f profes-
reasons for the recommended cha nges. During th e design stag e, reviewers (who are sio na l duties. Liab ility in sur ance prot ects t he ind ividual against m assive
acting as t he client' s agent in t his case) and engineers may agree on cha nges to th e pe rso na l fina ncial loss du e to law suits resu lting from negligen ce.
engineers' proposal. However, design enginee rs must not agree to any cha nge or alte r-
native suggeste d by reviewers th at could result in an unworkable installation, be in con-
However, incorpo rati on a nd in sur an ce do no t prot ect th e indi vid ual from
flict with the relevant codes, or create a risk of damage or injury. d iscip lina ry actio n for negligen ce, in compet en ce, or professiona l mi sco nd uct
(wh ich are d iscu ssed in Ch apte r 4). On ta rio's Guideline to Profcssionul Practicc
Reviewers must administer the design contract and evaluate engineers' work at arm's- sum m a rizes t he situa tio n as fo llow s:
lengt h, so t hat th e engineer of record maint ains full responsibility for th e design. . . .
An individu al enginee r can prot ect personal assets against an action for damages for
It is emphasized that t he accepta nce of mutually agreed-upon cha nges does not relieve breach of contract by incorpor ati ng t he practice. After incorporation , it is th e company
th e original design engineer of responsibilit y for th e design or work und er review. that is th e contracting party and not t he individual. As far as protec tion from liability
for negligen ce t here is nothing available to an enginee r ot her th an careful. t horough
Once the review has been completed, there is no obligat ion or right for t he reviewers to dis-
engineering and insurance."
close th eir findings to th e other engineer. In fact, in most cases, disclosure of th e findings
would not be permitted by th e client. Reviewers' contractual obligat ions are to th e client.
However, reviewers should seek the client's approval to inform the enginee r of th e general CO D ES O F ETH ICS FOR CONSULTANTS
nat ure of th e findin gs, and if appropriate, should try to resolve any techn ical differences.'
Consult ing eng inee rs a nd geos cie nti sts must be licen sed in Ca nada, an d ar e
gove rne d by th e sa me Code o f Et h ics as em ployee enginee rs and geosc ien-
O WNERSHIP OF DESIGN CALCULATIONS lists. However, two advocacy gro u ps have been crea ted, mai nl y by co ns ulting
firms , to work o n beh alf of m em bers. Eac h grou p publishes gu ide lines , spec-
A client may ask a professio nal to sub m it calculatio ns th at sup po rt a reco ui ificatio ns, a nd fee sche d u les to assist co ns ulti ng practi ce. Both gro u ps publish
mendati on . This a mo u n ts to a review o f th e pro fessio n a l's wor k, but obviousI ' a vo lu n ta ry Co de of Ethi cs th at a pp lies to their mem bers. The co des a re ve ry
it is don e wit h th e full know ledge a nd coo pe ratio n of t he pro fessional. Till' sim ila r to t h e Codes of Et h ics o f th e lice nsi ng Assoc iatio ns, but lac k th e
292 PA RT THREE' PRO FESSIO NAL E1II1 C CHAPTER \4 • Et llies il/ Privat e I'roet i e a tu! Consult i nq 293
en force me n t provisions o f th e provin cial a nd territori a l Acts, o f co urse. i\ Ii ' .lh:ll\(lo n ing developi ng co u n tries will not adva n ce them , eithe r to th e hi gh er
cla uses a pply spec ifica lly to private practi ce, as men tio ned be low : r.nulard of living or t h e m o re civilized et h ics that we e n joy in Ca n ad a.
Ano t he r so lu tio n m ust be fo und .
ACEC The Assoc iat io n o f Ca nad ia n Eng ineering Co m pa n ies (AC E ) ls , I II In a case such as th is, Aristo tle's co nce pt of th e go lden mean (dis cussed in
ad vocacy bod y worki ng on beha lf o f Ca na d ian eng ineering co m pa n ies :11 101 I hapter 1 I) ma y be useful. The go lde n mean see ks so me inter med ia te level o f
eng inee rs in private p ractice. Alt ho ug h it is not a licen sing bod y, ACE filii. lrtuc be tween the ex tremes of excess a nd deficien cy. In thi s case, th e ex tremes
Iish es a vo lun ta ry Co de of Co ns ulting Practi ce that ap plies to mem ber fln n-, III ,II I' acce pting the an a rch ic or self-serving pra ct ices in a lawless co u n try, o r
AC EC a nd requests t hem to fulfill th eir d ut ies wit h ho nesty, justic e, a nd CII I II I'l'kin g to impose impossib ly hi gh Canad ian sta nda rds and eve n tua lly a ba~1
tesy to ward soc iety, clients, o t he r co ns ulting eng inee rs, an d employees." '1111 doning the co un t ry to its fate. Each situat ion requi res an ind ivid ual a na lysis,
ACEC Code spec ifically forbids su pplan t ing a co lleag ue . Thi s ac tio n has a lw.iv .iud th e eth ica l prob lem -so lving st rategy proposed in Chapte r 11 will likely be
~ee n co ns ide red u ne t h ical. As ex p la ine d ea rl ier, supnton ting mean s lIsllIl III value. The end result sho u ld satisfy th e co n trac t, ben efit th e co u n try as a
inducements o r persua sion (or deroga tor y co m me n ts) to co n vince a clien t III who le, and yet agree as closely as possible with Ca nad ian practices.
fire a profession a l and to hir e th e intervenor. Associatio n co des also for bid Sil l' Th e tex t by Ha rris, Pritch ar d , a nd Rabin s co n tain s a n in form ative cha pte r
plant ing, eve n when it is not spec ifically m ention ed , becau se it is un fair to rul 1111 this pro blem a nd sugg ests nine fact or s (o r "cult ur e-transcend ing" norms)
12
leagu es. The ACEC Co de o f Co ns u lting Pract ice is reprodu ced in Appen d ix I I hal sho uld be co nside red as gu ides whe n decidin g o n a co urse of acti on .
l larris et al , suggest th at fairn ess can be det erm in ed eas ily for eac h o f th ese
FIDIC The In te rn at io n al Fed erati on o f Co ns ulting Engine e rs (FIDIC) is 01 11 1:Il'lor s by a p plying th e well-kn own Go lde n Rule: If a for eign cor p.ora tiOJ: were
internati on a l ad vocacy grou p for co nsu lta n ts. FIDIC pub lish es a VO IU II !: 11\ nvolvcd in a proj ect in Ca nada, how mu ch sho uld th e co rpo ratio n ad just to
Co de o f Et h ics th at guides th e co nd uc t o f its member s, wh o a re m ain ly [lnu lHII' p rac tices a nd tr aditi on s'? (Th is sit uati o n is n ot diffi cult I:or n~ o st
of co ns ult ing cng inec rs.!" Th e FIDIC code is sim ilar to the ACEC code a nd III I 'anad ia ns to im agin e.) Th e nine facto rs a re listed be low, but ex pla ined In a
t he Asso cia t io n co des, a nd request s member s to fu lfi ll th eir duti es wl th II I1He laconic sty le:
responsibili ty, co m pe te nce, in teg rity, impar t iality, an d fairn ess, a nd to avo id
Avo id eXIJlo itat io n . In Ca nad ian a nd inte rn ati on al law, a co n t rac t mu st
co rru ptio n. The FIDIC code e nco urages susta inable developm ent (d iscussc.]
be e n te red in to freely, a nd mu st provide so me ben efit to bo t h pa rties.
in Cha pter 17) a nd Qua lity-Base d Selectio n (Q BS), di scussed in Ch apter 7. Till
Explo itat io n occurs whe n o ne pa rty sets a ll th e term s o f th e co n t.rac ~ , a n~1
FIDIC Code of Ethics is rep rod uced in Appe nd ix C.
th e o t he r party receives ina deq uat e ben efit. This form of ex plo ita t io n IS
un et h ica l and vio lates all o f th e et h ical th eor ies described ea rlier.
ETH ICS IN FO REIG N CONSULTING
Avo id paternalism . Pat erna lism is th e process of co n trolling the behav-
A co ns u lta n t e ngaged o n a pro ject in a fo re ign co u n try mu st o be y th .u iour o f cit ize ns a nd m ak ing perso na l d ecision s for th eir best in ter ests
c~ l~ n t ry's laws. But what if the laws are much harsh er a nd the working CO i l wit ho ut t he ir invo lvem ent. For exa m p le, su ppose that a la rge co rpo rat io n
d it ion s are mu ch lo we r t ha n th e s ta n da rds we wou ld ex pect in Ca n ada / decid es to pay a ll worker s by bank tran sfers wh en th e worke rs a re used to
W h ich laws a nd workin g co nd itio ns sho uld apply? Very few Co des of Eth t«: cash pay me n ts, an d m a ny do not have access to bank s. Such pa yme nts
dea l with t h is part icu lar sit uatio n. ma y be m or e secure, m ay h elp to tra ck in com e tax, a nd ma y be co nve n-
Un iq uely, New Brun sw ick's Code o f Etlucs ' ' has a clau se that ad vises pro ien t for th e co m pa ny, but if th e pro cess is co n trary to th e co un t ry's tradi -
Iessio na ls 10 "o bserv e t he ru les o f professio n al co n d uct w h ich apply in IIIl' tio n, it may be pat ern alist ic and unfair to workers who a re imped ed fro m
co un try in wh ich th ey practi se and, if th ere a re no suc h ru les, observe t ho se rece ivi ng t he ir pay.
es tablishe d by th is Code o f Et hic s." However, in an ex t reme case, thi s ru h- Avo id brib ery. Bribery is a very co m mo n problem in intern ati on al co n-
m ay lead to a mor al d ilemm a with no useful o utco m e. sulti ng. Bribes o r "secre t co m m issio ns" ar e illegal u nd er Ca nad ia n law,
Co nsider, for ex am ple, an enginee r o r geoscien tist wh o is working ill 01 a nd every Code o f Et h ics forbid s th em, e it he r directl y o r indirectl y.
developin g co un t ry, wracked by civil wa r, where no lo cal professiona l rule» I~r i be ry d istorts th e fai r tra de o f goo ds and se rvices, and co rru pts.t he rep -
a pp ly. The co un try is likely to have ex treme ly low wage sca les, and a loca l uta tio n of a ll in vol ved. The process of giving "g ifts" is co m mo n In man y
m ilit ia o r poli ce for ce tha t de m a nds extortio n to pe rmi t th e co m pa n y 10 co un tries, so so me d iscret ion may be necessar y to avoid giving o ffence .
ope rate . Both o f these ac ts-ex plo iti ng t he poor by low wages a nd paying till' Th is is a ma tte r that sho u ld be in vesti gat ed befor e unde rtak in g a co n tract
ex tor tio n-wo u ld be co n tra ry to any Can ad ia n Co de o f Eth ics. It is i m pox in a foreig n co u nt ry. In recent yea rs, the term "grease m OI~Y " h as e l~ te red
sib le for a sing le consu lting firm to impose Ca nad ian sta nda rds o n an en tirel ' the Ca nad ia n voc abulary, a nd it is o n ly su bt ly dif feren t tro m a bri be or
lawless sta te, so t he New Brunswick co de co u ld not be a pp lied. How ever, exto rt io n . To cla rify: a gifi is free ly give n, to en ha nce th e per so na l
~94 PART THREE· PROFE SIO NAL [lI II CS
CHAPTER 14 • ElI Ii s ;11 t' rivat c t' t acti ce a n d CO lIsllltillg 295
relationship, with no ex pec ta tio n of ben efit. How ever, a bribe is giv ' I I III Prornofe the society 's legitimate institutions. Professional co ns ult-
expec tat ion of favo urable treatment, S'!!fJliC-fIIolley-!s i'Dten ded to i/ O p t' l l a n ts in underd eveloped co un t ries sho uld su ppor t th e laws, custo ms, and
door s" so that favourabl e treatm ent will arri ve more quickly, an d ex totl k n, in stitutio ns th at will gu ide th e co u n t ry to sta bility and finan cial well-
is a.dem and from a person in auth ority for a paym ent befor e providing :111 being. In gen eral, thi s means su ppor ting (provid ing th ey are o pe rat ing
ac tio n th at sho u ld be given free ly.
ho nest ly) t he electe d gove rn me n t, t he h ealth sys te m, th e estab lished
• Respect human rights. Human rights are gua ra n tee d in Ca nada u ndl'l pol ice a nd justi ce syste m, the banks and o the r finan cial in stitut ion s that
th e Cha rte r of Right s and Freedoms, U and sim ilar rights apply to al mos : a re esse n t ia l to th e free trad e of goods and labour, a ll of whi ch ca n
a ll soc ieties under th e United Nations' Universal Declaration of Humn n improve the life of th e ave rage person .
Rights, I ~ whi ch is o lde r th an o ur Cha rte r. Even in a wealth y co un try su('11
as Ca nada, not a ll citizens en joy a ll of the rights, a nd o ur goa l mu st be I" In su m m a ry, a Ca nad ia n p rofessional m ay face m an y eth ica l prob lems
ex te nd th ese rights. However, we ca n no t improve th e rights in a forelg u whe n working in a for eign co u n t ry (pa rticu lar ly an underd eveloped co u n try) .
co un t ry if we ab andon it , so so me co m pro m ise may occas iona lly III' l'h e pro fess io na l mu st see k th e interm ediate level of virtu e between th e
need ed . Eac h situa tio n must be ana lyzed to determin e wh en the accep t vxlreme s of excess a nd deficiency, and sho u ld n ot accept eit he r th e ex tre mes
a nce of a n infringem ent o n rights wi ll improve the country's soc ial COI l Ill' ana rch ic or se lf-serv ing practi ces o r, co nverse ly, tr y to impose impossibl y
dir ion s, so th at human rights will improve in fut u re. We may, fill high Can ad ia n sta nda rds. Each situa tio n requires an indi vidual ana lysis , and
exa m ple, acce pt th at eq uality before th e law ha s man y interpretat ion -, th e et h ica l pr obl em -sol v in g st ra tegy p roposed in C h apte r 11 sho u ld be
(even in Can ada), but clear ly t here a re so me limits that ca nnot be crosse d , applied. Th e nin e factor s listed above ar e co m m o n issu es th at mu st be
Th e UN Declarati on specifica lly fo rbid s slave ry and torture, and sui -h addressed . Th e en d result sho u ld sat isfy the co n trac t, ben efit the co u n try as a
beh av iour ca n not be co n do ne d in an y civ ilized soc iety. who le, a nd ye t ag ree as closely as possible with Ca nad ia n pract ices.
• Respect c u ltu ra l norms and laws. Co ns u ltan ts in for eign co u n trk-,
must recogni ze th e laws a nd custo ms of th ese co un tries. Th is is sim pl. CASE S T U D Y 14.1
co urtesy. How ever, so me pra cti ces may conflict with Ca n ad ian custo ms.
For exam ple, man y co un tries forbid alcohol, and som e co un tries for bid BENEF IT I N G FROM A C O N FLIC T OF I N TE REST
wo me n to dri ve ve h icles. Ca na d ia ns mu st resp ect th ese law s w he n
STATE M EN T OF THE PROBLEM
working in th ose co un t ries, eve n if th ey a re co n trary to Can ad ian laws.
• Promote the country's welfare. As mention ed abo ve, an y co n tra. I Edward Beck is a consult ing engi neer in a sma ll town . He also sits o n th e to wn
requires both parties to benefit. Th e publi c welfare sho u ld also bencft t, counci l as a n elected co unc illo r, a part-time job that he co ns ide rs a form o f
That is, co ns ulta n ts sho uld not co llabo ra te in any activity that wou ld IH' public se rv ice. Beck is hired by a developer to draw up p lan s for th e str eet
harmful to th e ge ne ra l publi c, or wo u ld be a crim ina l ac tivity in thai layout, wa te r su pply, an d sewage faciliti es for a n ew resid ential su bd ivisio n in
co un try o r o urs. In part icul ar, co ns u lta nts sho uld not ag ree to co nce a l tlu- th e town. The deve loper's sub m ission to town co unc il includes Beck 's dr aw-
adve rse effec ts o f th eir ac tiv itie s o n th e ge ne ral public. Ings an d sp eci fica t ions. The town co unc il di scu sses th e su bd ivisio n at a reg-
• Protect health and safety. Professiona l co ns ulta n ts must see k to pro ula r me eting. During th e di scu ssion , Beck d oes n ot publi cl y st a te hi s
t ~ct th e p.ub liC from ha rm, wh ether in Cana da or elsew he re. Thi s is par relatio ns h ip with th e developer, nor do es he co nce al it. His sig natu re and sea l
ticui a rly Important wh en th e em p loyees' work e nviro n men t does no t are o n som e o f th e plans su b m itted to co unci l. When th e town co u nci l co mes
m eet Canad ia n Occu pa tio na l Health a nd Safety sta nda rds. A co ns ultant to th e vo te, Beck vo tes to app ro ve th e subd ivisio n . Everyo ne kn o ws tha t h e is
must decide whe the r th e em ployer is ad equat ely p rot ecting th e h ea lth the o n ly engin ee r in town who does this typ e of wo rk, and he is ce rta in th at
a nd safety of em p loyees. If th e situatio n is unacceptable, and your CO i l Ihey wo uld prefer to see local peopl e hir ed for thi s proj ect.
tinu ed invol vem en t wil l no t lead to im pro vemen t, then it is more eth ical
for yo u to aba n do n th e project th an to damage th e health o f citize ns and QUES T ION
leave th em even m or e vulne rable.
li as Beck act ed un et h ica lly by vo ting to a pprove this pro ject in to wn co uncil'!
• Protect the enviro n m e n t . Of co urse, in for eign co un t ries, as ill
Ca nada, a ll pro fessional s mu st protect the en viro n me n t. Th e problem b AUT HOR'S SUG G ES T ED SOLUTION
co m p.lex,. and involves more than sim p le effici en cy, becau se g lo ba l
war m ing IS cha ng ing o ur climat e. Thi s topi c is discu ssed in more detai l ill Th is situa tio n so me ti mes occ urs in sma ll town s w ith few eng inee rs, w he re a
th e next three c hapters of thi s textbook. co n flict of interest can no t be avoide d. Pro fession al engi neers an d geoscien -
tist s certain ly sh o u ld n ot be di squ ali fied fro m pro jec ts because t hey are
CHAPTER I I• • £11';0 ill i 'i iv u! I' I//( I i c u tu u! (o "Stl ll i" y
29 7
296 PART THREE · PROFESSIONAL ET HICS
se rving the public as members o f town co u nc ils. How eve r, in thi s case it is 11111 U EST IO N S
eno ug h t hat "eve ryone knows" t hat lIeck has a business relatio nsh ip wit11 1111' n tscuss Epsilo n'S acti o ns , as well as those o f ABC In te rn a ti o n al and XYZ
develo per. Beck crea ted a serio us co n flict of in terest wh en he vo ted to app rove Overseas, in term s o f yo u r Assoc iatio n 's Cod e o f Et h ics. Is there a recorn -
plans th at h ~ I~in~ s e lf prepared . He sho u ld hav e made a clear, un equl vo. II mended reco urse th at Epsilo n mi ght pur sue in view of hi s di smi ssal'!
sta te me n t 01 hi s in vol vem ent in th e project a nd hi s rela tio nsh ip wit 11 1111 '
d ev~ l ~ per: t h ~ n wit hdrawn from th e debate a nd ab stained from t he vo le . III'
I\UTHOR 'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION
partt cipaung m a for ma l vot e wit hout declarin g th e co n flict o f int erest 111'1 I
I~a~ ~cted uneth icall y. Mor e importa n tly, he has exposed h imself to th~ pm Tile typ ical client/co nt racto r/c o ns ulta n t rela tio n sh ip ex ists in thi s case . Th e
slbi llt y o f a co m pla in t to the Associati on, and possib le di sciplin ary ac tio n. rl icnt is th e Pradonia n government; th e co n t ractor is XYZ Ove rseas, hir ed to
buil d the h ighway, a nd th e co nsu lta n t is ABC Intern ati onal , h ired to
"ove rsee" t he hi ghway co ns t ruc tio n . Eps ilo n'S rol e, as an e m p loyee of th e
co ns ulta n t (ABC), is to ac t o n behalf of t he cli ent (t he Pradoni an govern-
C ASE STUDY 14.2 merit ). Epsilon'S em plo ye r (ABC) also design ed th e h igh w ay, but thi s fac t
xhnuld n o t infl uen ce Epsilo n 's jud gm ent.
CO NS ULT ING IN A FO REIGN CO U NT RY Epsilo n 'S precise duties and responsibi liti es a re not full y st ate d in th e qu es-
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1 5 lio n . (In an exam situat io n , we must ma ke ass u m ptio ns, but, in rea l life, th ese
duti es wo u ld be spec ified in Eps ilo n 'S e m p loy me n t co n t rac t. ) Apparen tly,
I ~ ro fe s si o n al E ng i l~ee r
Epsilon was a n em plo yee o f the Ca nad ia n co ns ulting Epsilo n 's ma in task was moni toring th e quantities and quality of mat erials
f: ~.m A I~~ [ n t e rn a tl o n ,~ 1
Inc., a nd was se n t as a resid ent geo log ical eng inee r I " nnd labou r provid ed to t h is massive proj ect by the co n t racto r (XYZ).
Prad onia, Sout h Ame rica. ABC Int ernatio na l had been h ired by th e Pradonia u Th is case is cu rio us (o r ironic) becau se th e direct em p loye r (ABC) d is-
g o ve rr ~ me n t to o ve rsee a ma jor pro ject be in g undertaken by ano t lu -i
missed Eps ilo n for being too vig ila n t in defe n d ing th e clie n t (t he Prad onian
Ca na d ia n co m pa ny, XYZ Overseas In c. Th e pro ject inv o lved th e co ns truc tio n govern me n t). Pour et h ical issues are in vo lved : workplace safety, design safety,
of a 400-km hig hw ay acros s a mou nta in o us regio n . Alth ou gh relatively new the add it io nal pay me nts to rem ov e lan dslide d ebris, and Epsilon's dis m issal.
t ~ AIIC Int ernationa l, Epsilon , wit h more t han 25 years o f ex perienc e, W ;I\
I.l'l us loo k at t he se sepa rately.
give n th e key ass ign me n t of ens ur ing that co n trac t agreem ents betw een till' Workplace safet y. Th e most critica l eve n ts were th e landslid es, whi ch
Pradonia n go ve l:n.me n t and XYZ Oversea s were met. Epsilon 's signature Oil caused deaths and debri s. Workplace sa fety is t ile respun sibi lit y of th e prime
th ~ pa yro ll ce rt ifies t ha t the in ter ests of th e Pradon ian go ve rn me n t wen '
contrac tor performi ng th e work (in th is case, XYZ), who wo u ld likely employ
being served . a site eng in ee r on suc h a ma jor project. Mo u ntainous terrain is da ngero us,
Alm ost imm edi a tel y, Epsilon bega n to ex pe rie nc e do ubts about til ' lind o n ly t he con t racto r kn o ws w ha t is ac h iev ab le with it s labour and
project. Th e design for the highway, whi ch , as it turned o ut, was origin al ly resources. When a workplace accident ca uses dea th in Ca n ad a, th e wor kplace
done by ABC Int ern ati ona l, called for cu tt ing deep cha n ne ls-some of the m Is closed for a safety in spec t io n under Oc cupat io na l Healt h a nd Safety (O HS)
l ~l ~r e tha n o ne hundred metres deep - t hro ug h th e mounta in s, wi th c li fl~
1l'gislati on (as exp laine d in Ch a pte r 8). Work does not resume until the ca use
~ I s ln g ~ I~ a r p l~ o n both sides of the road . Epsilon was co ncerne d th at, with ti ll'
of the accident is understood a nd safety restored . Unsa fe pr acti ces ca n lead to
in stabilit y o t th e mo.untai .l:s, it did not appea r as if e no ug h geo logica l bori ngs cha rges u nd e r OHS law s. Th e qu estion does n o t menti on 0 \-15; pr esumab ly,
I~ a d been t_ ak en to Ident ity pot e n tia l slid e a reas. Epsilon's fears wer e CO li
suc h legislat io n does not ex ist in I'rad onia .
firm ed , un fortunately, w he n seve ral landslides and o the r co ns tr uct io n accl Desi g n safety. The q ues t io n hints tha t the hi gh way design m ay be faulty.
d ents occ urred, killin g so me workers. XYZ Ove rsea s as ked Epsilo n to add Epsilon had doubts abo ut th e design becau se th e geo logical borings appeared
[a sU,m l. to t h: pa yro ll to cove r th e substa n tial costs for slide rem ovals. 10 be in ad equate to ide nt ify poten tial slide a reas . How ever, we must separate
l~p~I1 0~1 Vi ewed th e requ est as " padd ing" a nd, t herefo re, not jus tified hv
do ubt s from evidence. If Epsilon had the po we r to investigat e hi s co nce rns, he
a.'?th ll1g in th e co n t~act. At first Epsilo n 's po sition was supported by Epsilo n's sho uld h ave done so, eve n th ou gh h is em p lo ye r (ABC) was also til e design er.
film IAIIC ln te rn at lo na l]: ho weve r, wit h mo untin g pr essure from XVI, Failur e to act o n evide nce o f unsafe co n d it io n s co n trave nes the Code of Eth ics
Ove rseas Inc., ABC Int ern ati on al o rde red Epsilon to add th e slide -removal and Ca nad ian OHS legislati on . In th is case, it is unlik ely t hat Eps ilo n had th e
co~ ts to th e payro ll. Epsilo n refu sed to do so, insisting th at it wo uld be a vio
resources or t he authority to in vestigat e th e d esign . Th erefor e, we can no t say
lati on of th e Prado n ian govern me n t's interests, whic h ABC In ternati ona l was for su re, but since th e con trac tor (XYZ) did n ot qu estion the d esign , we mu st
c1.1~ rged to prot ect. Epsilo n was relieved of hi s resid en t engin eer 's respo ns i
conclude that XYZ d id not believe th e workplace was un safe.
bility and was subseq ue n tly fired by ABC Internati onal.
299
CHAPTER 11• • Et hics ill Privat e Practice an d Cons utt inq
~98 PART THREE · PROFESSI ONAL OHI S
Ap p r o prfateness o f payments. Th e paym ent s a re a min or issue CO l l i AUT HO R'S SUGGESTED SOLUTION
par ed to t ile workp lace deaths. How ever, if we assu me t uat the la ndslides WI ' It ' th ese two cases see m sim ila r, but a re dis tinctly diff e rent.
th e resu lt of XYZ's negligen ce o r poor wor kplace sa fety, and if XYZ (lsl, 'd
C :li c n t A. An ex pert witness is permitted to ex press o pin ions, whe reas a non-
Epsilon to ad d th e lan dslide clea rin g costs to th e payroll to co ncea l th e Cm l
expert witness mu st co nfi ne hi s or her testim ony to know n facts. T he refore, an
(or XYZ's poor co ns t ruct io n pra ct ices) fro m th e Prad onl an govern me n t, t lu-u
.'n ginee r testi fying as an ex pe rt witness mu st have a n impartial att it ude towa.rd
th ese hidden cos ts ar e indeed padd in g. It would be co n t ra ry to th e m il' II I
lite outco m e o f t he case. Ho wever, as a recipient of a percentage of th e pote ntia l
Ethi cs (and likely illega l) for Epsilo n to a pprove such pay m ents.
l'lileme nt from Clien t A, yo u wou ld hav e a co nflict of in terest and yo ur test i-
Dismissal. Altho ug h ABC was Epsilon's dir ect em ploye r, Epsilon had 01 11
mo ny wo uld be suspect. The refore, it would be un eth ical to acce pt this case o n
ob ligation to act in good faith o n beh alf of th e client (the Prad onian gOVI'111
.1contingency basis. You sho u ld bill Client A for yo ur time and ex pe nses so th at
merit). The di sputed pay me n ts for th e landslide cos ts we re not in th e co n t 1';11 I ,
and ABC's in structions to pay XYZwe re m oti vat ed by ex te rna l pressur e (am i 111 '1 IIll' reim burse ment is ind ep endent o f th e outco me o f th e case.
haps to cove r up ABC's design flaws). As menti on ed earlier (in Chapter I :~ ) , 01 11 Client U. T he case o f Clien t B is so me what di fferent , sin ce th ere is no need
em ployee can no t be di rected to perform a n ac t that is illegal o r clearly co n trail lor im pa rtiality. In fact, yo u r bias toward red ucin g e ne rgy co ns u m ptio n co uld
to th e Code of Eth ics. Altho ug h th e wor k too k place in Prado nia , Epsilon co uld hl' very be ne ficial to th e cl ien t. Also, yo u ha ve a duty to yours~ lf a nd to ~o ur
co n tac t a lawyer in Canada to discu ss th e possibilit y of a wro ng fu l di sm issal sult ro lleagues to cha rge an ade q ua te fee. From yo ur study, yo u eVld~ n tly believe
In sum mary, t he rea l traged y lies in th e wor kp lace death s. An 0 1-15 i nv. -, that t h is fee wil l be ad equate. Th erefor e, t he proposa l to ba se th e tee o n a co n-
ti gati on sho uld h av e been he ld to d et ermine t he ca use of t he land slk! « ilngcn cy is no t u net hi ca l. Ho wever, a word of wa rni ng: th ere mi gh t be a per-
Regrettabl y, sa fety and eth ical issues wer e not addressed before the dea th a ml ('(' ptio n o f un eth ica l behaviour un less th e resu lts can be measur ed acc u ra tely
dam age occ urred, so this case will likely be resolved in th e law co u rts. (Noll ' md impartia lly and ca n be ac h ieve d wit ho u t degrading ~ he clien t' s p ro~luct
Th e stateme nt o f th e probl em is very bri ef; man y assu m pt io ns we re needed Il l' facilit ies. The refore, alt ho ug h this method o f se tt ing a tee is not unethi cal .
Mor e inform ati on o r di fferent assum ptio ns mi gh t lead to o t he r co nc luslo us.: vome risks are associat edwit h it. You wou ld be well ad vised to use o ne of th e
mo re co m m o n billing methods (as described in Ch a pte r 7) un less th e cli ent
",'<presses a preferen ce for t he co n t inge ncy method and th e savings ca n be
CASE STUDY 14 .3
d early and unequivocall y m easu red .
CONT IN G EN CY FEE ARRANG EM ENT S
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM A SE STUDY 14.4
As an eng inee r in pri vat e pract ice, yo u a re co ns ide ring wh eth er to offer y0111 ADHEREN C E TO PLAN S
serv ices o n a co n tingency ba sis, a n a rra nge me n t whe reby yo u wo uld be paid
a percen tage o f th e o utco me . Two cl ien ts wish to reta in yo u. STATE M EN T OF THE PRO BLEM
• C lien t A wants to ret ain yo u to ac t as an ex pe rt witn ess in a lawsuit agai n',1 1\ professio na l eng inee r in pri vat e practi ce is engaged by a building co n t rac~or
a third party. T he lawsu it, if success fu l, sho u ld resu lt in t h e awa rd of a W I l i l pre pa re d rawings for t he fo rms a nd scaffo ld ing need ed to ~o ns t r uct .a rem -
large sum as a settle me n t. torced concrete brid ge. Th e forms and scaffo ld ing must sustain th e weight of
• Clien t B has show n a tent ati ve in te res t in retai ni ng you to reco m mend nhou t 1,400 to nnes of co ncrete until th e co nc rete is cure d . The eng ineer pre-
c ha n ges to th e e n e rgy usage o f a manu facturing p ro cess. You be lie". I'"res the dr awings and signs a nd sea ls th e o rigina ls, which he gives to the co n-
Clien t B wo u ld be m or e responsive if fees we re co n ti ngen t o n th e saving'. tracto r. The co n trac to r lat er en gages th e e ng ineer to in sp ect th e co m plete d
After an ini tia l study o f the probl em, yo u believe th at th e e ne rgy saving Iructurc. The eng inee r find s that the co n tracto r has m ad e severa l ma jor d.e.vi-
co uld be immense. III io ns from th e plans . I-Ie is n ot su re wh et her th e st ruc tu re is safe or unsafe. I h e
rontracto r h as stated th at time is of the esse nce, a nd co nc rete is to be poured
Il th e next 48 hours. Th e eng inee r feels an o bligat ion to th e co nt rac tor becau se
QUESTION
Ill' th eir previous professiona l relatio ns h ip and h opes th at it will co n t in ue .
Wou ld it be ethical to offe r your services o n a co ntinge ncy basis to either I II
th ese clien ts, with t he understanding th at yo u would be pa id a percentage ( d QU EST ION
th e legal settleme n t (Clien t A) or a percen tage of the va lue of t he energy saving
(Clien t B)? What sho u ld the engineer d o?
:00 PART TIIREE • PllOFES I ONAL EI II ICS CIIAPTER 14 • Lt hi cs ill Pt iv al e l'ract ice an d Cons ult in q 301
AUTHOR'S SUGGESTED SOLUT ION Seco n d, establish ing fa ir a nd reason ab le fees dep ends o n five factors :
Two issues a re at sta ke h ere. Once the eng ineer passed t he sealed origl ll,d l.cvel of knowledge and q ua lifica tio ns required ;
dr awin gs to th e co n trac to r, co n tro l was lost. It is po ssib le that changes W( ' II Difficulty a nd sco pe of t he assign me n t;
made to th e o rigina ls that , if unsafe, co u ld create se rio us problems for 111, ' kcspons ibility th at t he e ng inee r mu st ass u me ;
eng inee r. As a gene ral rul e, o n ly prin ts sho u ld be signed and sealed so 111 011 Urge ncy with which th e work mu st be acco mplish ed (will ove rt ime o r
modi ficati on s will be evide n t. In this case , a ppa rently no cha ng es were ll lad , ' ex tra personn el be required"): a nd
How ever, the co n tractor did n ot co ns t ruct th e fo rm s and sca ffolds accord lnn Time req uir ed (n um ber of peop le hours).
to th e p lan s, and th e e nginee r is n o w faced wit h th e un pl easant task II I Of t hese five factors, o n ly th e last two (urge ncy an d tim e req uir ed ) a rc
informing th e co nt rac to r th at th e deviations from t he plan s m ust be evalu llkely to be reduced becau se of th e ea rlier proj ect. If Clien t A were req uest ing
ated to ens ure t hat th ey are safe. Thi s will undou bt edl y req uir e so me calculn 01 seco n d bu ild ing of th e sa me design , th en it mi ght be appro priate to pass o n
tions and perh ap s a second inspection . um c of th e sav ings in tim e. How ever, Clie n t B benefits from receiving a
The eng ineer sho uld not ify the co n t racto r in writing t hat co nc rete 11111 '.1 IIt'sign that has bee n test ed a nd is likely to be mor e dep endabl e an d eas ier to
not be poured until th e review a nd re-inspect ion is co m p lete and tha t I",· ron struct. The level of knowledge, th e qu a lification s, and, most im po rta n t ly,
st ruc ture co uld co ns t it ute a hazard to wor kers and the gen era l pub lic. 'I'll,' Ille respo ns ibility th at th e e ng ineer m ust assu me ar e un changed. In su m ma ry,
st reng t h ana lysis should be ca rried o ut as q uickly as possible. If th e 48-holll II wou ld be u n fa ir to j o hnso n a nd poo r bu siness pra ct ice to accept a substa n-
dead line ca n no t be met , th e project must not proceed until all safety co ncc 1'1 I Iial fee red uc tio n for providi ng th e dra wings for this structure.
have been satisfied. It is perh ap s usefu l to point o ut th at th e co nt racto r CO li 101
have co ns ulted th e e ng inee r abo ut th e ch a nges earlier in th e co n st ructio n, \ 1 1
ASE H IS T O RY 14 .1
th at th e delay co uld have been avo ided . Failur es occur more ofte n in tempo
ra ry st ruc tures, becau se th ey do not rece ive sufficie n t an a lysis. The co llapse 01
I L M ESSU RI ER AND T HE C IT ICO RP T O W ER
th e tem po rary su ppo rts for th e Vancouver Second Narrows Bridge illus trau-
this po int. (Read th e case hi story in Ch a pte r 13.) l'his case shows an exce pt io na l eng ineer reso lving a serious ethica l d ilemma.
II th e refore d iffers fro m m ost of t he case hi stori es in this tex t, in wh ich neg-
CASE STUDY 1 4.5 ligen t or in compet ent decision s led to disaster.
FEE RED U CT IO N FO R SI M I LA R WORK Photo 14 . 1 - Citicorp Tower.

STATEMENT O F T HE PROBLEM William LeM essurier design ed th e 59 -
storey Citicorp Tower in New York City.
Susa n j o h nso n is a professio na l eng inee r in pr ivat e pract ice. She is hir ed " ' Because of lot restrictions, four ma ssive
Clie nt A to design a sma ll, explosio n- proo f build ing fo r sto ring flammable pillars suppo rt th e building, as shown in
pa in ts, che m icals, a nd ex plos ives. Th e work is ca rried o ut in h er design office, th e ph ot o. In Ma y 7978, a few months
an d co p ies of th e plans are provid ed to he r client. Afte r constru ction is CO ll i aft er th e building 5 completion,
plct e, Clien t B co n tac ts her. Clien t B n eed s a simila r building, but suggest LeM essurier learned that a design fault
t ha t th e fee sho uld be substa ntially red uced , since t he design is alread y fill could cause th e building to collapse
ished and o nly min or cha nges wo uld be required . und er certain severe wind conditions.
The gripping story of his success ful
QUEST ION efforts to streng then th e bui lding before
Wou ld it be et h ica l for j o h nson to red uce her fees as sugges ted? Wo uld it IH' the start of the storm season is a tale of
good bu sin ess pra ct ice? professiona l ethics at its best.
Source: Kath leen Voege/ Getty Im ages.
A U T H O R' S SUGGES TED S OLU TION
First, j oh n son shou ld clari fy wh ether she o r Clien t A ow ns the co py righ t fOI
th e d rawin gs. (Th is sho uld have bee n spec ified in th e or igi na l agree me nt with
Clie n t A.)
CIIAI' I LIl II, • Lt hi cs i n " !i val e Pt act ice tu u! Cons ult inq 303
302 PART TH REE' PROFESSIO NA L ET III CS
It is also in stru ctive to note that th e designer, LeM cssurl e r, a pp lied 01 strong as th e weld ed joints. But in Jun e 1978, moti vat ed by a qu esti on from
prob lem- solvin g process severa l tim es in this case . Early on, before th e puh lh a g rad ua te st ude n t st udy ing th e Cit ico rp Tower design, LeM essuri er
becam e aware o f th e design flaw, LeM essurier faced an eth ica l di lemma . Il l' reviewed the desig n to prepare a lecture exp lain in g th e a na lysis. He ca rne
pondered seve ral alt ernatives, including co nce aling th e flaw. He decid ed 111 011 10 a shocking rea liza tio n: w he n st rong winds b lew fro m a qu artering dir ec-
the most et h ica l route wa s to face th e probl em squ ar el y. He th en went lion (t ha t is, at an angle to th e wa ll, hittin g two sid es sim ulta neo us ly), th e
th rou gh th e problem -so lving pro cess three more tim es (at least) to reso lve stresses in th e str uc tu ral members a nd th e for ces on t he bolt ed joints would
techni ca l, imp lem entation, and financia l prob lems . ill' sign ifica n tly greate r than he had ea rlier calcul at ed. Thi s quart ering load
cond it io n had not been part o f th e New York building code wh en he cal-
culated th e stresses during th e design ph ase, a nd th e design eng inee rs had
Int roduction
1I0 t co ns ide red it eit her. Alt ho ug h th e d iagon al b races wo u ld wit hsta nd
Stru ctural eng ineer William LeMessuri er was hir ed as a co ns ulta n t to advl sv qu artering load s, th e bo lte d joints spec ified by th e des ign eng ineers likely
th e design ers of th e 59-storey C it icor p Tower in New York City. Th e dc sh;n wou ld not.
was seve rely co ns traine d by the building site, becau se a ch u rch occ up ied 0111 ' LeMess u rie r n ow sus pecte d th at t h e fini sh ed buildin g wa s under-
co rner o f th e lot. It was agreed th at th e Cit ico rp Tow er co uld occ upy th e spa«: strengt h a nd m ight pose a serious hazard. He face d a n eth ical dil emma. By
above th e ch urc h, but it co uld not tou ch th e gro und o n th e ch urch's co rm- revea ling t he des ign flaw, he wo u ld be risking almost ce rta in hum iliation
o f th e site. To sa t isfy th e co ns train t, four massive pil lars we re co nst ruc ted, and fina nc ial ruin. Yet by co ncea ling h is kn owl ed ge, he would be placin g
eac h rising 35 m (114 ft.) from the g rou nd. Th ese four pillars suppo rt ti ll' tenan ts and neighbours o f th e building at risk o f di saster. Accordin g to o ne
buildin g in th e middle of each of the four wall s, in stead of t he co rne rs, and source, LeM essuri er "contemplat ed, eve r so bri efly, destroyin g h is not es or
thu s avoid th e ch u rch. Th e building rises 59 sto reys ab ove th e pillars, wlth 01 eve n kill ing him self. . . . " 16 LeMess u rie r eva lua ted th e a lte rn a t ives a nd
crow n st ruc ture th at peaks at 279 m (9 14 ft. ). decided t hat th e et hica l choice was clearl y to investigate th e design flaw
LeMessuri er created a sim ple, inno vat ive design for su ppo rting th e COl directly, rem ed y it if necessar y, a nd accept th e co nseq ue nces, h ow eve r crue l
n ers : a steel fram e with six sets o f structural stee l bra ces running di agona ll y they might be.
upward from th e co lum ns at th e midd le of th e walls to th e corners, eac h bra c«
we lde d to th e floor-beams of nine sto ries. Th e dia gonal bra ces suppo rt 11 11'
co rne rs and give th e fini sh ed build in g a distincti ve appear an ce. In add it io n, Seco n d Problem: Determining the Hazard
th e bu ilding was th e first maj or skyscr ape r to in corpor at e a n active damper III nd the Best Technical Remedy
redu ce sway during high winds. Thi s wa s a 363-to n ne (400- to n ) co n crete l.eMessuri er co ns ulte d Alan Davenport, an awa rd-win n ing Ca nad ian civil
block on th e top of the building . Sensors contro l th e dampers by measu ring engineer. (Amo ng his man y ac h ieve me n ts and co m m issio ns, Davenport car-
th e buildin g's lat eral acceleration a n d, using hydraulic pr essur e, drive I II.' ried o ut th e wi nd-tun ne l tests for th e CN Towe r.) Dave n por t had run ea rlier
ma ssive block to co u n te rac t th e sway. In thi s way, th e dampers cance l SOli II' wind- tu n nel tests fo r th e Citico rp Towe r; he ran the tests aga in usin g winds
of the structura l st ress. at an ang le to th e wall sur faces. Dave n po rt's resu lts rein forced LeMessuri er's
LeMessuri er' s anal ysis of th e loads and design o f th e main sup po rti ng conce rns . A seve re sto rm co u ld ca use o ne of th e mid-level joint s to fai l; if thi s
struc ture were essential to guarantee th e strength of th e building. His analysis happe ne d, th e e n tire struc tu re wou ld co me casc ad ing down. Sta t istic ally,
was given to th e design eng inee rs, who det ermined th e struc tural det ails . '1'111' such a stor m co uld be expected to occ u r ab out eve ry 16 yea rs. Moreov er,
design eng ineers we re not required to in form LeMessuri er of a ll of th e sub sv altho ug h t he act ive damper m ight help reduce th e load s a nd stresses , th e
qu cnt d esign detail s, pr o vid ed th at th e st ruc tura l st re ng t h a ppro priate I ' dampe r req uired elect ric po wer, wh ich might be di srupted during a seve re
exceede d the pr edict ed loads. Th e building was co m pleted in 1977.
sto rm .
Th e best techni cal so lutio n wa s fairly clear-the joints could be reinforced
First Problem: Recognizing and Resolving by heavy stee l stra pping, wh ich wo u ld be we lde d across th e joints from th e
the Ethical Dilemma insid e. But who wou ld pay for suc h repairs, a nd how co uld th ey be co m-
plet ed wit hout pa n icking th e ten an ts a nd neighbours of th e hu ge build ing"!
In May 19 78, a few months af te r th e building's co m p letio n, Lelvtessuric i
Moreove r, tim e was o f th e esse nce: th e d esign flaw becam e clear to
lea rn ed that th e design e ng inee rs h ad actually used less ex pe ns ive bo lted
l.elvl essu rler in Ju ly 1978; th e hurrican e seaso n typi cal ly reach es New York in
joint s in th e co ns t ruc tio n , in st ead o f th e weld ed joints he h ad reC011I
mend ed . Th is was n ot a se rious cha nge, pro vid ed th e bolted joints were as Septe m ber.
CHAPTER I I, • t ui t cs ill Psi va us 1" lIc/ ic c 11I111 CO IISlI l U lI g
305
304 PART THREE · PROFESSIONA L EI HICS
. tly a n d e t h ica lly ' it a lso agreed that if h e hadn 't don e so , and if th e
Third Problem: Correcting the Problem prorn pu y . b \" bl tor 'I much
without Inciting Panic huil d i n T h ad co lla psed , the co m pa ny wo u ld h a ve ee n ia e c ••
I\l'eate r ~mou nt in death and in jur y c~ai ms. 1I~ fact , perh;~~s n o t surpri sin gly,
LeM essuri er ac te d on th e last da y o f Jul y 19 78 . Hi s initi al co n tac ts WI 'II I.l'Messurier's liabilit y in surance p remiums we re reduced .
throu gh th e law yers for th e co m pa ny that had hired him as a co ns u lta n t ;11 1\1
th at co m p a ny's in suran ce co m p a ny. Man y m eetings foll owed , and Le ~lh
Robert son , al so a promin ent s t ruc t u ra l e nginee r, wa s retain ed to rev iew o ncl u s i o n
Lefvlessuri cr 's ca lc u la tio ns a n d co n cl usio ns . (Iro n ica lly, Rob ert son wa s I IIl' ' I I e Me ss urie r cou ld h ave ignored an y responsibility fo.r .t.h iS
\ )1IVIOUS y, - lefl clcn t
st ru ct u ra l design er for th e twin tower s of th e World Trade Ce n te r, whi c h (0 1 irn bl ern. Initially, h e h ad no firm knowled ge that the. st ruc~ u re wa s ( . . ' r
lapsed minutes a fte r th e terr ori st a t tacks o f Sep te m be r II , 2001 .) I i d w it h good lu ck (no se rio us windst orms) the buildmg 111Ight hav~ sUlv lve d
,II . " I ' S oective wa s Sim p le aml
C it ico rp, th e ten ants o f th e bui lding, were next to be in form ed , and I l u-h Illde fin it e ly. Howev er, as an et h ical ong inee r, 11S peL I . .
resp on se was cr it ica l. Fortunate ly, C i t ic orp reali zed the va lue o f Lefvtessurlcr' I lea r: if yo u ha ve a licence fro m the sta te to h old yourself o u t as a plOl.~S~
ad vice, a n d a lt ho ug h qu esti on s o f cost a n d in con venien ce arose, the gra vll \ slo n a l, yo u have a co rres po n d ing responsibility. If yo.u r st ruc tu re po ses a lIS
o f the probl em took pr eced ence for eve ryo n e co nce rned. Citicorp a u tho rized \0 t he liv es o f o t hers, you must d o so met h ing about It.
repairs to sta rt a lmost imm ediately. At th e sa me tim e, weather ex pe rts WI 'II
hired to m onitor a n d pr edi ct wind co nd itio ns, a n d Ne w York City o ff lc lnl
we re co n ta c te d to wo rk o u t a n evacua t io n pl an fo r th e a re a around l lu DISCUSSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
C it ico rp Tower. A pr ess release was issu ed. Worries wer e diminished so me wha t Assu me that yo u a n d a co lleague a rc sta rting .a co ns u lti.n.g e n~~ n:eri n.g
by ex pla in ing that th e repai rs wer e intended to co pe with hi gh e r winds. '1'111 I. pa rt ne rsh ip . Your partn er suggests that th e busm ess cards and stol t lo nelY
was partiall y true, si n ce sligh tly h igher winds wer e pr edict ed for the aul UllI1I
sh o u ld include:
o f 19 78.
Robert son became a key figu re in d esigning a n d su pe rv ising th e rcpah '. • a sty lish logo ; '.
The we ld ing was d on e at ni ght to minimize the in conveni ence a n d alla y tlu • yo ur e ng inee ring sea l, reduced in size to fit ; a n d
co nce rns of the te na n ts. Sta n d by ge ne ra to rs we re in st all ed to e ns ure tha t 11 11 ' • the slog a n "The best in th e bu sin ess!"
e lec t rica l su p p ly to th e ac tive damper co u ld not be interrupted by a sto n n Which (if an y) of th ese adverti sing co m pone n ts .wo~t1d be accel~ta~le
Plywood sh e lte rs co ncea led th e wo rk a reas while repai rs wer e made. u nder the ad vertisin g rul es in yo ur pr o vin cial o r ter~'ltonal Co~le.~f Ethlc~
Repair s to th e C ltico rp Tower had n ot been co m ple ted by Septe m be r 19711, (a nd /o r professional practice gu ide lines)'? Ci.te a rel erel~ c~ to [usti fy eacl
w h e n the wea t he r office o bse rved Hurri cane Ella m o ving toward New Yorl a nswe r, a n d co m me n t whether yo u agree WIth the ru le, a n d wh y, ,
For t u n a te ly, t h e hurri can e m o ved back o u t to sea w it ho u t in cid ent. 11\ You have been hired as a ma chin e design co ns u lta n t to a so a p 1~1 01nu -
Oc to be r, th e rep airs we re co m p lete . Th e building's st re n gt h n ow sign ifica n t II 2. fac t ure r to sugges t m ethods o f speed ing up a liquid deterg~nt pr oduc-
exceeds th e orig ina l d esign o b jective s. It is beli eved tha t the to wer w ill be allh ti u ie 111 th e co u rse o f yo u r work, yo u inadverten.t1 y.I ga m access t~
to wi t h sta n d a w indsto rm that , sta ti stica lly, ca n be ex pecte d to occur a n i" Ion II , ' 1y IS
co n fid e n ti a l co m pa ny d o cum ent s a n d di scover that t r e co m pa t
o nce eve ry seven hundred years! It is n o w o n e o f the sa fest str uct ures in tl l\' . . f k rcin o gen to th e d etergen t
a d d ing minut e quant itI es 0 a n o wn ca . . ' > .,
w it ho u t listin g it as an in gredient. You kn ow tll1~ subst :ll1ce has b~en
wo rld . !?
bann ed . Thi s co n fide n t ia l informati on is totall y trrelevol.nt to .t he lob
Fi n a l Problem: Paying the Bill a u we re hired to perform , a n d yo u have .d isc.ove red . It e l~~ I ~e IY by
YI Y have a dut y to the cli en t to mall1tall1 co n fide. ntialit y, but
C it icorp w illing ly pa id for th e repairs but a lso info rm ed LeM essuri er tha t II c lan ce . o u , . , f tion? Does it
. . i ty to th e publi c to act on this in anna Ion . .
ex pected to be reimbursed . Afte r n egoti ation , Lelvlcssu rie r's liability in surano- do yo u I101ve 01 ( U I ' li .o v-
co m pa ny ag ree d to pay US$2 milli on . C itico rp eve n t ua lly ag ree d to accept m atter that th e information is unrel at ed to yo u r. w~rk, ~ J1( Wol~ ~ ISC , .
e red accidenta lly'? What ac tio n would yo u take? l~x pla ll1 YOUl. :~nsw~ 1
that a mo u n t as th e se tt le m en t, a n d a lso to exone rate LeM essuri er. Ci t icorp
c it in g yo u r Act o r yo u r Cod e of Et h ics, o r by re fe rn ng to th e basic et 1-
did n ot reveal th e total co sts , but a ro ug h es t ima te wo u ld be a t least do ubt-
the insurance co ve rage. ica l th eori es. . Iacturi J
.t a rc 'I co n su lt an t to a lar ge Ca n ad ia n manu ac unng
LeM essu rier full y ex pected hi s liability in suran ce pr emiums to rise stee pl ': :{. Assu me t I101 yo u" , . br: I \ rt
ti hired to assist th e c h ie f e nginee r to es tab lis h a 1,\I1 C 1 P a t
afte r a ll, hi s d esign e rro r h ad resulted in a lar ge cl ai m a n d a g rea t dea l 0 1 corpo ra Ion , . , . . . II t' . id
in a d evelopin g co u n try. Your task is to su pe rv ise the in sra a Ion 011
a ng u ish . How ev e r, the in surance co m pa n y ag reed th at LeMessuri er h ad ac ted
I1APTEIl 14 • Lt lii cs ill " ti val ' I'ract ice alld Callsa /ti llY 307
306 PART TI1REE • PROFESSIONA L ETHICS
Prof essio na l Engi nee rs O n ta rio (PEO) , "Co n tra c tua l Liabil ity," GlI ideli ne tu
co m m issio n in g o f th e manufact uri ng eq u ip me n t. Loca l peop le, will
I'ro(i'ssiall al Practice, p. 19. Exce rp t re p rin ted w it h pe rm ission . Please not e
little or no ed uca tio n, will op erate th e eq u ipme n t.
gu id e lines will be revised in the ncar fu ture. . . ' "
As soo n as yo u arrive o n th e site and familiari ze yo urself with III Asso cia t io n of Ca nad ia n Engi nee ring Co m pa n ies, (AC I~C), CUd~ u{ Cumll lt ll1.~
1"1
plan , wh ich is well under way, yo u realize t hat th e manufact u ring I II Pract ice, O ttawa , ava ilab le a t <www.acec.ca/ en / wh o / m e m be rsh lp/ co d e.asp>
to be in sta lled was rem ov ed from serv ice in Ca nada becau se it cn' all'" (ju ne I S, 2( 09) . . .I.
Int e rna tio na l Fed e ra tio n o f Co ns u lt ing Eng inee rs (FIDIC), Cude uf 1:,tIlCS,
to xic was te. Th e wast e ca n be di sp osed o n ly by sp ecial incln ern tluu
Ge n eva, Switze rla nd, av a ilab le a t <h tt p:/ / www l.fid ic.o rg/a bo u t/e t lll cs.asp> (May
eq u ipme n t t ha t was too ex pe ns ive to install in Ca n ada, a nd was O IH' III
27 , 200H). , f" \ /
th e reaso n s th e lin e was rem o ved . Th e manufacturing lin e wo uld no t III " By- Laws a n d Cod e of Et hi cs- 200S," Ellgineaing and Geoscience I ro eSS IIJIIS I c r
111\
permitted in Ca nada, but the develop ing cou ntry do es not have l' lI 'I Sec tio n 2, Pro vin ce o f Ne w l\run swi ck , ava ilab le at <www.a pegn b.ca> (May 27,
ron mental laws th at would prevent its installation an d o peration . 20 0H). . . .
You h ave so me eth ica l co nce rns abo ut t h is proj ect an d di scuss 1IIl 'I11 II I C. E. Ha rris, M.S. Pritchard , a n d M.J. Rab in s, " In tern ati ona l I~ngm eel'ln ?
Professio n a lism ," C h a pte r I0 in Ellg illeer illg Ethics: Concepts and Cases, I horn so n
wit h the ch ief enginee r. I-I e is sym pathe tic, but points out that th e 111 ,111
Wad sw or t h, 200S . .
ufacturin g lin e ran in Can ada for more than 10 years befor e po llutlnu Go ve rn m e n t o r Ca nad a, Canadian Charter u{ Uis II Is and Freedoms, Sche d u le B to
laws sto p pe d it, and n o illn esses o r death s wer e attrib ut ed 10 II th e Ca n ad a Act 19H2, O tta wa , Ca n ad a, ava ila ble a t
Moreover, th e local peo ple will be mu ch bett er o ff wh en th e lin e is 11111 <h tt p :/ / www.laws.just ice .gc.ca/ e n /.c ha rte r/> (May . 27 ,200~) . > _ • ,
ning, giving e m ploy me n t, a n d producin g manufactured product s 1111 11·1\ Un ited Na tio ns , Un iversa l D ectnra tun ! u{ Human Ulgllts, O ffice of th e 1ligh
Co m m issio ne r for Hum a n Right s, Ge ne va, Switze rla nd , ava ilable at
dom estic use o r ex por t. <www.u n .or g/ O ve rv iew/ rig h ts.h t m l> (Dec~m~)er 19 , 20 ?7 ). , _ ;. _
What gu ida nc e does yo ur pro vin cial Code of Ethics provide fo r 11 11 Professio na l Eng ineers O n ta rio (PEO), I' rofcssuJl/al vra ctt cc Exam, I art A - Ll /IIO,
1 .1
1
pro blem'! (Obta in t he code fro m yo u r Associatio n' s website in Appe nd! Ap ril 200 6. Exce rp t re pr in ted w ith perm issio n . .
A, or as re prod uced in Appe nd ix B.) Does th e code a pply to activit\., J.R. C h iles, IlI l'i tillg Disaster: Lessons [ro m til e Edse u(Tec/lIlOlugy, Harper Co lh n s,
\11>1
co nd uc ted in a for eign co u n t ry'! What alt ernative co urses of actio n all New York, NY, 2002 , p . 196 . . , . ((( '{9H
G. Vo la n d , Ells i ll eeri llg I)' Design, Add ison Wesley, Readi ng, MA, 1999, p . . " .
o pen to yo u'! Which co urse is best from the eth ical sta nd po in t? \ 171
C. W h itbeck, Ethics ill Ellg i lleer illg Practi ce ani! Uesearcll , Ca m lll'ld ge Un ive rsity
IIKI
Ad d itio nal assignme nt s a re in Appe nd ix E. Add it io na l Case Stud ies are II Press, Ca m h rid ge, UK, 19 9H, p. 146.
App end ix F. Sam p le qu esti on s from th e Professional Pract ice Exam ina tio n
a rc in Chapter 18.
NOTE S
II I Exce rp ts from D.G. Johnson, " En gin ee rin g Eth ics," in Tile N ew Engin eer's Guul«
tu Career Grow th and Protcssional Awareness (cd . I.J, Ga be lma n ), IEEE, Piscatawa y,
NJ, 1996 , p. 173 . Copy righ t © t 99 6 IEEE. Reprin ted wit h permission o f IEEE.
121 Assoc iatio n o f Pro fessio nal En gin eer s, Geolog ists a nd Geo p hys icis ts o f Albe rta
(APEGGA), Guulci ine [ur Ethical Practice, Edmo n to n , Mar ch, 20 03, p. 22, avai lal u.
a t -cwww.a pegga.o rg» (May 26, 20 0 H).
131 O n tar io Reg u lati on 94 1, Sectio n 75, m ad e un d er th e Protessional Engineers Act,
R.S.O. 199 0 , c. P.2H, ava ilable a t <www.ca n liLo rg/e n / o n !1a ws/ regu/ rro - 1990 -rl'X
94 1/la tes t> (lun e 15, 20 ( 9).
141 Pro fessio n al Eng ineers O n la rio (PEO), "Ad ve rtising ," Guideline to Protessiona!
Practice, Toro n to, 198H (rev ised 199 H), p. 2 1, available at -cwww.peo .o n .cac-
(May 27 , 200 H). Exce rp t rep rinted with permission . Plea se note g uide lines wi ll
be rev ised in th e nca r fu tu re.
15 1 Pro fessiona l Engine e rs O ntar io (PEO), "Se lec tio n o f a n En g inee r," Guideline to
I'ro{essiull all'mctice, p . 9. Exce rp t reprint ed wit h permission . Please not e
gu ide line s will be revised in th e n car fut u re.
161 Professional Engin eers O n tario (PEO), " Reco m me nd ed Co n fide n tia lity Agree m e n t,"
Guideline to Protcssional Practicc, p. IS.
171 Pro fessio n al Engin ee rs O n ta rio (PEO), " Ru les o f Practi ce," Guideline to
/'rofi'ssiunall'ractice, p. 6. Exce rp t rep rint ed with permission. Plea se not e
gu ide lines w ill be rev ised in th e ncar future.
hapt er 15
I nvironmental Ethics
I iur e n viro n m e n t is a pu blic resou rce, a n d p rotecting it is eve ryo ne's duty, but
I'lOfessiona l e ng inee rs a n d geosc ien t ists h ave a spec ia l resp onsibility becau se
t hvir d ecis io ns so me ti mes ca n ca use gre a t h a rm . Professio na ls must avo id
un sa fe, unethi ca l, or illega l e nv iron me n ta l pr ac tices, eve n w h e n clie n ts o r
«m p loyers req uest t h em. In so me cas es, assertive actio n m a y be need ed - the
pro fessiona l e ng inee r o r geo scie n tist m ay be for ced to rep ort unethical pr ac-
Ilces to t he a pp ro p ria te auth or iti es.
Th is c h a p te r d iscu sses t h e p ro fession al 's duty to p ro te ct the e n v iro n me n t,
,I IH I lists so me of t h e laws regu lati ng e n viro n me n ta l h azar ds. Th e e nv iro n-
uu-ntal g u ide lines pub lis h ed by Eng inee rs Ca na d a (a n d seve ra l p ro vi n ci al
Associat io n s) a re im portant ad d itio ns to th e Cod e of Eth ics. Th is c ha p te r
n-views t hese g u ide lines, as well as co rpo ra te gu ides fo r e n v iro n me n ta l
rcspo nslblllty. Alt h o ug h rep orting (o r "w h ist le-b lowing") is rarel y necessar y,
thls ch a pte r revi e ws w h e n it mi gh t be justifi ed , a nd describes h ow it sho u ld
1,(, do ne. Th e c ha p te r con cl udes w ith a hi st o ry of t he 1982 Lod gepol e
blo wout-a we ll-kno w n Albe rta ca se o f so u r gas (h yd roge n su lp h ide) e rn is-
lu n , Th e n ext cha p te r (C ha pte r 16) rein fo rces t h e importa n ce o f et h ica l t reat -
uun t of t he en v iro n men t by d esc ribi n g severa l e nv iro n me n ta l th reat s a n d
.Ilsastcrs,
H E DUTY TO SOCIETY
1\llgin ee rs a n d geoscie n tis ts a re bo u nd by the Code o f Et hics to p rotect the

pub lic we lfa re, w h ic h in cludes th e e nviro n me n t. In ge ne ra l, t h ey d o a go od
lob . Most p roj ect s in vol ve lo w to m o d e ra te ris ks, so es ta b lished m e t h o ds
usu a lly e ns u re safe ty. Perfecti on is n o t a tta in a b le, a n d so me risk a lways
vxists. O ne judge in a to rt liability case re ma rked : " Eng in ee rs ar e ex pe c ted
10 be possessed o f reason abl y co m pe te n t skill in th e exe rc ise o f their parti e-
ular ca llin g, b ut n o t in fa llib le, nor is perfect io n ex pecte d, a n d th e m o st t ha t
r a il be req u ire d o f th em is a n exercise o f reasonab le ca re a n d pr ud ence in
til e light o f sc ie n t ific kn o w ledge a t t h e ti me, o f w h ic h t h e y s ho u ld b e
awa re ."
310 PART FOUR' ENVI RONME NTAL PllACTIC I ANIJ 11 11 1( ',
I liAI'I Il I ~' Lnv iro n ni e nt ul [ I II; es 311
Th e d uty to soc iety therefore does not require pe rfection, but it does I' 'q ll il Fortunately, the situat io ns suggested by these exa m ples do not aris e oft en .
reason able care, so we may as k, "W ha t is reaso nabl e?" In enviro n me n tal I ' 1111 a profess io na l, yo u mu st ref use to ca rry o u t suc h un ethi cal act ivit ies.
reason abl e care, pruden ce, a nd scie n ti fic kn owl edge mean th e following: 1II Iw 'vel', yo u may have to defend or ex p lain yo u r refu sal. The foll o wing
Ill lv\ce is ad apted from a previous cha pte r:
KNOWLEDGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Profession a l eng ineers and geos l'lt'll
tists sho uld see k advice before takin g a ny ac tio n tha t might co n trave ne . 111 1111 GAL ACTIONS Any acti vit y th at co ntrave nes an environ me nta l law or reg-
e nv iro n me n ta l law, regul ati o n , o r bylaw. Co m plia nce wit h enviro ru u ou r.u ul.n lon is illegal. No em p loye r h as th e authority to direct an em ployee to
law is essen tial. Ge ne ra l envi ron me nta l laws are listed lat er in this cha p ter, 111l'ak th e law. A professional eng ineer o r geoscien tist must refuse to perfo rm
III 1 activity th at is clearl y illegal, and mu st tak e ac tio n if o ther em ployees a re
ADEQUATE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE Befor e releasin g an y substa nce in to II1I I bserved in illegal ac tiv ities. By participating in (o r merely by ig no r i l ~g) illegal /_,
en viro n men t, professiona l eng ineers and geoscientists mu st have an adcqua« ul'ls, th e professiona l em p loyee becomes liab le for th e penalties prescr ibed by
knowl ed ge o f th e effects of th e relea se, eve n wh en th e substances ar c 111 11 1111' law; in addition, he o r sh e m ay face disciplin ar y acti on by the provin cial
tox ic. Thi s inform at ion is too vo lum inous for inclusion her e, but is imm 'til Axsociatio n . In ex treme cases, it ma y be approp riate to rep ort th e illegal ac ts
a tely ava ilable th rou gh th e Int ern et , as ex plaine d lat er in this chapte r. 10 Ihe appro pria te authority.
THOROUGH ANALYSIS In a ny new process, and in large o r dangerou s pro]« I 1\ TIONS CONTRARY TO THE CODE OF ETHICS OR ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES A
suc h as a che m ica l pl ant o r nucl ear facilit y, a "crad le to Jrave" SYS tC l1i professional eng ineer o r geo scientist mu st refu se to ca rry out a ny ac t ivity
a pp roac h is ne cessary to ens ure that ha zard s are 'co n tro lled . Th e dcsig m-: that wh ile not c1ead ille Jal is a breach of the Associati on's Code o f Ethi cs
mu st for esee th e probl em s of handlin g, sto ring, and disposin g o f hazardou or i; a breach of th~envirolll~ental gu ide llnes dev elop ed by th e Associati on .
substa nces. Th ey mu st also co ns ide r th e decommissioning a nd dispo sing II' III so me situatio ns, th e em ploye r may sim ply be un aware of th e legal signi fi-
th e p lan t itsel f, eve n th ou gh thi s may be SO years in th e future. Deslgm-r-, I nnce of th e Co de of Eth ics an d m ay need to be in fo rm ed . If th e em p lo yer is
mu st a lso fo resee how plan t o pe ra tio ns might go ast ray. Soph istica ted fai luu : , II I engineer o r geoscien t ist, he or she ha s a sim ila r o bligat io n to obey th e
ana lyses suc h as failure mod es an d effects a na lysis (FMEA), even t tree ana lysl-, ro de . Th e e m ployee ha s a legal basis for in sisting o n eth ical beh aviour- an
and fault tree an a lysis ar e usefu l for est ima t ing oper ating ha zards . Till' employer c~n o~ direct a professiona l e ng in_ee r or geoscien t ist to tak e an
design ers mu st ITy to find eve ry co nceiva ble mode o f failure, eva luate II II' actio n th at wou ld resu lt in a loss of licen ce.
probabilit y that it will occur, and de vise a rem ed y. Thi s topi c is discu ssed fUI
th er in Appen d ix G- l.
ACTIONS CONTRARY TO THE CONSCIENCE OF THE EMPLOYEE An em p loyee may
he as ked to perfo rm an ac t th at, wh ile not illegal a nd wh ile not clearl y- a vio -
INSISTENCE ON HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS Obv iously, hi gh eth ical stan dards latlon. of.the. Cod e of Et h ics or th e env iro n me n ta l guide lines, neverth eless
a re esse nt ial, a n d thi s textbook is devot ed to enco urag ing th ese stan da rds. ror:rtravenes th e~pl oyee's ~n sci ence or personal moral code. For diffi cult
Enginee rs and geosc ien t ists mu st follow th eir Co des of Eth ics (as discussed i ll situat io ns suc h as th ese, th e decision-maki n g procedure described ea rlier (in
Cha pte r 11) as well as th e enviro n me n ta l guide lines (discus sed lat er in thl-, Chapter II) may be useful.
chapte r).
Eth ical problems so me times have unfai r personal co nse q ue nces. Obey ing
yo ur co nscien ce an d refusi ng to follow th e employer's d irec tive may result in
THE DUTY TO THE EMPLOYER (AND ITS LIMITS) disciplinary ac tion or dismi ssal. Tha t is, yo u may be fired , or pay raises or pro -
motions may be delayed. You must consider th e possib ility of d ismi ssal, th e
If yo u a re a n em ployee, yo u ha ve a n o bligat ion to yo ur em ployer. In ran' co nseq ue n ces o f un emplo ym ent, and th e rem edi es for w rongfu l d ism issal (as
cases, h owever, an e m p loye r may instruct an em ployee to carry out acts tha i discusse d in Ch apter 13) . Decisions suc h as th ese mu st be made ca refu lly.
a re co n trary to th e welfare o f soc iety. For exam ple:
• An eng ineer may be as ked to des ign a fact o ry cooling system th at ta kes in
water fro m a n ear by strea m an d di spels pollu ted was te water int o the city CA N A D IA N EN V IR O N M EN T A L LAW
sewer system, witho ut th e knowledge of city a uthorities; or If yo ur act io ns affect the enviro n men t, yo ur first respo ns ibility is to know t he
• A geosc ien t ist m ay be as ked to falsify or e record s for a mine to sugges t that law and to follow it. Th e fede ral, provincia l, a nd territorial govern me nt s (and
lo wer than ac tua l qu antities o f to xic che m ica ls are bein g dispo sed in the ma ny municipaliti es) have e nviron me n tal laws and regul ati ons th at may limit
tailings.
or regul ate your activities. Fo rtunately, th ese laws are now very easy to fin d o n
312 PART FOUR' ENVI RONMENTAL PRACI ICI ANIl IIIIII ~
I liAI'll H I ', • Invif o /llne n to l Li llie> 31
A sa m ple of til e mo st rel evant Ca nad ia n e nviro n me n ta l law s is listed

uclow, along wit h a Web address (as o f June 2008) for th e legislati on , o r for
tile depart men t tha t ad m in iste rs til e legislati on .
Federa l Government Acts

Tile Enviro n me nt Ca nada we bsite -cwww.cc.gc.ca> monitor s th e e nviro n me n t
(wind , wa te r, climate cha nge , ozo ne layer, an d so forth). It also co n ta ins lin ks
to 1:lIviruZille, th e informative onlin e enviro n men tal news ma ga zin e; to th e
Ca nad ia n En viro n me n tal Assessm ent Agen cy; and to th e fed eral enviro n-
menta l laws (a lt ho ug h so me laws a re m ore eas ily accessed fro m th e
Departme nt of Ju sti ce webs ite at <h tt p:/ / laws.just ice.gc.ca/en>). T he key Acts
or laws are as foll ow s:
Ca n a d ia n En vironmcntal I»rotcction Act. Thi s is th e main fed eral
law regul ating the e nviro n me n t . It is adm inis te red by Env iro n me n t
Ca nada and is aimed mainl y at prevent in g pollution as th e best way to
pro tec t th e public. Its 12 sec tio n s deal with an ext ensive range of topics,
such as public parti cipati on, inf ormati on gat he ring, codes o f practi ce, pol-
lu t io n pr eventi on, co n t ro lling toxic substa nces, bi otechn ol og y, was te
Photo 15.1 - Stelco's Hilton Works. Large industrial plants such as the SteJco ma nage me nt, a nd en fo rceme nt. The Act is ad mi n iste red by Environment
steel works, shown here, are essential to Canada's prosperity. But they also emit Ca nada, and provides en fo rcemen t offi cers with pow ers sim ila r to those
carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. In the interests of awa rde d to poli ce under th e Crim ina l Co de.
efficiency, engineers and geoscientists must endeavour to reduce energy consump- • Fis h e rics Ac t . This Act also prot ects th e env iro n me n t, an d forbids ac tiv-
tion and the consequent emission of greenhouse gases. ities th at might degrade a ny fish habitat. Th e Act pro vid es severe pen al-
ties to pr ev ent people from dumping toxi c material s into water that
Source: CP/Kevin Frayer.
co n ta ins fish. Th e Department of Fish eri es and Ocea ns administer the law.
However, th e sec tio ns most relevant to th is cha pte r- those that co nce rn
placi ng del et eri ou s substances in "wa te r frequented by fish "-are ad m in-
th e Internet. Th e most practi cal in form ati on is ofte n found in th e Regul ati on s,
istered jointly with Environment Canada.
mad e under til e autho rity of th e Act (and usuall y ava ilable o n th e sa me we b- Canadia n Environmcntal Assessment Act. Th e goa l o f this Act is to
sites). Some environ me n tal we bsites a lso inclu de guide lines , adv isory noti ces, •
enco urage sust ainable development. Th e Act applies to projects for wh ich
information on climate cha nge , and informa tio n explain ing t he legislati on.
t he Gove rn me n t o f Ca na da ha s decision-making aut ho rity, be it as prop o-
• Feder-a l, prov lnclal, and tcrritori al laws. Th ese laws are avail ab le nent, land manager, so urce of fundin g, o r regulator. All proj ects must receive
fro m th e gove rn me n t web sit cs listed below. an en viron me n ta l assessme n t before th ey ca n pro ceed . Th e En vironmental
• Intcrnatio n a l su m mary. A co m prehe ns ive su m m a ry of env iro n me n tal Protect io n Sectio n of Enviro n me n t Canada ad min iste rs th e Act.
law, incl udi ng eq uivalen t American an d Mex ica n law, is publ ish ed by the
No rth Ame rica n Co uncil for Env iro n me nta l Coo pe ratio n (CEC). It is also
Prov in ci a l and Territorial Acts
ava ilab le o n th e lntcrn et .e
• Pr ovi ncia l s u m mar-ies. Su m mary p ublica tio ns a re ava ilab le in most Eve ry p rov ince a n d territo ry has e n viro n me n tal laws a n d re gulati on s.
prov inces to exp lain th e m yriad o f provincia l environmenta l laws. Two Tab le 15.1 lists th e Web add ress of eac h provin cial and te rritoria l env iro n-
exa m pies a re: Handb ook of Env ironntenta l Compliance ill Olltario,3 a nd Guide men ta l dep artment and th e key laws o r Acts administered by th e d ep artment
to Envlrontnental Compliance ill Alberta," A sim ple Intern et sea rch may (as o f June 2008 ). Th e regulations are usually available on th e sa me websit es
reveal a sim ilar guide for your province. as the Acts. (If necessar y, click o n "Legisla tio n" or sea rch th e we bs ite .) In addi-
• Local la ws. Your m un icipal govern me nt may have spec ific laws th at apply tion , the webs ites usually co n ta in guide lines, adv isory noti ces, informa t io n
o nly locall y. Co n tact yo ur city h all o r region al govern me n t fo r in formatio n. o n climate cha nge, a nd inform ati on ex plain ing th e legislati on.
314 PART FO UR· ENVIR ONME NIAL PllA CII CL AND 1 1111 LIIAI' lI ll I " • t- nvironment a! Et hi cs ['
TABLE 15.1 - Sum mary of Provincial and Territo rial Environmental Departm ent s ENVIRONMENTAL G U IDE LIN ES FOR EN G IN EERS
and Legislation AND GEOSCIEN TISTS
Alt h o ug h th e care of o u r e nv iro n ment is everyone's respo nsibi lity, p ro fession a l
Alberta Nunavut
<www.cn vlro n m en t.a lbcrta.ca»
e ngin ee rs a nd geoscie n t ists must as su me a key ro le because th eir d eci sions
<www.just ice.go v.n u .ca»
Env ironmenta l Prot ection an d Nunav ut legislati on is similar to that o f often h a ve a g rea t impact o n the e nviro n me n t. Env iro n me n ta l g u id el ines a re
En ha nce me n t Act th e Nor thwest Territor ies. publis hed by seve ra l Asso ciations a n d by Engineers Ca n ad a .
Wa ter Act
Onta r to
Climate Change and Em issions
<www.cn e.go v.o n .ca» Histo ric a l Development
Manag em ent Act
For Acts and Regul ati ons:
Uritish Columbia <http://www.e-Iaws.gov.on .ca/ index.h tml•. Th e Associatio n o f Profess io na l Engineers, Geologis ts , a n d Geo p hysicists o f
<www.env.go v.bc.ca/epd» Clean Water Act, 2006 Albe rta (APEGGA) d e vel oped th e Guidel ine [or Env iro nmen ta l Practice in 199 4,
For Acts and Regu lati ons: Env ironme n tal Protection Act w hic h was re vi sed in 2004. s T he 199 4 g u ide li ne was a lso adopted b y
<www.leg.bc.ca/ legislatio n/ index.h tm> Enviro nm en tal Bill of Right s Act
Env iron me nta l Man agem ent Act Enviro nm en ta l Assessm ent Act Profes siona l Eng ineers O n tario (PEO) in 19 98, w it h so me c ha nges to th e
Water Act Ontario Water Reso urces Act ex plana to ry instructi ons."
Water Protection Act Guideline for Use at Co n ta mina ted Sites T he Asso ciation o f Professi on a l Eng inee rs a n d Geoscie n t is ts of Briti sh
Manitoba in O ntario Co lu m b ia (A PEG BC) a lso d eve loped t h e ir Guidel ines [or Sustainabl l i ty , in
<www.gov.m b.ca/co n serva tion / Prince Ed w a r d Island 199 5 .7 T h e APEGB C g u ide h as many cla us es th a t a re sim ila r to t h e APEG GA
cnviro n mcn ta I.h t m 1> <www.gov.pc.ca/enveng/ index.ph p3> g u ide li n e , but e m p has izes th e importan ce o f sus ta in a b il ity-a phi lo sophy
For Acts and Regulatio ns: For Acts a nd Regu lati on s:
<h ttp://weh2.gov.mb.ca/ laws/statutcs/ th at links a vi abl e eco no my to protection o f th e e nv iro n me n t and to socia l
<www.can lii.o rg/cn / pe»
ind ex. php> Environmen ta l Protectio n Act we ll-b e in g . These APEG BC g u ideli nes a rc adv iso ry an d a re in te n ded to h e lp
Th e Environme n t Act Nat ura l Areas Protect ion Act membe rs m aintain a sta te in w hic h th ese fea tures flourish in de fi n ite ly. The
The Water Protecti on Act Pest icides Co n tro l Act APEG BC g u ide li nes on sus ta ina bi lity s pecifica lly d o n ot create a ny legal duty
Th e Waste Redu ction and Preventi on Act Quebec or o b liga ti o n by a ny m em b er to a ny perso n .
New Urunswick <www.mddep.go uv.qc.ca/ index_en.asp> In 20 06, the Ca na d ia n Eng ineering Q ua lifica t io ns Bo a rd , a sta n di ng com-
-cwww.go v.n b.ca» For Acts and Regulat ions: mittee o f En gineers Ca n ad a , pr epar ed a Nationai Guideline Oil the Environme nt
For Acts a nd Regulations: <www.publicatio nsd uquebec.go uv.
<www.gnb.ca/0062/acts/ index-e.asp> qc.ca/accueil.en .h tm I> untl SlIs/aillabili/y, 8 b ased o n th e 2004 APEGGA g u id el ine, a n d in corporating
Clea n Air Act Q uebec Env iro n me nt Quality Act add itio na l materia l from t h e APEGB C g u ide li nes. In th e past few yea rs, m a n y
Clean Environ me n t Act Sustai na ble Development Act pr o v inc ia l Asso ciations h a ve e n d o rse d t h e Nationa l Guideiine.
Clean Water Act Quebec Civil Code (Code civil du Que bec) These g u idelines a re com p le men ta ry to th e Code of Et h ics . The y co m m it
Newfourrdlarrd ilnd Labr-ados- Silskiltchew il n pr ofessio na l e nginee rs a n d geoscie n t ists to p rotecting th e e n v iro n me n t and
<www.en v.go v.n l.ca/en v» <www.en viro n m en t.go v.sk.ca» sa fegu a rd in g th e p ub lic's we ll-bei ng. The o rigina l do cumen ts con ta in a wea lt h
Environmental Protectio n Act Th e Clean Air Act
Wat er Resources Act of ex p la n a tory inform a ti o n . T he ni n e pr ecepts of th e APEGGA a n d th e National
Environmental Assessment Act
Environme n tal Management and Gui del ines a re a lmost ide nt ica l, alt houg h th e APEGGA g u ide line is ad dressed to
Northwest Territories
-cwww.cn r.go v.n t.ca» Protection Act, 200 2 both e n gin ee rs a nd geoscie n tis ts a n d is re prod uced, w it h permission, as foll ows:
Environmental Protection Act Fisher ies Act (Saskatchewan)
Environmen tal Rights Act Yukon Guid elin e Summary
Pesticid e Act <www.environmentyuko n .gov.yk.ca>
Waste Redu cti on an d Recovery Act For Acts a nd Regu lati ons: Pro fession a l Member s:
Novil Scotiil <www.ca n lii.o rg/cn / yk»
<www.gov.ns.ca/ n sc» Environ ment Act I . Sho u ld d e v el o p a n d m a intain a re a son ab le le v el o f und erstandin g,
Environ men t Act Waters Act awa re ness, a nd a sys te m o f m onitorin g e nv iro n me n ta l iss ues rel ated to
Environmental Goa ls a nd Sustainable Solid Waste Regu lati o ns t h e ir field of ex p e rt ise ;
Prosperit y Act Air Emission s Regulations
2 . Sha ll u se ap pro p riate ex pe rt ise o f s pecia lis ts in a reas w he re th e Me m ber's
Wat er Resour ces Prot ecti on Act
know ledge a lo ne is n o t adeq uate to address e nv iro n men ta l issu es;
All w ebsites are valid as of June 15, 2009 . :1. Sha ll ap p ly p ro fessi on al a n d res p on sib le judgment in th eir e nv iro n -
me n ta l cons iderat io ns;
316 PART FOUR · ENVIIlONME NTAL PRAC I ICL AND I I III( S
CIIAP1Ell 15 • Environm e n t a! Ethi cs 17
4. Shou ld e ns ure that en viro n me n ta l planning an d ma nage ment is ifill' possibl e that the captain was drunk. Th e resu lting 38,800- to n ne oil spill killed
g ra ted into a ll th eir activit ies which are likely to have any Adve rse EffcC ls; wildlife and coa ted th e shoreline up to 750 krn (almos t 47 0 mil es) from th e
5. S.hol~ l d include th e cos ts of e nv iron men ta l pro tectio n a mo ng the esse n- iccld e n t site. It wa s on e of the wo rst e nviro n me nta l di saste rs in Nor t h
tial fact or s used for ev a lua ti ng th e eco no m ic Viabilit y o f pro jects fO I America n hi story. 10
whi ch th ey are respon sible ;
In t he autum n of 1989, Ceres pu blished th e Valdez Prin cip les (later renamed
6. ShOl~ld recogn~ ze th e valu e o f env iron me n ta l efficiency and Susta ina bilily, I he Ce res Princ iples), a lO-point code of co rpo ra te env iro n me n tal co nd uct.
co ns ider full Life-Cycle Assessme n t to determine th e ben efits and cos ts oJ Ceres asks industri al cor po ratio ns to suppo rt the Ceres pr inc iples by ado pting
a d.~Ii.tio na l en viro n me n ta l ste wa rds h ip, and en de avo ur to impl em en t them as a co rpo rate Code o f Env iron me n tal Eth ics. The 10 principl es are rep ro-
efbClen t, susta inable so lutio ns;
duced in Appendix C, wit h permissio n of Ce res, ami include protection of th e
7. Sho uld e ngage and solicit input from Sta keh o lde rs in a n o pe n man ner, biosphere; sustaina ble use of natura l resources; redu ction and disposal of wastes;
and st rive to respond to enviro n me n ta l co nce rns in a time ly fash io n; ene rgy co nservatio n; env iro n me n ta l risk reduction; safe products and serv ices;
8. Sha ll co m ply wit h regul a tor y requirem ents a nd e ndeavo ur to exceed o r envi ro n men tal restoration; in forming th e public; man agem ent co m m itme n t to
better th em by striving toward th e appli cati on of best availab le, cost- cnv lron rn cn ta l issues, a nd regu lar aud its and reports."
effect ive techn o logies and procedures; th ey shall disclo se in fo rmat io n
necessar y to pro tect publi c safety to approp riate authoriti es; a nd Regist r a t io n under ISO 14001
9. Sho u ld ac t ive ly wo rk wit h o t he rs to impro ve e nviro n me n ta l und e r-
sta ndi ng an d pract tccs." Of co ur se, wh en cor po rat io ns a re se rio us ab out dem on strating th eir co m m it-
mcnt to responsible interaction with the en viro n me n t, th e most visib le rout '
Implementing Environmental Guidelines to follo w is registrati on under th e ISO 14000 se ries ofEn viro n me n ta l
Mana ge men t Syste m Sta ndards, esta15lisl1edin i 996:--in parti cul ar, ISO 1400 I
Legall y, t he a bove g Ui de line s a p pea r to be vo lu n ta ry g u ida nce, exce pt in (discussed earlie r in this textbook). ISO 1400 1 regist rati on req uires a co m m it-
Alberta, wh er e th e mandatory wordin g ("sha ll") in p recepts 2, :1, an d H mcn t from sen io r managem en t, a revi ew of a ll of t h e app licab le en viro n-
appear s to mak e th ese three cla uses more for ceful, a nd th erefor e possib ly menta l law s, a n a ud it o f th e env iro n me n t al impact o f t he co rpora tio n 's
en forcea ble und er th e APEGGA Code of Eth ics.
operatio n s, development of env iro n me n ta l poli cies, establish men t of meas-
Becau se th e guide lines apply to every disciplin e, they a re very ge ne ral, and urement techniques and method s for recording th e measurem ents, prep ara-
do not give discip lin e-specific g uida nc e. Th erefore, the professiona l must: tion of a pro cedures manua l to define who does what, training of em p loyees,
• find a n d co m ply with th e a ppro priate regulations for th e pro fessiona l's full co m m u n icatio n within th e co rpo ratio n, and regul ar aud its to ensure th at
disciplin e, tile syste m is work ing an d ach ieving its goa ls. Obvious ly, registrati on indi -
• a pply profession al and resp on sibl e jud gem ent, cates that th e co rpo rat io n has mad e a se rio us commitment to ac t respon sibl y
• ca ll for spec ia list guida nce when it is need ed , and mu st ill e nviron men tal matters. Mor eov er, since th e ISO 1400 1 sta ndard is recog-
• disclose informa tion wh en necessar y, to prot ect publi c safety. nized int ernationall y, registrati on sho u ld be an aid in intern ati ona l trad e.
T HE DUTY TO REPORT -WHISTLE -BLOWING

ENVIRO N M EN T A L GUIDELINES FOR CORPORATIONS
Th e Cere s Principles An engineer o r geos cie n tis t wh o obs erves unsafe, un eth ica l, o r illegal pra -;
tices must take ac tio n . Each case is diff erent, of co u rse. Alt ho ug h no proce-
In additio n to th e above guide lin es, whic h ap ply to indi vidual s, a set o f en vi- d ure wo rks every tim e, a direct, persona l co ntact will reso lve m ost probl em s.
ron menta l p rin cipl es h as evo lve d for co rpo ra tio ns . These p rin cipl es haw Some ge ne ral ru les apply.
been d e~el oP:d o ver ~h e past 13 yea rs by th e Coa litio n for Enviro n me n tally • First, yo u mu st decid e wh ether th e situat io n is dan gerous to hum an life,
Respon stb te Econo m tos (Ce res), a n Ame rica n coa litio n of in stituti o n s- beca use a mu ch more aggressive app roac h is necessary in th is case. Ma n y
mainl y en viro n me n tal, pu bl ic interest, a nd co m m u n ity gro ups, as we ll as cases involve in fracti ons of th e Code of Ethi cs, but mor e serio us cases may
inv estors, advis ors, a nd a na lysts.
also be o ffences under th e Crim inal Code.
Th e Ceres enviro n men tal prin cip les were develop ed in th e wake o f the • Seco nd, yo u mu st decid e wh ether th e probl em is caused by th e situa tio n
Exxon Valdez o il spill, a n enviro n me n ta l disaster th at pollut ed th e Alas ka o r by th e ind ividu al, a nd wha t th e sim plest rem edi al actio n wo uld be .
sho reline in Marc h 1989. The Exxo n Valdez ra n ag rou nd in a bay o n the Obvio usly, so m e pe rso n al jud gm ent is req u ired at th is stage, a nd th '
Alaska n coas t. The accide n t was a ttributed to naVigati onal e rrors ; also, it is pro blem-so lving technique describ ed ea rlier (in Ch a pte r II ) may be useful.
318 PART FOUR' ENVI RONMENTAL PRACTI CE AND ETHIC S
CHAPTER 15 • Environmentol Eth ics IC
• Th ird, a di rect , but in fo rm al, pe rson a l co nve rsat io n with th e closest perso n 5. Wh ere the Office of the Regi s trar has reason to believe that a situation that may
invo lved (p resum ably a co lleag ue o r yo ur boss), proposin g a so lutio n (no t endanger the safety or welfare o f the public does exist, the Office of the Registrar will
just th e descript ion of th e p roblem), usuall y yields the best results. If thi s take one or more of the followi ng actions:
yields no results, th e n yo u wo u ld speak to so meo ne fur th er up th e cha in
a) Report the situation to t he appropriate municipal, provincial and/o r federal
o f aut ho rity. (For exa m ple, spea k to yo ur bo ss's bo ss, a nd so on .) authorities;
• Finally, if yo u can see no reso luti on in sigh t, it wo uld be a p pro priate to b) Where necessary, review t he situation with one or more independent engineers, to
co ns ult yo ur Assoc iatio n fo r fu rt her guida nce.
obtain advice as to the Pote ntial danger to public safety or welfare and the reme-
For exa m ple, a co nce rn abo ut unet hi cal billing practices is not usually urgent dial action to be taken;
a nd can usua lly be reso lved inform a lly. A situa tion wh ere work ers' lives arc a: c) Request the client/ employer to take steps necessary to avoid danger to the public
risk is clea rly mo re urgen t a nd m ight be referred immedi at ely to the au tho rities safety or welfare;
(includ ing t he po lice) if a delay in ac ling might ca use in jur y o r deat h . Failure to d) Take such other action as d eemed appropriate under the circumstances;
ta ke immedi at e ac tio n to protect h um an life is profession al mi sconduct. e) Follow up on the action ta ken by all parties to confirm that t he problem has been
Pro vin cial Assoc iatio ns have oft en se rved as med iat or s to h el p prof es- resolved.
sio na ls wh o be lieve t ha t client s, co lleag ues, em p loye rs, o r e m p loyee s arc 6. Wherever possible, the Office of the Registrar shall maintain accurate records of all
in vo lved in un safe, uneth ical, o r illegal practi ces. Th e Assoc iat ion ca n playa communications with the rep o rti ng engineer, any authorities involved and the
usefu l ro le by h el pi ng defin e t he e th ica l issues inv o lved, adv ising th e profes- client/employer.
siona l, co m m un icati ng the co nce rns to th e cl ient or em ploye r in an unb iased In Summary: The Office of the Re gistr ar will cooperate with any engineer who reports
way, a nd ge nera lly medi ating as info rm a lly as possible. a situation that the engineer believes may endanger the safety or welfare of the public.
Profess io na l Eng ineers O nta rio (PEO) defi nes th e procedure for reportin g Wherever possible, the confident iality of reporting engineers and the information they
in th eir pub licati on A Profession «! Engi neer's Duly to Rcport-s-Respons ibtc disclose will be maintained. The Office of th e Registrar will emphasize in all dealings
Disclosure otCouditions Am'cli/lg Publi c Satet». An exce rpt fo llows:
with the engineer's client/employer and the public the engineer's duty to report under
the Act and Regulations, and will provide the reportin g engineer with an endorsement
Thc Rcporting P r ocess of the performance of his/ her dut y, provided that the Registrar has determined that the
engineer has acted properly and in good faith.V
Eng inee rs arc e nco u raged to ra ise t heir co nce rns intern a lly with th eir em ployers or
clients in a n o pe n an d forthri ght ma n n er befor e reporting t he situa tio n to PEO, T he above PEO poli cy is o rde rly and im par tial. It clear ly p laces pub lic
Alt ho ug h t here may be situatio ns wh ere thi s is not possib le, enginee rs sh o uld first we lfa re fi rst . How ev er, n o t a ll Associ at ion s h ave irn p le men ted a simil a I'
atte m pt to reso lve pro blems t hem selves. policy.
1. If resolution as above is not possible, engineers may report sit uations in writing or by
T H E ET H I C A L DILEMMA OF WHISTLE-BLOWING
telephone to the Office of the Registrar of PEO. In reporting the situation to PEO, engi-
neers must be prepared to identify themselves and be prepared to stand openly behind Wh istle-blo wing a lways invo lves an eth ica l d ilemm a. Every Co de of Ethi cs
their judgements if it becomes necessary. requi res eng inee rs a n d geoscie n tis ts to co ns ide r th eir d ut y to soc iety as pa ra-
2. The Office of the Registrar will expect the reporting party to provide the following moun t. How ever, eve ry co de a lso stipu lates du ties to clie nts, em ploye rs, co l-
information: leagu es, a n d em p loyees. At w hat poi nt does t h e duty t o socie ty o ve rrid e
a) The name of the engineer who is reporting the sit uation; these o t he r d u t ies? For exa m p le, t h e code for bid s d isclosi ng co n fldc n rla l
b) The name(s) of the engineer's client/ employer to whom the sit uation has been Infor ma tio n, but co nve rse ly, th e code req uires .d isclosure of an y sit uatio n
reported; tha t m ay e nda nge r t he health o r safety o f t he p ub lic. Obvio us, th ese du ties
c) A clear, detailed statement of the engineer's concerns, supported by evidence and Illay co n flict.
t he probable consequences if remedial action is not taken. W h istle-b lowing is a co n t roversia l ac t, so we must defin e th e ter m clea rly.
3. The Office of the Registrar will treat all information, including the reporting engineer's Co n n ie Muc klesto no provid es a good defi nitio n in her a rticl e "The Eng inee r
name, as confidential to the fullest extent possible. as Pub lic Defe nde r":
4. The Office of the Registrar will confirm the fact ual nature of the situation and, where t he
Whistleblowers are people (usually employees) who believe an organization is engaged
reporting engineer has already contacted the client/employer, obtain an explanation of
in unsafe, unethical or illegal practices and go public with their charge, having tried
the sit uation from the client/ employer's point of view.
with no success to have the situation cerro ted through internal channels.P
~o PART FOUR · ENVIllDNME NT AL PRACT ICE AN/) I III /I ', EIIAPTER 1 5 • Enviro nnnuvt n! Elhi cs 321
True wh ist le-blow ing is ra re becau se, as th e above qu ot e em phasizes, d Florman, spo ke against this clause as a genera l gu ide, becau se it do es n ot have
t rue wh ist le-blowe r must be co nce rne d a bo ut " unsa fe, un et hi ca l o r illeg;d a prec ise meaning. His co m me n ts are qu ot ed, in pa rt, belo w:
practices" and suc h va lid co m plain ts ca n usuall y be reso lved sim ply by CO l l i
If t his appea l to conscience were to be followed literally, chaos would ensue. Ties of loy-
municating t he fact s to the people in cha rge. Pe rso nal co m plain ts o r di s p u tr-,
alty and discipline would dissolve, and organizations would sha tter. Blowing th e whistl e
a re not a prop e r basis for wh ist le-blow ing.
on one's supervisors would become the norm, instea d of a last and desperate resort. It is
A whis t le-blowe r is different from a trou blema ker in two importa nt wa s:
unthinkable t hat each engineer determine to his own satisfaction what criter ia of safety,
th e m oti ve of th e per so n in vo lved an d th e m eth ods used to prot ect 1IIl '
for example, should be observed in each problem he encounters. Any product can be made
pub lic. These points are illustrat ed in t he fo llow ing qu ot e:
safer at greater cost , but absolute freedom from risk is an illusion. Thus, accepta ble sta n-
Engineers must act out of a se nse of duty, with full knowledge of the effect of their dards must be specifically esta blishe d by code, by regulation, or by law, or where t hese
actio ns, and accept responsibility for their judgement. For this reason any process which do not exist, by management decision based upon sta ndards of legal liability. Public-
involves "leakinq" informatio n anonymously is discouraged. There is a basic difference safety policies are determined by legislat ors, bureaucrats, judges, and juri es, in response
bet ween "leaking" inf ormation and "resp onsible disclosur e." The former is essentially to facts present ed by expert advisers. Many of our legal procedures seem disagreeable,
furtive, and selfish, wit h an apparen t objective of revenge or embarrassment ; t he tatt er is particularly when lives are valued in dollars, but since an approximation of the public will
open, personal, conducte d wit h the int erest of th e public in mind and obviously requires does appear to prevail, I cannot think of a bett er way to proceed. . . .
t hat engineers put their names on the action and sometimes their jobs on the line.t"
The regulati ons need not all be legislated, but th ey must be formally codified. If we are
(it alics added)
now discovering th at th ere are t ens of th ousands of pot entially dangerous substa nces in
Th e w h istle-blow er mu st be awa re that th e process m ay in vol ve pub ll: our midst , t hen th ey must be t est ed, th e ofte n-confusing results debat ed, and decisions
ex pos u re an d scrutin y and m ay place hi s o r her ca ree r in jeop ardy. Obvio usl , made by democratically designa ted authorities- decisions th at will be challenged and
w h istle-blowi ng sh o u ld n ot be do ne cas ua lly, unkn owingly, o r wa n to n ly. Till' revised again and again. .. .
pro vin cial Associatio n sh o uld be co n tac ted, a nd its reportin g process sho uld
This is an excruciat ingly laborious business, but it cannot be avoided by appealing to t he
be fo llow ed.
good instincts of enginee rs. If t he multi tud e of new regulations and clumsy burea ucra-
In su m ma ry, befo re using th e rep o rti ng process described above, a n engI
cies has made life difficult for corpo rate executives, the soluti on is not in promising to
neer or geoscien t ist sho u ld co ns ide r th e followi ng th ree po ints:
be good and eliminating t he contro ls, bu t rat her in consolidati ng t he contro ls th em-
• Inform a l rcsolution. It is ex treme ly impor tan t to tr y to resol ve p roh selves and making them ratio nal. The world's technological problems cannot even be for-
lern s info rma lly a nd int ern ally, in a n o pe n a nd profession al manner. III mulate d, much less solved, in t erms of et hical rhetoric: especia lly in enginee ring, good
t he vas t ma jority of cases, clear co m m un icatio n is a ll tha t is required. 1\ intentions are a poor substitute for good sense, talent, and hard work."
profession a l must be ce rta in tha t a n in for mal int ern al so lutio n ca n no t 1)('
Florma n 's co m me n ts are th ou ght-p rovo kin g a nd refresh ing . A profession al
o btaine d befo re wh istle-blowing, a nd m ust ass ume th e responsib ility and
person sho u ld no t have to be a ma rtyr, or sac rifice his o r her ca reer, to pro tect
co nse q uences of an y har m th at results from a frivo lo us accusati on .
the pub lic welfare. The publ ic (as represen ted by th e govern me n t) mu st assist
• Confi dcn t ia lity. Profession als mu st always rep o rt un eth ica l cases to till'
by provid ing th e regulation a nd co n tro ls up on whi ch a profession al ca n depend
appro priate regulating bod y a nd no t to the news medi a. The goa l is to
whe n maki ng a d ifficult de cisio n . Flor ma n' s reco m me nda tion for deve loping
rem ed y a pro blem , not to em ba rrass ind ivid ua ls.
sta ndards a nd regul at ion s based o n so lid research deserv es suppo rt-suc h sta n-
• Retaltat to n , Wh en a n em ployee reports an un ethi cal, illega l, or un safe act
da rds a re esse nt ial to th e practi sin g professional, especially wh ere dangerou s
to pub lic autho rities, the em ploye r may ret aliate by firing th e em plo yee.
chem ica ls a re co nce rn ed . How ever, man y well-known regu lati on s a nd stan-
Professiona l engineers and geoscicn tists sho uld kn ow th at reporting (WhCII
da rds are alread y in print, and yet so me co m pa n ies and ind ivid uals sti ll do not
justified) is not a basis for dismi ssal (as explained in Chapter 13f A wro ng-
follow th em becau se of ignora nce, inertia, o r uneth ical attit udes.
fu lly d ism issed em ployee can sue to recover lost wages and costs.
Inst ead o f di scarding th e publi c safety clau se in th e Code of Eth ics, as
Flor m a n sug gests, it mi ght be better to p rovid e mor e med iati on between
wh ist le-blo we rs a nd th eir em ploye rs (as so me provin cial Associati on s are now
A DISSENTING VIEW OF THE D UTY TO SOC IETY
do ing ), an d to prov ide protectio n agai nst ret alia tion fo r pro fessio na ls who ,
The first cla use of eve ry Code of Et h ics says th at professio nals mu st co ns ider afte r ex haus ti ng a ll o ther routes of ac tio n , repor t unethica l practi ces.
th eir dut y to socie ty to be par am o unt. Th is o b liga tio n see ms clear a nd Also, it mu st be rem embered th at Florrnan is referri ng to th e Un ited Sta tes,
u nequi vocal. Ho wever, o ne well-know n ex pe rt o n eng ineering eth ics, Sam uel whe re licen sin g laws a re mu ch less res t rict ive t han Ca n ad ia n laws. As
2 PART FOUR . ENVI RONME NTAL PRACTICe ANO run e CIIAP IE R 15 • Env u ornne nt a! Et hic s 323
ex p lained in Ch a p te r 2, Ca n ad ian law s require a licence to practi se e ng l interme d iate casin g was th en in stalled, an d th e dri llin g crew began coring
n eerin g, wh er ea s U.S. laws permit a nyo ne to practi se eng ineering ; a IJ , ~ , opera tio ns to exam ine th e st rata prior to drilling into th e o il-bea ring form a-
licen ce is required o n ly to usc th e titl e o f Professional Eng in ee r. tio n . Two cor es were o bta ined without apparent p robl em s. On Octo be r 16,
In sp ite o f th e a ppa re n t co n t rad ict io n , both th e Code o f Ethi cs a lill th e cre w was obta in ing a third co re wh en th ey reali zed that fluid was en te ring
Flor ma n 's suggest io ns arc useful. Th e Code of Et h ics ex presses an idea l, hu t the well from the oil- and gas-bea ring fo rma tio n .
clear regul ati on s a nd sta nda rds (as proposed by Fl orm an ) arc a way o f makin j; The drill crew sto pped th e cor ing op eration s to deal with thi s pr obl em ,
th e ideal mo re att ain able. wh ich is kn own as a "kick, " becau se reserv oir fluid s en te r th e wellbor e a nd
fo rce t he drillin g mud out of th e well. For th e next 16 hours, th e crew fou ght
CA SE HIST OR Y 1 5 .1 10 rega in co n tro l o f th e well, but eve n tually th e dril l pip e "h ydraull cked " up
the ho le and th e kelly h ose was severed, at whi ch point th e well was o ut of
TH E LOD G EPOLE BLO WO UT contro l. Th e inten se pressur e ca used a co n tin uo us, un controll ed flow o f mud
and so ur gas into th e atmos phe re. Th e exact flow rat e is unkn own; how ever,
I n t roduct i o n du ring th e inquiry it was estimated at 1.4 milli on m' o f gas per day. Lat er tests
Resid ents o f the Dray to n Valley area o f Alberta will lo ng rem ember 11 11 ' ind icated that th e flow co uld have been eve n grea ter. 17
a utu m n of 1982. At 2:30 p.m . o n Oc to be r 17, th e Amo co Lod gep ole oil well
being drill ed n ear Drayt on Valley enc o u n te red so ur gas (tha t is, gas lad en with Em e r g e n c y Measures
h yd rogen su lp h ide) a n d blew o ut o f co n t ro l. Ove r th e next tw o mont hs,
Amoco immediately implem ented its Major Well-sit e Incid ent Respon se Plan ,
while spec ialists fou ght to regain co n t ro l o f th e well, residents living withi n 01
an d key Amoco personnel were n otified of th e blow out. Peo ple a n d eq uip-
20- to 30-km ( 12- to 19-mil e) radiu s were twi ce exposed to t he rotten egg sm ell
men t wer e di spa tched to th e site , including saf et y personnel, par a medi cs,
of hydr ogen sulp h ide (1-I 2S) a nd th e threat o f H2S poisonin g. Th e first II. ~
am bu la nces, h eli copters, an d firefightin g eq u ipm e n t (includi n g breathin g
ex pos ure period lasted ]6 days; th e seco nd lasted 12 days. During attemp ts II '
ap para tus). Hyd rogen sulph ide monitoring eq u ip me n t was o rdered fo r bot h
ca p th e blowou t, tw o em ployees we re ov ercom e by 1-1 2S a nd died, a nd th e well
on -site and off-site monitoring. Th e co m pan y immed iately hir ed spec ialists to
was twi ce engulfed in flam es. Abo ut 28 people were vo lunta rily relocat ed III
cap th e well, and specia l equipm ent to do so was ordered .
avoid th e 1-1 2S, an d severa l homes were o rde red evacuated during espec ially
Over th e next two month s, seve ra l plans for ca pping th e well were tried
h eav y 1-1 2S co ncen trat ions o n Octo ber 29 an d from Nove m ber 17 to 24. EVI'1 1
wit ho ut succes s. O n Nove rnb erI , 1982, a fai led a tt e m pt resulted in a fire t hat
peop le living far from th e well wer e sub jected to noxiou s a n d unp leasa n t
engulfed th e well. A new co n tro l plan was developed, and o n Nove m be r 16,
odo urs, dep endin g o n th e p reva iling winds .
the fire was ex ting u ishe d with explos ives, prior to impl em entin g th e plan .
The well was not ca pped successfully until Decem ber 23. In Januar y l 91{I,
Two da ys lat er, while attem pti ng to exec ute th e plan , an acciden t occurr ed
a Lod gep o le Blow out Inq u iry Pan el was co nve ned to inv esti gat e th e causes II I
th at resulted in th e death s of tw o em p lo yees wh o were ove rco m e by 1-1 2S. On
th e blow out, th e ac tio ns taken to prevent it an d to regain co n tro l, th e ha zard
Nove m ber 25, th e well was aga in o n fire. lt was lat er det ermined th at this fire
to hum an health, a nd th e impact o n th e enviro n me n t, a nd to recomm end
prob ably resulted from an undet ect ed underground mu skeg fire th at had been
wh at sho uld be don e to avoid future blowouts at wells in Albert a. The Panel
smo uldering for so me time. Amo co decid ed to try to ca p th e well while it was
issued a co m prehen sive repo rt in December 1984 . 16
still ablaze; h ow ever, th e well specialists declin ed to attempt thi s procedure,
wh ich had seldo m succeede d with o ther blow outs. O n Decem ber I, n ew well-
Events Lead i ng U p t o the B l o w o u t capping spec ia lists were hir ed, and by December 23 , th ey had in st all ed a
blowo ut pr eventer (1101') ov er th e stub of th e intermedi at e casing. Lines were
Th e Amoco Lodgep ol e o il well , kn own o ffic ially as Amoco Do me Brazeau
then co n nec ted to flare off th e gas a nd pump mud into th e well. Over th e
Ri ver 13-12-48-2, is locat ed abo ut 140 krn (90 mil es) west of Ed mo nto n (abo ut
next five days, 96 m' of mud were pumped int o th e well , th e pressur e was sta-
40 km / 25 mi les west o f Drayt on Valley). Th e we ll was nam ed af ter th e nearh
bilized, a nd th e crisis was brou ght to a n en d.
haml et of Lodgep ole, whi ch is situated ab out halfwa y bet ween th e well a nd
Dray to n Valley. Th e Amo co Ca nada Petroleum Co m pany o bta ine d a licen ce
Wh a t W en t Wr o n g at th e L o dg e pole Well ?
to drill th e Lodge po le o il well from th e Albe rta En e rgy Reso urces
Co nse rva tio n lIoard (also known for seve ra l years as th e Alberta En ergy a nd The blow out occu rred basically becau se Amoco personnel were un abl e to co n-
Utilities Board). The well was "sp udded " (st art ed) in Aug ust 1982. Drilling trol t he hyd rostati c pressur e in th e well. Th is is a critically importa n t an d del-
proceeded to a dep th o f abo ut 3,000 m (10,000 ft.) with ou t pro blem s. An icate bal an cin g procedure. Th e co n t ro l stra te gy- us ually ca lled th e well
324 PART FOUR · EN VI RONME NTA L PRACTI c e ANI> IIIII CS
CIiAPIIIl I!J • l.nv is o nme nt a! Et hi cs 32'
co ntro l plan - set s o ut th e basic p rin cip les and procedures th at mu st be 1'01 The gene ral well co n tro l plan mu st include th e procedu res to be used to circu-
lo wed to e ns ure that a well will not blo w out during dri llin g, co m pletio n, 01 late out the kick, and it mu st also ens ure that proper eq uipme n t wi ll be avail-
produ cti on operation s.
able sho uld a kick occ u r. Thi s includes th e BOI' syste m but additiona lly, casin g
Th e we ll co n tro l plan is rarely a sing le do cum ent. Rather, it is the su m total a nd dr ill pipe design a nd selectio n are important co m po ne n ts o f the plan .
o f all dr illing program do cum ents, spec ia l in st ruct ion b ull etin s-i ncl u d i l l~:
In ord er to carry o ut the ge ne ral well co n tro l plan, the deta iled dr illin g plan
th ose posted at t he site-co m pan y procedure ma nua ls, a nd o ther books, ma ll
m ust pro vid e fo r th e integri ty of t he d rill ing fluid syste m th rou gh out th e
ua ls, a nd writt en a nd ver ba l in stru cti on s tha t guide dr illin g proced ures. 'IeI
dr illing ope ratio n regard less o f the circu msta nc es enco un tered . Th e o pe rator
help yo u un derstand th e im por ta nce o f th e co n tro l p lan a nd how it applies III
sho uld have o n site, at critica l tim es, ex pe rts in geo logy and m ud properties.
th e crit ical ba lan cin g o f h yd ro sta t ic pr essure in t he we ll, t h e follow ing
The o pe rato r m ust also ensure th at th e d rillin g and well eq uip me n t, parti cu-
ex plana to ry not e is reprod uced from th e Inq uiry report, with permissio n:
larl y th e BOI', is fun cti oni ng prop erly. Fina lly, for the ge ne ral well co n trol plan
The drillin g fluid (m ud) system has a dominant positi on in th e ge ne ral well to be implem ented effectively, o n-s ite supe rvisors a nd th e dri llin g crew mu st be
co n tro l plan for a ny well. Th e plan requ ires that th e h ydrostati c pressur e in the pro pe rly train ed , regul ar ly briefed , a nd a lways prepared to ac t promptly in ca r-
wcllbore be g rea te r th an th e form ati on pressure. Hyd rost ati c pressur e de pe nds rying o u t prescrib ed kick co n tro l proccdur cs.!"
o n th e height o f th e co lum n o f d rillin g mud and th e d ensit y o f th e mud . 1\
redu ction in eit he r or bot h o f these will redu ce the p ressur e that resu lts fro m Eva l u a t i n g Amoco 's Actions
th e co lu m n or head o f d rillin g mud . If th e hyd rostatic p ressure is too low, a
state of un dcrb alan ce exists a nd fluid s from th e formati on , such as gas, may Amoco ass isted t he Inqu iry Pan el by providing co m plete docum en tati on o n
flow into [he wellborc . Un less th is flo w is p roperly co n tro lled, a blo wou t will its dril ling plan , dr illin g mud prog ram, rig, a nd we ll eq uip men t, a nd o n th e
result. On th e o the r hand, if th e hydr ostatic pressu re is too grea t and a state of qua lificat io ns of th e well-site crew and superviso rs. It also provided a det ailed
exce ssive overba lance ex ists, th e dri llin g mud ma y flow into th e format io n. ch ro no logy of events lead ing to th e blowout and ex pe rt witnesses to ex plain
This is refe rred to as "lost circulatio n" and will resu lt in a loss o f hyd rostatic the eve n ts surro unding t he blowout. An especially important po int was th e
pressu re wh ich ca n also lead to a blow out. dens ity of th e dri lling mud used . Obtain ing th e right mud density is a key
part o f t he ba lancing act: it req uires kn ow led ge of th e formation pressur es
. . . In deve lop ing a drilling p rogram, a n o pe rator mu st th erefore co ns ide r for-
and ca reful monitoring of th e hydrosta tic pressure. Th e problem is explaine d
mati on pressur es enco un te red at o the r wel ls in th e ge ne ra l vicinit y o f th e well
in the Inqu iry repo rt as follow s:
bein g planned for a nd select a d rillin g mud den sity whi ch will ens u re a modes t
overba lance . To ensur e that neit her a state o f un dcrba lan ce nor o f exce ssive li lt is necessary to usc a mu d density whi ch is nei th er too lo w, thu s a llow ing an
o verba lan ce develop s as th e well is dr illed , close at te n tion mu st be give n to : influx fro m th e fo rma tio n, nor too high , wh ich co uld result in lost circulatio n .
This mean s th ere is a range o f mu d den sit y w ith in wh ich o pe ratio ns mu st tak e
(a) m ud d ensity,
place. The close r on e is to th e up per or lo wer lim it, th e mo re ca reful d rillin g
(b) any co n ta m ina tio n of th e drilling mud that will cha ng e its effective den- p roce d ures must be. If th e m ud densi ty is wit hin th e range but towards the
sity, suc h as by d rill cutt ings (incr ease) or by a ir introduced durin g tripping " hig h limit ," ca re mu st be taken to avoid lo st circula tion. For exa m ple, th e m ud
(decrease),
vo lu me mu st be ca refully monitored a nd the crew mu st be read y to add lost cir-
(c) maint aining a full mud co lu m n,
cula tio n mat erial. If th e mud is closer to th e "low lim it, " dr illin g must pro ceed
(d) the rate of low ering th e d rill pip e,
slow ly, [h e pot ential for a kick mu st be ca ref ully monitored , and plan s to
(e) th e rat e o f hoisting th e d rill pip e, and
qui ck ly weight up [h e mud m ust be in place.
(I) pump in g rat e a nd pressur e.
. . . In developing its dri lling plan, Amo co reviewed in form ation co nce rn ing for-
Sho uld the h yd rostat ic pressur e fro m th e m ud co lu m n prove to be insu fficient, ma tio n p ressures enc o u n tered at a large number o f o the r wells in near by a reas.
a nd as a co nse q ue nce , for ma tio n fluid s such as gas en ter the wellbore, a kick These indi cated th at the pressur es in th e for ma tion of in te rest at th e [Lodgepol e]
co nd it ion wou ld ex ist. l'roced u res have been develop ed suc h that th ose fluids well wo uld ord inar ily be aro und 33 000 to 35 000 kl'a. In isolated cases, pres-
may be co n tro lled within th e wellbor n usin g th e BOI' [b lowout prevcnt cr ] sures as lo w as 22 430 kl'a and as high as 46 540 kl'a had been reported . Amoco
syste m mounted o n th e well cas ing. Th e gas is flared a t the su rface a nd co n trol dec ide d to design the drilling mud den sit y to meet a pressur e o f 33600 kl'a with
op eratio ns are co n ti nued until th e flow is progressively restri ct ed a nd stop ped. provision for in creasin g th e den sity if high er pressur e was encou n te red .
If th e kick has oc curred a nd effo rts to co n tro l an d co n ta in th e in -flo wtng Amoco a lso indi cat ed that its norm al practi ce was to design mud den sit y to pro-
for ma tio n fluid s have failed, a n un cont roll ed flow or blo wo u t results a nd vide a m ud colu m n o verba lance of so me 1500 kl'a above th e ex pec ted form ati on
re-establi shing co n tro l may be both techn icall y diffi cu lt a nd dan gerous. pressures . Durin g dri lling or co ring ope rations, mu d pump pressur es wou ld add
326 PAR T FOU R · ENVIRONM ENTAL PRACTICE AND ETIlI CS
- - --- --------
CHAPTER 1 5 • Environm enta l Et hi cs
fu rt her to t h is, resulting in an overbalance wh ich sho u ld avo id the poss ib ility o f wo u ld likely h ave been avoi de d. Even wi t h th e failure of th e dcgasscr, co n tro l
excess fluid head and lost circu latio n bu t at the same tim e preven t influ x o f reser- mig h t have been m aintain ed if th ere had been su fficien t a nd properly weighted
vo ir fluid . mud o n hand to pump into th e well. Add itiona lly, if t he casing pressur e instr u-
Calcula tio ns by the Panel indicate th at, at t he predi cted Nisku reef depth o f men ts had been o pera tio na l from th e o u tse t, th e cre w mi ght hav e recogni zed
30:{5 rn , th e pla n ne d mud den sity o f 11SO kg/ m 3 wo u ld resu lt in a n ov e rba l- th e kick at an ea rlier stage and impl em ented standard kick-cont rol p rocedures
ance o f so me 6:{0 kl'a relative to t h e ex pec ted pressur e o f 33 600 kl'a. . . . when fluid influ x was sti ll relatively sma ll. If the decision had been mad e to use
hydrogen sulp h ide (I-1 2S)-resistan t pip e for th e full dr ill st ring, th e pip e might
. .. Th e ran ge o f appro pr iate mud den siti es va ries for ea ch situatio n, and a t th e
no t have part ed a nd th e succession o f kicks might still ha ve been succe ssfu lly
ILodgep o le ] well, becau se of th e hi gh reservoi r pressur e with very good perme-
circu lated out . And finall y, if th e tra velling block hook latch had no t failed, it
ability, [th e ran ge] was likely relatively narrow. Th e p lanned pressur e ove rbal-
may hav e been po ssibl e to retain co n t rol of th e well by " to p kill" methods.22
an ce o f 630 kl'a plu s or minus th e effects o f o pe ratio ns suc h as pumping o r
pu lling o u t of th e hole, was less th an th e 1500 kl'a n ormally used by Amoco.. . . The Pan el was sa tis fied that Amoco a p p lied rea sonabl e jud gm ent in
selec t ing th e typ e o f drilling rig, th e dega sser, and th e typ e of drill pip e even
... In su m ma ry, t h e Pan e l co nc lud es th at th e plann ed mud den sit y for th e
tho ugh, in retrospect, other choices might have been better. Howeve r, the
[Lod gep ole] we ll was o n th e low side and th erefor e ex tra care sho u ld hav e been
I'a nel co ncluded that Amo co's actio ns were deficient with resp ect to
spec ified d ur ing th e cr itical period of d rilling in to th e Nisku zo ne. Alt ho ug h sub-
sta n tia l see page losses were re por ted a nd these m igh t ha ve been int erpreted by (a) dr illing pra ct ices during co ring o pe ra tio ns (cores No .2 and 3),
o n-site personnel as an indi cati on that the mud was on th e heavy side, an a na lysis (b) impl ementation o f sta nd ard kick co n t ro l pro cedures,
o f th e situatio n indi cates th at th e rep ort ed losses were likely du e to erro rs. Thi s is (c) ens ur ing ad equate mix ed drilling mud was ava ilable at all tim es, a nd
an indi cat io n th at the d rilling p racti ces bein g used were less th an sattsfactory.' ? (d) maint aining eq u ip me n t in satisfacto ry o perating co n d itio n (casi ng pres-
sure in struments).
It a ppea rs to th e Pan el th at th e fundam ental problem was that Am oco did not
Ass ig nin g Responsibility
app ly th e necessar y degree o f cautio n wh ile carry ing out o pe ra tio ns in th e cr it-
Althoug h th e Lodge po le Inqui ry Pan el co nclude d that " no sing le eleme n t ill ical zo ne . Amoco did not appear to be sufficien tly awar e o f th e potential for
th e cha in o f eve n ts was th e so le ca use of th e blowout," th e Panel's exa rn lna- probl em s that co u ld occur wh en cor ing into the Poro us zo ne and thu s th e need
tion o f th e eve n ts led it to co ncl ude th at th e initial kick occ urred mai n ly to be fully prep ared in th e even t of a fluid influ x. Co nseq uen tly, whe n a kick
because "d rilling practices during th e ta kin g of cores were deficient. " Wh en deve loped, th ere were delays in respond in g to it. Th en , wh en eq u ip me n t prob-
co m bine d wit h th e marginall y ad equ at e mud density bein g used, this defi- lem s occurred an d su p plies o f mixed mud were inadequate, Amo co was forced
ciency permi tt ed th e e nt ry of reservoir fluid s into th e we llbore. e'' into furth er dela ys o f preciou s tim e in implem enting kick-control act ions.23
Amoco ex pec te d th e Lod gep ol e well to find "sweet" o il, but th e CO Ill In th e seco n d pha se of th e Inqui ry, th e Pan el mad e a seri es of recorn -
pa ny's co n tro l plan definitely recogni zed and accou n ted for th e possibility 0 1 mcndation s for reducing th e possibility of future blowouts.>'
enco un ter ing so ur gas. Th e Panel accepted thi s testimon y and did not believe
that "t he ex pecta tio n o f swee t o il played a d irect ro le in the ca use o f till' Lodg e p o l e Blowout: Conclusion
blowout. Ho wever, it may have influen ced planning for th e we ll a nd may
have led to less ca utio n in th e drilling o peratio ns th an might ha ve been till' Oll dr illing is a demanding, un certain, and dangerous job . Th e Lodgepo le
case if th e we ll was bein g dril led spec ifica lly for so ur gas ."ZI blo wout, whi ch resulted in two tragic deaths and mi llion s of dollars in finan -
The Pane l also co ncl uded th at in a ll likelih ood th e kick was not co n t rolled cial losses, illu strates thi s point. Th ere are o t her losses that a rc hard er to put
01 price o n, suc h as th e threat of HzS poi soning, th e disruption of life, and th e
becau se th e d rilling crew did not imm ediately reco gni ze th e probl em a nd
th erefor e did not imm edi at ely apply and maintain sta nda rd kick-contro l pro Inco nven ience ca used to a lmost all th e residents wit hin a 30-km (19-m ile)
ced u rcs. Wit h rega rd to co n tri but ing fac tor s, th e Pan el n ot ed th at seve ral rad ius of th e well. It is also diffi cult to eva luate th e magnitude of loss suffered
pieces of vita l eq u ip men t did n ot functio n pr ope rly, an d th at su p p lies 0 1 hy Amoco and its technical sta ff as a result o f th e negat ive publicit y resultin g
mi xed dr illin g mud were not ad equate durin g th e kick-control o pe rat io ns. 1\s lrom th e blowout. Safe, standard pro cedures o n dr ill sites ar e essen tial if t hese
th e Pan el w rot e in its rep ort: dange rs are to be avoided.
The un expected e n t ry of rese rvo ir flui ds in to th e wellbor e was p robably d ue to Add i t i o n a l Environmental Case Studies
a co m b ina tio n o f Amoco not ad he ring to so u nd drillin g practi ces and o n ly
margin ally adeq ua te mud den sit y. If th e dcgasscr had o perated effectively, th e Cha pter 16 discu sses th e major threat s to th e Cana d ian en viro n me n t, and
initia l kick m igh t have been circu la ted out of t he system, an d subseq ue n t kicks Includes severa l environ ment al case hi stori es.
PART FOUR . ENVI RONMENTAL PRACTI CE ANO Cl III C CHAPTER 15 • Environm ental Ethi cs
328
DISCUSSION TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS b. ~ sin g th e co n ce pts provided in th is c ha p te r and in C h a pte r 6, sta te
III on e or two pages an e t h ica l g u ide line fo r d eciding w he n co n -
I. You have g rad uated from uni versit y and have been working for five yea rs a', st ruct io n o f a dangerous facility (su ch as a nuclear power plant) o r
a plant d esign an d mainten an ce e ng inee r for a pulp and paper co m pa ny I II ~ro~I~ICtion of a dan gerous che m ica l (su ch as a pesticide) is m orall y
north ern Ca n a da. Th e co m pa ny is a w holly o w ned su bs id ia ry o f a largl' Justified . Include financial, engin eering, and politi cal ar guments in
mu ltin ati onal co ng lo me rate . When yo u receiv ed you r 1'. Eng. licence, yOIl your answer as we ll as et h ica l co nce p ts .
we re p romoted to ch ief plant e ng inee r. You work directl y for th e plant lila II
ager, Francoi s Bedard, who rep orts to th e head o ffice, which is not in Ca n ada, :~ . We North Am eri cans co ns u me more e ne rgy and resources per capita
Th e co m pa ny e m p loys ab out ISO peopl e-most of the ad u lt popu lation 0 1 than an y other peopl e o n ea rt h . By m aking even sm a ll lifest yl e c ha nges,
th e nearby village-eit he r directl y as e m ployees o r indirectl y as wood cut tcrs , we.co u ld reduce our consumption sign ificant ly; yet as a socie ty we resist
In th e co u rse of yo u r work yo u have become awa re that the plan t doin g so for rea son s that ar e uncl ear. Th e fo llowing is a bri ef list o f
e fflue n t co n ta ins a ve ry hi gh co nce n t ratio n o f a m ercury co m po u n d t hat sim p le way s that we cou ld reduce o u r co ns u m ptio n of resources. Ca n
co uld be d an ger ou s. In fact , since the plant has been di scharging tl lis yo u ad d to thi s list? I-Iow would you go about co nvinci ng th e ge ne ra l
mat eri al for 25 yea rs, wa te r in the nearby riv er down stream from 11 ll' public to "do the right thing" in eac h o f the foll owing cases?
plant is thoroughl y unfit for drinkin g or sw im m ing. You sus pect tha t" a. Although man y c ities have Blu e Box rec ycling programs, so me resl-
c ur io us n ew illn ess in an Ab ori ginal villa ge about 40 km (25 mi les: d.ents in sist on d iscarding bottl es, ca ns, and p lasti cs with garbage.
downst ream is reall y Minam ata di sease, the classic sy m pto ms o f whic h 1 h e recyclabl e materials ar e dumped in landfills, which exceed their
ar e spas ticity, lo ss o f co o rd in a t io n, and, eve n tua lly, d eath . You also sus ca pac ities more quick ly. Th e va lu e of the recyclable materi al s is lo st,
pect that the fish in th e river h a ve been co n ta m ina ted with th e m erc urv and costl y n ew landfill sit es must be found.
and ha ve sp rea d the co n ta m ina tio n to all the downstream la kes. b . In m an y homes, th e ce lla r drainage sump (wh ich s ho u ld be co n-
Rem ed yin g th ese pr oblem s wou ld involve drasti c c h a nges to 111l ' n ected to the municipal storm drain sys te m ) is actually co n nec ted to
p lant th at would cost a t lea st $ 10 million . So far, yo u have told no o ne the .municipal se wage syste m pipe, whi ch is usu all y clo ser. Th e su m p
of your sus p icio ns exce p t Bed ard, with whom yo u have di scu ssed L1 1l' typicall y co llects rainwater from th e house's perim et er dra in , so thi s
p roblem at length . Bed ard, w ho is n ot a n e ng inee r, ha s co n fide d that L1l l' co n nec tio n permits rainwat er to flo w into th e se wage tr eatm ent
head offi ce co ns ide rs th e plant only marginall y profitable a n d tha t a ll plant, which must process t he oth erwise clean ra inwater a long with
expenditure o f thi s ma gnitude is simply not possible. I-I e ha s a lso tol d the sewage . After a h eavy rain , the se wage plant m ay not be abl e to
you that the h ead o ffice would close d own the plant, ca us ing massive ~op e with the flow . The overflow, which is n ow polluted with sewage,
un emplo yment in th e ar ea and probabl y for cing th e workers to abando n IS usually rel eas ed in to a st rea m or la ke, fouling th e en viro n me n t.
th eir hom es to see k wo rk e lse w he re. What sho u ld yo u do '? c. Some ca r o w ners who cha ng e thei r own o il do not take the o ld o il to
2. Between 40,000 and 50,000 peop le ar e killed eve ry ye a r in ca r accid ents ill a ga s statio n for recycling. Instead, they sim ply dump the used oil int o
Nor t h Ame rica, ye t people a p pa ren t ly co ns ide r dri vin g a ca r 10 be wo rt h a storm d rain o r se pt ic sewe r. Yet eve n a sm a ll amount o f o il ca n se ri-
the risk . Few er than 10 people ha ve been killed in No rt h Am eri ca in nuclc. u o us ly harm the e n viro n me n t-m os t obviously, by killing aqua tic IiI' '.
rea ct or a ccident s, ye t man y peopl e ar e a fra id of n ucl ear power. Ma n The oil m ay even en te r the municipa l drinking wat er sys te m .
people di e eve ry yea r w h ile p ro d uc ing food (eve n farmin g is dan gerou s), d. Man y trai ler s and recr eationa l vehicl es ha ve se lf-co n ta ined toll c ts
and m an y thousands o f min er s ha ve been kill ed in th e 20t h ce n t ur y (coa l that must be e m p t ied regularly. Som e peop le pollute th e e nv iro n-
mining is especially d angerous). C lea rly, th er e is a di screpan cy between m ent by dumping th e toil et co n te n ts in parks, fields, o r sto rm sew er
percepti ons o f dan ger a n d probability of death (as refl ect ed in safe ty sta tis sys te ms , rather than into septic system s that would ca rry it to sc wag«
tics). Yet perception s o fte n have the st ro nge r impact o n th e public when il treatm ent pl ants.
co mes to publi c su ppo rt of e nginee ring proj ect s. Usin g th e informatio u
resources ava ilab le to yo u, co m p lete the foll owing assignments: Add itio na l assignm ents ca n be found in App endi x E.
a. Examine th e risks associat ed wi th th e va rio us ene rgy so urces (solar, wind. NOT ES
wave, geot he rma l, fission, fusion, a nd so o n), and develop a fair m ethod
III D.L. Mar st on , Law tor l'rotessional Engineers: Canadian and ln tcrnati onul
for co m pa ring th e risks and ben efit s of eac h . That is, find th e sta tistics 1'01 Perspectives, 3 rd cd ., McGr aw -lIill Ryerson, Whitby, ON, 1996, p. 34.
the prob abilit y o f injury o r death per un it o f energy produced . Co m pare 121 Co m ~ n i s s i o llfor Er.1Viro llllle ll ta l Coo perat io n (CEC), S II II II I/(IIY of Enviro nmcntul
thi s w it h a u to mo bile tra vel o n the basis of risk per unit o f e ne rg Law III No rth Atnctica, 2003, avai lable at -cw w w.ccc.o rv /n nbs ill f " ,·," ·" ...-r- .. . '~
{~AI1 ("111,, .t
.... n ... - _ .....-
330 PART FO UR ' ENVI RONME NTAL PHAC 11C[ AND LI IIIC5
131 or
Tile lt andbook Ellviro /III/('111111 Compliance ill Ontariu, McGraw-Hi li Rye rson ,
14 1
Toronto, O N, 20 0 :t Th is bo ok m ay be p revi ew ed a t < h tt p :/ / boo ks.goo g lc .co llI
(j une I , 2( 08).
D. Buchanan and B. Herzln s, Guide to En vinn uncnta ! Com pliance ill Alberta,
hapt er 16
Hazard Alert Train in g ln c. , now pu bli sh cd by Ca rswe ll, and av ai lab le th roll gll
151
<w ww.ca rsw c ll.co m» (Jun c IS , 2( 0 9 ).
Asso ciation o f Professiona l Engin ccr s, Gc o log ists and Ge o p h ys icists of Albe rtn
nvironmental Threats
(APEGGA), C u idctinc l il r En vinnnncn tal Prncilce, Edm on ton, V 1.0, February 200 4,
ava ila b le at <ww w.a pcgga.org/ Mc m bc rs/ I.u b lica tio n s/g u id clines.h tm l> an d Disasters
(Jun c 1, 2( 08 ).
16 1 I'rofcssionu l En gin ccr s O n ta rio (I'EO) , Guideline 10 l'rotessiouatPtuc ticc, To ront o,
1988 , revised 19 9 8 , available at <www.peo .o n .ca» (Jun c I, 2( 08).
17 1 Associat io n of Pro fession al Engineers a nd Ge osc ie n tists of British Colu m bia
(APEGBC), A I'E GIiC Guidelines (ill' Sustuinability, Va n couve r, BC, May 1995, ava lla hl•.
a t <www.a peg.bc.ca!r eso u rcc/ pu b lica tio n s/o t h e rg u id elines.h tm l> (Jun c 1, 20( 8).
18 1 Ca n ad ia n En gi n ecr in g Qua lifica tio n s Boa rd , a co m m ittee o f Eng in ecr s C a n ad a,
N at ional Gu idel ine Oil Env ironmen t andSustainabl li ty, 20 06, ava ilab le a t Tile Ca nad ia n enviro n me n t is our prid e an d wea lth, but our wat er, land, sea,
<w ww.c ng in cc rsca n ad a .ca/ c/ p u_g u id e lin cs.cf m> (Jun e IS, 2( 09). nnd sky a re th reat en ed by pollu tion, neg ligen ce, and abuse . This cha pt er d is-
191 Associa tio n of Pro fcssio nal Eng in eers, Gcologists a nd Ge o p hys icists of Albe rta
(APEGGA), Guidclin« [or Envirom ncnt alPraaice, p . 6. Exce rpt reprinted wit h
cusses ma ny d isturbi ng e nv ironm e n tal threa ts t hat cou ld affect eng ine ers and
pcr mi ssion . geoscien tist s.
1101 " Histo ry & Fact s," Va ld ez, Alaska, ava ilab le at Th is ch apter has t hr ee genera l th emes: t he first few sectio n s illu st rate th e
<www.va ld cza la ska .org/ h istory / o iISp ill. h t m l> (Jun c 1, 20(8). wide range of environmental hazard s. Th e ch a pte r th en d iscu sses the eth ical
1111 Ce res (form e rly th c Coa litio n for Env iron m c n ta lly Respon si b le Economics), '1'//" d ile mma ca lled th e "t ragedy of th e co m mo ns ," which is a com m o n pattern
Ceres Principles, ava ilabl e at <w w w.cc rcs.org/> (Jun c I, 2( 0 8 ). Repr in ted wi t h pt'l
mi ssio n o f Ceres. for many of today's en viro n me n tal pro blem s, and points th e way to ove r-
11 21 Professiona l Eng in cc rs O n ta rio (PEO), A I'rolessionul Ellsillea:~ Duty 10 Report: mill ing th em . The chapter closes with case hi stori es on toxi c po llu tion an d
Rcsponsibte Disclosure ojCondltions Alli'cl i llS Public SlI li' ly, To ronto (u n d a ted nuclear safety, describi ng well-known d isasters th at result ed fro m e nv iro n-
broch ur e), p p . 3-5, avai lab le at <w ww.pco .o n .ca» (Jun e 15 , 2009) . Exce rp t menta l negligen ce.
re p ri nted with pe rm ission of PEO .
C. Mu ck lcsto n c, "The Engi n eer as Pu b lic Defe nder, " ElIs ill ea i llS Dimens ions,
Profcssiona l Engin ccr s O ntario (PEO) , vo l. I I, n o . 2, March-A pr il 1990 , p . 29. CAN A D A ' S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
114 1 Excc rp t from PEO , A Proicssiona! lillsill eer \ Dilly 10 Report: Respunsib!e Disclosure
oiCouditions A!li'cIiIlS l'ublic Sali:I)', PEO, Toronto , u n d a ted . Enginee ring, geo scien ce, and tech nology have been of im men se benefit to
< h t t p :/ / ww w.p eo .o n .ca /> . (Ja n uary 5, 20 ( 8 ). p. 2 . Excerpt reprint ed wit h penn ts Canada and to hu ma n ity. Medicine gives us health, an d t he hum an ities give
sio n of PEO .
LIS pleasure, but tech no logy gives us tim e to en joy th em bot h . How ever,
1151 Sa m uc l C. Horman , " Mora l Hlucpr ints," Harper's Mllsa zi ll e (O c to ber 19 78).
ind us t rializatio n b rings prob lem s, eve n w h ile imp rovin g o u r lives. Th e
Co p y rig h t © 19 78 by Ha rp e r's Ma ga zin e . All right s rese rve d . Reprod uced fro m
t h e Oc to be r issu e by s pecia l pe rm issio n . lifest yle o f Nor th Ameri can s invo lves h igh resource co ns u m ptio n and
11 61 Lodsepole 1I/00voIII Inquiry: Phase l-s-Decision Ueporl , Report to t h e Lieute nan t ext reme ly h igh en ergy usage.
Gove rno r in Cou ncil w it h Resp ec t to a n In qu iry Hel d into th c Blo wo ut of t h e
Well: Am o co Dom e Bra zcau River U- 12-4 8- 12, Enc rgy Resources Co nse rv a t io n
Boa rd, C a lga ry, AB, Decembe r 1984. The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
1171 lbid ., p . 7- 17.
118 1 Ibid ., p . 5-2. Excerpt reprinted w it h perm ission of Alberta Ene rgy and Utilit ies Board . Millio ns of tonncs of pollutants are d ischarged in No rth Amer ica every year
11 9 1 lbid ., p. 5-5. Exccrpt re p rin ted wi t h pe rm ission of Albe rta En er gy a nd Uti litics Board. as a resu lt of in du st rial activity. Can ad ia ns can obtain in for m ati o n about
1201 Ibid ., p . I-I. po llutio n in th eir co m m u n ities th rou gh t h e Natio na l Polluta nt Releas e
1211 Ib id ., p . 5-3 0 . Inven tory (NPRI), esta blishe d in 1992 to mo nitor the facilit ies th at release or
1221 lbid ., p . 1- 2. Exce rp t re p rin ted w it h pc rm isslo n of Alberta Encr gy and Uti lit ics Bo ard .
recycle po llutants across Can ada. I
1 2:~1 lhid ., p. 1- 2 . Exce rpt rep rinted wit h permission of Alberta Ene rgy a n d Uti litics Board .
12 41 Lods epoI e Blowout lnqui ry: Phusc 2 Ueporl - Soll r Gas Well Blowo uts ill Athena; Th eir
Ove r 9,000 "reporting facilities"- factor ies, processing p lan ts, gene rati ng
Causes, atul Actions Require d 10 Mln i m irc Their Future Occurrence (bo und as plan ts, oil and gas op eration s, and sim ilar in d ust rial plants that emit any of
Appm d ix 5 o(Lods epole 1I/0woIII Inqu i ry: Phas« l -s-Decision Report), Encrgy the 300 sub stances o n th e NPRI substa nce list- are req uired to report th e d is-
Resources C o nse rva tio n Board , Ca lgary, AB, Apr il 19 8 4 . pos itio n, release, or recycling of th ese substanc es to Environm ent Can ada,
CIIAP Ilil l b. / I/ V/ /I ' I/ II/ " I/ t l/ I II" I/t s (""/ I}iH/s l c n 3
332 PART FOUR · ENVIRO NME NTAL PRACTICE AND ttlll! \
u nde r the Ca nad ia n Env iron men ta l Pro tecti o n Act, 1999. T he NPRI wl'i)\ 111 II URE 16.1 _ Locations ol lnduslrial Facililies Reporling Poilulion Releases or Transfers, 2006
lists all 300 pollutants, in clud in g:
• Corc: ov e r 200 su bsta nce s fro m ace ta lde hy de to xy lene a nd zinc CO lli
po und s
• Thrcshold: h eavy m et al co m po u nds- a rse n ic, ca d m iu m, ch ro m iu ru,
lead, and m ercury compounds
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydro car b ons: 18 o rga n ic com po u nds, 1'1"1 111 1
ace na pht hcne to py rene
• Dioxins, Furans, and Hcxachlorobcnzcnc
• Critcria Air Contaminants (CACs): car bo n monoxide, n itrogen ox ide ,
sulph ur di o xide, pa rticu late mat ter
Reporting is required w he n q ua n tities of co mpo un ds exceed a lower lim li,

w hi ch d iffers fo r eac h class of co m po und . Thi s inform ati on is co m piled a lld
made available to t he pub lic th ro ugh NPRI. Th e pu rpose of this rep ortin g I
ex plained as fo llows:
The information collected by the NPRI can help to identify potential environmental and
health risks from pollution, to examine th e environmental performance of facilities and
communities, and to assist in the development of environmental and emergency plans.
The NPRI also includes information on pollution prevention practices. Public access to the
NPRI motivates industry to prevent and reduce pollutant releases. NPRI data helps the
Government of Canada evaluate releases and transfers of substances of concern, identify
and take action on environmental priorities, and implement policy initiatives and risk
management measures.f Th ' map shows the locations of 9,000 industria l facilities th at reported to National
po;:utant Release Inventory (N PRI) in 2006 . The N PRI data !s avai lab le free through
The curre n t data show m ixed resu lts: Over t he pe riod fro m 1996 to 200ll, the Internet for analysis, research, compa risons, or general interest.
about 900 faci liti es sho wed an 8 perc ent dec rease in po lluta nt re leases to ai l, . C d 2006 NPRI summorv. Figur e 3.1-2, available from th e
So u rce : Envlronme nl ana a, " . F'
water, an d land . Ho wever, be ca use o f recent produ cti on growt h , a nd till' Environment Canada web site at <www.ec.gc.ca/ inrp-npn> (june 15, 2009). Igu re
expand ing nu mber o f facilit ies th at re po rt to th e NPRl, th e tot al e m issio ns rep rinted wilh permission of Environment Canada.
reported have increased su bsta n tia lly since 1996 .
The facilities that repo rt po llutant releases to NPIH a re ea sily found using
Co m m is s io n fo r Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
th e Int ern et. NPRI provides a "map laye r," w hich , w hen im ple m en ted 0 11
Goog le Earth, shows th e loca tio n s of a ll 9,000 re po rti ng faci lities o n th e The N PRI data o n th e release of pollutants into th e en~iron m:n t i~ a l~~ pr~
Go ogle Earth m ap of Ca nada. It is t he refo re easy to find wh ich repo rting faci l- . I I to t he Co m m issio n for Environmenta l Coo pe rat io n (CljC) , an agen cy
it ies are locat ed in yo u r co m mun ity.:' T he ex te n sive dat a avai lab le from N PRI ~~~ ~~p by th e gov ernme nts of Can ada, Mex ico, and ,the Un ited Sta te s as part
is illust rated in Figur e 16.1, which p lo ts the locatio n of ea c h of th e 9,000 of the No rth Ame rica n Free Trade Agree m en t (NAF IA). . .s,
in du str ial facilitie s th at rep orted to N RPI in 2006. In Sep te m ber 2007 , the C EC released its 11 th ann ual rep o rt o n industri al
Th e developm ent of th e NPR I and seve ra l sim ila r po lluta nt reg iste rs po llu tan ts in Nor th Amer ica. Th is I 62-page report (base d. o n dat a for the yea r
ar ound t he wo rld wa s st im ula te d by th e maj or in du st rial accident n ear 2004, the lat est yea r for which suc h dat a co uld be co m piled) fo u nd th at
Bhopa l, Ind ia, in Dece m be r 1984 . The meth yl isocyan at e gas lea k fro m a , t I 3 12 mi llion tonnes of che rn i-
• faci lities in Canad a a nd the U.S. repor ec . . ' .
Uni on Carbide pesticid e plant killed t ho usa nds of people in neig hbo u ring
ca ls released an d tra nsferred for 2004 . Almost o ne-q uar ter ~f th is tot al ~dS
co m m u n ities . People around t he world rea lized that t h ey needed to know
a bout ind ustr ia l t h rea ts w it h in th ei r co m m u n it ies. T he Bhopa l traged y is rel ea seeI .II1tO t l1e a 'll. (70 7 , 500 ro rmes). .lu risd ict io n s. Wit h the la. rgest
re leases an d transfers in 2004 were Texa s, O n tar io, lndt an a. an d OhIO.
described in Case Histor y 16. 1, later in this chapte r.
334 PART FOUR · ENVI RONMENTAL PRACTI CE AND 1 1111 , CHAPTER 16 • Env ironm ental Threat s and Disas t er
• th e 1998- 2004 tr end a na lysis rev ea ls th at faci liti es in Ca nad a a nd ti ll' I J,\ lovi-l s o f in la nd lak es, and climat e var iati ons th at ma y resu lt , in drought s,
have reduced releases a n d transfers o f che m ica ls by 9 per cen t ove r 1111 Ilt'lIvy precip ita tio n, h eat waves, melting o f ice cove r a n d g lac ie rs, and m or e
seve n -ye a r period ." lut vn sc stor ms , hurri can es, a nd tropica l cyclones. HoY' 10
C h to ro ftuo ro ca rbo ns p laya sin iste r ro le in env iro n me n ta l degrad ati on .
Th e d ecrease wa s main ly th e result o f red ucti on s in di schar ges by lal I:'
111l'y are gree n h o use gases , but t h ey ar e also the primary ca use o f ozo ne laye r
faciliti es. Un for tu na tely, m an y sma lle r fac ilities ar e in cr easin g th eir chc m k ,II
d, 'pl eti o n . Ozone in th e stratos p he re h e lps sc ree n o u t damagin g ult raviol et
re leases at an a larming rat e . "Th e ev ide nce is clear th at industry a n d gOVl'llI
1<1 's (ozo n e at ground level is a po lluta n t a n d irr ita nt ). C FCs co m bine w ith
m ent action to limi t c he m ica l re lease s is show ing ste ady progr ess," said
' 1/( lIle to create ga ps in th e stratos p he ric o zon e layer, thus perm itting ultravi-
Adr ian Vazq uez-Ga lvez, C EC' s execut ive d irector. li lt is eq ua lly clear th ai 01
' liI'l rays to reach the ea rth's su rface , whe re th ey harm pla nts and in crease
large number o f sma ll and m edium-size ind ustria l faci liti es n eed to d o a bell "1
1,lll'S o f skin ca nce r. Scientist s from th e British Antarcti c Su rvey first obse rved
jo b in reduci ng th eir wa st e and e m issio ns if we are go ing to see eve n greatt'l
IllIs in 198 5 . Mea sure ments since t h e n sh o w ozo n e d e ple tion in creasi ng in
progress in North Amc rica.:" Th e a irbo rn e po llut ion relea ses a re particu hu h
.-vcrlty, II alt ho ug h so me recover y h as been obser ved in 2006 as th e co n trols
sign ifica n t, since th ey ca use g lo ba l warming an d lead to cl imate ch a nge .
'Ill C FCs take effec t.
Int erna tio na l agreements we re su ccessfu lly n egotiated (know n as th e
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ~ l llI l t rea l Protocol) , and a ll major ind us tria l co u n tries pa ssed laws to phase
IllIt th e use of C FCs. Th ese co n t ro ls a pp ea r to be effec tive in protecting th e
"G lo ba l warmin g" is a popular term used to indicate a cha nge in t h e planet '
I rntosphc ric ozone and a lso lessen th e gree n ho use effec t. Regrettab ly, a crim -
cli ma te ca use d directly or indirectl y by em issio ns of g ree n h ouse gases in to 11 11
Illal b lac k market in illicit C FCs h as sp ru n g up, main ly fo r se rvicing o u t-o f-
atm os p he re. Th e n ext cha p te r di scu sses climate c ha nge and its rel atio n sh ip III
dat e refr igera tio n p lants.I Z,I:1
sus tain a ble d evelopm en t.
As eng inee rs a nd geo scienti sts, we mu st in sist that any process that em its
Scien t ists h ave o bserved t hat the g lobal m ean su rface air tempera t u re I
IIl'l'dl ess car bo n di o xide or o the r greenhouse gases s ho u ld be upgrad ed . In
risin g, and h ave co ncl ude d that eve n a sligh t warming of th e e n tire plarut
pill't icu lar, refrige ra tio n lin es co n ta in ing C FCs- w h ic h h ave bee n used in
co uld ca use severe climati c ch a nges . Ev ide nce points toward th e grcenlunr «
Il,rrigera tion sys te ms fo r d ecades- sh ould n ever be vo ided into t h e at mos-
effect as the ca use o f glo ba l warming. Th is effec t is ca use d by em issio ns III
ph ere. C rim in al t rad e in C FCs sho u ld be repo rted to t h e po lice.
car bo n di o xide (CO z), meth ane (CH 4 ) , nitrogen d io xid e (NO z), ozo ne (0,1 ,
a nd t he ch lo ro fluo roc a rbo ns (C FC1:l a n d C F2C lz, ca lled C FCs).
N ERG Y CONSERVATION AND N U CLEAR POWER
C h lo ro fluoroca rbo ns wer e first manufa ctured in lar ge q uantities in llu
1940s, w he n wa rti me fact ori es began produ cin g househo ld app lia nces Iluring t he 1970 s, two o il sh or tages ca used lo ng lin eups at gaso line stat io ns.
Producti on o f C FCs increased becau se th ey ar e su pe rb refri gerant gases (he n« lI y th e 1980s, th er e wa s a n oil glu t. Gasoline becam e chea pe r, an d we lo st
th e co m mo n term (reolls). O n ly recent ly h ave we lea rn ed that as g ree n h o use Int er es t in ene rgy co nse rva tio n . However, ano the r and more se rio us ene rgy
gases , frcon s ar e m uc h mor e potent than COz' O ne m o lecul e of C FC has t ill I risis loom s in this ce n tury. Alt ho ug h co a l reser ves will last a no the r t h ree or
same g ree n ho use effect as 10,000 mol ecu les of COz ' A mor e det ail ed ma t Ill ' lo u r cen tu ries, 14 th e easily accessib le o il a nd na tura l ga s reserves ar e reach ing
mati ca l ana lysis of th ese pr ob lem s is found in th e excelle n t text Envirunmcntu! th eir maximum pr oductivity. Th e total g lo ba l o il a nd gas p roducti on peak is
Science: T he Na tural Environment awl HIII/UlII / 1l1IJl1c t .6 predicted to occur in 20 10 . 15 O nc e the peak has passed . t h e su pp ly o f eas ily
Since t h e e nd o f th e 19t h ce n tu ry, th e amo u n t of COz in th e a tmos p here accessib le o il wi ll drop, but th e glo ba l d emand for o il w ill co n ti n ue to
h as in cr eased sign ifica n tly. Ca rbo n di oxide is a vita l factor in th e ea rth 's 1ll';11 lu crcase-c-oil pric es w ill rise, perhaps sh a rp ly, a nd may affect m arket sta b ility.
bal an ce becau se it traps h eat in th e atm osp h er e . If t h er e wer e su bstan t ia lly Thi s " pe ak o il" prob lem is di scu ssed in d eta il in C h a pte r 17.
less COz in th e atmos p he re, ver y little heat would be ret ained and t h e su rfacv Alte rn ati ve e ne rgy so u rces (sola r, wind , wave, geo t he rm a l) h ave added
of th e ea rt h wou ld be coat ed wit h ice. Co nve rsely, if the am ount o f COz we n- ve ry litt le to the g lo ba l e ne rgy su p p ly. It see ms t hat n ucl ear fissio n and
to double, th e ea rth's ave rage temper ature mi ght in cr ease dr amatica lly. Ho II' nu clear fusion (sho u ld it eve r be developed ) wi ll be esse n t ial if we ar e to main -
quick ly th e a mo u n t o f atm osph eri c COz co uld d oub le d ep ends o n th e ra te al tain o u r present sta n d a rd of livin g a n d exte n d it to th e cit ize ns o f d evelopin g
which we burn fossil fu el. Init ia l es t ima tes ran ged from 88 to 22 0 yea rs," bUI natlo ns. !" Bet ween 1980 a n d 1989 th e proportion o f th e world 's ene rgy need s
a fte r th e publ icati on o f th e report by th e IPCC (In te rgove rn me n ta l Pan el O i l sa tis fied by nucl ear e ne rgy do ub led from 2.5 to 5 .0 pe rce nt ."? Th e Wor ld
C lim ate C h a n ge) in 200 7, th ese es ti m ates we re reduced . Nuclea r Assoc iat io n (WNA) rep ort s th at in 2008, mor e th an 435 co m me rcia l
As th e n ext ch a pte r discu sses in detail , researcher s pr edi ct seve ra l clirn atk nuclea r react o rs a re o pe ra ti ng in 30 co unt ries, a nd 16 countr ies rel y o n
cha nges, in cluding g loba l temperature rises, sea leve l rises, decreases in till' nu clea r en e rgy fo r 25 pe rcent o r more o f their elect rici ty. For r-xa m ril r> F I' : 1I1rp
-~-"'-
336 PART FOUR · ENVIRONMENTAL PflACT ICE AND f 111 /1 \
CHAPTER I t> • I II vi /l JlIl ' " ' II l a l t ti r e at s an d tii so s! ' IS 7
obtai.ns ov e r 75 percen t of its electricity from nu clear power; Japa n o h t.lill

nu clear ene rgy, was te d isposa l is th e su b ject o f bitter deb at e. O ne issu e has
ove r 30 percent; the U.S. o bta ins abo ut 20 percent; a nd Ca nada o bta ins 1(, 111 ' 1
III do with th e level of ce rtainty regar ding the future. Su p porte rs o f nu clear
cenr.!" Alt ho ug h n uclea r ad voca tes so un d aggressiv ely sel f-serv ing in 111 1'11
I'lie rgy admit t hat th er e ca n be no absolu te gua ra n tee th at hu m an s wi ll not
predi ctions, it does appear tha t th e wor ld is go ing to need nu clea r en crgy. !"
hI' ex pos ed to th e waste for th ousands o f yea rs into th e future. Ho wever,
Atomi c Ene rgy o f Ca n ad a Ltd . (AECL), th e design er o f th e CANl li J
th ey add tha t th e risk of future ex pos ure is ve ry sma ll. Oppo ne n ts o f nu clear
n uclear rea ctor, co n te nds that th e CANDU is safer and more reliable than I II.
" lIcrgy in sist o n a gua ra n teed meth od for keeping nu clear wa ste ~} e~'m a
Ame ricans ' light-water rea ct or s, since it is fuelled by natural ura n ium a rlll
ucn tly iso lat ed. Sin ce a gua ra n tee is impossible, t hey declar e th at th is IS a n
mod erated by heavy wat er. In a recen t lette r to the Ottawa Citizen, Gco ffu- ,
udcq ua te reason to phase nucl ear e ne rgy o ut o f ex iste nce. . ' .
Wastcneys, a re tired co nsulta n t o n elec tric power produ cti on, m ad e th e /, ,I
Clearly, n uclear plants mu st be design ed and man aged carefully, profession-
lo wing co m me n ts ab out th e CANDU syste m :
ully, and eth ically-and thi s must be transparent to th e ge ne ra l public. Nuclea r
The CANDU reactor . .. is an outs ta nding Can adian development th at enabled t he pro- pla nt designers a nd o pera tors must recogn ize th e public's a nxi ety and must
duct ion of electricity by t he use of natural uranium, th us avoiding the requir ement for demonstrate th e safe ty o f th e CANDU rea cto r (and imp rove it even furth er).
a vastly expensive process of enrichment. Coa l-fired pow er does not see m to be a reason ab le a lte rna tive to nuclear
I'llergy beca use of th e associa ted probl em s of air pollu tion . In th e aft er mat h
This enabled many countries tha t possesse d uraniu m reso urces to produce electric power
Ill' the Three Mile Island a nd Chern o byl di sasters, coa l power h as been co m-
by a nuclear process without having to deal with the Unit ed State s or th e Soviet Union ,
pared wit h nuclea r po wer to asce rta in w hic h is mor e dan gerou s. O l:e write l:
which together possessed a virtual monopoly on the production of enriched uranium a
asse rts that th eir dangers are sim ila r, eve n if we accept th e hi gh est ima te o f
by-produ ct of th eir producti on of nucl ear bombs. '
:19,000 ca nce r deaths (o r fut ure deaths) fro m Chern o byl. He esti mates th at
There is no serious problem wit h th e spe nt CANDU fuel: It is store d for possible later Ihe dea th to ll from the use of coa l in th e form er U.S.S.R. is between 5,000 a nd
util izati on. (It inclu des pluto nium, and curren tl y, sa lvaged plutonium from nuclear , 0,000 per yea r. Ma ny of th ese death s result fro m th e mi nin g a nd tran s-
bombs is being used as fuel.) porting o f coa l, whi ch requires 100 tim es as mu ch m at erial handling as ur a-
Ilium (wit h an eq u iva len t ene rgy o utput) . In th e Un ited Sta te s, 100 or mo re
An aggre ssive U.S. marketin g policy an d propaganda by such firms as Westin ghouse that
coa l mi ners d ie every yea r, and nearl y 600 of th e 1,900 deat hs in railwa y acci-
derided the Canadian system as "a scien tist's hobby" shut th e CANDU out of all but mar-
dents each year a re th e resu lt of tr an sp orting coa l. How ever, th e big killer is
ginal world markets such as Indi a, Pakist an, Argent ina, Korea , Roman ia and China. In
ai r po llut ion, although it is impossibl e to say w ith ce rta in ty wh ether coa l
consequence, heavy development costs were not fully supporte d by sales. The declin e in
burni ng is th e ca use of a specific, give n death. Even so, it h as been estima ted
the use of nuclea r power sta tions in some countr ies relates to design faults in present
syst ems and cheap er crude oil. Ihat 50,000 peop le in the Uni ted States di e every yea r as a resu lt of air po llu-
Iion , mostl y resu lt ing from th e burning of coa l. Ext ra po lat ing these da ta,
There has never been a serious problem wit h a CANDU reactor. The breakdowns have assumi ng sim ila r popu lati on s and sim ila r polluti on co n d it io ns , we ca n
relat ed to t he (non-nuclear) steam cycle. Most of th e required ren ovati ons at Ontario ach ieve a ro ug h est im ate of from 5,000 to 50,0 00 deaths from burning coa l
Hydro stations are nea ring complet ion.. . . The atrocious Darli ngton cost overr uns were in t he for mer U.S.S.R.21
due to initial design faults, to some extent th e outcome of political inte rvention . 2o T he debate ov er the safety of o ur ene rgy so urces will not be reso lved in
thi s textboo k; however, th e issue illustrates th e importan ce o f professional
N~lclea ~' ene rgy has the grea t adva ntage of usin g fue l tha i is co m pac t and eth ics, co nse rving ene rgy, in creasin g efficie ncy, and avoid ing was te . In a ll o f
ple~ltllu~. Even so, pub lic co ncerns o ver op erating safety a nd th e di sp osa l 0 1 these, et h ica l actions are essent ial.
radi oactlve was te ar e hinderin g plans to co ns t ruc t new nu clea r ge ne ra ting
plants. A m eltdow n a t a nuclear plan t wo uld devasta te surro und ing cities a nd
tow ns. Th e risk of it act ua lly hap penin g is ex tre m e ly remo te, but eve n a W A ST E DISP OSAL
sligh t risk ge nera tes fea r.
The most co m m o n de gradat io n of the env iron me n t in vol ves th e in dis crim i-
A n~ t her Se ri? u~ worr y co n necte d wit h nucl ear pow er co nce rns th e long- na te disposal of was tes-be th ey so lid, liquid, o r gaseo us-as by-prod uct s of
term cltspos.al o f hi gh ly radi oa cti ve waste. It wi ll be necessar y to keep th e
man ufac tu ring, processing, o r co ns t ruc t io n . Co n t ro lling was te di sposal is
waste.out o f c irculat io n fo r th ousa nd s of yea rs becau se of the ex t re m ely long
usua lly within th e aut ho rity of a n eng ineer o r geosci en tis t (or sho uld be), and
~lalf-Il ves o f so me o f th e elemen ts, such as plut on ium. At present, th e p lan
a pro fessiona l m ust mi ni m ize harm to the environ me nt. . . .
IS to store suc h was te in sta ble geo log ica l underground layers fro m wh ich
In th e ea rly par t of th e 20th cent ury, litt le was know n about the IIlSIC!JOUS
water has been a bse n t for mi llions o f years. As wit h m ost matter s related to
effects of heavy metals, dioxin , asbestos, pesticid es, a nd o t he r toxic substa nces.
338 PART FOUR · ENVIR ONMENTAL PRACTI CE AND ETHI CS
CHAPTER 16 • Envir onm ento l Threot s ond Dis os t ers 3 9
Peo ple believ ed tha t t h e e n viro n me n t was a vas t sin k t hat co u ld acce pt .111 \ whic h t h en co m b ines im m edi a tely wit h wa te r to yield su lp h ur ic acid in th e
a mou n t o f wa ste wit ho ut becoming co n ta m ina ted . Wast e was ti pp ed into clu m p to rrn of drop let s. T h e h ig hest S02 va lu es h ave been reported in t h e nor t h-
as chea ply a nd as qu ickly as possib le, w ith littl e regard for th e env iro n me n t. easte rn U.S. a nd in Eu ro pe , w here h igh -sul ph u r fo ssil fuels ar c b u rn ed in la rge
We now rea lize th a t in m a n y pa rts of Ca nad a, ill-con sid er ed m e thods II I q uan ti ti es. In m ost la rge cities, S02 e m issio ns h ave been red uced recentl y as
industri a l a n d d om esti c wast e di sp o sa l a rc c rea t ing a c risis. Large c it ies .II I a resu lt o f th e sh ift from hi gh-su lphur co a l 10 lo w-su lp h u r na tura l ga s.
tran sp orting wast e hund red s of kilom etres for d isp osa l, and sm all to wn s ,II . Su lp h u r ox ides a re d etrim enta l to p lant life . Th ey a lso co rro de m et al s, di s-
beginnin g to reali ze th at th e lo cal dum p is a so ur ce o f di sea se, a fire ha zard , a rid co lo ur fabri cs, a nd d egra d e buil di ng m a te ria ls. Seve re d am age to p lan t life ca n
a da nger to gro u n d wa te r. Dumps a re g rad ually being rep laced by close ly 1111111 he observed m an y m iles d ownwind from ce rta in sm el ti ng o pe ra tio ns . It see ms
it orcd la nd fills, whi ch accept on ly lo w-h azar d so lid wa ste a nd co ve r it eVI '1\ I hat a co m bin a tio n o f su lp h u r ox ides and a ir pa rt icles is es pecia lly d amag ing
da y w it h a laye r of so il to red uce odour a n d pest prob le m s. Some landfi l ls , III 10 h u m a n h eal th , partly becau se of th e acti on of sma ll part icles in co nveyin g
lin ed wit h pla sti c to p reven t wa st e fluids from en te ring th e g ro u n d wa te r, or .II su lp h ur ic acid into th e lu n gs. S0 2 is a se rio us lu n g irritant , and dra mat ic
least reduce t hi s prob lem . These "sa n itary land fills" a rc a g rea t improveuu-u: epi so des suc h as th e "London smogs " ha ve been attributed to t h e co rn b in a-
over town dumps, but t hey a re n ot the idea l so lu tio n to wa ste d isposa l. I ion of 502 and partic u lat es. The London smog of 1952 es ta b lished the lin k
In ci ne rati o n has o ne adva n tage: the vo lu m e of waste is reduced , so o n ly t Ii, between at mosp he ric polluti on in smog a n d in c reased mo rta lit y.e" T h e wo rst
as h n eed s to be buried . Ho wever, the gases a nd particulat e em issio n s rel ea ~ l ' d sm og in Ca n ada occ u rred in so u th e rn O nta rio in 1962, a nd lasted five d ays.
by th e in cin er at o rs ar e still o b jectio n a ble. Mor eo ver, if c h lo rine -base d or ga ili. Thi s e p iso de is belie ved to h ave been Londo n smog; h o weve r, it wa s n am ed
co m po u nds a rc burned , trace a mo u n ts of tox ic ch e m ica ls m ay be d isp ersed . th e "G rey Cu p sm og " becau se it ca use d th e 1962 G rey C u p fo otball ga m e to
Th e best way to so lve th e wa ste d ispo sa l proble m is to red uce th e VO I U II II be post po n ed as a resul t of poo r visib ility.25
of wa ste t hrough m or e efficie n t use of reso ur ces, and to reu se o r recycle wa \ 1o Even in t h e abse n ce of su lp h u r, t h e burning of fossil fuels causes serio us
material s wh en ev er possi ble. For exa m p le, waste au tomob ile tir es a rc 1111 \ air po llu t io n in urban ar ea s. Ex haust gases typicall y co n ta in unb urned h yd ro-
bein g used as fu el to h ea t ce m e n t kilns; in t his process, eve n the as h is l"l ill car bo n s (HC), ca rbo n mo no xide (CO), nitrogen ox ides (NO x), a n d " n o rm a l"
su rned s ince it bec om es part of t h e pr oduct .P Com pos tin g, pyrolysis, a lld co m bust io n prod uct s suc h as S0 2 and water (H 20 ). In th e a t mos p he re, m a n y
d en sity -ba sed se pa ra tio n of o rga n ic a n d non-orga n ic m at e rial s have been \I ll of t hese produc ts react c he m ica lly to produ ce n ew co n ta m in a n ts. Beca use
cess fu l in vari ous ap p lica tio n s. M uc h m ore resear ch is n eed ed in th e recyclh u, these proce sses a re stim u la ted by su n lig h t, t h e resu lti n g prod uc ts ar e refe rred
of wa st e m a teri al s. 10 as p ho to c he m ica l ox ida nts. Two of th e prin cipa l ph o toch em ical ox ida n ts
Eve ry p rov ince n ow h as e nv iro n me n ta l pr otecti on legi slati on (as ti l are o zo ne (a lu ng irr itant) a n d pe ro xyacet y l nitra te (PAN, a lu n g a n d ey e irri-
c ussed in C h a p te r 15) a n d ha s begu n recyc lin g p ro gr am s to redu ce so lid ran t) , O zo ne is co ns ta nt ly being c re a te d in t h e at mosp h e re b y n atu ra l
wa ste. Ho weve r, so me liquid wa ste-especially tox ic, flamm abl e, ex ploslv« , processes, bu t not to a d egr ee grea t en o ug h to co ns ti t u te a pollutio n h azar d .
radi oa cti ve, o r ha zardo usly reacti ve che m ica ls-is sti ll be in g d um ped illegalll Ni troge n oxides a re a lso a prob le m in a ir po llu tion . T h e re ar c se ve ra l
becau se o f th e s ho rtage o f prope r in cin eration faci lit ies and hi gh-haza rd d l kn own ox ides o f n itrogen , but the important o nes from th e sta n d poin t o f air
posal a reas. Ha zardous liq ui d wa st e ca n pose a se rio us threat to h ealth iI II pollu t io n ar e n itr ic ox ide (NO) and nitroge n di oxide (N0 2). The term NOx is
lea ks into th e under gr o und wa te r table. Thi s has happe n ed man y tim es in ti" co m m o n ly used to refer to nitrogen ox ides co llec tive ly. NOx is a prod uct of
pa st . Th e pl ace nam es "Lo ve Ca n al" a nd "Mina rn a ta " a re now syno ny m o « almos t a ny co m b us tio n pro cess t hat uses a ir, since nit rogen is t h e c h ief co m-
wit h th e u n e t h ical di sposal o f ind ustrial was te a n d w ith th e huma n t ragl'llI ponen t o f air. To a g reat d egree, t h e formati on o f NOx is the result o f hi gh
tha t fo llowed . (Case h istories o f both a re pr o vided lat e r in this c ha pte r.) In I I II com b us t io n tem pe ratures, pr in cipa lly from m otor ve h icles, w h ic h in indus-
Un ite d Sta tes a lo ne, :~ 2, 000 haza rdo us waste di sp osa l sites h ad been idcn t lfil'd I ria lized urban ar ea s acco unt fo r 50 to 60 per cen t of a tmosp h e ric NOx. The
by 199 1; ve ry few o f t h em h a ve been clea ne d up .2:1 Any so lu ti o n to 11 11 Los An geles typ e of ph oto ch emi cal smog is ca used m ainl y by NO e m issio ns
problem w ill requ ire bot h techni cal ab ilit y a nd po liti ca l awa re n ess. from ca rs. It occu rs 0 11 war m, su n n y da ys w h e n traffic is h eavy and reac h es a
peak in t h e ea rly aftern oo n. It t h erefor e d iffer s from th e Lond o n sm og , w hi c h
AIR POLLUTION to rrn s o n co ld winte r ni ghts as a res u lt o f 50 2 p roduced by coa l co m busnon.P'
The nit rogen oxides participat e acti vel y in phot och emica l rea cti on s wit h
Air po lluti on ha s man y co m pone n ts, but th e best kn own a rc su lph u r ox id e h ydroca rbo ns , t h us h elping pr odu ce ph ot o c h emi cal s mog . N0 2 p la ys a
a n d nitrogen ox ides. Su lp h u r ox ides (suc h as S02) result from burni ng fm \ I doub le ro le in a ir pollution : it is a co m po ne n t in th e formation of ph o to -
fuels suc h as coa l a n d pet rol eum, a n d by o t he r in dust rial ac t ivit ies. SO h , I c he m ica l s mog, and it is to xi c in its o w n right. NO is much less to xic t han
foul- srnel lln z I!as th .. t rp;J cts with n Y\I,, (>n i n t h o " I "'~e n hno'~ . ~ f~ .. . " '0, ,, _ "I l l h .d l\.l fl i tO '·n ....r li h, ,....r H H l t,.lo dor i intn l\.fn in Hl P ~ l n l r\<.: n hp l·(l· h" I'/ l ;.\( ' linu
CIIAPTEH 16 • en vironm ental t tu eots and VisaS/el s 341
PART FOUR' ENVI RONMENTAL PRACTICE AN D [ I II ILS
wit h oxyge n in t h e pr esence of wa ter , it becom es nitri c ac id, w h ic h " WATER POLL U T I O N
ex t reme ly toxic to an y growing o rga nis m. Th e adve rse effects of air pol lu t iu n Some rivers a re less polluted no w th an th ey we re in t he 19th ce n tu ry, w he n
o n h u man s and a n ima ls include ser io us lung di so rders, red uced oxygen in till' there was a serio us wa te r po llu tion c risis. In th e mid-19th ce n tu ry, 20,000
blood , eye and skin irrita tio n, a nd da m age to internal orga ns .V Dam age III people in Londo n , Engla nd , d ied of cho lera . As Do na ld Ca rr says, "in t1~e
pai nted su rfaces , ca rs, a nd build ings is mainly th e resu lt of ac id rai n, wh i II 1\ Western wo rld t h is wa s th e greates t pollut ion di saster 01' 1u' stor y." ..l l Typ i101 d
t h e to pic of the foll o wing sec tion . and ch o le ra epidem ics ste m m ing from wa te r co n ta m ina te d by sewage were
Mos t provin ces a n d th e fed era l go ve rn men t h av e C lea n Air Acts l llal widespread. Water po llut io n h as at least six possibl e sou rces:
sp ecify e m issio n sta nda rds a nd am bient a ir-q uality sta ndards. Air po llut lou
co n tro l is main ly a pr ovincial respon sib ilit y, alt ho ugh the fede ra l go ve rn m 'lit • disease-ca us ing bacte ria ;
regulates train s, sh ips, a nd gaso line .2K Professiona l engin eers an d geosclc n • o rga n ic wa ste decayin g in t he wate r, redu cin g th e di ssol ved o xyge n
ti st s m ust fo llow gove rn me n t regul a ti on s-redu cing h a rm ful em issio ns, co n te n t;
wh erever possib le, sho uld alwa ys be a pri m a ry ob jective. • fert ilizers th at stim u late plan t growt h and a lso depress ox ygen levels; .,
• to xic mater ials, suc h as h eavy met als a nd ch lo rina ted h yd rocarbon s (DD I,
PCB);
ACID RAIN • acld iftcat io n , as menti oned earlier; (/.1/( /
( :l 4
The prob lem of acid rai n ca ptured Ca nad ia ns ' atte nt ion in th e 1980s. Both sui • was te heat , whi ch ca n a lso reduce d isso lved oxyge n levels.
p h ur ox ides a nd n it rogen ox ides are im plicat ed, becau se they fo rm sulph uri. Cho le ra and typhoid a re practica lly unkn own in Ca nada tod~I Y '.IS a result
a nd n it ric acids in t he a tmosp he re a nd ca use rainfall to beco me mo re ac ld k of sewage treatme nt a nd t he use o f ch lor ine to kill bacter ia i.n d~'~nk ln g wa.te r.
t han it o t he rwise wo u ld be. Neutral wa ter ideall y has a p l-l of 7.0, but " no rm al" Neve rt he less we mu st be vigilant in monitor in g wa ter qu a lity. I he poll uti on
rain fall in remo te a reas that a re un pollu ted h as a pH o f abo u t 5.6 becau se 0 1 ca used by la~n fertil izer in su m me r and h ighway sa lt in winter is .said t, c~m~ ?
t he presen ce of sm a ll a mo un ts of acid of natural or igi n .29 Ra in is typ ica ll fro m " no n-po in t" so urces (t ha t is, from eve ryw he re) in stead ~f t ro ~n POl ~t
ca lled "ac id rain " w he n th e pll falls be lo w 5.0 . In m an y ar ea s of Canada a nd sources suc h as sewage trea tm ent plants, power pla n ts, a nd tacron es, wh ich
the northeastern Un ite d Stat es, the rain has a pH va lue as low as 4.0. ca n be m o re eas ily monitored . . .
W he n aci d rain fa lls, it harms m ainl y fish, trees, farm s, buildin gs, a nd Agricu ltu re also crea tes d angerou s po llut ion when th e run off trom dairy o r
ca rs. Aq ua tic life beg in s to be affected w he n th e pll falls below 5.0, and m ost pig o pe ra tio ns is too clo se to t he intake of mu nicip al wa~er systel~ls. Sl~ch a
fish ar e killed when a p H o f 4.5 is rea ched. The resul t is hun d red s of lakes in pro blem occu rred in Walkert on , O n ta rio, in May 2000 (as clI sc u ~sed In C hdp ~e r
n or t heastern No rth Ame rica (and in Scand inavia) th at ar e devoi d of fish, and 2). Before th e cause was tra ced, 7 peo ple d ied and m or e th an 2:3 00 b.~ ca n~~ 11 1.
tho usands of ot he r la kes th at are th reaten ed.I" Lesion s o n plants caused by Eve ry su m me r, man y beach es in Ca na da are closed to swim me rs becau se
sim u la ted acid rain h ave been o bse rved w hen t he pl-l drops lo wer th an 3.4 , of h igh bact eria and feca l co n te nt in the wa ter. T his is a sca nda l to r a co un try
a lt h ough subtle effects ma y be occ urr ing a t h igh er p H levels. Humans ma y tha t boasts the largest endo wme n t of fresh wat e r in th e world . Laws to co n tro l
a lso be h arm ed , because t he aci d ity leac h es m agn esiu m , a lum in um , a n d po llut ion h ave been passed at a ll levels of go ve rn me n t. In th e 2 1st ce n tury, :1
heavy m eta ls o ut o f th e so il a nd co nce n tra tes them in dr inking wa ter. Fish are key pri ncipl e is th at " the polluter pays" to rem edy the p~oblem s. ~s a. profe~~
es pecia lly susce pt ib le to di ssol ved a lu mi n u m, a n d thi s m ay be a risk 10 sio n a l, yo u h ave a dut y to socie ty to e ns u re th at e nvlI'on me n td l Idws. a le
hum ans as we ll. Acid rain does seve re da m age to lim estone bu ildings and follo wed . In most cases it is not e no ug h 10 treat pollu tion at th e "enc~. ~t th e
m onum en ts, since it d isso lves the key che m ica ls in Iim csto n e.U pipe. " Waste m ust be el im ina ted earlier in the pr~cess by in creasin g cfficicuc y
Acid ra in is a n in te rn a tio nal pro blem . Th e heavier flow o f po llutants is and by red ucing, reu sin g, or recycling raw materials.
believed to be fro m th e Un ited Sta tes int o Ca nada, because of t he greate r indus-
tri a l ac tiv ity so u th o f th e border. Ho wever, th e sme lte rs aro u nd Sud bu ry, EX P O N EN T I A L P O PULATION GROWTH
O n ta rio, are ma jor so urces of th e sulph ur di oxides th at ca use acid rain. The fed-
Popu lat io n growt h is ge ne ra lly viewe d as a n ach ieve me n t, .no t. a l? ro blem .
eral govern me nts in Ca nada and th e Uni ted Sta tes have ag reed to co n trol acid
Moreover, it is unlikely that a ny indi vidu a l eng ineer o r geosCIent Ist IS ab le to
ra in , and t he situa tio n is im proving. The m ost effective way to red uce ac id rain
affect po pul ati on growt h. However, it mu st be m enti on ed , becau se t he prob -
is to reduce acid emiss io ns, altho ugh add ing lime to neutrali ze t he acid ca n
lem s o f co ns um pt io n o f non-ren ewab le reso urces a nd e nv iro n me n t ~l l d ~g ra
reverse low pH levels in la kes. Reducing em issions is cos tly, but an ea rly stud y
da tion a re pro por tio na l to th e po pu lation , a nd th e wo rld popul at io n IS at
shows that in addi tio n to a clea ner env iro n me n t, the eco no m ic ben efits are
abou t eq ua l to th e cos t o f th e controts.V record levels a nd growing qu ick ly.
342 PART FOUR · ENVI RONME NTAL PRACT I CE ANO L1111 1 S CIIAPl l" l1 I I, • I II Villl II III ' II ( " { l t n e u t. s tuu! t t iv a v t c t »
Aro u n d 1800, th ere we re rou g h ly I billion peopl e o n thi s p lan et. Afte r 1111 C lea rly, so me acti on must be taken to ave rt th ese crises. In I ~68, Ga rre t
industri al revoluti on, n ew m achines, m ed icin es, a n d im p ro ve m e n ts in 1111111 Il a rd in , a n Ame ric a n phi losop h er , p ub lished a paper o n a sy n d ro m e
tion ca use d life ex pecta nc y to rise and infant m orta lit y to fal l. As a resu lt, III' o bserved about 140 years ea rlie r ca lle d "the t raged y of t h e co m mo ns ."
wo rld's populati on pa ssed 2 bi llion in 1930, 3 bi llio n in 196 0, 4 h illio u III Ilar din applied t h is a na logy to th e prob le m of overpop u latio n a n d observed
19 75, S b illi on in 198 7, 5.6 b ill io n in 1994':15 a nd 6.5 b illio n in 2005 .:11' \ th at , a lt h o ug h o ur so cie ty h as a n e t hica l pr ece pt t h a t ev e ryo n e bo rn h as
s im p le g ra p h o f t h ese n u mbe rs in di cat es th a t th e wo rld's popu la t io u I u -rtaln ina liena b le rights, it is impo ssib le to di vid e finite reso u rces a mo ng
g rowing ex po ne n tia lly. 111 1 indefin ite ly lar ge number o f peo p le . Hard in co n clu d ed t h at th e o n ly wa y
En gin eer s a n d geo scientist s know th at expone n tia l growt h ca n n o t b ' SII we ca n preserve th e m ost pr eciou s freed oms is by th e d raco n ia n m easure o f
tain ed by finit e resources- ev e n w h en resources ar e as vas t as th is p la net ' I('gula t ing th e freed om to p ro cr eate, as C h ina h a s a lrea dy d o n e . Severa l
Mo reove r, th e ex pec ta tio n s of th e citi zens o f d eveloping co u n tries a re al II American gro u p s, most n ota bl y Popul ati on Co n nect io n, a re p rese n tly ad vo -
increas ing sha rp ly. Sa tellite tel evision is n ow sho wing everyo ne the co n sph (a ting sim ila r solu t ions to t he pop u lation problem."!
uou s co nsu m pt io n of th e d eveloped world, a n d th e world 's poor wa n t a S lll l l! Engin ee rs and geo sci e n tists ar e n ot in a position to allev iat e t h e problem s
of t h is bounty. Th e p ress ur e to co n su m e reso urces wil l reac h di sastrous (1111 0 1 overpo p ula tio n , or ev en to affe ct it sign ificant ly. What we ca n do is e ns u re
porti ons w ithi n th e lifetim e o f m ost read er s. O bv io us ly, we must u se resourn- th a t we a re no t con tri b ut ing to t he in efficien t use o f resou rces or c rea ti ng
m or e e fficie n tly if we hope to avoid ca tast ro p he, or at least d elay it. th reat s to t he e n v iro n m e n t . In th e lo n g ter m , e t hica l act io n s a re a lwa ys in o ur
Wild life and p lant popu la t io n s do no t in cr ease in size in de finitel y. SOOII" I o wn se lf-in ter est .
o r la te r th e y e nc o u n te r e n v iro n m e n ta l res ista nce that lim its the popu la tio u. I
Ever y spec ies in a give n h abita t h as an eq u ilibr iu m po int fo r its pop u la tio n O P PORT U N IS M AN D THE TRAGEDY O F THE COMMON S
For exa m p le, food sh o rtages (such as dwind ling pr ey) lim it t h e pop u la tlo n
'l'hc t rage d y o f th e co m m o ns is o fte n me ntio ne d in e n viro n m en ta l di scus-
of w ild a n ima ls. Less food lead s to in creased morta lity- especia lly infalll
xlo ns. Wil lia m Forster Llo yd , a poli tical econom ist at Oxford Un iver sity, first
m or talit y-until t he birth rate, th e death rate, and the foo d su p p ly a re III
desc rib ed t h e deg rad a tio n of co m m o n past ur es in Engla nd in 1832. Lloyd
eq u ili b riu m . Hum an popul a t ion is a litt le differ ent, since we ca n d evise WI!)'
o bserved that the ca tt le that gra zed o n t hese "co m m o n s" we re sm alle r and
to imp ro ve o ur h abitat and in t hi s way raise the eq u ilibriu m point. Bu t eW II
for us ther e are limits, since resources a re fin ite. stun te d wh en com pared to catt le o n p rivately owne d pastur es. T he pr iva tely
ow ne d past ures wer e o bv io us ly better kept and h ealthier en v iro n m en ts for
Ma ny populat ion foreca sts have been made, using di fferen t assu m pt io ns . II
lite ca ttle . His co ncl u sio n s were republi sh ed in Hardin 's paper in 1968 .42
is ex pec ted t hat t he wor ld 's po pul a tio n will peak be tween 2050 a nd 2 100, .II
The co nc e p t ca n be ex plaine d as fo llows. Imagin e a pa sture open to a ll
wh ich tim e a n equ ilibrium poi nt, est ima ted be tween 10 .6 bil lio nP' a n d 12 hll
local ca ttl e o wne rs. Eac h o wne r, q u ite n a t urall y, wa n ts to in c rease h is o r he r
lio n,:l9 wi ll h ave been reach ed . Most populatio n growth w ill occur in d ev elo ping
herd a n d thus tri es to graze as m a n y ca ttle as possib le o n the co m mo ns . Eac h
co u n t ries t h a t do not ha ve fina ncia l reso urces, stable govern m en ts, o r in lr.1
a ni m al ad ded to t he h erd y ields a sign ifica n t ben efit to the owne r, but slig h tly
st ruct ure. Th e resu lt w ill be anarch y, d isease, and war. Many people w ill tr y I II
red uces the food ava ilab le to o ther ani ma ls. Thi s process of in crea sing h e rd
esca pe t h ese co nd itio ns, a n d Ca n ada will be faced w ith th e et h ical d ecis io n 1.1
size m ay be sus ta ina b le for many yea rs, especia lly if t h e co m m o n s is ver y
sharin g o u r p rosp erity by o pe n ing th e doors to millions o f refu gees, or refush u;
la rge. Eve n t ually, howev er, add ing more anima ls w ill reduce the qua lit y of t h e
to ad m it th em in fea r that the sur ging tid e ma y lo wer o ur sta nda rd o f life.
co m m o n s below an acceptable level. Yet ev en a t t h is po int, t h er e is no wa y to
Mo st d em og raph ers ca ll for a reducti on in popu lation g row t h to co pe wi th
sto p th e process. As Ha rd in says:
th e pro b le m, a lt ho ug h a few "c o rn uc o p ia n s" in s ist that in n o va ti on , fn ','
e n te rp rise, a nd in tern ati o na l tr ad e a re th e so lu tio ns a nd wi ll let us d eve lop [t]herein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase
m eth od s of ad apti n g to popu lat io n growth . Howev e r, t h is optim istic v iew lIa', his herd without limit- in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which
been c h a lle ng ed fo r decad es. all men rush. each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the
. . . [W]hile the general optimism of the cornucopians is comforting, it conflicts with the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.!'3
rough consensus emerging among most demographers, scientists and policy analysts Hard in applied t h is co nce pt as a m otiva tin g force fo r po pula tio n limita-
involved in population and resource research. Their view is that a high percentage of the tion . Howev er, the tra gedy of th e co m m o ns also app lies to ot h er e n viro n -
planet's peoples are doomed to live with poverty and violence unless population growth m en ta l effec ts . Fo r ex a m ple, th e in co n sid e ra te citi ze n w h o d umps se w age
is dramatically reduced.... [T]he Earth's biosphere can only produce enough renewable alo n g the roadwa y, or the n egli ge n t cor pora tio n that sp ills to xic o r rad ioa c-
resources- food, fres h water and fish-to sustain [at most] two billion people at a stan- live was te , or who e m its h ea t, n o ise, o r n oxious o r toxi c fum es into t h e air, is
dard of living equal to that in Europe. . . .40
344 PART FO UR ' ENVI RONMENTAL PRACTICC AND [I IIICS CIIAP I I.I( I t> • I uvh onm ent a! t tn eat s "lid lJi ~" ~ I ,'" I,',
like th e catt le ow ne r who adds o ne m or e a n im a l to the co m mo ns. Tlll ' ~I ' wa rn t he Board abo ut t he con ta m ina t ion by dri llin g test bor eh ol es to sho w
sel fish act s degr ad e th e env iro n me n t. th e Board t he che m ica l co n ta m ina tio n a nd in cluding a cla use in th e dee d
Wh eth er we cla ssify th ese act s as vanda lism or sim ply as human na run -, that m enti on s th e buri ed che m ica ls. In subse q ue n t years, wh en th e Board
th ey are th e p h ilosophy of uti litar ian ism in reverse. Utilitariani sm su p po rts .I move d to se ll parts o f th e land for real esta te developm ent, Hooker Che m ica l
sma ll sac rifice by th e ge ne ra l popul ation in o rde r to a id th e publi c go o d. III represe n ta tives publicl y o ppose d suc h use becau se of th e buried che m lcals.i ''
th e traged y o f th e co m mo ns, a se lfish indi vidual imposes a ge ne ra l degrad« In any case, th e la nd eve nt ua lly became a reside n tia l a rea, a nd hom es,
tion up on soc iety in o rde r to reap a sm all person al ben efit. Mor eover, wit ho ut playgro unds, a nd a sc hool were built o n it. In 19 76, afte r seve ra l seaso ns of
inter venti on , hum an nature m akes th e outcom e in evit abl e. As Hardin put s II heavy rai ns , peopl e began to noti ce a terrible ste nch of che m ica ls. Hom es
reeked, ch ild re n co m plaine d of che m ica l burns, a nd pet s di ed or becam e sick.
[t]h e ratio nal man finds th at his share of th e cost of the waste s he discharges int o th e
Yet th ese prob lem s were minor wh en co m pa red with th e mi scarri ages, birth
commons is less th an th e cost of puri fying his wast es before releasing th em. Since thi s
defects, and cases of ca nce r that occ urred in th e Love Ca na l area, m or e and
is true for everyone, we are locked into a syste m of "fouling our own nest ," so long as
mor e frequ entl y, as th e yea rs passed . Resid ents soo n dem anded so me acti on
we beh ave only as independent , rat ional. free ente rprisers. t,t,
on the basis th at th ese probl em s we re far too frequ en t.
Throug h t ho ug h tfu l laws, regul ati ons, a nd taxes, we ca n avo id th e trag ed ' In 19 78, a gov ern men t st udy o f the a rea exposed so me remark abl e- and
of th e co m m o n s. Th e tru e ow ne rs- the publi c-must poli ce th e e n viro n frighten ing-sta tist ics. Mor e t ha n SO different chem ica ls had been det ect ed ,
mc n t, a nd degradati on mu st be linked to th e ca use . In o t he r words, th e po l so me o f whi ch wer e ca rcinoge n ic. Th e che m ica l pollution in th e air was 250
lu te r mu st pay. Thi s mon itoring creates t he feedback loo p tha t is requi red III 10 5,000 tim es establishe d sa fe levels. Th ere wa s a n unu sually hi gh (almost :{O
prot ect th e e nviro n me nt. Thi s wi ll not be an easy task, but as Case Histor ' perc en t) rat e of mi scarri age. O f 17 pregnant women in th e Lov e Can al ar ea in
16.1 (be low) shows, th e cost o f ign orin g waste dumpin g is far mor e ex pe ns ive 19 78, o n ly 2 gave birth to norm al ch ild ren.
t ha n the cos t o f regul atin g it. New York sta te authorities recogni zed th e serio us health threat posed by
the bu ried che m ica ls an d m o ved a few hun d red fami lies o ut of th e area . The
scho o l was close d a nd su rro unde d by barbed wire. Th e are a ove r th e bur ied
CASE HISTORY 16.1
che m ica ls becam e a g host town, with derelict hou ses, e m pty streets, a nd "No
Trespassing " sign s. Neighbouring resid ents wh o lived o n ly a sma ll di stan ce
TOXIC POLLUT ION : LOVE CANA L, MI N A M ATA, BHOPAL, SUDB URY
fro m th e che m ica ls were co nce rne d ab out th eir h ealth , but faced a dil emm a:
Th e impro pe r di sp osal of toxic waste is profession al mi scondu ct , wh ether il th ey wanted to mo ve, but since " Love Ca na l" was no w a sy no ny m for haz-
occ urs deli ber at ely, or th rou gh sim ple in compet en ce. The follow ing four G ISI' ard o us was te , th eir homes we re wor t h less. In 1980, residen ts' dema nds fo rced
hi sto ries of to xic polluti on are so we ll kn own that th ei r nam es-Lo ve Ca na l, th e governme nt to ca rry o ut furt her testi ng . Th e tests showed h igh levels o f
Min am at a, Bhopal , a nd Sud bury - a re now sy no ny mo us with env iro n me n tal ge net ic dam age a mong th e neighbouring resident s. Th e a rea was declared a
degradati on o r di saster. d isaste r a rea by th e U.S. presid ent, a nd 7 10 fam ilies we re relocated . Man y o f
the aban do ne d hom es were dem o lish ed , and th e che m ica l wastes were exc a-
Love C anal, New York-Dioxin
vate d for treatm ent and proper disp osal. T he tot al cos t o f th e clea n u p was
est im a ted a t US$250 milli on .r'?
Lo ve Ca na l is in Niaga ra Falls, in New York Sta te, and is na med afte r o ne 0 1 The Love Ca na l traged y revea led qu esti o n able et h ics, alt houg h it is d is-
t he ea rly resid ents of th e area. Th e ca na l was or igina lly excavated for boat s puted w he t he r the true fault lies wit h t h e Hoo ker Che m ica l Cor po rat io n ,
a nd barges, but it was never co m p lete d for na vigati onal pu rposes, so it was wh ich buri ed mu ch o f th e che m ical wa ste, o r wit h a ca reless o r naive Board
more of a ditch th an a cana l. Between 1942 and 1953, th e Olin Cor po ratio n of Ed ucat io n . The agree me n t to tran sfer th e land co n ta ine d a clau se th at pro-
and th e Ho ok er Chem ica l Co rpo ra t io n saw it as a co nve n ien t hol e for bury ing tecte d Hook er against fut ure claim s for liab ility, and sho u ld ha ve alert ed th e
was te chem ica ls. Ove r 1S,OOO ton s o f che m ical wast e, in cluding di oxin s, we re Boa rd of polluti on . How ever, it is alleged th at, afte r th e ex te n t o f th e di saster
buried, a nd eve n tua lly th e "ca na l" was agai n a flat plot of land . beca m e publi c, c he m ica l in d ust ry spo kespeo p le ridi cul ed t he reside n ts as
In 1953 th e Hoo ker Chem ica l Co m pa ny so ld t he lan d to the Niagara Falls h ypocho ndr iacs.:'? This to xic secret broug ht traged y to m an y famili es who
Board of Educa tion fo r th e nomin al sum of o ne d olla r. Th e co nd it io ns o f the risked th eir life savi ngs in wo rt h less hom es, w hose chi ldre n wer e bo rn
sa le are no t co m pletely clea r, but it a ppea rs that th e Board needed th e la nd to defo rme d, a nd who eve n no w m ay live in fea r o f con trac t ing ca nce r.
meet a gro w ing schoo l populati on boom, and all eged ly in sisted o n th e loca- Lo ve Ca na l heigh ten ed awa re nes s o f th e need for et h ica l co nd uc t a nd
tion , threatenin g ex pro priatio n . Hooker Che m ica l ap pa ren tly atte m pte d 10 e n viro n m e n ta l regul ation s. In th e yea rs foll owin g Lo ve Ca na l, th e U.S.
346 PART FOU3 • ENVI RONMENTAL PIlACT ICE AND 11111 ( \ CIIAP! Lil I b • I (/ v i lll (/, (/ e(/ t a l Th r e at > and IJ;sasl, " s 47
Enviro n me n ta l Protecti on Agen cy (EPA) di sco ver ed between 32, 000 ill id I h isso, he wa s or dered to sto p hi s tests a nd for bidden to rep or t hi s fin d in gs
50,000 o t he r to xic waste dumps sca ttered across th e United States. PosslIllI 10 t he local health autho rltics.s !
2,000 o f th em ma y still be a risk to th e public. 4H It was n ot until 1959 that medi cal aut horiti es request ed h elp from th e
The resu ltin g furor over Love Ca na l led to stricter laws and mor e scv.-n I uma moto m edi ca l sc hoo l an d an investiga tio n was begun . By 19 62, th ey
pena lti e s for improper di sposal o f wast e. Unf ortun at ely, th e pub lic awa kc n l II were ce rtain th at the problem was caused by o rga n ic mercury a nd th at th e
to th e d anger of improp er an d un ethical dumpin g was to o slow in co 1II 11I ' so urce o f the mercury was th e Ch isso efflue n t. Initiall y it was estima te d th at
Loi s Gib bs, th e resid ent who took th e leadersh ip rol e in dra wing public a llt 'll .ibo u t 2,900 peopl e had co n trac te d Minamat a di sease, as th e deb ilitating neu -
ti on to th e env iro n me n ta l di sa st er a t Lo ve Ca n a l, recentl y sta te d: "As " rol ogica l syndro me is no w kn o wn . Th e go ve rn me nt indict ed Ch isso , but it
sOC i~ ty, we begin wit h thi s tox ic thin g and say : 'How much ca n we p ut in 1111 loo k years for th e va rio us cases to work th eir way through th e lega l syste m.
e nv Iro n me n ~ before so me bo dy is harm ed '? ' T hi s risk-a ssessm en t approa. Ii The first decision wa s made in 19 70, and the govern me nt also awa rde d so me
means there IS a su bset of our soci ety tha t will alway s be sac rificed ."49 Dioxl n ro rnpe nsat io n . However, in 1995, th e Japa nese go ve rn me n t reach ed a po litica l
was being released into th e e nviro n me nt a t Love Cana l for yea rs, and W I Il ' II settle me n t with abo ut 11,000 unrecogni zed sufferers th at ca lled for lump-sum
hou sew ives d iscovered that di oxin ca used birth defect s in th eir ch ild ren II paymen ts, a nd in 2~07: an add it i.ona l 5, ~00 peopl~ ap p l ie~1 for o fficia l r~~og
st ill took 13 years for scien tists to verify th e fact s. ' uition as sufferers o t Mtn am at a di sease, 1 he lawsuits are st ill not sett led .
Th e eth ica l issu es in thi s case a re clear. Th e Ch isso Co m pa ny 's ac t io ns-
M in a mata Bay, Japan-Mercury Poisoning slo pping the medi ca l test s, su ppressing knowled ge of th e p robl em, a nd c~ n
tln uln g to perm it m ercury to be d umped in Minamata Bay-were unethi cal
Since 19 53, th o usands of resid ents of the Mina rnata Bay a rea of Japa n haw and inexc usab le. Eve n th ou gh th e damagin g effects o f mercury were not well
f~lll en il.1 as a re~ult . o f o rga nic mercury poisoning. Mercury (also ca lled q uid known in 1932, th e co m pa ny kn owin gly infl ict ed personal tr aged y o n th ou -
slive r) IS th e liquid met al o fte n used in th erm om et er s a n d barom e ter s, sa nds o f unwitting people in later yea rs.
W hether as a pure liqui d o r in co m po u nd form, mercury ca n ca use serio us An o utbreak of Min arnata di sease occu rred in Grassy Na rrows, On ta rio, in
rena l an d I~ eurol ogical d ysfun ction. Mild cases o fte n mimic am yotrophic lal 19 70 . Members o f two O jibwa bands living nea r th e Wabi goon River began to
era l sclerosis (ALS, a lso ca lled " Lou Ge h rig's di sease"). Th e sym pto ms of seven- show th e debilitatin g sym pto ms of mercury poi sonin g, and th e so urce of th e
poi soning i n cl lf(~ e clum sin ess, stum bling, severe m e n ta l or behavio ura l proh po llu tio n was traced to th e Reed Paper Co m pan y in Dryd en, just up str eam
lem s, a nd loss 0 1 speech, taste, and hearin g. from th e O jibwa reserv es. Th e pro vin cial go ve rn me nt ordered Reed to reduce
Th e C h isso Co m pa ny, a nitrogen fertilizer co m pa ny in Minamata, th e merc ury usage, and the pollution was grad ua lly el im inated . Alt ho ug h co m-
m ai n city o n Mi na rna ta Bay, first began produ cin g acetald eh yd e in 193 , pe nsa tio n was eve n tua lly pa id to th e two bands, the eco nom ic a nd socia l
Mercury was required as a ca ta lyst in this process a nd for o t he r che m ica ls th e effects we re devastati ng.5:1
co m pa n y wo uld produce lat er, suc h as Viny l ch lo ride . Th e mercury wa s used
in liq uid fo rm, a n d during th e produ cti on process, a portion of it was losl-
Bh o p a l , India-Methyl Isocyanate
wash ed into Min amata Bay wit h t he wastewater. In the bay, microbes acted
o n th e mercury a nd co nve rted it into a n o rgan ic (me thy l or ca rbo n -based) In th e ea rly m orning hours of December 3, 19H4, a poisonous cloud o f met hyl
m ercury co m po u nd. She llfish abso rbed th e o rga nic m ercury, and since ma m- isoc ya na te gas esca ped fro m the Uni on Ca rb ide plant in Bhopal , Indi a. It
mals do n ot .e xcre te m.ercury, it becom es m or e co ncentra ted as it m o ves u p killed thou sands of people up to 6 krn (4 mil es) away, m an y wh ile they we re
t he.food cha m . Ove r tim e, th e co n cen trat io ns are sufficien tly la rge th at the asleep in th eir beds. Th is was prob abl y th e worst indust rial acc.iden t i.n hi ~
tOXI Ceffect becom es ap pa rent. The first human s affec ted we re fish erm en a nd lo ry, and its soc ial and eco no m ic impact o n Bhopal was devastatin g. It IS esu -
th eir famili es, wh o had a diet rich in fish , includ ing she llfish . Th e serio usness ma ted th at between 3,000 an d 12,000 peop le died in this ca tastro p he . Around
of th e pr obl em wa s reco gni zed by p h ysician s a n d hea lt h off ic ials in th e :-\0 ,000 more suffered permanent injuri es, 20 ,000, tempora ry in jur ies, a nd
Min am at a a rea a.ro u nd 1956, a lt ho ug h cases were lat er traced back to 1953, 150, 000, minor injuri es. And eve n th ese horrific numbers a re di sputed by vic-
54
a bo ut 20 yea rs a fter mercury first began was h ing into th e bay.>" ti ms ' rights orga n iza tio ns, wh ich say th e rea l numbers were eve n hi gh er.
The med.ic.al direct o r of th e hospital asso ciated wit h th e Ch isso Co m pa n y The Un ion Carb ide plant was establishe d in 1969 as a m ixi ng factory for
be~a m e su fficien tly co ncerned abo u t t he problem in 195 6 th at he began a pesticides. Me t h yl isocyan at e, which is used in large q ua n t it ies in the pro-
series of tests o n ca ts. Since fam ily cats ate fish , th ey were th e first to ex h ibit duc t io n pro cess, is hi ghl y vo latile as we ll as hi gh ly to xic. Me thy l isocyan ate
th is cur ious beh aviour. He identified th e m anufacturin g plant efflue n t as th e reac ts vigo ro us ly with man y com mon su bsta nces and must be m aintained at
ca use of the prob lem , but when he reported hi s results to his su pe rio rs a t ve ry lo w temperatu res to prevent un contro lled rea cti o ns. Th e precise ca use of
348 PART FOUR · ENVIR ONME NT AL PRACTlCE ANi) I "II L ~
CHAPl CR 10 • Ln v iro n m e ut a! Ilir e at s an d Disast ers 349
t he d isaster is not kn o wn, but m ost ex planatio ns sta te t hat an efllp lov " socy an ate, ge ne rati ng intense heat. The pressur e in the tank in creased d ra-
closed a valve on a pi p ing syste m so th at a filter co n nec ted to the pip e (' ( Itil d ma ticall y an d pu shed pa st pr essure relief va lves into th e a tmos phe re. Safety
be wash ed . A m et al di sc sho uld have been inserted to m ake ce rta in th a i 11 11 meas ures were eithe r inadeq uate or d id not work. Ove r th e next 90 minutes,
va lve co uld not lea k, but th is was n ot do ne. Dur ing th e was h ing prot t ' , ab o ut 40 tonn es of m eth yl isocyanate a n d o the r rea cti on p roduct s were
wa te r leaked past th e closed va lve, en te ring pipin g that was co n nec ted III released into the atmos phe re. Sin ce th e vapour is heavier than air, it filled
t he meth yl iso cyan at e ho ldin g tank . Th e water react ed wit h th e flle ll!1'1 low-lying area s, crept into hou ses thro ug h windows and doors, and asph yxi-
atcd tho usa nds of people while th ey slept.
Un io n Ca rbide Ind ia Lim ited (UCIL) operated t he plant, but the p lant was
main ly o w ne d (50.9 percent) by Union Ca rbide Cor po ratio n, a U.S. co m-
pan y. Un ion Ca rbide di sputes the ab ove ex plana tio n for th e di sast er. Based
on a fo rens ic st udy co nd uc ted by a co ns ult ing en gineer, Un ion Ca rbide co n-
cluded that th e gas em issio n wa s sabo tage. T hey believe th at an unknown
plant e m p loyee de libe ra te ly ad de d wat er to a sto rage tank, appar en tl y
Intend ing to ruin th e m et hy l Isocya nate.V
An inqui ry was held aft er t he d isaster. The co ns t ruc tio n, o pe ra tio n, and
ma intena nce o f th e Bhopal plant were ex am ine d, as well as man agem en t
decis io ns that perm itted suc h a po ten tia lly da ngero us plant to o pe ra te in
suc h a n un safe mann er, in an urban area, with no suitable eme rge ncy plan .
Th e Indian govern me nt cha rged th e co m pany managem ent w ith negligence,
bro ug h t murder cha rges aga in st its ch ief exec utive, and demanded US$3.3
billion to se ttle victi ms ' claims. Th en, in 198 9, the Ind ian Su preme Co urt
anno unced a sett leme n t of a ll claims for US$4 70 mi llion, co nd it io na l o n th e
dro p ping of crim inal ch a rges .56 Shortly after the sett leme n t was a nn oun ced ,
a new Ind ia n govern me n t di sall ow ed the claim and so ug h t to rei nst at e th e
crim ina l cha rges.V W h ile th e lit igatio n co n tin ues, th e Ind ian govern me n t is
sup po rting the sur vivors of th e Bhopa l d isaster.
Sud b u ry , Ontario-Sulphur Dioxide

Ca na da is th e wor ld's second- lar gest produ cer of ni cke l, and th e min es
aro u nd Sud bury, On ta rio, are th e m ain so urce of this m et al. Nickel was first
di scovered in th e area in 1856, but it wa s n ot un til the Ca nadia n Pacifi c
Railway reach ed Sud bury in 1883 that an yone rea lized th e full ex te n t of th e
a re bod y.58 The ni ckel is in the form of su lph ide ore, wh ich ca n not be co n-
verted direct ly into meta llic form . It mu st first be sme lted- tha t is, burned to
remove the sulph ur a nd co nvert the are to n ickel ox ide, which ca n t he n be
red uce d to pure ni ckel. In the ea rly 1900s the first co nversio n ste p was ty pi-
cally done in huge, o pe n "r oa sts," wh ere layers of timber were inter sp ersed
wit h layers of or e. Th e roa sts burned aro und th e clock and e mitte d a toxic
clo ud of sulph ur di oxid e.s" Th e eco log ica l impact of th is process was ign or ed
Phot o 16: 1 - Union Carbide Factory, Bhopal. A methyl isocyanat e gas leak a ce n tury ago , when th e Sud bur y a rea was spa rsely popu lat ed . Few peopl e
fro:n a Un~on Carbide ~~sticide plant in Bhopa l, India, killed thousands of people in rea lized th at the sulph ur di o xid e, wh en d issol ved in rain water, crea te d acid .
ne/ghbou~mg comm~mt/es. The Union Carbide factory (in the background) looms In 1928 the fede ra l govern men t becam e awa re of th e probl em an d bann ed
over relat ives and iri ends carrying a victim's body to cremation. the use o f o pe n roa sts.v" How ever, en close d sm elt in g is still d one.
T he p roblem was part ly so lved by th e e rec tio n of tall er smo kes tacks,
Source: CP Phot o/Associated Press.
wh ic h sp rea d th e pollutants ove r a wid er a rea, thu s redu cin g t heir
I I
CIIAl' l Ul 16 • t n vi unn» 1110/ lI" c ,1I5 tuu! Oi >l/5 /1/
350 PART FOUR · ENVIR ONME NTAL PllACTICE AND Lil li S
co nce n tra tio n. Th e largest o f th ese su pe r stac ks, a t Sud bury's Co ppe r lil l T h r e e Mile Island
min e, was bu ilt in 19 72 a nd is ab out 380 m ( 1,247 It.) hi gh . Th ree Mile Isla nd is locat ed o n th e Sus q ue ha n na River in so u.the rn
Th e env iro n me nta l effects o f acid rain on th e Sudbury region were seve n' , Pen nsylvan ia. Co ns tructio n o n its two-unit nuclear pow er plant began In .the
In th e a rea a ro u nd th e sme lte rs, trees a re stun ted and spa rse, lakes arc devoid lat e 1960s and t h e seco n d unit (u ni t TM I-2) wa s co m plete d , tes te d, and
o f fish , ane! o n ly th e hardiest spec ies of bird s ca n survive (wh ere th ere are an ' bro ug h t o l~ li ne in December 19 78 . The tw o units, :vcr: . design e~t o pr~~lu ce:l
bird s left a t all). In 19 78 th e Regional Municipa lity o f Sudbury began an ambl .
maxrmurn of 880 m•egaw, atts
c • o f electrica l power • Ihe IMI-2 un it ex pe lle nce d
t ious program to restor e 10,000 hectares of barr en land . By ex pe rime n t, it was ma ny minor probl ems during its co m m issio n i.ng a nd ea rly oper<~ tion. It h,ad
disco vered that, in most locatio ns, a co m binatio n of ferti lizer, agricultura l lime bee n o pe rating for o n ly three m onth s wh en It becam e th e so u rce o f No rt h
(to neutrali ze th e acidity), and a seed mi xture of grass and legumes wou ld ge ll Ame rica's wor st nu clear acc ide n t. 6 ,l
crate a heal th y grass co ver. Two yea rs afte r grass began gro wing , cre ws wo uld
return to plant trees and sh rubs. Fifteen different tree spec ies were p lanted, Th e Accid ent and It s Ca uses
and by 1995, man y o f these trees were more than 3 m ( 10 It .) tall. Altho ugh The probl em began sho rtly afte r 4 a.m . o n Ma rcl~ 28, 1979, and re~overy eff~ rt.s.
th e so il acid ity is still ve ry hi gh , the levels of hea vy met als have been reduced . lasted for a month . Th e initial cause of the acc ide n t was a blocked fee(h~<1t el
Populati ons o f in sect s, bi rds, and sm a ll mammals have in creased, and suc- line whi ch caused pumps to sto p. Ope rato r e rro rs and o the r minor mal fun c-
cess fu l tree growt h ha s ave rage d 70 percent acro ss a ll spec ies. About 3,000 nons th en m agni fied th e probl em . Jam es Carte r, th e Ame rican president :11 th e
hect ares have been recla ime d so far. 6 1 As a result of th e ex te ns ive env iro n- lim e (and a lso a nu clear eng inee r), co m m issio ned an inquiry into th e accide n t.
mental damage and th e efforts bein g made to rem edy th at damage, Sud bury Th e inq uir y rep ort describes th e first few minutes of th e accid en t as fo llows:
has become o ne of th e most close ly stud ied eco log ica l areas in th e world.
In th e parlan ce of t he e lec t ric power Ind ust ry, a " trip" means a piece of
machinery sto ps o pe rating . A series o f Iccdwatcr syste m pumps su pplying w:'.ler
Discussion of Toxic Pollution Cases
to TMI-2's stea m ge ne rator s tripped o n th e morning o f March 28, 1979. I I ~ e
Th ese env iro n m en ta l di saster s we re not of eq ua l magnitude, nor were th e)' nu clear plant was o pe ratin g a t 97 percent po wer at the time. The firsl pu m p tnp
eq ua lly u ne t h ica l. Th ou sands o f deaths a nd injuri es were dir ectl y linked to occ u rred at 36 seco nds afte r 4:00 a.m . Whe n th e pumps sto pped, th e flow o f
Bhopal-s-th c wo rld's wor st e nv iro n me n ta l di sast er-and to Minama ta . wa te r to th e stea m genera lor s Slo pped. With no lccdwa tc r bein g add ed , th ere
Hundreds of illnesses, mi scarria ges, a nd ca nce r cases we re relat ed to Low soo n wo uld be no stea m , so the plant's safety system auto mal ica lly sh u t dow n
Ca na l, but n o suc h hum an tragedi es ha ve been directl y attributed to t he the stea m turbin e and th e electri c ge ne rato r it powered. Th e Incid ent at Thr ee
Sud bury sulp h ur dio xid e e m issio ns , alth ough th e pollution. is ev ide n t in the Mile Island was 2 seco nd s o ld . .. .
lakes a nd vege ta tio n do wnwind of th e sme lte rs. W he n th e fccdwa te r flo w sto p ped, the te m pe rat u re of the rea ctor coo la n t
increased . Th e rapid ly heatin g water ex pa nde d. Th e pressuri zer leve l (the I.evel
CASE HISTORY 16.2 of th e wa ter insid e the pressu rizer tan k) rose a nd th e steam in th e top 0 1 th e
lan k co m p ressed . Pressur e in side t he pressurize r b uilt to 2,25 5 po u nd S. per
NU CL EAR SAFE T Y: THR EE MILE I SLA N D AND CHERNOBYL sq ua re inch , 100 psi mor e than norm al. Th en a valve a to p th ~ p ressu n zcr,
called a pilot -o peral ed relief valve, or PORV, op ened -as II was d esigned 10 do-
Nuclea r-ge nera ted elect rica l po wer is a m ajo r so urce of e nv iro n me nta l co n- a nd stea m and wa te r began flowing o ul of th e reactor coo lan t system th rou gh
ce rn, alt ho ug h earlier Ameri can and British stud ies sho we d t hat pow er ge ner- a dr ain pip e to a tan k o n th e floor of th e co n la in l11 en l building: Pressl~l~e CO I ~~
a lio n by coa l is 25 0 lim es m ore hazardou s than nu clear po wer a nd tha i tinu ed to rise, however, a nd 8 seco nds a fte r the first pu m p tr ipp ed. I MI-2 s
ge neration by o il is 180 times m or e haza rdou s. O n ly n atu ral gas poses fewe r reaclor-as it was d esign ed to do - scra mmed : its co n tro l rod s aulo ma lically
hazard s th an nu clear pow er to workers a nd th e ge ne ra l popu latlon .v- A few d ropped down int o th e react or core 10 halt its nucl ear fission .
serio us rad iat io n releases occ urred in th e ea rly expe rime nta l days o f Ca nad ia n
Less tha n a seco nd lat er, th e heal ge neraled by fissio n was esse n tially zero . lIul,
a nd America n nu clear development, and a few deaths in Nor th Amer ica haw
as in a ny nucl ear react or, th e decayin g radi oacti ve ma te rials left fro m th e fis-
been att ributed to pow er reactor accid ents. How ever, th e American rea ctor
sion p rocess co n tin ued 10 heat th e reactor 's coo lan t water, Thi s I~ eat was ~l sma ll
acc ide nt at Three Mile Island in 19 79 a nd a lat er acc ide n t at Cherno byl in
fraction - just 6 percen l- o f that released d u ring fission, bUI II was stili sub-
Ukraine (the n par t of th e Sov iet Un io n) in 1986 in vol ved parti al o r co m plete
sta n tial and had 10 be rem oved 10 keep th e core from ove rhea ti ng . When th e
meltd own of th e nucl ear react or co res, and were th erefor e mu ch more se rio us
pum ps th at nor mall y su pply th e stea m genera tor with wa te r sh u t dow.n, thr ee
tha n a ny o the r nu clear acci de n t (be fo re or since). Th e public was horrified to
em ergen cy fccdw ater pumps autom ali call y sta rted. Fourteen seco nds II1to the
lea rn t ha t m el td o wn s-the m ost unthinkabl e nu clear accide n t-cou ld occu r.
352 PART FO UR . ENVIRONMEN TA L PRACTI CE ANIl IIII II.S CIIAP I LH I I> • / lIvlll JII Ill n t ul i h rua; » '" " ' Vi" "/ " II
accide n t, a n o pera to r in TM I-2's co n tro l roo m noted th e emergency feed pum ps Cher n o b y l
were run n ing . He did not no tice two lights that to ld h im a va lve was closed o n The Che rn o by l n uclear power plant is loca ted abo ut 100 km (62 mil es) nort h
each o f the two eme rgency feed wat er lines and th us no wate r co uld reac h th e of Kiev, t he ca pita l of Ukrai n e. In 1986 the plant co m prised four reactor s co n-
stea m gene rato rs. One light was co vered by a yellow ma in ten an ce tag . No o ne struc ted between 19 77 a nd 1983. At fu ll ca paci ty, the plant ge ne rated 4,000
knows why the seco nd ligh t was mi ssed . 'Illegawatt s of elect ricity. Th e Cherno byl react or s were a Sov iet desigl~, desig-
With th e react or scra m med a nd th e I'O RV [relief va lve] o pen, pressure in the nated by the acro ny m RBMK, which is a pressuri zed wat er rea cto~' .d ~s l g n th a t
reactor coo la n t syste m fell. Up to thi s point, the reactor syste m was responding uses o rd ina ry wate r as a coo lan t and gra ph ite as a moderator. I hi s typ e 0 1
normally to a turbin e trip. Th e I'ORV sho uld have closed 13 seconds int o th e Soviet react or was intended for plutonium ge ne ratio n (fo r wea po ns) as well as
accide n t, when pressure d ropp ed to 2,205 psi. It d id not. A ligh t o n th e co n tro l electr ical power prod uction. No o t her pow er react or design uses this co m bi-
roo m panel indicated that th e electric power tha t o pe ne d the I'ORV had go ne natio n of gra ph ite a nd wat er.67 .
off, lead in g the o perators to assume the va lve had sh ut. But the I'ORV was stuc k At I :2:1 a.m . o n April 26, 1986, the No . 4 n ucl ea r reactor 111 Che rno by l
o pen, a nd wo uld rem ain o pe n for 2 ho urs and 22 m inutes, dr aining needed exploded, releasin g huge, sin iste r clo ud s of radi oa ctive plu to niu m , ce~ i u m ,
coo lan t wa ler-a tOeA [loss of coolan t accide nt ] was in progress. In the first an d uranium d ioxide in to t he atm osphere. It was t he wo rst n uclea r acc ide n t
lao min utes of th e acciden t, so me 32, 000 gallo ns-over o ne-th ird of th e en tire in h isto ry in vol vin g a nu clea r ge ne rating plan t. Ukra in e was ~ h en pa rt o f ~ h e
ca pacity of th e reacto r coo lant syste m- wo uld escape th rou gh th e I'ORV and U.S.S.R., and regrett abl y, th e Sovie t authoriti es were slo w to Issu e a ~a rn l.ng
out th e reactor 's let -down system . Had th e valve closed as it was design ed to d o, or to re lease a ny detail s abo ut th e acciden t. In fact, tw o days lat er, Swed.lsh
or if th e co n tro l roo m o pe rator s had realized that th e va lve was stuc k o pen and -xpc rts , wh o had noti ced th e nuclear fa llo ut o ver Sca nd in av ia n co un trtcs,
closed a backu p va lve to stem th e flow of coo la n t wa ter, o r if th ey had sim ply relea sed th e first inform ati on abo ut th e acci den t.
left o n th e plant's high pressure inj ecti on pump s, th e acci den t at Thr ee Mile
Isla nd wo uld have remai ned little more tha n a m ino r in con ve nie nce.. . .M The Acc i de n t a nd It s Ca u ses
The co m binatio n of th e ini tia l b lockage in th e feed wate r lin es, plus th e over- The rea cto r ex p los io n h ad th ree ba sic ca uses : poo r react o r d esign , in ad e-
looked ligh ts (warn ing that th e valves we re closed fro m t he emergency feed- qua te ly tra in ed rea ctor per so n nel, a nd u nsafe o pe rat ing pr.~cedu~es th at I~~r
wa ter pumps), plus th e relief va lve that was stuc k o pe n, created a co n fusing nutted tests to be carr ied o ut at a lo w and unstable power. I h e rea ctor design
co m binatio n o f effects th at wo u ld lead to in co rrect act ions, expos ure of the flaw s in clu ded a n in ad eq ua te co nta in me n t shell, poorl y design ed grap h ite
reactor core , a nd release of rad ioa ct ive water. The series of even ts wo u ld en d wit h co n tro l rods, a nd a fea ture called a " pos it ive vo id coe fficien t," w h ich refers to
th e reacto r dest royed and m illio ns of peopl e in fear for th eir health a nd safety. t he tend en cy for vo ids (o r stea m poc kets) to form in th e co o ling wate r.
In th e days a nd weeks afte r the in itial in cid ent, th e nuclear plant owne rs, Alt h o ugh graph ite is th e main mod erator, th e coo ling wat er a lso has a mod -
t he news m edi a, a nd po litic ians from th e local m ayor to th e presid ent were erating effect. Ho wever, wh en stea m pocket s in th e water ge t too large, th en
in volved in a debat e ove r th e need fo r eva cua tio n a nd th e co rrect informatio n the m od erati ng effect o f t he wa ter begins to fluctu at e, a nd the reacto r may
to be released to local residen ts. Co n tro l was n ot full y rega ined fo r ano the r ex pe rience rapi d an d uncont roll able pow er su rges. . . .
month . Th e p lant we n t in to a co ld sh utdo wn o n April 27, 19 79. Th e fu ll T he RBMK rea ct or s wer e know n to have a posit ive VOId coefficien t, so
rep or t o f t he incid ent is ava ilab le o n th e In tern et and is a ch illing sto ry o f ot he r co n trol fea tures were in place to preve n t th e in stability fro m occu rring.
co nf usio n an d fea r.6s Howeve r, t he rea ct or 's inexper ien ced o pe rato rs ove rro de these feat ures. By the
time the problem wa s recogni zed, the heat had defor m ed t he ch a n n el~, ~ nd
Th e Resu lti ng D am a g e a n d Aft e r mat h t he co n t ro l rod s co u ld n o t be rein serted . T h e Wo rld Nucl ear ASSOCIat io n
(W NA) website describes th e Chernoby l accide n t as foll ow s:
Dur ing t he accid ent, t he loss o f coo la n t caused the rea ct or cor e to be ex posed.
O n 25 Apr il 119 H61, pr ior to a ro utine sh ut-dow n, th e reac tor cr ew a t
Th e extre me heat melted abo ut o n e-t h ird of th e co re, rendering th e reacto r
Chern o byl-4 began prep arin g for a test to determine ho w lon g tur bin es wo uld
useless- a bi llio n-do lla r loss. The site clea n u p likely co st a nother billio n do l-
spin a nd supply powe r follo win g a loss o f ma in electrical powe r su pply. ~ i m i la r
lars. A sma ll am o un t of rad ioactive material was relea sed fro m the reactor into
tests had already bee n ca rried out at Che rn obyl and o the r pla n ts, despit e the
t he env iro n m en t, raisin g the fea r o f radiati o n-ind uced heal th effec ts, princi-
fact th at the se react or s were kn own to be very unstable at low power setti ngs.
pally ca ncer, in th e neighbou rh ood of th e rea cto r. Ove r the n ext 18 years th e
state gove rn me n t wo uld trace th e heal th of 30,000 peop le who had been living A series of opera tor actio ns, inclu d in g th e di sabli ng of auto ma tic sh utdo wn
wit h in five mil es of Three Mile Isla nd at th e tim e of the accide n t. Fort una tely, mech ani sm s, preced ed th e attempted lest ea rly o n 26 April. As the flo w o f
no unusua l trends were found, an d t he registry was d isco n tin ued in 199 7.66 coo lan t wate r d im ini sh ed , power o utput increased . Whe n the o perator moved
CHAPTEII 16 • t u v u on men t u! tnr eot s (1/,,1 /J;sCl sl ' TI
3
354 PART FOUR. ENVIRONME NTAL PRACTICE AND 11111 1 \
to sh ut do wn th e reactor from its un stabl e co n d itio n ari si n g from previol ls lir e Resu ltin g Damag e, I nj u r i es, and D ea t h s
errors , a peculiarit y of th e design [th e positive vo id coe fficien t! caused a <1 1'01 Til e WNA states that "30 peop le were killed, and the re ha ve since been up to
mat ic power surge. I C'I1 dea t hs from th yroid ca ncer du e to the accident." However, these numbers
Th e fue l c leme n ts ruptured a nd th e resultant ex plos ive force o f stea m lifted o il ar e challe nged , and do not revea l th e tru ly massive d isruptio n o f life that took
t he cove r plat e o f th e reactor, releasin g fission products to th e atm osphere . 1\ place. A full list of damage a nd d isrupt ion was in clu ded in a 1 9~8 UN~C~AR
seco nd ex plosio n t hrew out fragm ents o f burni ng fuel an d graph ite fro m t lu- (Un ited Na tio ns Scien tific Co m m itt ee o n th e Effects of Atomic Radi ation )
core and allow ed ai r to rush in , ca using th e graph ite mod e rat or to bur st in to repo rt. It describes
flam es.
hu ndreds of d irect injuries and death s,
Ther e is so me d ispute a mo ng expe rts abo ut th e cha rac te r o f thi s seco nd explo - evacuatio n of several citi es, involving hu nd red s of th ousands of peopl e,
sio n . Th e grap h ite- t he re was ove r 1200 tonnes of it-burned for nin e d ays, • extensive radi ation monitoring,
causing the mai n release of radioact ivit y into th e en viro n me n t. 1\ tot al o f abo u t • repea ted decontam ination of buildin gs an d destruction of so me buil di ngs,
14 Ell'l ( ]O IH 1I'l) of rad ioactivity wa s released , ha lf of it bein g bio logically-in e rt • creatio n of a prohibited a rea with in a 5-km radius arou nd Che rn obyl,
nobl e gase s. . . . Some SOOO tonn es of bor o n , do lom ite, sa nd, clay an d lead we re • creatio n of a rest ricted movem ent a rea wit h in a 30- km radiu s aro und
d ro pped o n to th e burning co re by h elicopter in an effort to ex ting u ish th e Ch ern obyl,
b laze a nd lim it th e release o f radi oa ctive part icles.v" destruction of poisone d food a nd movem en t of th ou sa nds of catt le, and
69
m illions o f prot ecti ve medi cal treatm ents, radi ati on tests, a nd so o n.
Af t er m a t h
Un it 4 at Che rn obyl was enclosed in co ncrete shortly afte r the accid ent, to
permit th e ot her th ree reac tors to co n tin ue operating. Howeve r, t h is co ncrete
structu re is not durab le, an d mor e rep airs m ay be necessar y. Mu ch m oney was
spen t o n im proving th e safety of th e rema in ing reactors, a nd in view of th e
desperate need for electr icity, they were kept ru nn ing. Un it 2 was sh ut dow n
afte r a tu rb ine hall fire in 1991 , a nd Un it 1 was shu t down at t he en d of 1997.
Un it 3 co ntinued opera ting until December 2000,7ll
Co n troversial ideas a n d n ew secre ts abo u t th e Ch ern obyl d isaster were
revea led by Grigor i Med ved evin Tile Truth about Chernooyt," first published
in th e Sovie t Un ion in 1989 a nd tran slat ed into English in 1991. An excerpt
from the book review wr itten by Joseph Sch u ll of M(/cJe(/Il :~ magazine followS
and is reproduced here:
. . . Th e first truth th at eme rges in Mcdvcd cv's hook is th at th e Sov iet nu clear
industr y was run by in competents fro m top 10 bo t10m : Officials in cha rge of
t he co ns t ruc tio n a nd management of nu clear power statio ns sim p ly had no
tr aining in t he field, wh ile t heir u nd erlings at C he rn oby l were n o better pre-
par ed . Meanw h ile, sec recy su rro u nded th e in du st ry and fostered utter ign o-
Photo 16.2 - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Nucl ear reactor num ber 4 at ran ce about its pot enti al d an gers. Informati on abou t prev io us nu clear m ishaps,
the Chernoby l power plant exploded on April 26, 7986. The accident was caused by in cluding th e 19 79 acci de n t at Three Mile Isla n d , was reserv ed for hi gh -p laced
an unstable low -power operation test, which led to the meltdown of the nuclear o ffic ia ls un abl e to draw t h e appro pria te lesson s. 1\ state burea ucra cy t ha t
reactor and the dispersion of radioact ive contamination across several countries. acknow led ged succe sses but not setbac ks was eq ually da ma gin g. Attention to
However, the root causes were eventually tra ced to poor training, ignoran ce, and safety impli ed th e possib ilit y of accid ents, an d t hat co uld o n ly mean th at errors
secrecy among bureaucrats in charge of the plant . This tragedy exposed the folly of m igh t he co m m itt ed-a possibili ty th at nearl y everyo ne, from m ini ster to tech -
making engineering design decisions for political or military reasons, and the dang er n ician , wa n ted to d en y. Fai lur e was not in th e Sov iet vocabu la ry. . . .
of secrecy and information manag ement in engineering. The coverup co n tin ues eve n now. Soviet aut horities have ad mitt ed to o n ly 3 1
Source: © Reut ers/ CORBIS. dea th s in th e immediate aft erma th and ha ve kep t secret th e n um bers wh o ha ve
358 PART FOUR · ENVI RONMENTAL PRA CTICE ANll 111I1l \
14 71 Rcgen st ci n , " Love Can al To xic Waste Co n tam in atio n " I) '{ 5S
14S/ Ibid . ' ., ' .
/491 L. Bak: r, " Be Safe! Loi s G ibbs' New Cam paig n Urges Ca utio n o n Tox ic
C hem ica ls, " E~Maga7.il/e, vo l. XIV, n o . 4, jul y- Augu st 20 03, ava ilable at
Chapter 17
<www.em agazm e.co m/ view/ ?3 76> (Jun e 4, 200S).
150 1 '!',
Larso n, " Me rcu ry Poisoning: M in a ma ta Bay, j a pan ," in Sch lage r, W ilen
l ecllllol ogy Fails, pp . 367-37 l.
Environmental Sustainability
151/ Larson, "Mercury Poi soning, " p . 3 70.
152/ "C h isso to ni x lump-sum redress pa ckage," Tile lapan Ti111e5 Frida y Novcm ln-
16, 2007. " ' , I I
15:{1 ~. Bray, "G rassy Na rro ws, " T ile Canadian Encyctopc.n«, avai lable at <WWW.C<IJI 'I
(ha ne ncyclo pe d ia.c a> (Jun e 4, 200S).
[54/ L. I n g,~ l s, "Tox ic Vapo ur Leak : Bhopa l India," in Sch lage r, Wllel/ Tec!lIIolo~y Fol/I
pp , 403 -4 IO. ' ,
Enviro n me n tal su sta inability mean s sens ib le use of o l!..r !llI ge (but finit e)
/551 "Th e. ln cid el~t, Resp on se, a nd Settlem ent, " II llOpal ll/(imllal io l/ Cell tel', Unio n
; a rllll le, av a ilabl e at <www.bho paLco m / irs.h tm > (4-j un e 4, 200S). natu ral.reso urces, ~ o tha t th ~y are no t d L~ipat ~d l.1-egligen tly, t!:!.!:IS degrading
156/ " Dam ages for a Dead ly C lo ud, " 17l11e, February 27 , 19S9, p . 53 . the qua li!y o!Jife for future gen eration s. Un fortunately, our cur ren treso urce
157/ H',lllllted by a Gas C lo ud," Ti llie, Februar y 5, 1990 , p. 53 . co nsum ptio n is not susta inable. To avoid irreversible en viro n me n ta l degra-
/5S/ B. Su the rla ll(.l, "N icke l," 71le Canadian Encyctopedta, av ai labl e at <www.ca n ad tn. dation, we n eed a lo ng-te rm st rategy and aggressive acti on n ow. As this
n cncycl op edta.cas (Jun e 4, 200S).
cha pte r sho ws, th e to pi c is co n t rove rsial and t he p roposed rem ed ies ar e
1591 ~,~ c. Hi tch ie: ':Eco logi ca l Disaster: Sud b ury O n tario," in Sch lager, W lle ll
l ec!lII ol ogy hills, pp. 340-3 44. un pa latable, so achi eving environmental sus tainability may be th e key battl e
160/ Rit chi e, "Eco log ica l Disaster, " p. 34 1. of the 2 1st century.
/611 Int ernati onal Co unc il ~or Local En viro n me n ta l Initiatives, Region o f Sudbury Th is ch apte r defin es sustainability and gives a brief ove rview of th e hi stor y
Canada: Lc:: ul Rec~an~~IIIOI/, "I~,LEI Proj e~t Su.m m ary Seri es, Project Su m m a ry 1122, of sustainable thinking. The chap ter then d iscu sses the two grea tes t threat s to
1621 R.D.llott, Nuc lea r Sdfety, fil e Ctu uullan hll cyc!opedia 1st cd . ll urtiu Toro n to
19S5, p. 1:{02. r r 0 ' r sustaina billty a t prese nt: clima te cha nge and th e dep letion of fossil fuels, and
/63/ D.E. Ne wto n, "Th ree Mile Island Accid ent," in Sch lage r, when 7('c!lII o!cwy Fai ls suggests wha t we mu st do as eng inee rs a nd geoscien tists (and as citize ns and
p. 5 IO. o ., society in ge ne ral) to mak e our lifestyle susta inable. Th e ch apter co ncludes
1641 n.e/}()rl ot' the l'rcsident's COIII111issiol/ Oil 1111' Accident at Three Mile lsluud, U.S. with a discussio n of th e Ladyfern natura l gas field in British Co lum bia, which
Go ve rn m en t document, October 30 , 19 79, avai lab le at was a distu rbing exam ple of u ncon t rolled exp loitatio n, an d illu strates why we
<www.pddoc.co m / tm i2/ ke m eny> (Jun e 4, 200S).
/65/ Ibid. m ust apply eth ical principl es to th e development and use o f o ur resources if
/66/ Wor l d .N~I.c~ ea r ~SSOCia tion, T ll ree ,vli/e Island: 1979, Inf o rmati on Pap ers, Mar ch we are to reach sus ta in a b ility,
200.1, ava ila ble at <www.wo rld-n uclea r.or g/ in fo / in f36.h tm l> (Ju ne 4, 200S).
16 71 ~OI l d Nuc lea r Associa tio n, IW M K Reactors, In form ation Paper s, May 2007 ava il-
a ble a t <ww w.wor ld-n uclear.or g/ in fo / in f3 1.h tm l> (Jun e 4, 200S). ' A DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITyl
16S/ ~~~I.d Nuclea r Associatio n, Chernobyt Accklent, Inf ormati on Pap ers, Mar ch 200 1,
Sustainability is a ve ry sim ple co nce pt, althou gh it has serious implicati ons
dVd lldbl: a t <www.wo rld-n uclea r.or g/ in fo /chern o byl/ in f07.h tm l> (4-j u ne 4
200S). Excerpt repr tnt cd wit h pe rm issio n . r fo r SOC iety. (nI 98 7, th e Brundt land Co m m issio n of th e United Nation s
1691 (u n i t~d .Na tio ns Scien ti fic Co m m ittee o n th e Effects of Atom ic Radiation de fi ned sus tainab le develop men t in its report Our C OII/ II/ Ull Futu re:
UNSC I~A R), UNSCEAU 2UUU Report, An nex j , Exp osures and effec ts o f th e "~u s t a i n a b~ _d e ve l o R m e n t is development t hat meet s th e n eed s of t h e
Chern o byl Accide n t, Vien na , Aus tria, 2000, ava ilable at prese n t,-;itho ut co m p ro m ising th e ability o f future gene rations to meet th eir
<www.u nscea r.or g/ u nscea r/en /ch ern o byl. h t m l> (Jun e 4, 200S). ow n -needs."z - - --- - -- -- -
170 1 World Nuclea r Associa tion , Chernobyl Accident.
171 1 G. Mcdvedov, Til e 71'1/111 about Cl icrnobyt (tran s. E. Rossit er) Harper f.o llln s N' Pau l Hawken, in The Ec%SY of Commerce, defin ed sustain ability mor e per-
York, 199 1. ' , . , ew so na lly: "Sustalnabl llty . .. can also be ex p ressed in th e sim ple term s of an
172/ J. Sch ull, "A Fata l Co verup: Th e Deadl y Lies o f Chernoby l Co m e to Light " economic go lde n rul e for th e restorative econo my : leave th e world better
Ma clean 's, May 13, 1991, p. 65 . '
th an yo u found it, tak e no mor e than yo u need, try not to harm life o r th e
17:{1 M. Nicho ls, "C ANDU Flaw ed," M aclean's, Aug ust 25 , 199 7.
env iro n me n t, make am end s if yo u do .":'
1741 .I.A.L. Robert ~()n, "Nu clear Power Plants," Til e Canadian Encyclopediu, av aila ble at
<www.ca nad lan encyclo ped ia .ca> (Jun e 4, 200S). Sus ta in ability is a vita l issue because th e welfar e of soc iety is threat en ed ,
but most peopl e do not understand (or do not believe) thi s cruc ial fact . Th e
360 PART FOUR. ENVIRONME NTA L PRAC I I([ AN D Lill i .S CIIAI' I ER 17 • Env iro ntne n t nl Sfls l " i ' lfI lJi li ly
two mai n sym pto m s o f u nsu st ai na bility a re cl ima te ch a nge a nd peak o il, SILENT SPRING In 1962, Rachel Ca rso n descr ibed t he dan ger s associat ed with
These are sepa rate probl em s, but th ey a re lin ked . pest icides in her book Si len t SfiriIlS. ~ Ca rso n, a trained bio logist , was tr yin g to
• Climate c hang e . Th e ca re less d isp o sal of wast e, spec ifica lly ca rbo n ex pla in w hy so ng birds did not ret urn in t he sp ring . She di scover ed t hat bird
d ioxide a nd sim ilar fossil fuel em issio ns, is ca using globa l wa rm ing a nd po pu latio ns were d yin g becau se pesti cid es we re being a p plied indi scrimi -
c lim ate cha nge, with pred ictions o f di re globa l co nse q ue nces wit h in t hr nate ly. Her book led to recognit ion t hat indiscrimin at e use o f agr icult u ra l
next few decad es. chem ica ls co uld be haza rdous to bird, fish, a n ima l, and hum an life. In o ur
• Peak oil. Ou r excessive co ns um ptio n of o il has forced us to maxim ize th e curren t termino logy, suc h use was un su stain abl e.
rat e of prod uc t io n o f thi s finit e natural resource. O il producti on is a t o r
near its prod uc tion pea k a nd is beginn in g (or will so o n begin ) to declin e. THE LIMITS TO GROWTH Th e Club of Rome, an o rga n izat io n co ncerne d with
With in th e next decad e o r two, eas ily accessible o il will becom e sca rce a nd th e problems of humankind, publish ed a rep o rt in 19 72 titl ed Th e Lim its to
o il pr ices will rise, lead ing to e ne rgy shor tages . In fact , sha rply rising o il Growth, wh ich warned that un contro lled h uman ac tivity had th e pot ential to
prices are a lrea dy o bse rva ble in 200H. Our lifest yle dep ends o n th e inten se make o ur planet uninhabitab le.> Th e book descr ibes o ne of th e ea rlies t co m-
use of o il a nd its by-product s for tran sp ortat ion, heati ng, e lectricity, a nd pute r sim u latio ns of hu m an sys te m behaviou r. A sim ple "wor ld m odel " was
manu facturing, so a crisis lies a hea d un less we move to a m o re susta inable created, wh ich sim ulate d t he creat ion o r co ns u m pt io n of five basic qua nti t ies
ex p loita t io n o f e ne rgy. as a fu nct io n of tim e: popu lat io n, ca pita l, food, no n-re newab le reso urces, and
po llut io n. Feed back loops and co m plex relat io nsh ips betwee n t he qua n tities
we re in cluded, yie ld ing a m ath em ati cal model o f th e plan et. T he sim ulatio n
A BR IEF HIST O RY OF SUSTAINABLE THINKING was ru n m an y tim es, wi t h va rying inp uts and co n tro ls; th e goa l wa s to find
T he Indu strial Rev o lu tion in th e IHOOs began the mechanizati on o f industr y, the levels th at yielde d sus ta in able eq uilibrium. Their "standard " run , whi ch
a nd inc rease d soc iety's living sta nda rds . The new ly invented ma chin ery was sim u lated th e wor ld of 19 72 int o t h e fut u re, sho ws indu stria l o ut put per
drive n by stea m pow er, fue lled by coa l, a nd ma gnified th e prod uctiv ity o f ca pita peaking abo ut th e yea r 2000, wit h non -ren ewa ble resources dep leting
un skilled wo rke rs. By th e turn o f th e ce n t ury, ma chin er y was g ra d ua lly sha rply t hereaft e r. In th e followin g decad es, popu lati on and po lluti on pea k,
sh ifting fro m coa l to o il as a so urce o f e ne rgy. In th e ea rly 1900s, dri llin g for but food d rop s off rap idly, devastating th e popu lation a nd industri al o ut put.
o il was co m mo n in t he sou the rn U.S. sta tes. The need to co n tro l o il su pplies In bri ef, th e mod el showed th at t he 19 72 lifestyle was un su st ain ab le. Th e
was o ne of the ca uses o f t he two Wor ld Wars (l 9 l4 -1 9 IH a nd 1939- 194 5). co m pute r a na lysis is n ai ve by today's st a n da rds, but it st im u la ted furth er
Wh en th e Second World War ended in 1945, Ca nada lo ok ed forward to a n resea rch in to globa l sus ta ina bility.
e ra of peace a nd prospe rity. Indu stri es, geared for wa r, co nv er ted th eir facto-
ries to applia nce s a nd veh icles. Pet roch emi cal indu st ries pro vid ed a se lectio n GAIA In 19 79, Jam es Love lock's boo k Ga ia: A New Look at Lifi' Oil 8art // mad e
of ma gical new p lastics, a nd agro-che m ica l ind us t ries promi sed profitab le a ma jor co n t ributio n to susta inability. Lovelock's book views th e ea rt h as a
farm s and an e nd to world hunge r, usin g new pe st icides, herbi cides, a nd se lf-regu la ti n g living be in g, wit h ab ility to ada pt, a nd ab ility to hea l, like
ferti lizers-a ll mad e fro m pet ro leu m feeds tock. Th e average person co uld fue l o t he r orga nisms." Man y cha lle nge d th e Gaia co nce pt, and th e deb at e is sti ll
a ca r and heat a hom e effo rtlessly, usin g o il or natura l gas dr awn from massive u nse ttled, but th e m essage is important : if we dam age the enviro n m en t, we
rese rvoirs in th e Ca nad ian west. will regr et o ur negligen ce.
In the 1950s, nuclear react or s we re developed for pow er ge ne ratio n , a nd
added to th e elect rica l su pply fro m h yd roe lect ric and fossil fuel plant s. C hea p T H E BRUNDTLAND REPORT A United Na tio ns co m m it tee , co m mo n ly ca lled th e
e lectric po wer was ava ilable to a lm os t eve ryo ne . Jet e ng ines , wh ich were in a n Brund tla nd Co m m issio n , was assigned to investigate growing co nce rns abo u t
ea rly ex perim en ta l stage before th e Seco nd Wor ld War, p rov ided easy inter- th e e nviro nme nt. In 19H7, the Brundtl and Co m m issio n issued th eir rep o rt
nation a l travel, a nd low-cost vacations ab road beca me the n orm . Air co nd i- ti tled 0 111' Com mon Future. Th e Brun d tlan d report defin ed th e co nce pt of sus-
tion ing uni ts a nd television sets, whi ch wer e Virt ually non existe nt in p re-wa r tain ab le developm ent, an d proposed that ind ustr ial developme nt mu st no t
days, beca me commo n. During th is peri od , wor ld popul ajion. gr w expo ne n- impa ir th e ability o f future ge ne rat io ns to en joy eq ual prosp erity.
tia l ly (fro m less th an 1 bi llion inl HOO to abo ut 6.5~l5ffiion in 200 , as di s-
cussed in Cha pte r 16). Everyo ne as pired to a lifest yle th at consumed 110re ! IP CCREPORTS In 198H, th e Wor ld Met eo rol ogical Orga n iza t io n (W MO) a nd
resources in a m onth th an o ur pre-war a nce sto rs co ns u med in a year. Few t he Un it ed Natio ns Env iro n m e n t Pro gr amm e (UNE P) esta blished th e
obser ver s saw a ny pro ble m wit h t hi s co ns u m pt io n-o riented lifestyl e, fo r Int ergo vernmenta l Panel o n Climate Cha nge (lPCC). Th e lI'CC is co m po sed
a lmost two decades. o f scie n t ists , and incl udes ex pe rts fro m a llove r th e wor ld . IPCC rep o rt s
3 )'\
362 PART FOUR' ENVI RONME NTAL I'llACI ICE AND IIII I ( ~ CIIAI' I I n II • L I/vi r o l/ me l/ t n l S lIs l ni ll l/ b il ity
invo lve man y research ers, from many co un tries, with th e goa l o f bei ng CO l li is abo u t 42 perc ent h igh e r t han our 2010 goa l. In 2007, Prime Min iste r
preh en sive. sc ien tific, and balanced . IPCC do es not co nd uc t t he researc h Ha rper anno unced t ha t Ca nada cou ld no t meet t he Kyoto ta rget, a nd wo u ld
itself, but mon itors world research on climate change, its causes, its co nse be negotiating a new intern atio n al agreemen t wit h m o re reali st ic "as pira-
qu en ces, and how to red uce these effects or adapt to them . IPCC reports ;11(' tional " goa ls."
guiding doc ume nts for d iscussin g globa l war m ing a nd clima te cha nge . Till'
IPCC Fou rt h Assessme nt Repor t was release d in 2007 , an d is discussed late r i l l BALI ROADMAP In 2007 , th e United Na tio ns Fram ew o rk Co nve n tio n o n
thi s cha pte r. Th e IPCC is a co-recip ien t o f th e 2007 No bel Peace Prize. Climate C ha nge (UNFCCC) adopted t he Bali "road map," whi c h established a
process for negotiatin g a post -Kyoto, in te rn at io nal ag ree m e n t o n c1 ima le
MONTREAL PROTOCOL The Mo n treal Prot oco l o n Subs ta nces th at Deplete 11 11 ' cha nge to take effect in 2012.9 Ca na da's positi on o n future em issions tar gets
Ozo ne Layer was signed in 1987 to take effect in 1989 / The purpose o f IIIl' in Bali was co ns iste nt with Canada 's Clea n Air Act, tabl ed in 2006, wh ich sets
Montrea l Protoco l is th e even tual tota l elimina tion o f ch lorofluo roca rbo ns. intensity-based em issions targets. These target s are in sha rp co n trast with th e
Th ese co m pou nds, co mmo n ly ca lled [reons , are effec tive refrigera tio n gases, tot al em issio ns ta rgets in th e Kyoto Protoco l. 10 Int en sit y-based e m issions tar-
but t hey interac t with ozo ne. Alt ho ugh ozo ne is a po lluta n t at ground level, gets req uire th at the em issions per joul e of ene rgy co ns u me d mu st decrease,
a layer of ozo ne in th e st ratosp he re filters out harmful ult raviolet rays ( a~ but allow tot al emiss io ns to increase. Ca n ada also insis ted th at developing
ex plained in Chapter 16). Th e ozo ne layer is esse n tia l to life o n ea rth, a nd co un tries sho uld n ot be exe m pt fro m em issions target s, as th ey were in th e
freo ns des t roy it. Fortun at ely, th e Montreal Prot oco l has been rcma rka blv Kyoto Prot oco l. Nego tia tions are in pro gress to establish th e term s that will
effective in restoring so me of th e ozon e layer, a nd scien tists predi ct that it will a pply in 2012.
return to norm al in a few decad es. Developing cou n t ries have, on ave rage, iI
10- to IS-yea r grace peri od to m at ch Ca nada's co m m itrn en ts under th v
Prot ocol. The Mo ntrea l Prot ocol is prob ab ly th e most successfu l int ernati o na l CLIM AT E CHANGE
enviro n me n tal treaty, in term s of accepta nce an d co m pliance by all signato Alt h o ugh ev ide nce o f glo bal wa rm ing h as been o bse rve d ove r th e past
ries. Th e st ruggle to imp lem ent the Kyoto Prot ocol (discussed be low) is a sta rk three decades, fu ll ag ree me n t o n th e ca use of th e war m ing h as been elu-
con t rast to th e success of the Mon trea l Proto col. sive. Well-k nown scie n tists h ave postulat ed va rio us ca uses fo r th e observed
ev id e n ce, a nd deb at e has been stro ng a n d o fte n h ar sh o n all sides. The
THE EARTH SUMMIT IN RIO In 1992, a n "Earth Su m m it" was held in Rio dl' Int ergove rn me n ta l Pan el o n Clima te Cha nge (IPCC) tried to sett le th at debat e
Janeiro, where 165 nati on s, includ ing Canada a nd th e Un ited States, VO IU ll o
wh en it issued its co m p rehe ns ive Fourt h Assessm ent Rep ort (AR4) in 2007.
tartly agreed to red uce green ho use gas (G HG) em issions, th e main cause 0 1 The AR4 to ok six years to prepare, and its concl usio ns are ba sed o n research
global war mi ng a nd clim ate cha nge. Thi s ag reeme n t, ca lled th e UN Pramc wo rk by ove r 800 authors , in 130 co unt ries, reviewed by 2,500 scien tific reviewers.
Con ven tio n on Climate Cha nge (UNFCCC), set a goa l of reducin g GHG em is- The four-pa rt rep ort is lo ng and technica l, but sum maries a re freely availab le
sio ns to 1990 levels by 2000. Th is goa l was not ac h ieved . o n th e Int ern et . 1 1,1 2 , 13,1 4 Th e IPCC Rep ort co ncl udes with grea t ce rtai n ty,
based on extensive ev idence, tha t clima te cha nge is dir ect ly linked to globa l
THE KYOTO PROTOCOL In 1997 , more t h a n 160 co untries met in Kyoto, wa rm ing, ca used by gree n ho use gases, resu lt ing mainl y fro m hum an use of
Ja pa n , to n egot iate new G HG emi ssio n ta rge ts. Mo re t han 80 co u n tr ies ene rgy, par ticularly fossil fuels. Th is fou r-ste p seq ue n ce is ex plai ned briefly
agreed to red uce their GHG e m issio ns to a n ave rage level of 5.2 percent be/oil' below.
1990 levels by t he yea r 20 10. Each co unt ry was allotted a d ifferen t ta rget.
Disag ree me nts resu lted over issues suc h as cred its for ca rbo n dioxide "sin ks"
Fro m Ca rbon Emission to Climate Change
suc h as for ests (whi ch abso rb ca rbo n d ioxid e), wh et h er co u nt ries co u ld pay
cred its in stead of redu cin g em issio ns, a nd wh eth er th ese ru les were fair for • Gus em iss ion. Th e co mbustion of coal, o il, na tur al gas, a nd othe r hyd ro-
deve lop ing nation s. In Ma rch 200 I, t he Un ite d Sta tes a n no u nce d th at il carbo n fuels crea tes was te gas, main ly carbo n dioxid e, wh ich is em itted
wou ld no lo n ge r par tic ipa te in t h e Kyoto Protoco l. In December 20 02, into th e atmos phere . Decay ing foliage has always e m itted ca rbo n dioxid e
Ca nada's Parliament voted to endo rse t he Kyoto Protocol. Ca nada's ta rget a nd metha ne, bu t pr io r to th e Indu stri al Revolution, th e process of ph o-
was to redu ce its em issio ns of greenhouse gases to 570 Mt (Megatonnes) of tosynthesis (wh ich absorbs carbo n diox ide) was adeq ua te for eq uilibr iu m .
carbon dioxide by 20 10. Thi s amount is 6 percent lowe r th an Can ada's total This eq uilib riu m was d istu rbed by h um an activ ities, suc h as the burning
gree n ho use gas em issions in 1990. However, em issions have increased since o f coa l, oi l, natura l gas, or wood to heat hom es, dri ve auto mo biles a nd
1990. In fact, Ca nada's predicted em issions for -201Oa re abou t 810 Mt, wh ich engine s, a nd generate elect ricity.
364 PART FOUR · ENVIRO NME NTIIL PRIICTICE li ND 11111 , CIIII I' I I R II· l.nv it o nme nt.nl S/ls/ ai/lauilit y
3 '"
• Greenhonse effect. The at mos p he re is transparent to mo st o f th e SII II' growth, but not including clima te co n tro l init iati ves, suc h as th e Kyoto
radi at ion , which pass es thro ugh to warm th e ea rt h's sur face. Th e enc rg . Protoco l. Th e grap h in Figure 17. 1 shows the pred ict ed ran ge o f tempera-
ab so rbed by th e sur face is eve n tua lly rc-emitted, b ut this lower trcqu cn . • tures fo r va rio us sce na rios o f green ho use gas em issio n. Th e grap h shows
t herma l rad iati on is now pa rt ially blocked by th e at mosp here. Thi s cre a tes tha t eve n if G HG co nce n t ratio ns co u ld be kept co ns ta n t (a t yea r 2000
a "green hou se effec t" in w h ich t he atmosp he re act s as a therm al blanke t. levels), a warming of abo ut 1°C wil l o ccur in th e next ce n tu ry as a result of
Ce rta in "gre e n ho use ga ses" (GI-IGs) in crease t he heat abso rbed. T he most G HG a lready em itted . The tem perature rise may not ap pear to be great, but
co m mo n is carbo n di o xid e (CO z), whi ch persists in th e upper atm o sp here the effects arc sur p rising .
for man y decad es. O ther green ho use gases are m eth an e (C H4 ) , nltrogc i I • Sea level rise. If p resen t trend s (observed in t he past decad e) co n tin ue,
d ioxid e (NO z), ozo ne (0:\), a nd th e ch lo ro fluo roc a rbo ns (CFCs) . IS So me 01 sea level in creases in t he rang e of I H ern to 59 em (7 to 23 in. ) are pre-
these gases ar e more effect ive in abso rbing radi ati on or persist lo nge r th au d icte d. Sea level p redictions are less ce rta in, because o f in comp let e data on
car bo n di o xid e. the m e lting of th e G ree n la nd ice sheet. (If th e en tire ice sheet were to
• Global warming. Th e g ree n ho use effect is esse n t ia l to human life, sinc e me lt, th e sea leve l wou ld rise 7 m (23 ft.), but th at is not ex pec ted, even
it cus h io ns the ea rth from th e sta rk temperature ex tre mes that ex ist a ll in the wor st sce na rio, for a th ou sand yea rs.)
plan et s without an a tmos p he re. However, ove r th e pa st two cent ur ies, till' • Cu rren t observations. Num erous lo ng-term cha nges in climate have
co nc en t ra t io n o f g ree n h o use gases in t h e a t mosp her e h as in cr eased bee n o bse rve d. Th ese include ch a nges in Arcti c temper atures and ice,
sha rply a nd th e ea rt h 's glo ba l mea n temperature has in creased. Researc h w ides p read cha nges in p recip itat ion amounts, ocea n salinity, wind pat-
shows th at th e a tmosphe ric ca rbo n di oxid e level was ap prox ima te ly co n- te rn s, a nd asp ects o f ex treme weather, in clu ding dr ou ghts, heavy precipi-
stan t a t 2HO ppm (pa rts per mil lion ) for two th ou sand yea rs, until ab ou t tation, heat waves, an d t he inten sit y of trop ica l cyclo n es . Elev en of th e
the year IHOO, wh en the level bega n to rise to th e cu rre n t level of a pp rox - last 12 ye ars (1995 - 2006) rank amo ng th e 12 warm est years in t he in stru-
ima te ly 3HO ppm . So me o f t h e e ffec ts o f g loba l warm ing, suc h as t he m en ta l record o f glo bal sur face temperature (since 18 50).
m elting o f g lacie rs a nd the d ecrea se of Arctic sea ice, ar e a lread y o bserv- • Other consequences. The IPCC lists m an y possib le co ns eq ue nces of cli-
ab le, as shown in th e 2005 d ocu mentary film All l nconvenient Tru th. III mate cha nge, including, but not limited to , greate r inten sit y a nd severity
2007, a film t itle d Th e Great Global Wart/li llg Swindle was produced to o f inl an d flood s, drought, glacie r a n d sea ice m elt s, an d po ssibl y even
refute th e co ncl us ions in th e 2005 film . The deba te ove r the existe nce and m a jor ch anges in ocea n cu rre n ts, suc h as th e Gulf Strea m, which mod er-
ca use o f glo bal warmi ng and the actio n need ed to co m bat it are th erefore a tes the tempe rat ure of Europe. Th e in cr ea sed temper ature ha s oth er
st ill sub ject to v igorous d ebat e. I (, un expect ed e ffec ts , suc h as in sect pl ag ues, ex t inc t io n of spec ies, and
• Climate change. Hum an -cau sed g lo ba l wa rm ing ca uses o n ly a sma ll blea ch ing of co ral reefs. Fo r exa mp le, th e freezin g winter te m perature s in
increase in [h e ea rt h 's so la r ene rgy balan ce, but it has la rge nonlinear British Co lum bia a nd Alberta used to kill pine bo re r, bu t in recent years,
effec ts that ca n lead to po tenti all y drama ti c cl ima te cha nges, s uc h as th e temperatu re rise permi ts th em to de stroy ten s o f m illions of hectar es
seve re sto rms , and cha nges in pr ecip itation patte rns, trigger ing d rou ghts o f va luab le trees."? Sim ila rly, a sm a ll tem peratu re rise in the so u th Pacif iC
a nd severe flo oding. Clim ate cha nge will have se rio us negative effec ts 0 11 Ocea n in 2004 blea ch ed and killed part of th e Grea t Barrier Reef, and by
ocea ns, fish eri es, agri cu lture, plants, and anima ls, as di scu ssed below. 205 0 eve n th e m o st protect ed co ra l reefs wi ll suffer ma ssive d am age. III
O t he r exa m ples ab ound.
• Feedback loops. An im po rtan t fact or in the science o f glo ba l wa rmin g
The Implications of Climate Change is t he ro le played by feedback loops. T his is a fam iliar co nce pt to eng inee rS
and geoscient ists, but it is no t we ll known to th e avera ge cit ize n. Posit ive
A few co ncl us io ns fro m th e 2007 IPCC Fou rt h Asses sm en t Re port (AR4)
feed back lo o ps can ca use rapid a nd no n lin ea r ma g nifica tion of sm a ll
fo llow.
ch anges. Fo r exa m p le, fo rest fires release ca rbo n di oxid e a nd o t her G HG S
• Human ca u se. G loba l atmo sp her ic co nc en trat io ns of ca rbon d io x ide, in to t he atmosp here, leadi ng to g loba l wa rm in g and eve n h igher te rn pe r-
m ethane, and n itrou s oxid e have in creased marked ly as a result of hum an at ur es and dr ie r co nd it ions , in wh ich more forest fires o ccur. Th e meltin g
acti viti es since 1750 , a nd n o w far exceed p re-indu str ial va lues (d ete r- o f Arcti c sea ice ha s an eve n more dramati c feedback effec t: ice is ve ry
mined from ice cores). effec t ive in reflecting su n ligh t ba ck into space, but as the ice melt s, the
• Temperature rise. The glo bal temperature ov er t he next ce n tu ry is esti- darker wat er absorbs m or e ene rgy from the su n, th ereb y caus ing m ore ice
mat ed to in crease, in th e ran ge o f I .HoC to 4.0°C, dep ending o n future fossil to m elt. Man y suc h feedback lo ops ex ist. A bo ok b y George Monbi o t
fuel use, technolog ical ch a nge, eco no m ic d eve lopment a nd pop ulatio n wa rns th at if th e warming reach es 2°C co m pa red to pr e-industri a l level s,
366 PART FOUR · ENVI RONMENTAL PRACT I CE ANO 1 II II L5 CIIAI' I Ul I I • Lnv iro n me n i nl Sns l ainabil it y 36 1
po sitive feed bac k loo ps w ill be ac tivated . For exa m ple, vast peat bog s in
FIGURE 17.1 - IPCC Pred ict ions for Temperature Chang e in th e Next
th e su ba rctic, presentl y under permaf rost , will begin to decay, lead in g to
Century
irrever sib le wnrrnln g. !?
Th e em issio n o f gree n ho use gases is cha ng ing o ur cl imat e and da rn-
6.0 agin g o u r enviro n me n t, a nd unl ess se rio us effo rts a re m ad e to red uce
- A2
these e m issio ns, cli ma te cha nge wi ll har m future ge ne ra tio ns. Actio n is
...... A1B
need ed immed iat ely.
5.0 --B1
_ .- Year 2000
G Constant Fight ing Climate Change
~ 4.0 Concentrat ions
01
c •••• 20t h Century To co m bat clim a te cha nge, the IPCC reco m m en ds tha t we redu ce o ur use o f
'E foss il fuels, but what go a l we sho uld aim for is debatab le. Future goa ls will
~ 3.0
Q)
de pe nd o n int ern ati on a l ag ree me n ts t hat will be negoti at ed to tak e e ffect
u
a fte r 20 12. Ho wever, we a re pr esentl y a bo ut 42 pe rce n t a bove o u r agr eed
~ 2.0
:J
Vl
Kyoto Prot o col goa l for 20 10, so reducin g o u r GHG em issio ns by 42 percent
"i
.0
wo u ld see m to be a good place to sta rt. In th e for eword to t he Ca nad ia n cel l-
0 1.0 tio n o f hi s bo ok Heat: How to Stop the Planet limn Burning, George Mon bio t
G
.... /.,
criticizes Ca na da's fai lur e to reach its Kyo to go a l, a nd o ur lack o f "bind in g a nd
0.0 im me d iate target s." Co nve rse ly, in a rece n t (Februa ry 2008) sur vey o f mern-
......................................... i bel'S' o pin io ns abo ut clim at e cha nge, an APEGGA rep ort showed tha t, wh ile
- 1.0 a lm o st a ll (99.4 pe rcen t o f 1,0 77 ) resp ond en ts ag reed th at th e cl ima te is
cha ng ing, th e majority (68 percen t) di sagreed wit h th e sta te me n t th at " the
1900 2000 2100 de ba te o n the scie n t ific ca uses o f recent climate c ha nge is se ttled ."20
Year Ho weve r, in th e ab se nce of agre em e n t o n th e causes a nd ac t io n needed,
eng ineers and geoscien t ists sho uld fo llow a "precauti on ary pr in cipl e." That is,
The graph above shows th e expected global average temperature increase we sho u ld take reason ab le precautionar y measures wh en harm fu l results may
(relative to year 2 00 0), due to global warming, un til the year 2 700. The lin e threa te n human health o r o ur enviro n me nt, eve n if t he precise "ca use a nd
prior to 2000 is historical data, and th e lin es from 2 00 0 to 2 700 represent effect" relati on ship is not ye t clearl y esta b lishe d . Th erefor e, in spite of th e
th ree scenarios (A2, A 7B, and B 7), shown as conti nuations of the 20th-century do u bts a nd ob jections of a large part o f society, we sho uld make reason ab le
dat a. Scena rio A2 represents slower economic g rowth, but conti nuously rising effo rts to fo llow th e IPCC recommendatio ns to red uce G HG e m issio ns.
popu lation, using fossil fuel energy. Scenario A 7B represents very rap id economic But eve n if we ap ply t he best m itigat ion (o r reduction ) m et hod s, so me
growth and a pop ula tio n peak at mid-century, but rapid economic restructuring udaptatlon is also esse n tia l, acco rd ing to t he IPCC Repor t. Ada pta t io n mean s
to use mor e diverse energy sources. Scenario B7 is similar to A 7B, but includes t ha t we must lea rn to live wit h wann er temperatures, m odi fy o ur buildin g
th e introduction of clean and resource-efficient technologies. The scenarios codes, a nd design o ur in frastructure (roa ds , d rain s, brid ges, hi gh ways, a nd so
do not include climate initiati ves to reduce emissions, such as the Kyoto Prot ocol. fo rt h) m o re robustl y to w it hs t a nd the m o re inten se sto rms, hurr ican es,
The lowest line is the scenario where concentrations are held constant at year floo ds, a nd d rou ght s to co me in future.
2000 values. Shading denotes the ± 7 standard deviation rang e of ann ual T he IPCC AR4 report sugges ts em issio n reducti on a nd e ne rgy co nserva-
averages. tio n in itia tives in seve n key area s: ene rgy su pply, transpo rt, residen tia l a nd
co m mercia l bu ild in gs, indu stry, ag ricult ure, forestr y, and was te man agem ent.
Source: Intergovernment al Panel on Climate Chang e (IPCC), "Sum mary for
Policymakers," Figure SPM- 5, Climate Change 200 7: The Physical Science Basis, The foll owin g sum ma ries give a brief in sight into thi s co m preh e ns ive 94-pag e
Febru ary 2007, p. 14, available at <www.ipcc.ch> (June 6, 2008) . Figu re reprodu ced repo rt, but yo u m ay w ish to refer to th e rep o rt itself to read th e pro jectio ns
with permission . a n d recomm endati on s fo r yo ur area o f practl cc.s '
• En ergy sUI'ld y. Withou t effective po licy cha nges, globa l C0 2 em issio ns
from fossil fue l co m bust io n are predi cted to rise at least 40 pe rcent from
th e yea r 2000 to 2030 . A wid e range o f cos t-e ffect ive e ne rgy saving is
368 PART FOUR · ENV IRONMEN TAL PRACT ICE AND 1. 111 1 S CIIAI' I I.1l I J • Lnvit onmc nt ul S us /ail/abil ity 69
poss ible, incl ud ing switch ing to low-ca rbon fuels, improvin g powe r-p lan t • Uu ild ings. Ene rgy co ns u m ption a n d G HG em issio n in buildin gs va ry
efficiency, as we ll as bui lding nu clear power a nd ren ewab le ene rgy s s sign ifican tly, dep en d ing o n th e co un t ry and region. Th e rap id eco no m ic
terns. Carbo n ca pt ure and seq ues t ratio n (CCS) is cos t-ef fective at h iglll'l gro wt h scenar io ex pec ts all of the increase in C02em issio ns (in build ings)
car bo n pr ices. CCS uses ex isting tech n o logy to se pa rate th e ca rbo n to be in th e develop ing wo rld (Asia, Middl e East and North Africa, Lati n
dioxide from ex ha ust gas and in ject it into undergro und storage wells , Amer ica, and sub-Sahara n Africa). Between 2004 and 203 0, th e C02 em is-
Already, abo ut 40 power genera tion plants are in o pera tio n using ca rbo n sio n grow th is esti ma ted at 1.5 perce nt to 2.4 percent an n ually, and th is
ca pture a n d seq ues trat io n (a bo ut 10 in Aust ra lia) . O t he r o ptio ns still range is taken as th e baseline. Th ere is a global po tent ial to reduce thi s
un der deve lopme n t include adva nce d n uclear power, adva nce d ren ewa ble pro jected baselin e em ission growth by about 30 percent, cos t-effectively.
energy so urces (hy dro power, so lar, wind, geot herma l, a nd bio-en erg ) In new build in gs, it is possible to achi eve 75 percent o r mor e in ene rgy
and, in th e lon ger term , the poss ib le use of h yd rogen as a n energy ca rrier. sav ings co m pa red wit h recent curre n t pra ct ice, ge ne rally at littl e or no
• Transport. Globa l tran sportati on activity is ex pec ted to gro w rob ustl ex t ra cos t, wit h cooper a tio n by arch it ects, eng inee rs, co n t rac to rs, a nd
(un less th ere is a maj or sh ift away from curren t patterns) by about 2 percent clien ts, usin g passive met hods to red uce ene rgy need s. Alm ost all stud ies
per year, with en ergy use and car bo n em issions abo ut 80 percent above yc.u sho w t hat im proved in sul ation in th e co lde r climates, an d greater effi-
2002 levels by 203 0. Sign ifican t imp rovem en ts in efficiency are possible fOI cie ncy in space coo ling and ven ti latio n in th e warm er clim at es, co me first
light-du ty veh icles and ai rplan es. Substituting bio-fuels for co nven tio nal in redu cin g em issions. Othe r measur es with hi gh saving s pot ential a re
fossil fuels can red uce em issions, but raises th e eth ical qu estion of diverti nr; so lar wat er heati ng, efficie nt appliances, a nd ene rgy-man age men t systems .
food crops to tran sport. Clear ly, we need more fuel-efficien t vehi cles; hybri d Efficien t coo king stoves rank seco n d after efficien t lighting (shi ft to fluo-
veh icles; clea ne r d iesel vehicles; sh ifts from road tran spor t to railway a nd rescent bulbs) in developing count ries. In develop ed co u n t ries, a ppliance-
pub lic t ransp o rt syste ms; in creased n on -mot ori zed tran sport (cycl ing , related measures a re most cost-effective, with up grad es of coo ling- related
walking); bet ter la nd -use and tra nsport planning. eq uipme n t ran kin g high in warmer clim ates . Air-co n d itio n ing savings ca n
be mo re expensive th an ot her efficie ncy measures, but ca n still be cos t-
effective if th ey d isp lace mor e expe ns ive peak pow er. In gen e ral, t he re is a
need for mo re efficien t lighting a nd better use o f da ylight ; mor e efficie n t
elec trica l app lia nces a n d heati n g a n d cooling devices; imp roved coo k
stoves, im proved ins u lat io n; better pas sive and active so la r design for
h eating and cooling; alternat ive refrigera tion fluids, recover y a nd recycl ing
of fluorinated gases .
• In d ust ry. Indust rial CO z em issions (including electricity use) increased by
65 percent from 19 71 to 2004. The pro jection s for indust rial COz em issio ns
for 2030 are a fur the r increase of 40 percent ove r 2004, assum ing no furt her
action is taken to co n tro l t hese em issions . Energy- in tens ive indu stries (suc h
as iron and stee l, no n-ferrous metals, che m icals and fertili zer, pet roleu m
refining, ceme nt, a nd pulp and pa per) acco u nt for abo ut 85 percent of th is
ene rgy consumptio n . Much of thi s ene rgy-intens ive indust ry is now located
in developing cou n tries. Man y olde r, in efficient facilities need invest men t
to im prove ene rgy efficienc y and redu ce emissions. The WCC report rec-
o m me nds reducin g energy consum ptio n and COz (a nd oth er GHG) em is-
sions th rough ene rgy efficiency, fuel switch ing, power recovery, rcnewables,
feedstock cha nge , product cha nge, a nd material efficie ncy.
• Agricu lture . In 2005 , ag riculture acco unted for a n estimated 10 percent
Photo J7. J - Alberta Wind farm. The strong winds in the Pincher Creek area to 12 percen t o f to ta l globa l an t hropogen ic em issio ns of GHGs, mainly
of southwestern Alberta are harnessed by a growing number of wind farms. The met han e (CHo\) a nd nit rous oxide (N zO). Desp ite large an nua l exc ha nges of
wind turbin es are connected to the electrical grid, significantly reducing the need to CO z between th e atmos phe re and agricultural lan ds, th e net CO z is approx-
generate electricity using fossil fuels. imately balan ced . However, assum ing co n tin ued practi ces, an nual agricu l-
Source: Getty Im ages/H enry Georgi. tura l N zO em issions are projected to increase by abo ut 35 to 60 percen t a nd
370 PART FOUR. ENVI RONME NTAL PRAC TICE AN Il t nucs CIIAI' II.R 1/ • Enviro n menta l nSl ainabil it y 71
-------
C H4 em issio ns by 60 percent , by 203 0. Im proved so il managem ent G I l l D ef i n i t io n of " Pea k Oi l "

reduce net G HG e missio ns. About 90 percent of th e total miti gati on ari ses
The term "pea k oil" refers to th e dat e wh en the global pro d uctio n rat e of o il
by sin k e n h an ceme n t or carbo n seq ues t ratio n (th at is, increasing th e co n-
reach es its maximum; aft er th at dat e, th e producti on rat e wi ll rem ain co n sta n t
tent of o rgan ic mat erial in th e so il) an d abo ut 10 percent from cm l sslo i I
fo r a wh ile, bu t will th en begin to decrease. Th is co nclus ion is based o n th e
redu cti on.
o bse rvat io n th at o il a nd gas resources are la rge but finite, and so me so urces are
• Forestry and fo rests. G lo ba lly, fo res ts cove r 3,95 2 mi llion hect a res
mor e easily exploited than o the rs. Obvious ly, chea pe r oil is co nsu me d first. In
(9, 765 milli on acres ; abo ut 30 percent o f t he wor ld' s land a rea). How eve r,
fact, in th e past cen tu ry, mu ch of th e easily access ible oil h as a lready been co n-
th e forest s are decreasin g at a n approxima te rate of 13 mi llion h ectar es pe r
sum ed, and we mu st now ex ploit th e less access ible o il. Th e globa l rate of pro -
yea r, as for ests a re co nve rted into agri cultural land, cities, o r highwa ys;
d uct io n is now at or near its peak (and in so me a reas, th e peak has passe d).
har vested by logging; o r burn ed by forest fires. Forest s sto re ca rbo n but th e
Figure 17.2 shows th e tot al global producti o n rate since 1930, with predic-
process invo lves lo ng period s o f slow growth (ca rbo n intake), interrupted
tio ns until 205 0, based o n th e th eor y developed by M.J<. Hubber t. Hubbert
by shor t period s o f large, rap id re leases of ca rbo n during clearing, har vest,
applied his th eor y in 1956 to predict, correctly, th at Un ited Sta tes oil produ c-
o r fires. The largest sho rt-term gains a re always ac h ieved by avo id ing em is-
tion wo uld peak between 1965 and 1970. As the figure sho ws, th e United Stat es
sio ns (that is, by redu cin g deforestati on o r degrad ati on, a nd increasin g fire
(low er 48 sta tes), the Middle East, Russia, a nd Euro pe have all reached th eir
prot ecti on ). In th e lo ng term, a sustainable forest-m anagem ent strategy
peak oil production rates. Th e tot al globa l oil and gas peak is predi ct ed to occur
aimed at maintaining or in creasin g for est ca rbo n stoc ks, whil e prod ucing
a n a n n ua l yield o f timber, fib re, or ene rgy from th e for est, will gene ra te
the largest sustain ed miti gati on ben efi t. FIGURE 17 .2 - Tot al Oil Production Rates, as Forecast by C.]. Cam pbe ll
• Waste marragcmenf. Co nsumer wa ste co n tributes less than 5 percent
o f glo ba l GHG e m issio ns, with la n d fill meth an e (CH 4 ) acco un ti ng fo r
60
m o re th an h a lf o f th ese em issio ns. Wastewat er a nd sewage are seco ndary
TOlcll O il and
em issio n so urces o f methan e an d nitrou s ox ide (N zO) ; in add ition , inci n- Gas Peak 2010
eratio n of waste co n ta in ing fossil ca rbo n causes min or em issions of COz' 50
Th ese em issio ns a re sma ll but sign ifica n t, becau se th ey ca n eas ily be :;;
reduced o r uti lized usin g ex ist ing tech nology. In fact, waste can be a co m- <1J
>- 40
mercially valuable so urce o f energy, through incin eration , industr ia l co- ~
0-
co m bust io n, la nd fill gas utili zati on, o r anae robic di gester biogas. Waste '"
~ 30 Europ e Oil Natural Gas
has an eco nom ic ad vantage in co m pa rison to m an y biom ass resources, :;; Peak 2000 Peak/ Plateau 2025
r::o
beca use it is regu lar ly co llec te d a t publi c expe n se. Actio ns requ ired "- Russia Oil Deep Wal er
0 I I,
in clu de meth an e recovery fro m landfi lls; waste in cin eration with ene rgy c Peak 198 7 Oil Peak 2011
20
recovery; co m pos t ing o f o rga nic wa ste; co ntro lled wast ewater treatment ; ~ Middle East
I I I, I Heavy Oil
iii Gulf Peak , Peak 2030 '
recyclin g and waste minimi zati on . 1974
I I I PalarOil
10 Contiguous I
, Peak 2030
Climate change is a serio us challenge, but several au tho rs ha ve suggested U.S. 4 8 States'
man y o t he r ways to fight it, ada pt to it, or eve n profit from it.ZZ,Z:l O il Peak 1970 I I I I !
0
19 30 1950 197 0 205 0
OIL AND GAS D EPLETION Year
The depletio n of o il a nd natural gas is a lso a threa t to susta inability, and is per-
This simp lified figure shows the total global produ ction of oil (and oil equivalent of
ha ps even more serio us th an clima te change . O il resources a re approac h ing a
other hyd rocarbons) from 1930 to th e present, with forecasts to 2 05 0. The peak is
"ti pp ing poin t. " Beyon d th e tipping point, th ey will beco me scarce and ex pen-
predicted to occur in 2 0 10, as well as the observed or predicted dat es for pro ductivity
sive, creati ng sup p ly c rises a nd eco n o m ic tu rm oil. O il a nd natural gas are
essen t ia l for o ur lifestyle: th ey are need ed to tran sport, refine, man ufact ure,
! peaks in specific oil deposits.
So u rce : Fig ure adapt ed and re-d raw n by Prof . Roydo n Fraser, University o.f v:'aterloo, ON,
a nd d istribute th e co m mod ities th at we need, and to gene rate th e elect rical from data prov ided by c. i. Cam pb ell, New sletter ' 89 fo r M ay 2008: ASSOCiation fo r th e.
po wer tha t hea ts and lights our homes, coo ks o ur food , and eve n en te rtains Study o f Peak Oil and Gas (w ww.aspo-ireland .or g) (see N ot e 24). Figure repr odu ced With
us. Othe r resources a re a lso affected, sin ce th ey require oil to develop t he m . perm ission of Prof. Fraser and C.). Campbell.
372 PART FOUR . ENV IRO NMEN TA L PRACI ICE AN D LI III C CHAPTER 17 • Envi ronmenta l Susta inability
in ZO IO. O f co u rse, thi s date is not ce rta in, becau se deve lopm ents in tech- To co m ba t t he peak o il crisis, we m ust red uce o u r fossil fue l co ns um ptio n .
nology will m ake so me wells mor e producti ve or mor e accessible, and will del ay Co incidenta lly, this is a lso th e ac t io n reco m me nded by th e IPCC to mitigat e
the dat e of th e o il pea k. However, once th e peak ha s passed , th e availability of t he e ffec ts o f cli m a te c ha nge. Th erefo re, t he IPCC reco mm enda tion s for
eas ily accessi b le o il will d rop and o il prices will rise, perh ap s sharply.24 improving efficiency a nd redu cin g e m issio ns (su m ma rized earlier) also a pply
to th e peak o il crisis. To ac h ieve sus ta ina bility, we must be co m m itted to
The Im pl ication s of Pea k Oi l energy e fficiency.
A dr aft prot ocol (or internationa l ag ree me n t) has been prop osed to redu ce
As Figure 17.Z illu str at es, th e glo ba l o il produ cti on ra te is predi cted to peak, co ns u m ptio n o f fossil fue ls, o n a globa l sca le, in a fair a n d or de rly way.2H
th en dec rease in th e near futu re. T h is d rop will occu r becau se th e less acces- However, to d at e, n o m aj or n atio n h as se rio us ly co ns ide red ado pt ing it.
sib le oi l (suc h as Albe rta's o il sa nds) ca n no t be produced as eas ily o r as qui ck ly Ano the r bold proposa l was made by M. Ja cca rd in h is bo ok Sustainable Possil
as oi l from th e Persian Gu lf. The less access ible o il field s wi ll not be profitab le Fuels: Th e Unusual Suspect ill the Quest for Clean and Enduri ng Ellers)'. Jaccar d
unl ess o il prices rise. However, wo rld dem and for o il wi ll not decrease. In fact, proposes a stra tegy for su stainab le ene rgy in wh ich fossil fuel s co n tin ue to
as Ch ina a nd Indi a ado pt hi gh er living sta nda rds , th e dem and for o il wi ll sky- play a key role for m an y yea rs, to avoid econo m ic co llapse. e? By usin g ca rbo n
rocket. The ga p bet ween o il dem an d a nd o il producti on will wid en , ca us ing ca pture a nd seq ues te ring (CCS) techno logy, we ca n co n ti n ue to use fossil fuels
sca rcity a nd eve n hi gh er prices. We saw thi s probl em before, in th e o il crisis wit ho ut em itt ing G HGs. Fossil fuels ar e th e che apes t so urce o f clean energy
of I97 :~, whe n the Orga n izat io n o f Petro leum Expo rting Co un tries (O PEC) fo r at least th e next ce n tury. Thi s book is a Ca nad ian o pin io n on reachin g a
reduced o il de liveri es, and o il pri ces rose by a fact or o f 4 in abo ut 6 m ont hs . sus ta ina ble future, a nd won t he presti g iou s Z006 Donn e r Prize for th e lop
Simu lta neo us ly, gasoline pr ices soa red, cars lined up at gas stat ions, peop le Ca nad ia n bo o k in publi c poli cy. Jaccard 's t im ely proposa ls deser ve to be
hoarded gaso line, gas sta tio ns ran o ut of gaso line, and tempers flar ed. The co ns ide red serio us ly.
stock markets lost billion s of doll ar s, and in o il-im por ting Western nations,
the co m bi nat io n o f stag na n t gro w th a nd infl ati on per sisted for yea rs, da m- T H E ETHICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND PEAK OIL
agi ng their eco no mies.P
The o il pea k will affect us all. Our industri es, electrica l su pply, tran sp o rta- T he Brundtl and Co m m issio n co ncl ude d t h a t e nv iro n me n ta l degrad ati on
tion , and ou r lifestyle itself will be adve rsely affected by o il shor tages o r hi gh lead s to pov ert y and eco no m ic d ispari ties. T he Z007 IPCC report sho ws th at
pr ices. Natu ra l gas, wh ich h as a se pa rate but sim ila r peak, is also included, cl ima te cha nge mak es th e probl em wo rse, becau se th e eco no m ic loss ca use d
becau se as o il becom es sca rce, industri es will switc h, wh ere po ssible, to nat u ral by cl im at e cha nge will fa ll dispr oporti onatel y on the poorest peopl e. That is,
gas, th us accelerating its peak. O il a nd natural gas are esse n tia l for heating o ur t he deve loping co u n t ries will ca rry most of the burd en of cl ima te cha nge
homes and as th e feedstock for most plasti cs, fertilizers, so lve nts, and ad hes ives. t h ro ug h droughts a nd flood s. Alth ou gh th e peak o il crisis w ill af fect rich
In su m mary, th e wo rld may not run o ut of o il for an other ce n t u ry or co un t ries becau se t hey are m or e dep endent o n o il a nd gas for th eir lifest yle,
m o re, but t h e easi ly produced o il is a lmos t go ne, th e producti on rat e is poo rer members of those soc iet ies will su ffer most, as fact ori es close, prices
peaking, a nd we wi ll soo n pay a ver y hi gh price for the less access ible o il tha t rise, a nd th e un emp lo yed , th e ve ry yo u ng, a nd the o ld a re unable to meet th e
re main s. The pr ice of o il dou bl ed in Z007 -0S, reac h ing a record hi gh o f rising cos ts.
US$ 147 per ba rre l in Jul y ZOOS, w it h eve n hi gh er pri ces predi ct ed. T his prospect raises so me ve ry ba sic q uestions of fairn ess fo r all cit izens,
a nd e ng inee rs an d geoscien tis ts in particu lar. Is it eth ica l o r fair for rich er
co u nt ries to use fossil fuels ind iscr iminate ly, t hu s crea ting G HG em issio ns,
Adapting to Oil Depletion
an d indirectl y
Although t he da te of g loba l o il pea k production is occas io na lly cha lle nged,
ma in ly because new techniques m a ke wells mor e producti ve, m ost a na lysts
• c reat ing milli on s o f "climat e c ha nge " refu gees wh en drou ght s redu ce
cro ps in Africa, or w he n sea leve ls rise a nd flood lo w-lying co u nt ries, suc h
be lieve that it wil l occur in th e nex t few yea rs, by ZO IO o r ZOIS .26 This date
as Holl and , Bang lades h, and th e Pacifi c islands '?
is cri tica l, because eve n a cras h program to reduce o u r dep enden ce o n co n-
ventiona l (eas ily access ible) o il and mo ve to sy nt he tic o il, nu clear, bioener gy,
• crea ting an ene rgy cr isis for future ge nera t ions, who will h ave to scrabble
for hard-t o-find, hi gh -pri ced o il and gas after the eas ily accessib le oi l is
or renewab le e ne rgy, will take a t least ZO years, acco rdi ng to a recent U.S. gov-
dep let ed '!
ernme nt repo rt, co m mon ly ca lled th e " Hirsch Rep or t. "27 Th at is, if socie ty,
industry, and gove rnme nt coo pe rate full y to red uce ene rgy co ns um ptio n a nd These eth ical probl em s are ve ry sim ilar to th e "t rage dy of th e co m mo ns,"
to develo p a lternatives, we st ill need ZO years to avoid ene rgy shortages and d iscusse d in th e previous cha pter. Ho weve r, whe n he first o bse rved th e sy n-
finan cial crises. Obvious ly, action is need ed immedi at ely! dro me in 183Z, W illia m For st e r Llo yd co u ld har dl y ha ve im agin ed th e
74 PART FO UR . ENV IRONMENTAL PRACT IC[ AND [ II I ICS CHAPTER 1 7 • Enviro n me nt al Sus t oinabili ty 7'
imm en sit y of the prob lem s we now face. Let us exam ine climate cha nge a nd In sum mary, sus tain ability is sim p le fairn ess. It is un fai r a nd un ethical
peak o il, using th e fo ur bas ic et h ical th eo ries d iscussed in Cha pte r 11: to harm o the rs, th ro ugh inefficien cy, negligen ce, greed, or abuse. In th is
case, th e "othe rs" are future generatio ns, parti cu larl y th ose living in th e
• Mill's utilitarianism. The excessive use of fossil fuels, whic h lies at th e
poo rer co u ntries.:../
ro ot o f bo th o f t hese prob lem s, is th e ph ilosop hy o f utilitarian ism in
reverse. Uti lit aria ni sm see ks th e so luti o n th a t p rodu ces t he ma xim u m
benefit for the grea tes t number of people, with th e ben efi t most widely T H E CRITICAL N EED F O R S OC IE TAL CHAN GE
d istrib ut ed a mon g t he people affect ed . The refore, utili ta rian ism wo uld
Clim ate change and pea k o il a re not just techn ical probl em s; th ey a re societa l
req uir e a sac rifice by th e gene ral po pu lat io n , in th e form o f reduced use o f
prob lems. Wast efu l pra ct ices, acce pte d by society for ce n t u ries, n eed to
fossil fuels, to benef it the qu a lity of life for soc iety in ge ne ral. Red ucing
cha n ge. Creati ng a susta ina ble lifestyle will require effo rt a nd sac rifice, and we
fossil fuel usage is not a sma ll sac rifice, but it pales in co m pa riso n wit h th e
must ens u re th at the sacrifice is spread eve n ly. Engineers a nd geosc ien tists are
h armfu l effects, deprivat ion , and eco no m ic uph eava l predi cted by ma ny
pa rt of th e solutio n, but th e respon sibility sho u ld not fall o n th em alo ne .
so urces in th e n ext few decad es. Ach ieving sust aina b ility is a d ut y for all o f socie ty.
• Ka n t 's f o r m a lism or duty ethics. Kant ob serv ed that we sho uld ac t
o n ly in ways th a t wo uld be accep ta ble as un ive rsal pri n cip les for everyo ne REDUCING WASTEFU L CONSUMPTION Examples of inefficien t use abo u nd, so
to foll ow. In th e case o f clima te cha nge and pea k o il, th e wast efu l or exces- t he o bv io us first ste p is to red uce co ns u m ptio n and waste by co nse rving, re-
sive use of fossil fue ls is not a principl e tha t everyo ne can fo llow. In fact, us ing a nd recycling mat eri als and consu me r goods . Wasteful co ns u m ptio n
was tef u l actio n s ar e th e prob le m. T he un ive rsal pr in cip le m ust be to m ust be replaced by th e basic guide line: Reduce; Re-use; Recycle. Blue Box recy-
reduce th e co ns u m pt ion of fossil fuels an d to enc o u rage t he developmen t cl ing syste ms are in place in most part s o f Ca nada, and mu st be ex pa nde d and
o f a lte rn at ive e ne rgy so u rces. So me peo p le ma y c ha lle nge this et h ica l used more diligen tly. Ho wever, we mu st go beyond th e Blue Box, a nd add
a rgu me n t o n th e basis th a t we have no dut y to future ge ne rati o n s. anoth er mantra: Ret/link and Reorganize. We must exa mine o ur lifestyle, eli m-
Ho wever, civilized h u man s regard t h e lives of th eir ch ild ren a nd gran d- ina te no n-essen tial e ne rgy-co ns um ing activ ities, and reo rganize to be more
ch ild ren as high ly as t heir own. Kant sta ted that respect for humanity was indep enden t o f fossil fuels.
at th e base o f h is form alism: life sh o u ld a lways be treat ed as a n end o r
goa l, and never as a means to ach ieve so me o the r purpose. THE LIMIT S TO EFFICIENCY Effor ts to red uce fossil fuel co nsu m ptio n are ofte n
• Locke's rights ethics . Th is t h eory sta tes tha t eve ry in d ividu al ha s sty m ied by SOCiety. In a 200 7 stud y, a C IBC eco no m ist described an "effi-
righ ts, sim ply beca use h e or she ex ists. The right to life and th e righ t to ciency parado x" : For man y decades, th e Un ited States has pas sed laws fo r
t he maximum possible indi vidua l liberty and hum a n di gnity a re fun da - more efficie n t auto m o biles, furn aces, a n d ap p lian ces, a nd g rea t imp rove-
menta l; o t he r peop le have a d ut y not to in fringe o n those rights . However, men ts we re ach ieved . Ho wever, ene rgy usage h as still increased , beca use co n-
we recogni ze that righ ts are lim ited a nd ca n be taken awa y if just ice is su me rs a re sim ply using e ne rgy more aggressive ly. The co n trad ictio n is mo st
served by doing so . We already have laws aga in st wat er a nd air po llut ion , not icea ble in fuel use for pr ivate ve h icles. Altho ug h auto ma n ufacturers have
as ex pla ine d in C ha pte r 15, because peop le have n o right to waste or in creased eng ine efficiency by about 30 percent in th e past 25 years, Ameri ca n
des troy a reso u rce th at is in the pub lic dom ain . If we red uce o ur depe n d- dr ivers a re sim ply bu yin g la rger, more was teful veh icles. For exa m ple, th e sale
e nce o n oi l thro ug h reasonab le ch a nges in be haviour, we ca n avo id of ligh t t rucks increased by 45 percent in th e last decade (great ly in excess of
se rious infringement o f persona l righ ts. passe nger car sales), eve n t hough light t rucks are mu ch less fuel-efficien t than
• Ar isto tle's v irt u e ethics. Aristo tle be lieved t hat hu ma n s wo u ld ac h ieve ca rs. In ad d itio n, t he distan ce driv en by eac h veh icle has in creased by ab o ut
tr ue happin ess by dev eloping virt ues (o r qu al it ies of c h a rac te r) usin g 25 percent since 19 70 . A sim ila r trend was re po rted in ho me h eatin g a nd
th ou ght , reason, deducti on, and logic. He visualized eac h virtue as a co m- coo ling. Energ y efficiency of air co nd itio ners increased by 17 percent since
promi se between tw o ex tremes . In th e case o f clima te ch ange a nd peak o il, 1990, but air co nd itio ne r use increased by 36 percent. Furnaces are now far
th e ex tremes a re th e wastefu l use o f fossil fuels that o u r soc iety has per- mor e fuel -effic ien t, but h ou se size has do ubled in th e past 60 yea rs, req uiring
m itt ed (perh ap s eve n enco u rage d) for th e past ce n t ury, a n d t he futu re more h eat. :lo Th is tren d in di cates that, to reduce ene rgy co ns um pt io n, we
env iro n me nt al degradati o n and scarcity o f fossil fuels, wh ich wi ll lead to mu st have lim its to growth, not inten sity levels based o n efficienc y.
sho rtages, h ard ship, civil unrest, and possib ly wa rs. In t h is case, t he )
"golde n mean " betw een th ese ex t remes is t he recognition t ha t waste ful GOVE RNMENT ACT ION Unfo rtu natel y, ve ry few peop le will elim ina te wastef ul
pract ices mu st e nd , a nd th at we m ust deve lop new e ne rgy so urces a nd o r unh eal th y habi ts vo lu n ta rily. Peo ple need e nco urageme n t, as to bacco
d istributi on sys tems . smo king ban s have proved . Socie ty m ust p ressur e gov ernm ents to limit or
76 PART FO UR · ENVI RONMENTA L PRACTI CE AND ETHI CS
CHAPTER 17 • En vir onm ental S us t a i n a b il i ty 377
redu ce G HG em issio ns, and govern me n ts (at municipal, provincial, and fed- Mor eov e r, we, as pro fessional s, mu st be ab le to say "no" wh en enviro n-
e ra l levels) mu st pass laws, regul a tion s, a n d sta nda rds, o r impose taxes or me n ta l degrad ati on is proposed . As resp on sibl e e ngineers a nd geoscien tists ,
cha rges to limit foss il fuel use and G HG em issio ns. Go vern me n ts mu st sti m- we have a dut y to assess proj ect s a nd ac t ivities for th eir sus ta ina b ility, a nd
u lat e research and developm ent to find new efficien cies, a nd per haps even declin e to parti cipate inproject s or activiti es t hat ca n be sh o w n to be clear ly
new energy so urces. A discussion o f th ese meth od s and a co m pa riso n of thei r un su stain abl e. How ever, e ng ineers and geoscien tists m ust n ot be req uired to
effectiveness arc in th e IPCC repo rt." !
be martyrs in th e battle again st clim at e cha nge a n d peak o il; we n eed ob jec-
In summa ry, if we arc to maintain o ur sta nda rd of livin g without depriving tive method s for eva luat ing sus ta ina b ility a nd legislati on to prot ect whi stl e-
fut ure ge ne rat io ns o f vita l reso urces, we m ust begin to red uce fossil fuel co n- blo we rs. For exa m ple, life-cycl e ana lysis (LCA), which is still in development,
su m ption now. Eth ics and justice require th e burd en s of climate cha nge and att e m pts to measu re th e enviro n me n ta l impact o f a project a t th e co nce p-
peak oi l to be sha red eq ua lly. Eng inee rs and geosc ientists mu st in form th e public tua l stage . Life-cycle a na lys is req u ires an in vent or y o f all th e e nergy an d
o f th e co nseq ue nces of ina cti on . Altho ug h th e rem edi es may be difficu lt to ma te ria l inputs a nd o ut pu ts from a proj ect, a nd det ermines th e net result:
app ly, et hical reasoning insists that custo ms and hab its mu st change; legislatio n
th e ene rgy and resources co ns u me d, and t h e product s and wastes produced .
mu st be passed; regul ati on s, permits, subsid ies, and incentives may be essen tial. LCA is usually ca rried o u t for spec ific em issio ns , suc h as CO 2, SOx , NOx,
phos pha tes , or o t he r che m ica ls, an d th e a mou n t of wa te r a n d e ne rgy co n-
SUSTAINABILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS su m pt io n . Spec ific toxic e m issio ns , suc h as arsenic a n d lead , are a lso so me -
AND GEOSCIENTISTS tim es co ns ide red , and effo rts have been m ad e to in c lude m ass a n d
eco no m ic co ns ide ra tio ns . Recent effo rts to crea te a n intern ati on al LCA
Seve ra l Associa t io ns publi sh enviro n me n ta l gu ide lines, as di scu ssed in
sta n da rd by th e Int ern ati on al Sta nda rds O rga n izat io n (ISO) have bee n ha m-
Cha pte r 15. Ho wever, foll o win g guide lines is not eno ug h . A British eng ineer,
pe red by ser io us restri cti on s o n d at a and th eoreti cal limitati on s abo ut
lon g inv ol ved in th e o il and gas industry, expressed th e follow lng co m me n t
o n sustaina bility : defin ing th e input a nd/or output boundari es for an LCA.'lot Alt ho ug h its
va lue is not yet fu lly reali zed , e ng ineers and geosc ien tists ar c urged to adopt
It is import ant to disting uish sustainabilit y from environmenta l complia nce. Compliance LCA o r to deve lop bett er o b ject ive tool s for eva lua ting susta inab ility o f
with environmental regulat ions is an essent ial. daily, operational requirement , but sus- ma jo r p roj ect s.
tain abilit y is a long-range st rate gy to combat a slow-moving, planet -wide terminal con- In su m m ary, alt ho ug h cli mate cha nge a nd peak oil a re diff erent probl em s,
dit ion. Sust ain ability req uires innovati ve thin king, persist en ce and possibly some they ar c lin ked; th ey wi ll have a serious ly negative effect o n o u r lives; a nd
sacrifice. Decades may pass before the social accepta nce, legislation and trea ties are t he ir m ain ca use is th e same: th e excess ive co ns um ptio n of fossil fuels. The
devised to deal effective ly with sustainability. Engineers must , of course, ensure th at so lutio n is th erefore th e sa me : to maintain o u r sta nda rd of livin g, we m ust
regulati ons are followed, but in plann ing projects and activities, enginee rs must aim red uce o ur co nsum ptio n o f fossi l fuels dra sti call y, and move to o the r ene rgy
t heir concept ual thi nkin g at the higher hurdle of sustainability.V so u rces. Th e wast eful use o f ene rgy is not just un ethi cal; it is a ha zard to o ur
way o f life. Society mu st implem ent regul ati ons a nd fund research so th at we
To reach susta ina bility, engineers a n d geoscien tists mu st , o f co urse, strive
ca n avoid th e wor st effects of clim ate cha nge, an d so th at we ca n develo p
to in crease efficienc ies in th e a reas identi fied in th e IPCC AR4 report me n-
alte rn ative ene rgy so urces that ar e sus taina ble.
tion ed ea rlier. How ever, increased efficiency is no t eno ug h . We mu st Rethink
awl Reorgani ze o ur use o f ene rgy to Fina lly, we professionals must speak o ut in th e politi cal an d eth ical debat e
ove r clim at e cha nge to help cha nge soc iety's a tt it udes, laws, a nd way o f life.
• exp lo re new a n d inn o vati ve ways to red uce o ur e ne rgy co ns um p tio n,
dr asti cally,
• explo re new methods of clean co ns um pt ion of fossil fuels, suc h as CCS, CA S E HISTORY 17.1
• develo p re newa ble ene rgy so urces suc h as so lar, Wind, a nd geo the rma l
energy, T HE LADY FERN NATURAL GAS D EPL ETI ON
• ex ploi t nucl ear e ne rgy (whi ch is also non -ren ewable, and will eve nt ua lly
peak), and In 2000, a hu ge nat ural gas di scover y in the Lad yfern field in northeastern
• develop en ti rely n ew ene rgy so urces a nd /or distributi on sys te ms , suc h as British Co lum bia was a n no unced. Th e find was touted as British Co lum bia's
so lu ti o n to th e co ntine n t's gas shortage, a nd pr o mi sed to provide abo ut
th e hyd rogen ec o n o m y, o r cla th ra te techn ology (m in ing th e methan e
25 percent of the province's gas product io n a nd to make ma ny peopl e rich.
e m bedded in ice, fo und in abundan ce a t great depth s around th e wo rld,
How ever, Lad yfern is almost depl et ed. Man y o f th e wells th at promised suc h
acco rd ing to '1: Flann er v).:u In nova t io n a nd nr-w id(,;l ~ " 1'(' r>,"p " H ,, 1I .· i ,.,h r\ ~ ....,.,... nAU , n l l n H, i n n c o l t wza to r I »rlv f r-rn i ~ ;1 kr-v r-xa rn n l« of wasteful
CIIII I' I I R I I • Ll/viro l/ lllc l/ / a l Su s t o inub il i t v 'H CJ
378 PART FOUR· ENVIR ONME NTAL PRACTICL ANIl I IIII C ~
deve lo p me n t- exactl y the o p pos ite o f sus tai na b le develo p me nt. In h is CO l l i learn ed th at th e IIC gove rn me n t was abo ut to sell off two drill sites with in 600
p reh cn sive su m ma ry o f t he Lad yfern de bacle, An d rew Nikifo ruk sta tes: metr es o f th e discovery well. Utilizing so me th ing called " Preda tor methodology"
to assess Lad yfern 's wea lth po ten tial, th e co m pany prep ared to o ut bid Murph y
Wha t man y a na lysts initi ally tal ked up as an "ele p ha nt play" o f o ne tri llio n o n an 842-hec ta re parcel o f land adj acen t to t he discovery well . . ..
cubic feet has bee n dow ns ized to a 400-hi llion-cuhi c-foot wart hog-or less. An d
. .. Pred at or s~cessfu ll y o uthid Murph y by layin g o ut a h eft y $8 .65 milli on in
th e find th at was su pposed to ease th e sup ply/de ma nd cr u nc h for gas, well, has
a sea led bid process. Th at a mo u n ted to $ \0 ,268.20 per hect are-mor e th an any
not. In fact , the rap id pro d uct io n a nd dep letion o f Lad yfern p layed a ce n tra l
o il and gas co m pa ny has eve r paid for lan d in Western Cana da. At t h e tim e, a n
role in se tting up th is 12002/20lnl win te r's gas price shoc k .
av e rage h ect ar e we n t for $ :~23 in lie. (lu st to keep thin gs in pe rsp ecti ve,
Tha t's just th e hegin n ing o f Lad yfern 's man y d isap po intments In a clea r-cut Mu rp hy pu rcha sed its origi na l di scover y lease for $808 a h cct a re.)
case of dead ly compe titio n and "va lue destru cti on ," [severa l] firm s spe n t mor e
th an half a h illio n do lla rs in less th a n a year to build th ree ti mes t he in frastruc-
ture need ed to dr ai n o ne ver y finit e poo l o f gas. It was, as o ne local residen t put La n d Rush, Fr antic Drillin g, and Indus t rial Es pionag e
it, "like watching 20 spo iled kid s a ll go ing at t he sa me m ilk shake." News of th e auc tio n p rices immed iatel y sta rted a wi ld land ru sh . To prevent
lIut Lad yfern also h igh ligh ted th e IIC gove rn me n t's greed for fast mon ey- as Pred at or and o t h er co m pet itors-such as Can ad ian Nat u ra l Reso u rces (CNR)
we ll as th e d u b iou s co m pete nce o f th e p rovi nce's ene rgy regu lat or. "The peo p le a nd th e Albe rta Ene rgy Co . (AEC)- fro m closing in o n its gas find , Murp h y
who t ru ly go t bur ned were the ow ne rs o f th e reso u rce: th e peop le of llri tish t hen paid mor e t h a n $ \ 5. 7 milli on fo r ano t her six a nd a hal f sectio ns o f land,
Co lu m bla, " says Ia n Doig, ed ito r of LJoiS\ /JiSt'sl , a mont hl y Ca lga ry-based o il or $7,5 15 per h ecta re . Meanwhil e, Predator mad e secre t presentati on s abou t
and gas n ewsletter. " Lady fern was su ppose d to he a mo nst er play, hut wit h reg- Lad yfern 's po tentia l to 16 di fferen t Calga ry co m pan ies in a n a tte m pt to find a
ula tor y n eglect it becam e a national cmbar rassmc m .":" d rilling par t n er flush wit h cash . Ricks Nova Scotia, a Calga ry firm owned by
Rick s Exp lora tio n in O kla ho ma C ity, bought int o th e ga m h le. Along with
The Lad yfern sto ry is a long, twi st ed tal c in w h ich gree d a nd es p io nage
Pred ator, it a lso p urch ased ano the r two sec tio ns of land for $8 .56 m illion , or
tu rn ed a natu ral gas treasure into lawsuit s, was te, a nd lo ss. Altho ug h th e co m-
$ I5,24 0 a hect are . . ..
pa n ies in vol ved showed a profi t, it was a fraction o f w ha t th ey co u ld have
ma de , a n d th e rea l lo se rs we re th e pub lic a nd o u r n ext ge ne ratio n . A few . . . Lad yfern 's multipl yin g suitors had a 100 -day win ter windo w to fin d what
h igh ligh ts from Nikifor uk's n arra tive a rc su m ma rized below. Mu rph y h ad a lrea dy st ruc k. Muskeg ge ne ra lly isn 't dri lled in t h e su m me r
becau se hogs an d swam ps h ave a h abit of swallowing eq u ipme n t, if n o t cash .
As suc h, AEC, t h e biggcs! gas player in IIC, prepared to in vad e th e for est so ut h
Initial Drilli n g a n d Discovery
o f Murph y's hig find in ea rly wint er, wh ile CNR readi ed its drill in g crews to
Th e initi a l se ism ic d ata was ob ta ined by She ll Ca na d a, a n d later " farmed o u t " assault land just nor th o f Murph y in early sp ring. Pred ator 's par tn er, Ricks Nov a
to three firms w h o beca m e drillin g partn er s: M u rp h y, Heau Ca n ad a Sco tia, was so eage r to get a t Ladyfern th at it d id n 't wa n t to wa it for win ter
Exp loration, a n d Apache . Two ex p lora to ry we lls we re dr illed ; th e first well freeze- up. Ins tead of tr ucking ac ross frozen m uskeg, it proposed d roppin g in its
was d ry, bu t th e secon d Ladyfern well fo und natural gas at a depth o f 3,000 m d rillin g rigs by h elicopter.
(9,H40 ft.) in ea rly 2000. Test s s h o we d th at the we ll was "o ne o f th e top-TO As nat ural gas p rices rose to $6 per thou sand cubic feet in t he fall o f 2000, th e
ons hore n atural gas di scoveri es in Ca na d ian h ist or y." Th e t im ing o f th e find ind ust ry unl eash ed its sco uts. Scou ts ac t as in telli gen ce spies, a nd mos t co me
wa s a lso sign ifica n t, as ex pla ine d by Nik ifor uk : eq u ipped wit h hi gh -tech co m m u n icatio ns gea r, powerful sco pes a nd listening
Althoug h in d ust ry had been dri lli ng at recor d rates t h rou gh out the Weste rn devices. Their job is to coolly co llec t inform ati o n o n co m pet itors-and near ly
Canada Sed ime ntary lIasin , it hadn 't been find ing m uch gas. In fact, no o ne h ad eve ry co m pa ny in t he pat ch em ploys at least o ne or two . For th e next yea r,
fo und a really h ig poo l since 1986. Tha t geo logical fact, co m bine d with risin g US sco u ts eav esd ro p ped o n ce ll ph on e co nve rsatio ns, tal ked up se ism ic crews an d
appe tite for natural gas, was aho u t to push prices from a decad e-lo ng low o f spied o n dri lling rigs. " lt was like th e Gu lf War o ut th ere, " reca lls o ne h elicopter
$ 1.50 per t hou sand cubic fee t to record h ighs of $ 12 per th ou sand cub ic feet. pilot. "They we re runni n g a rou nd in ca mo u flage fati gues th rou gh th e cu t lin es
doing cloak-and -d agger st uff." . . .
Alt ho ug h gas di scover ies ar e required to be kept co n fide n tial, two o f th e
pa rtners an no u nced t he find p rec ip ito us ly in Feb ru a ry 2000 . Nikifo ru k ta kes
up th e ta lc at thi s point : La w su it s , Waste, a n d Dupl i cat i o n
Predator Cor p., a three-man Calga ry firm , read the rep ort s with keen in teres t. Th e Murph y wa s now in a tight positi on. It h ad lot s o f gas bu t n o pipelin e. In or de r
aptl y nam ed co m pan y specializes in hu yin g a nd d rilling o n land next to proved to co ns t ruc t a line from BC to a near by Albe rta gas plant , it n eeded th e bless-
oil and gas fields in Albe rta and llC. It xmu lk-d a hi« !"i nc! n t 1 ,,,I ,, f,, ,,, "" ,I " ,, ;"\01 ..
380 PART FO UR · ENV I RO NME NTA L PRACTICE AND [ II II CS CIIAI' I I H II • [ nvironme nl al SlI5 l n;nn/li{jl v
Ricks Nova Sco tia h ad a lrea dy sec u red a hearin g for its own p ipeline plan s 17-kilom etr e pipelin e th e green ligh t. "We bu ilt it in I I da ys a nd th en drill ed all
with out h avin g d rilled a sing le wel l. Ove r a two-da y hearin g h eld in Ca lga ry in th e wells we need ed ," says Doerr.
December 2000, a Ricks lawyer told t h e NEIl that hi s client need ed a $3- m illio n By now, Lad yfern loo ked like a bor eal war zo n e. Helicopters bearing co nst ruc-
co nd uit beca use no o ne wan ted to sh are ex isting lin es. He a lso h eld up co p ies tion eq u ipme n t a nd wo rk crews cro wde d th e sky. So me of th e ca m ps held as
of th e Daily O il Bu lleti n and Apache' s press relea ses as p roo f t ha t th ere wa s gas ma ny as 40 0 -me n a nd wom en . Drillin g rig crews working for Murph y co u ld
in th e area . Ricks executives n ot ed that Murp hy a nd its part n ers were alrea d y eye ball AEC's co n t rac to rs and vice versa . " It was in- your-face co m pe ti tio n,"
suc king th e grea t Ladyfern mil k sha ke dr y- and th a t tim e was mon ey. reca lls on e se rvice co n t rac tor. And all of it was unfold in g in a pat ch of th e forest
Murphy an d Apache, o f co urse, o b ject ed to Ricks's app lica tio n and qu esti oned man y dubbed " t he m idd le of nowhere."
th e firm 's m ot ives. Mu rp h y's lawyer, Kem m Yates, eve n cha rged t hat Ricks's In th e race to d rain Ladyfern, industr y spared no ex pe nse . Murph y and AEC
applica tio n made a mo ckery of th e nati onal regu lat or y p rocess for o il a n d gas. ren ted h elico pt ers from as far afield as Van cou ver Island a n d G ra nd Prai rie .
"You m igh t as well turn o ut th e lights, lock th e d oor s a nd go hom e, " if th e C h in oo ks a n d Siko rskys ferr ied t ractors, tru cks, men an d pipes at a cos t o f
Ricks pip e lin e was ap proved, Ya tes to ld th e NEB. "Yo u wo u ld be acced ing to $ 12,000 an hou r. So me helicopters h au led wood for road s, wh ile o t he rs hau led
co m plete der egu latio n and to a posi tion th at says a ny bod y wh o is p repar ed to wat er produ ced fro m gas wells-some thi ng most o il patchcrs h ad never see n
spe nd a 10 1 o f m on ey ca n do what th ey want." befo re, or since. Trucks norma lly do th at job .
Ya tes th en ex p la ine d th at regu latio n a rose in th e o il pat ch spec ifically to pre- Becau se CN R ca me a bit late to th e Lad yfern part y, it co n tin ued dr illin g
ve n t go ld rush es- a patt ern o f big d iscoveri es follow ed by fra n tic develop men t, througho ut th e su m me r of 200 I- an almost prohibitively expe ns ive develop-
flush p rod uctio n, great waste a n d th en sharp decline. In repl y, a Ricks lawyer ment in sink -or-sw im n orthern mu skeg. In th e process, it spe n t in excess o f
n o ted that Mu rphy and Apac he wer e ro ugh-an d -rea dy co m pe ti tors an d h ad $ 120 m illio n o n h elico pt ers, road s, pi peli n es an d ot her inf rastructure. lIut t hl'
just sue d Ricks an d Pred ato r for a lleged ly usin g sto len data . " Here we h ave th e wild spe n d ing sp ree d id n 't reall y str en gt h en th e foundati on o f th e se rv ice
Apach e wo lf do nn in g o bv io usly ill-fitt in g shee p's c lo t h ing ," h e a rgue d. It industr y, says Brian C h urch ill, a for mer lo n gtime city co unc illor in For t St. John .
wasn 't yo u r nor mal sleepy NEIl hear in g. " It was th e an tith esis o f stable dev elopment beneficia l to a co m m un ity," h .
Shor tly afte rwa rd, the NEB ap pr ov ed Ricks's pipelin e, but th e co m pa ny never argues. " It was a go ld-rus h ment alit y."
buil t it. Just weeks after th e decisio n, Ricks sett led wit h Murp hy o ut o f co u rt To su ppo rt a ll t he wells bein g dr illed , industr y need ed an all-seaso n roa d . Doerr
(t he amo u n t is u nk now n) a nd su rre n de red its 75% in ter est in the Lad yfern play built o ne at an esti mated co st of $25 m illion, th in kin g th er e wo uld be o n ly o n '.
to Mu rp hy a n d Apa che . Mu ch to Pred a to r's d isma y, its 25 'X, in ter est th en But lIC's Oil an d Gas Co m m issio n (OGC), wh ich most o il parch crs describe as
en tered a t rust un ti l the lawsu it is se ttle d . [See No te 36 . Thi s lawsui t was se ttled a " rubber-sta m p ag en cy," th en turn ed aro u n d a n d gave CN R a n d AEC
in favou r o f Murp h y, in 2006. 1 approva ls to build a no th er $ 16 mi llion in roa d s. " I doubt if a nyo ne at th e OGC
Mur p h y's n ex t hurdl e ca me a t it s ow n p ipeli n e h earin g befor e th e N EB. kn ew tha t all t h ree roa ds wen t to th e sa me p lace," n ot es o n e local obse rve r
Alt ho ug h Pred ator was now pre tt y mu ch o ut o f t he picture, AEC's $65- m illio n caustically. Co n firms Bob l-cdd crl y, presid ent o f th e Nor t h ern Society o f Oilfield
d rillin g ca m pa ign had already hit pay dir t: a mon ster well that yielde d 60 mil - Co n t rac to rs & Service Firms: "We now h ave three tim es th e e nviro n me n ta l
lio n cu b ic feet just five mi les so u t h of Mur p h y's di sco ver y. Wit ho u t qui c k footprint we n eede d o ut th ere."
ap prova l, Murp h y wo u ld m iss th e win ter co ns truc t io n d eadli n e. And th at The same deadl y co m pe titio n infect ed a ll aspects o f Lad yfern 's development.
meant th a t AEC, wh ich had sma rtly bo ught Ricks's pip eline a pprova l, wo u ld be "We didn 't need a well o n eve ry sectio n o f lan d to dr ain thi s poo l." no tes Doe rr.
in a posit ion to gu lp most o f th e Lad yfern milk sha ke. " But if yo u d idn 't dri ll th em , yo u didn 't ge t cred it proportional to yo ur sh a re
Altho ugh Mur phy ex pec ted a ro u tin e and qui ck hear ing befor e th e NEB, it go t o f th e field . So th e field was vastly ov e r-d rilled ."
so me su rp rises. A loca l trap per who se bu sin ess had bee n ruin ed by gas we lls an d In stead o f th en det e rm in in g th e life an d pot en tial o f Lad yfern reser vo ir to a llow
road s hi red Mike Sawye r, a co m bative Ca lgary-based env iro n me n ta list, to raise for rati on al ex p lo itatio n, t he OG C let t h e co m pan ies work o u t t heir own p ro -
so me ve ry legitimate conce rns abo ut how th e in du str y had bu sted up th e sur- d uct io n sche d u les. Havin g spe n t ood les o f mon ey, they sim ply wa n ted to ea rn
ro und ing for est. Sawye r's qu estio ns dr ew o ut the Ca lga ry h earing for days. (BC's thei r inv est men ts back qu ickly. To do so , th ey jo in tly set a wit hdra wa l rat e o f
Min ist ry o f Ene rgy and Min es su ppo rted Mur ph y's b id, arguing tha t a yea r's 7H5 m illion cub ic feet per day. Th at figure asto un ded man y o il pa tch vetera n s
delay m igh t cos t th e govern me n t be tween $ 1S m illion and $30 mi llio n in ro y- becau se it mean t Ladyfern wo u ld be ex h aus ted qu ick ly.
altics.) [Mu rph y p resident Harvey Doerr] sti ll calls Sawyer 's per fo rman ce a nerve-
As a resu lt, Ladyfern acco un ted for ab o ut hal f t he in crease in Albe rta 's gas pr o -
wrac king "filib uster." Ju st two week s befo re a ca ribo u mi grati o n t hr ea ten ed
du ct ion in t he su m me r o f 200 1. In o the r wor d s, abo ut 20 o f Lad yfern 's we lls
to sh ut dow n all co ns truc tio n alo ng th e Alberta bor der, t h e NEB gave Mur phy'S \
poured as m uch gas o n to th e market as mor e t han 10,000 n ormal wells. This
382 PART FOUR · ENVIRONME NTA L PRA CTICE AND I IIlI C CIIAPTER 1 7 • Envi ro nm e n la l SUS l aina bil il y 83
flood o f gas, co m b ine d wi th a slo wdo wn in the US eco no my, b rou gh t gas pr ices t hat ," he says . "Tha t's th e publi c's gas. We ow n th at." Woro n uk a lso po ints ou t
from a high o f $ 12 per th o usan d cub ic feet in th e win te r o f 200 1 to $:3 .50 last th at most o f Ladyfern 's gas was so ld wh en gas pri ces ab rupt ly di ved in 200 I.
su m me r [20 0 11 . Th e pri ce co lla pse dr opped AEC's stoc k va lue by 3 1.4% "Wo u ld n 't it have bee n ni ce if tha t ga s so ld a t $ 12 a t hou sand cub ic fee!'?"
bet ween Apri l an d ju ly 200 !.
To Wor onu k, Lad yfern just illu st rat es th e sh o rt-sigh ted n ess t h a t h as sad ly
By Mar ch 20 02 , so m an y wells wer e suc king o n Lad y fern th a t pr odu cti on d efi n ed Ca n ada s gas su pp ly st rategy fo r t he past decad e. "C o nserva tio n is an
d ecli n ed from 700 mi llio n cu b ic fee t per d ay to 400 m illi o n cu b ic fee t. eco no mi c param et er t ha t has been for go tt en ," he mai nt ai n s. The co u n try is
Prod uctio n to day sta nds at abou t 300 mi llio n cubic fee t-a n d is expected to no w o pera ti ng u nd er a just-in -ti me ap proach to gas prod uct ion, h e ad ds , wh ich
soo n becom e a trickle. As a resu lt, t here wasn 't mu ch gas left to cush io n thi s gua ra n tees high pric es for yea rs to co me. " It's not eco no m ic," says Wo ron uk.
win te r's price sh oc k... . " It's not efficien t. And it doesn 't make a n y sense . . .. "
Th e Lad yfern d evel op m en t is a n ex a m ple o f clear ly un su sta inab le devel-

C l o si ng C om m en ts
o p me n t. Th e Brit ish Co lu m bia (APEGBC) Guidelines [or Sustu inability were
Wit h th e exce p tio n o f th e IIC go vern me n t, just abo ut every bod y invo lved in a p pa re n tly igno red in thi s case. Sim ilar sto ries a re occu rring in resource devel-
Lad yfern n ow o ffers so me sobe rin g hindsigh t. "The traged y was t he amo u n t o f o p me n t a ro und the wor ld . In pa rti cu lar, t he Albe rta o il sa nds d evelo pm ent is
mon ey ind ust ry spe n t to ge t the gas o u t o f there," say s Murp h y's Doerr. "We cited frequentl y as a n ex a m ple o f excess ive ly rapid a nd u nsu sta inable d eve l-
co u ld have develo ped reso urces elsew he re a nd been mu ch mo re p rofitabl e.. . . o pme nt."? For ex a m ple, David O live, Busin ess repo rte r for Th e 7( m Jll/II Star,
Lad yfern was ov er-dr illed- it's a n a tro city," says [Pred ato r] co m pa ny presiden t d escr ibed th e d ev e lop m e nt o f Albe rta's o il sa nd s in th e Athabasca reg io n
Robert Sh ield s. The play was prod uced so fast it brought co n ti ne n tal gas prices no rth east o f Ed mo n to n as a "m oo nscap e o f st rip m in es." He goes o n to say:
d own , he add s, and " now it's dep let ed, a n d gas pr ices a re up. It wasn 't ha nd led
The At ha basca Rive r is su ffering rapid dep letio n give n th at hu ge amou nt s o f
p rop erly." AEC, now Enem a, has co n siste n tly described Lady fern as a prof-
wat er arc required to p rocess heavy oi l. And t h e o il sands o perators have cre-
itab le ex pe rien ce , eve n th ou gh sev era l o f its wells are now p rod uci ng wate r.
a ted so me o f Albe rta's la rgest la kes, co n sisting o f post-p rodu ction to xic wa te r.:IX
Howeve r, CN R, wh ich has subs ta n tia lly downgrad ed th e size o f its reserves,
ackn owled ges th a t Lad yfern was n' t as b ig as it th ou gh t- and was de fin itely The traged y o f th e co m mo ns is being rein vented in th e mod ern world by
overca pitalized . Th ree o f its wells arc now suc king wate r. reso ur ce develope rs. 1\ is time that we in sist ed o n co n for ma nce to a phil os-
Th e OG C is u n de rsta n da bly reluctant to acknow ledge th at Lad yfern was an o p hy of susta inable dev e lopment.
o ut-a nd-o u t case of nat ural reso urce abuse. Ra th er, th e en tire p lay p roved th at
"co m petitio n is a live and well," say s Co m m issio ner Derek Do yle. He not es th at DISCUSSION TOPICS AND ASS IGN ME N T S
northeast BC desp e rat ely su ffers from a lack o f in frast ructure a nd need ed mor e
roads. li e ad m its, ho wever, tha t th e OG C faced a ma jor ch a llenge "in havin g I . Sustai nability is based o n the axio m th at we have a d u ty to fu tu re ge n-
co m pete n t personnel " assess th e we lls' geo logy a nd life spa n . Co n cludes Doyle: e ra tio ns. Ho wev er, so m e phil o sopher s c ha lle n ge th a t a x io m , ar gu ing
" I th in k Lady fern was an urgent cry for us to stay wit h o ur bu sin ess as a regu- th at futu re ge ne ra t io ns wi ll li kel y hav e un im agi n ed tech nol o gical
lat or a nd n ot be ca pture d by th e en th us ias m o f ind ustry or th ose th at pro mot e reso u rces, a nd w ill be "b etter o ff" t ha n we are. To illu str at e: past ge nera-
th e ind ustr y." tio ns co uld nev er h ave im agined n uclear ene rgy, co m p u ters, cell ph o nes
o r the In ternet a nd the be ne fits associa ted with th em . If future ge ne ra-
To se rvice wo rke rs a n d co ns u lta n ts who co m peted a t Lad yfern, t he who le
tio ns wi ll be better o ff tha n we are, why sho uld we sac rifice fo r them '!
deb acle remains a fam iliar study in h um an n atur e. "The BC gov e rn me n t needed
Disc uss t h is co nce p t (so me ti m es ca lle d prinrita rianism i , a nd sta te
th e mo ney," no tes o ne Grand Pra irie o il a nd gas co nsulta n t. "T hey sho uld have
w het he r (and wh y) yo u agree o r d isagr ee.
co n trolled produ cti on and limit ed t he co m pe titio n. But it was greed o n all part s.
2. Popu lati o n growth is a critica l factor in sustaina bility. C h ina's populati on
Co m pan ies tha t sho u ld have mad e 200'X, profit o n ly mad e 20% ."
o f 1.322 billion peop le (as o f 2( 07 ) ex ists o n a land area th at is sligh tly
Rob Wo ro n uk , a Ca lga ry-base d a na lyst w it h th e Ca n ad ia n Gas Po tentia l sm a ller than Can ad a, wh ich has just ove r 33 milli o n peop le. Ch ina has
Co m m ittee, an indep endent n atu ra l gas resources wa tc h dog, po int ed ly implem en ted a seve re o ne -ch ild progra m to limit its birth rate. Co u ples
d escr ibes Lad yfern as a mod el o f ho w thin gs sho uld n' t be do ne. Fo r a find as who agree to have o n ly o ne ch ild receive free heal th care fo r th e birt h and
preciou s as th at , a co m pe ten t regul at or sh o u ld have paid a tt en tio n to reserv oir fo r t he ch ild , wh e rea s co u ples th at d o no t ag ree mu st pay th eir ow n
geo logy, co ns erva tio n and th e publ ic in ter est, he ar gu es. A proper plan for ex pe nses. Under thi s po licy, t he bi rth rate declin ed to abo u t 1.2 percent
dep leting th e reser voir over tim e in an eco no m ic mann er wo uld have maxi- in 19RI, but by 1991 , it had risen to 1.4 percent. As we ll, th ere is recent
mi zed retu rn s to t he taxpayers of BC, Wo ron uk add s. "Yo u arc su pposed to do
\
evid ence t hat peopl e refu se to co m ply w it h the o ne-c h ild poli cy. Fo r
384 PART FOUR ' ENV IRO NME NTAL PRACll C[ ANIl I " II C CHAPTER 1 7 • En viro nme nt al Sus t oina bi /i ty
exa m ple, more un wa nted ch ildre n a rc end ing up in o rphanages. Discu ss 1111 In tcr go vc rn m cn ta l Pa n el o n Cl ima te C ha nge (IPCC), "Su m m a ry for
th e eth ics of gove rn me n t po licies th at limit birth rat es, usin g th e eth ical l'oli cym akers," in Cl imate Change 2007: T he Physical Science Hasis, February 20 0 7,
th eo ries described in Ch apte r 11. Whic h sho u ld take preced en ce: per- Co n t rib u tio n of Worki ng Grou p I to th e Four th Assess men t Report of th e
Int crgo vcrnmcntal Pan el o n C lim a te Ch ange (cd . So lo m o n , Q in , Manning, C he n,
so na l freedo m to bear ch ild re n, or th e duty-based co nce pt that, in cases
Marq u~, Avc ry t, T ignor, a nd Mi lle r), Ca m b ridge Un ive rsity Press, Ca m b rid ge,
like th is, eve ryo ne mu st share th e respo nsibility an d limit growth'? How U.K., a n d New York, U.S.A., ava ila b le at -cww w.lpcc.ch» (Ju ne 6, 200S) .
wo uld yo u evaluate th e greatest good for th e greates t number? Is th ere a 11 21 Int c rgo vcrnmcnt al Pa n el o n C lim ate C h a ngc (IPCC) , "S u m ma ry for
virtue, a go lde n mean, o r a co m pro mise th at can be identified in thi s Poli cym ukers," in Cl imate Challge 2007 : Im pacts, Adaptatio n and vul nerahil ity,
case? Ca n yo u suppo rt the Ch inese pol icy o n an eth ical basis? Review th e Ap ril 20 0 7, C o n t rib u tio n of Work ing Gro up II to th e Four t h Assessmen t Repor t
of th e Intcr go vc rnm cntal Pan el o n C lima te C h a n ge (cd . Pa rr y, Ca nz ia n i,
paper by G. Hardin, Tile Tragedy of tile C OIIII 110 l1S (cit ed in Chapte r 16), in
Palut ikof , va n d er Linden , a n d Han son ), Ca m b ridge Un ive rsity Press,
prepar ing yo ur answer. Ca m b rid ge, U.K., avai lab le a t -cww w.ipcc.ch» (j u ne 6,2(08).
3. Satel lite television , recent ly av ailable in man y less develop ed co u n tries, 1131 Inte rgo vernm ent al Pan el o n C li m ate C h a n ge (IPCC) , "Su m m a ry for
reveals the di sparity in co n su m ptio n betw een rich and poor co un tries. Pol icy m a kcr s," in Cl i ma te CIIIlIIge 2007 : Mitigatlon otCl imatc Clunwe, Ma y 20 07,
Peop le th rou gh o ut th e wo rld h ave begun to ex pe ct improved sta n dards Co n t ribu t io n of Working Grou p III to t h e Fou rt h Assess me n t Report o f t he
In te rgo vernm ent al Panel o n C lim ate C ha nge (eel. Metz, Da vi d so n , Bo sch, Da ve,
of livin g. Even if Ch ina is able to co n tro l population growt h, it is likely
Meye r), Ca m b ridge U n ive rsity Press, C a m b ridge, U.K., a n d Ne w York , NY, U.S.A.,
to ex pe rience an increase in co n sum p tio n patterns such as th ose seen in ava ila b le a t -cww w.Ipcc .c h» (l u n e 6, 20 (8).
South Korea a nd Singa po re. Est ima te th e effect o n glo ba l warming if 11 4 1 In tcr go vcrnm cn tal Panel o n C lim a te C ha nge (IPC C), "Su m m a ry for
China co ns ume d resources a t th e same rat e as South Korea or Can ada. l'oll cyma kc rs," in Cl im ate CIIIlIIge 2007 : Th e 11R4 Synthesis Report, Novem be r
(Hin t: Ch in a's develo pm en t is cu rre n tly in th e n ews, so stat ist ics are 2007, ava ilable a t -cw ww.lpcc.c h» (lu n e 6, 200S).
eas ily fo un d by Int ernet sea rch .) How can th e wo rld meet th e resource 11 51 R.W. Jackson a n d .I.M. j ac kson, Environmcn tui Science: T he Na tura l Env ironment
and Human ltnpuct, Lon gm an , Harl ow, Essex, 199 6, p . 3 17.
need s o f Ch ina's present popu lati on if th ey ad opt North Amer ican con-
11 61 A. Go re, ;III Incon veni ent Truth: ;I Global Wam illS, Mo tio n pi ct u re, Par am o unt
su m ptio n trait s?39 Pictur es, Holl yw o od , C A, 2006; and M , Durki n , T he Great Glohat Wa rmi llg
Swind le, Motion pi cture, WAGt v, Lond on, UK, 2007 . T h e Gore fil m rece ived a
dozen film awa rds, bu t was co nde m ne d b y the U.S. Se na te Co m mi tt ee o n
NOTES Env iro n mc n t a n d Pu bl ic Wo rks, th cn c ha ired by Se na to r j im In h o fc (R-O K), in a
[II Tile fi rst fo ur secti o ns o f th is chapter we re ori g ina lly co n t rib u ted to press release sta t ing th at "g lo ba l warmin g is the greatest h o ax eve r perpetrat ed
"y nv iron me n ta l Sus ta in ab ility," C ha p ter 2 1 in o.c. An drews, J. D. Ap levich , It A. o n t h e Ame rica n peop le," as repo rt ed by Wikiped ia a t <h ll p:/ / e n .w ikipcd ia .o rg /
Fraser, a n d C. MacG rcgor, In trodu cti on to Protcssiona! Ellg illeeri llg ill Canada, 3 rd w iki/A n _Inco nvcn ie n t_Tru th > (Aug ust 5, 200S) . T h e Durk in film , in te nd ed to
ed ., Pear so n Ed uca tio n Ca n ada, In c., To ronto, O n ta rio, 200 S. Th ese sec t io ns a re ref u te th e Gore film , wa s "cr iti ci scd h eavil y by m an y sc icn t ific orga n isa tio n s
ada p te d a n d rep rod uce d here w it h perm issio n fro m Pearson Ed uca tio n . a n d in di v id ua l sc ien t ists," w h o argued th a t it h ad " m isused a n d fa b rica ted d ata,
121 (J il l' CO/1II1l01l Future, Oxfo rd Un ive rsity Press, 198 7, a lso ca lle d t h e " Bru n d tla n d re lied o n o u t-of-d a te research , e m p loyed m isleadin g a rg u me n ts, a n d mi src p re-
Rep ort." Man y Int ern et so urces: for exa m p le, <ww w.wo rld in ba lan cc .n e t/ sc n tc d th e po sit io n o f th e In te rgo ve rn m e n tal Pan el o n C lima te C h a nge " as
agreem e nts/ I 987- b ru n d tl'll1d. h tml> (lu ne 6,2( 08). repor ted by Wi kipc d ia at <h tt p :/ / e n .w ikipcd ia .o rg/ w iki/T h c_ G rca t_G lo ba l_
131 1'. Haw ke n , T he Ecology o( Com m erce: A Declaration o( Sustainab ility, Wa rm ing _Sw in d le> (Aug ust 5, 200 S). C lea rly th e d eba te ove r t h e ex iste nce o f
Ha rper Busi n ess, Ne w York, 1994 . cli m a tc cha nge, a n d th e act io n n eed ed to co m ba t it, is fa r fro m ove r,
141 It Ca rso n , Silent Spring, Fawce tt Wor ld Lib rar y, Ne w York, 19 62. 1171 C IIC News, "Co ld sna p wo n' t w ipe o u t pin e beet le in II.C. " J a n uary 2S, 200S,
151 D.II. Meadows, D. E. Mea dows, j . Rand ers, a n d W.W. Be h rens, Li mits to Growth, ava ila b le at <h tt p :// cbc. ca> (lu n e 6 ,2( 08).
Un ive rse Bo o ks, Ne w Yo rk, 19 72 . Resea rc h spo nso red b y The C lu b o f Rom e 's 11 8 1 T Flann er y, Th e Weather M akers, C a n ad ia n Editi on, Harpcr C oli in s Pub llsh c rs
Proj ect o n th e Pred icam ent o f Mank ind . Ltd , New York, 20 06, p . 110 .
161 .I. Lovelock, Ga ia: A New Look at Li te Oil Earth, Ox for d, Ne w York, 19 S7. 1191 G. Mo nbiot, Heat: How to Stop th e Planet [rom Burning , Anc ho r Ca n ad a, Rand om
17 1 Un i ted Na tio ns Enviro n me n t Pro g ra mm e (UN EP), Handbook. (or th e M ont rea! Hou se of Ca na d a , Toro n to, 200 6, p, I I.
I'rot.ocol Oil SII! lstallces tha t f)epll'te the Ozoll e Layer, 7t h ed., Na irobi, Ke n ya , 20 06. 1201 Associa tion o f Pro fession al Eng inee rs, Geologists a n d Geo p hys icists o f Albe rta ,
lSI A. Free ma n , 'Ca na da gets its way o n clima te cha nge," T I,e Globe and Mail, Member Consultation Oil Climate CIII/IIge: Report to COIIIICil, a survey by
Novem ber 24, 20 07, an d Ca na d ia n Press, ava ila b le a t <w w w.t h eglo bea n d m a ll APEGGA's Env iro n me n t Co m m ittee, Febru ar y 200S, ava ila b le a t <ww w.a pegga
.co m» (l u n e 6, 200S) . .or g/ En v iro n m e n t/ repo rt s/ C lim atc C ha n gesu rveyreport .I'd f> (August 4,
191 UN.Fra mcwork Co n ven t io n o n C li ma te C ha nge (UNFCCC), Bon n , Ge rma ny, 200S).
ava ila b le a t <h tt p :/ / u n fccc.i n t> (j u ne 6, 200S) . 1211 In te rgo vern m cnt al Pa n e l on C lim a te C h a nge (l PCC ), "S u m ma ry for
1101 Go~c rn mc n t o f Ca n ada, Clean A i r Act, Env iro n me n t Ca na da , O ttawa, ON, 2006, Pol icym a kc rs ", in Ctimatc CIIIIIIse 20 07 : M it isa ti oll , p p . 43 - 76 .
ava ila b le a t <w w w.ec.gc.ca/ clca n a ir-a irp u r/ C lea n_ Air_Act-W S l C A709 CS- l En 12 21 T. Hom e r- Dixo n , T he Upside O(DOII' II, Knopf , New York, 200 6 .
.h trn » (lu ne 6, 2008). - \ 12 31 .I . Sim pson, M. j accar d , a n d N. Rive rs, Hot A ir: M eetillg Catuutu's Cl i mate CIIIlIIs e
Challenge, McC le lla nd & Stewa rt, Toronto , 2007.
386 PART FO UR · ENV l llONME NTAL PRACT ICE ANO IIIII C.
IZ41 c.r. Ca ll1!,~I~ell, .l'erson ~ 1

co n u n u n ic au o n re port ed in ke y n o te paper by r. I )
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"IObCatu l lvl tII l , N o vem ber Z7, Z0 07, ava ila b le al <w w w.t h eg lo bea n d lll•.II. l co .ll > n ew app licant mu st writ e a Prof ession al Practi ce Exa m ina tio n (PPE). Th e
( uu e 6, ZOOH) , ' .
/:{ I I Int e rgo vcrnlll en tal Pan e l o n C l i m nn, C h a nge (II'C C ) "S arv f exa m is set by th e p rovincial or territ ori al Associatio n o f profession al eng i-
1'01" k " , "/' " . ullllll ,lI y o r nee rs and/or geo scien t ists. Ten of th e 16 licen sing Assoc iatio ns present ly use
• ICy III a 'e r~, III C 1I11t1~C Cl ltll ISC
' 2007: M itigation, p . 8 7.
13 Z1 D~'l n l ~ Bl~ rn lll gha lll , MSc ., c he lll ica l e ng inee r a n d U. K. in du stry co ns u lt a n t th e Na t io na l Prof ession al Practi ce Exa m (N PPE) set by Albe rta (APEGGA),
pel s,on ,," ~ c~ rres po n dence . Mr. Burninghalll provid ed hi s per son al in sight in(o a lth ou gh so me Associa t io ns add q uest ions a nd o th ers set a nd ad mi nister t heir
~ us t.l lll.l b " , ty, a n d Illan y o f h is co m me n rs a re wove n int o t h is c ha p te r. T h e ow n exa ms , Th e exa m e nsures th at the a pplicant is famil iar w it h th e prin ci-
;II~I;~ ::~:. wo u ld li ke to ac know led ge t hi s per son a l ass ista n cc a nd ex press hi s p les o f practi ce, includin g a basic kn ow ledge o f the prof essio n , eth ics, lia-
l:n l l'l. a n ne ry, '1'111' WCtll I1er Mak ers, p. 19 9 . bi lit y, a nd Can ad ia n law as it a pplies to e ng inee rs and geo scien tist s in th e
13 4/ ~. Ray no ld s, M .D . C hcc ko], a n d It A. Fraser , "The Rel ati vr. Ma ss-E I ' " appli cant's provin ce or territor y o f practi ce.
I.~ conolll i~ (RMEE) Me thod for Sys te m Boun d a ry Se lec tion - A' ~'e;:n~'7~ This cha pte r describes th e exa m in at io n a nd shows typ ical so lved qu es-
Sys te lll a t ica lly a n d Q ua n ti ta ti ve ly Se lec t I CA Bou n c/'tr ,' " s n 1111'1/ ' I / ' 1 '/ '
C' "~ 1'( I \ ,I..SC.I..,I II/ CII I , vo l. 5, n o . I (ZOOO), pp , .3 7-46.
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, ~. , Oll l/ Ill 0 . 1 c tion s fro m previou s exa ms . It sho uld be especia lly useful to rea de rs who a re
13 51 1111.1 case s t udy h as been ad a p ted , w it h pe rllli ssion from A Nikif . t • preparing to write it.
"No rt h or I" C li , . IOIU ...,
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13 6 1 I.. SCh lll id t, "J Udge awa rds $ Z7M, pro per ty to Murph y : G as fie ld leual b 'ltt le The first ste p in prep arin g for t he PPE is to determin e th e syllabus a nd format
n ear s e n d" Col " or)' l lemll I:' ' I ,. I't · ' . 0' c
I' " . •. ':" :~ '. I , " ~ ,~ ·.C I ion, Sa t ur da y, Sep te m be r 16, Z00 6, C4. o f th e exa m in yo ur provin ce o r territor y.
13 71 . C izek, Scou ri ng SU IJll a n el lar l rom t h e Bott O'11 of ti l" 1'1'[ " I' . c- •
I CI' ' ~ , ~ 1I1'1 ~)' .)ccll n l )'
(/I II , 1I!,aIC U laIlSC: A Cal/adiall l 'rimcr, Co py righ t C. Gon ic k (eelitc;r) F " I
l'ub llShlll g, Blac k Po in t, NS, Z0 07 . ' e ll IWOO(
• Sy ll a b us: The Profession al Practi ce Exa mi na tio n in eac h juri sdi ction fol -
13 HI n. O l ive r, "Albe rt a 's In co n ve n ie nt Trut h s," n il' Toron to Star Oc to ber 14 Z0 07
lo ws a genera l sy lla bus set by Engineers Ca nada, a lt ho ugh m ost jur isd ic-
i\ IZ. " ~, r tion s inclu de min or cha nges in co nte n t to suit th e local legislation . The
139 / Ass ig.
n mcn r p rob lems 17.Z a nel 17.3 we re i n sp i red by Dr. j er ry M W I 'r top ics in clud e profession alism , eth ics, liability, a n d Ca nad ia n law. Thi s
(I' rofe sxor Elll e ri t u~, Un ive rsity o f A l he r tn ) Th e au t h or t h '. ,l '·S IJ r' W II~t mg t' textbo ok co ve rs m ost of th ese topi cs, a lth ough o t he r text book s a re rec-
I' C ,n
' ' " . I
ll ~ S I O I1 to ac a p t th ese qu estions.
" , .... . 11 IIl g or
o m mende d for t h e lega l co nc epts in th e sy llabus.
• Fo r m a t : The type a nd durati on of th e exa m a rc impor tant. The Albe rta
(Na tio na l) Prof ession a l Exam is typi call y a mult ipl e-ch o ice exa m, two
hou rs in length , alt ho ug h the O n ta rio PPE is a sho rt-a ns we r and essay-
typ e ex am, three hours in lengt h . O the r ju risdi ctions h ave va ria tio ns o n
th ese formats.
lt is im por ta n t th at yo u co n tac t yo u r Associatio n as soo n as possibl e to
\ det ermine th e requirem ent s for the PPE, a nd th e fo rma t fo r th e ex a m. You
CHAPIE R I II • W,;t ill9 th e Proj es sion at Prnc t ir e [ XII'"
Ill')
88 PART FIVE · EX AM PREPARATION
need to know: W ha t topics are co ve red by t he exa m '! What is th e d ura tio n The pass ma rk is 65 percent, with no pen alt y for wro ng a nswe rs, The grad "
a nd format o f the ex am '! Are an y a ids o r refe ren ces perm itted or provided '! is fin al a nd ca n no t be a ppea led . Th e major sub ject areas o n the exa m (as 0 1
june 5, 2( 08 ) are as follow s:
Syllabus-Engineers Canada A. prof essio nalilm (30 %)

I) Defini tio n a nd in terp reta t io n of p rof essio n a l sta tus
En gi nee rs Ca n ada (fo rm e rly called t he Ca n ad ia n Co u ncil o f Pro fessiona l
2 ) The ro le a nd resp on sib ilit ies o f a profession a l in soc iety
Eng ineers- CC PE) pub lish es a ge ne ra l sy llab us for th e exa m, whi c h is
3 ) T he ro le a nd responsibi lit ies o f a professio na l to m anagement
accepted in princip le by most Associations, The Engineers Ca nada syllabus
4) Pro fessional co n d uc t, et h ica l sta nd a rds and co de s
in cludes both profession alism an d engineering law, defin ed as foll ow s:
5) Sa fety a nd lo ss m an agement- t he p rof essiona l's d ut ies
Professionalism 6) Env iro n m ent a l resp o nsi biliti es
Topics to be covered by the examination in the general areas of engineering practice and B. Professional Practice (2 0%)
et hics should include, but need not be limited to: the definiti on of professional engineering; I) Professiona l acco u n tability for work, workp lace issues, jo b resp onsibi liti es
the role of th e association and th e responsibilities associated with self-governance; profes- a nd sta nd a rds o f pr acti ce
sional accounta bility, conduct and et hics, th e professional engineer's responsibility to 2) Co n ti n u in g co m pe te nce
th e public and duty to report illegal or unet hical engineering practice; t he et hical use 3) Q ua lity m an agem ent a n d sta nd a rd s o f skill in pr acti ce
of the engineer's seal; continuing compete nce; and th e social and environmental impacts 4) Busi ness p racti ces as a p rof essiona I
of engineering on society, 5) In sur a nce a nd risk man agement
Engineering Law 6) Prof essiona l and technica l soc ie ties
7) No n-sta tu tory sta nd a rd s a nd co d es of pr acti ce
Topics to be covered by the examination in th e area of the law as it relat es to engineers
C. Regulatory Authority Requirements (9 %)
and to the practice of engineering should include, but need not be limited to: the basic
st ructure of th e Cana dian legal system, common law, Quebec civil law, sta tute law and I) Sa fety and lo ss m ana ge m e n t- regu la tory as pects
t he provincial court syste m; tort law, liability and liability issues; business organi za- 2) Env iro n me n ta l regu lati ons
ti ons; contract law, specifications an d te ndering , discharge and breach of cont ract , 3) Occu pa t io na l h ea lth a nd sa fety
bonding, estoppel and construc tion lien legislati on; int ellectu al property, patents, tech- 4) Worker s co m pe ns a t io n
nology transfer, copyrights, trademarks, industr ial designs and t rade secret; fiduciary 5) O t he r sta tu tory sta nd a rd s of pr acti ce
responsibility; professional advertising, unfair competition and merchandising rights; D. Law and Legal Concept s (25 %)
disput e resolut ion , negoti ation and arbit ration; lit igation and t he engineer as expert
1) Ca n ad ia n lega l syste m a nd int ern a tiona l co ns ide rat io ns , basics o f b usiness
witn ess; the Canadian Human Rights Act; environmental legislation; worker's compen-
orga n iza tio ns
sation and occupat ional health and safety leqislati on.!
2) Co n trac t Law- e leme n ts, pr in c ipl es, types, di sch a rge, br each , in terp re ta -
tion e tc.
3 ) Tor t Law - Elements, a p plica t io n o f pri nc ip les, int e rp ret a tion , lia biliti es o f
NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
EXAMINATION (NPPE) va rio us kind s
4) Int ellec tual Propert y-pat ents, tr ad emarks, so ftwa re issu es, co py rig h t
Sin ce 1998 th e Assoc ia tio n o f Professio na l Engine ers, Geo logists, a n d 5) Arb itra tion a n d Alt e rna ti ve Disp u te Resolution (ADR)
Ge o p hysicists o f Albe rta (APEGGA) h as provid ed a Na t io na l Prof essiona l 6) Ex per t W itn ess
Pract ice Exam ination (NPPE), It has been ad o pted by !0 jurisdi ction s, fro m
E. The Act (16%)
th e No rthw est Te rr ito ries to Man itob a to Newfo undla nd , Th e NPPE co ns ists
of a set o f o ne hundred mu ltipl e-ch oi ce qu estion s, adm ini stered in a two- I) Defin iti ons o f th e p rof essions a nd scopes o f pract ice
hour closed-book format . All qu esti ons ar e co m mo n to eng ineering , geo logy, 2) St ruc tur e a nd fun cti on s o f a Pro v in cia l Asso ciati on
geo p hysics, a nd geosc ience , Some Associations exte n d th e exami na tio n in :~ ) Regu lati ons a nd By-Law s
th ei r jurisd iction s by addi ng mu ltiple-cho ice an d/or essay q uest io ns to th e 4) Regist rati on
NPPE, an d in th ose cases, ca nd idates are allowed add itio na l tim e to co m plete 5) Discipl in e a nd e n force me n t
th e exa m inatio n , Co n tac t yo ur Assoc iatio n for specific details. 6) Use o f sea ls a n d sta m ps-
CHAPTER I II • Writil/g th e Proj ess io nat "/ l/cUCI' UIlIII lJ l
390 PART FIVE · EXAM PREPARAT ION
ONTARIO AND BRITISH COLUMBIA • Who is involved? (i.e., Who has caused harm to whom?)
What harm or damage has occurred (or may pot enti ally occur)?
In O n ta rio, th e PPE is a three-h our essay- ty pe written exa m ination, typi cally • How has this harm occurred (or may pote ntially occur)?
co nta in ing from eight to ten qu esti ons, half of th ese devoted to profession -
alism (prac tice and et h ics), and h alf to Ca na dia n eng ineering law. Th e syl- STEP 2: E-ETH~AL ISSUES
labu s is sim ila r to th e Eng inee rs Ca na da syllabus, but not identical, and ma y
be obta ined from th e PEO websit e.:' In Ontario, candidat es are usually pro - Identify t he basic et hical issues .
vide d co pies of th e Co de of Ethics a nd th e definition of professional mi scon - The exam questio n may st ate t he ethical problem directly. For example: "Has Mr. Smith
d uct (Ontario Regul ation 94 I, sec tions 72 and 77), but all ca nd ida tes sho uld broken th e Code of Ethics?" However, some exam questio ns may say simply "Explain and
read t he exam ins t ruct io ns ca ref u lly to fin d ou t what aids a re permitted discuss thi s case." You must th en imagine which ethical issues should apply, and if pos-
during t he exa m. sible compare the similarities (and differences ) of th e case with previous cases. If the
British Co lu m b ia ha s a slightl y dif ferent approach: th e PPE administered et hical issue is not obvious, then ask yourself: "What, exactly, is wrong in thi s situa-
by APEGBC is a three-hour exa m ina tio n co ns isti ng o f th e Nationa l tion ? Do any actions cont ravene t he law or the Associati on's Code of Ethics? What is
Professiona l Practice Exam (a two-h our mul tiple-ch o ice section) plu s a n add i- unf air?" Once you identify the ethical problem, the proper course of action may be
tio na l o ne- hour essay q uest io n . The exa m sy lla bus a nd a Law & Et h ics obvious. If so, write down your answer. However, in some problems you may have to sug-
Semi nar a re ava ilable fro m the APEGBC we bsite." gest or imagine ("generate") a proper course of action .
T HE EGA D! STRATEGY FOR ETHICS QUESTIONS

STEP 3: G-GENERATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Generate (or suggest ) possible courses of action .

The eth ics qu est ions o n t he PPE speci fically test your knowled ge of th e Code
of Et h ics, so review thi s code befor e th e exa m ina tio n. Q uestio ns o n multiple- Some exam questions simply ask: "What should you do?" You must suggest the proper
cho ice exa ms are usuall y brief a nd dir ect, alt ho ugh essay-ty pe qu esti ons usu - action . This ste p requires creative thought , so it may be difficult . Creative tec hniques
-----
ally describ e a hyp oth eti cal situa tio n a nd ask you to sugge st th e proper co urse such as brainstorming may be useful. You might suggest a compromise, or a tot ally new
of action. Whe never th e a nswer involves a claus e in th e Co de of Eth ics, you idea. You might also try to imagin e yourself as one of t he participants. What would you
-
sho uld sta te the cla use (or at least refer to th e code) . Many qu estions ca n be do in thi s sit uation? The goal is to find a new course of action th at is ethically correct
a nswe red easily if yo u have a goo d grasp of th e code . and that has a minimum of side effects.
Some qu esti ons may be "open -ende d, " an d may require a more gene ral
Sometimes the exam question involves an ethical dilemma with only two alte rna tives,
di scussion o f eth ics. Th ese qu estions do not occur oft en in th e exam sett ing
both of which are very nast y. In this case, you should try to suggest a third possibility
(alt ho ug h t hey a re co m mo n in real life). In th ese cases, th e st rate gy for
th at is better. In your answer, you might list the reasons why the two choices are unde-
so lving et h ical problems, describ ed in Cha pter II , ma y be useful, a nd it is
sirable; do not , however, assume th at you must choose one of th em.
sim plified below for eas ier use o n th e exam . Th is six-ste p stra tegy ha s been
rena med the "EGAD!" meth od a nd is sim ilar to a so lu tio n method taught to
STEP 4: A-ANALYSIS
law studc nts .> It is rem embered easily by th ese three words:
Analyze th e possible courses of action.
READ-EGAD!-WRITE
When two or more courses of action have been suggeste d (in the previous ste p), you
Th e ter m "EGAD!" (an o ld English excla mation of su rprise) is an acro ny m must examine each one to find the best. You want the simplest course of action that
o r mn em oni c for th e four key ste ps in th e so lution strategy : Eth ical issues, solves t he problem without nasty side effect s. You should test each course of action as
Ge ne ratio n of alt ernati ves, Analysis, and Decision. Th e six-ste p strategy is
follows:
ex p laine d as follow s:
• Is thi s course of action legal?
STEP 1: READ • Is it consiste nt with human rights, employment standards, and design standards?
• Does it obey t he Code of Ethics and maintain t he ideals of the profession?
Read the problem t horough ly and gat her informati on. • Can th e solut ion be published and withsta nd th e scrutiny of your colleagues and the
Exam questions contain less information t han real problems, so read each question thor- pU~lic?
oughly! Highlight or underline key facts, but do not copy th e question into the exam • What benefits will result, and are th ey equally distributed? (Utilit ariani sm)
book, since thi s wastes valuable time. Ask yourself th e typica l reporter's question s: • Can thi s solution be applied to everyone uniform ly? (Kant)
392 PART FI VE . EX AM PREPARATION ( IlAPTER 18 • Writin g th e Prof essiona l Practice Exan:
• Does this solution respect the right s of all participan ts? (Locke) suggested for m ost qu esti on s. An aste risk (*) indi cat es w he re th e spec ific
• Does t he solut ion develop or support moral virt ues and/ or is it a golden mean cla use number (s) from your provin cia l Act (or Code o f Eth ics) sho uld appea r,
bet ween un acceptable extremes? (Aristotle) if a p pro pria te.
• Is it fair? Does it have any unfair side effects on th ose concern ed?
Essa y -Ty p e )Ex a m i n a t io n Questions
STEP 5: D-DECISION
In the essay -ty pe exa m ina tio n, t he app lica nt is ty picall y aske d to a ns we r foul'
Make a logical decision. o r five eth ics qu esti ons a nd wo uld be permi tt ed about twenty minutes pe l'
The previous step should yield at least one acceptable course of acti on. However, in some qu estion . A co py of th e Code of Ethi cs ma y be provid ed for reference during
cases all of the alte rna tives may be unaccept able, or th e alternatives may be so equally th e exa m .
balan ced th at non e is clearly superior. In t his case, you may need to review t he above
l - CO M PETI N G W IT H AN EMPLOY ER
ste ps. If you still face a dilemma, wit h two equal choices, you must decide which is
better (or least negative). If th e choices are equally balanced, select the course of actio n
Profession a l Engin eer A ta kes a job w it h a man ufacturin g co m pa ny an d
th at does not yield a benefit to t he person making th e decision . This will help you to
a lmost im media tely th ereafter is give n respo nsib ility for preparing th e d raft
defend the decision.
o f a bid for rep lace me nt tu rb in e ru nn e rs for a powe r cor po ra tio n . W h ile
working o n prep arin g th e bid for th e manufacturing co m pa ny, Enginee r A, as
STEP 6: WRITE
p reside n t an d sha reholde r o f his o wn co m pa ny, whi ch he run s pri vat ely fro m
hi s home, writes to th e po wer cor pora tio n requesting permission to subm it a
Write a professional summary of your answer. tender o n th e sam e p roj ect. A few days lat er, and wh ile co n tin u ing to work
Finally, you must explain your answer clearly, logically, and neatly. You can't afford to
on the bid for th e manu facturing co mpa ny, he receiv es wo rd from th e pow er
waste time, so you must practise writ ing good answers. Start by sta ting your decision,
cor po ra tio n th at a b id from h is co m pan y wo uld be co nsi dere d . The da y afte r
which answers the quest ion asked by th e examiner. Then explain why you came to th at
learn in g thi s, he resign s h is positi on wit h th e manufact urin g co m pa ny a nd
conclusion. It is very important to cite sub-section numbers (from t he Code of Ethics or
proceeds to fina lize a nd su bm it a bid o n be ha lf o f his o wn co m pa ny.
regulations) for th e et hics questi ons, ju st as you would cit e past cases (or precedents)
for th e law questi ons. Do not copy clauses from t he Code of Ethics; identify them by
QUESTION DisCIISS Eng ineer A ~~ actions (mill 1/1/ ethical point of view.
numb er, if possible. It is also import ant to writ e neatly and legibly. The examine rs
great ly appreciate thi s court esy.
SUGGESTED ANSWER Eng inee r A is clear ly un ethi cal in h is act io ns . By ru nnin g
a pr ivat e co m pa ny in co m pe ti tio n with hi s e m ployer, he is not bein g fair or
An Important Hint lo ya l to h is e mp loye r, as requi red by th e Code of Ethi cs.(*) He has tak en
An examiner who sets one of the essay- type PPEs says that candidates using th e EGAD!
advantage of in sid e in fo rm a tio n , be trayed t h e tru st of hi s em p loyer, a nd
method spend t oo much time on th e EGA ste ps (Ethi cal Issu es, Generatio n of
yielded to a co n flict of interest. If hi s p rivat e co m pa ny was unknown to h is
Altern ati ves, and Analysis) and not enough ti me on ste p D (explaining the Decision ).
em plo yer, th en he has failed to di sclose h is co n flict o f interest as req uir ed by
These short or incomplete answers get lower grades. Remember that th e EGAD! process
th e Code of Eth ics.(*) By hi s actions, he has failed to sho w th e necessar y devo-
tio n to profess iona l in tegr ity req ui red by th e Code of Ethi cs.
is intended merely to help you th ink about th e problem in an orderly way. Do not write
out all of th e ste ps; your exam grade is based only on your written decision (st ep D), so
In h is defence, it co uld be sa id that since he resign ed before act ua lly
explain it thoroughly."
sign ing th e co n tract, he did no t compete wit h hi s emp lo yer, but t h is is irrel-
eva n t; th e ser ious co n flic ts of interest occurred durin g t he bid prepa rati on
stage . Eng inee r A has ex posed hi mse lf to th e serious possib ilit y of di sci plin a ry
ac tio n for co n flict o f interest und e r th e prov incial or ter ritorial Act.
PREVIOUS EXAMINAT I O N Q U E ST I O NS
Thi s sec t io n co n ta in s abo ut :W exa m ina tio n q uestio ns se lecte d fro m pre- 2-FORMIN G A PRI NTI NG COMPA NY
vio us PPEs in seve ral provi nces." Read ers are enco uraged to atte m pt a ll of the You a re a Pro fession a l Engin eer wit h XYZ Co ns ult ing Enginee rs. You have
fo llow ing qu esti o ns, rega rd less of t he ir pro vin ce of resid e nce. Ethi cs co n- beco m e awar e th at yo u r firm su bco n tracts near ly a ll th e wor k associat ed wit h
ce pts are u n iver sal, prob lem s are sim ila r, a nd answers will d iffer o n ly slig h t ly th e setu p, printing, a nd pub lish ing of reports, incl ud ing a rtwor k and ed iting.
from provin ce to province. Th e qu estio ns have been chose n to sho w t he va r- Your w ife has so me trai ni ng a lo ng this line and, now t hat yo ur ch ild ren are
io us exa m fo rmats : essay-ty pe, shor t-a ns we r, mu lti ple-ch oi ce. So lutio ns a re at sc h o o l, is co ns ide ring go ing ba ck into bu sin ess. You decid e to form a
CIlAPHIl III • Wtitill Y til e I'rof essiollal 1'," ,tiC" / X'''II )<) ')
PART FI VE · EXAM PREPARATION
co m pa ny to e n te r th is line o f bu sin ess togeth er with yo u r neighbours, exceede d , and failur e to ta ke action co uld be co ns ide red professio nal m iscou -
a no t he r co up le. Your wife will be th e president, using he r maid en nam e, a nd du ct under t he Act.(*) If she has kn own abo ut t he exc ess for so me tim e, sill'
yo u a nd yo u r neighbou rs will be direct or s. may a lread y be co ns ide red negligent a nd th erefor e sub ject to di sciplin e un de r
Since yo u see o ppor tun ities for subco n trac t wor k from yo ur co m pa ny, yo u t he Act .(*)
reason th at the re m ust be sim ilar o ppor tu n ities with o t he r co ns u lting firm s. MacDo na ld m ~st abide by t he ministr y's regul ati on s, w hic h wo uld proh-
Yo u a re aware o f th e ex isti ng co m pe tit io n a nd th e rat es th ey cha rge for se r- ab ly require her to subm it a co m plete, factua l report to in fo rm o fficials abo ut
vices a nd see th is as an att ractive side line bu siness. t he poll ut io n . Hcfo re send ing th e rep or t, she sho uld d iscuss it fu lly wi th her
em ploye r. If t he em p loye r react s adv ersely, MacDon ald mu st , neverth eless,
QUESTION Cal/ you do this ethically, and ifs o, what steps mu st yO Il take? fo rwar d t he rep or t to th e mi ni st ry as requi red by law a nd by the Co de o f
Et h ics.(*) If th e em ploye r att e m pt s to d ismi ss h er, MacDonald may find it
SUGGESTED A NS W ER Yo u ca n do t hi s et h ica lly, but th er e is a pot entia lly useful to ask th e pr o vi n cial Assoc ia ti o n to m edi at e a n d to in for m he r
se rio us co n flict of int er est u nl ess yo u fo llow t he Cod e o f Et h ics fo r yo u r em plo ye r of th e req uir em en ts u nder the Act. Sho uld MacDo na ld be dismi ssed
province o r territo ry. You can under ta ke th e side line busin ess, provid ed it does while act ing properly a nd in good faith , she wou ld have gro u nds for a suit
no t in terfere with yo ur regular em ploy me n t and provid ed yo ur em ployer is aga in st th e em ploye r fo r wron gful d ism issal to reco up lost wages a nd cos ts. 1\
fu lly in for med, as req uired by th e Co de o f Et h ics.(*) Your wife, of co urse, is wo uld be ad visable for her to co ns ult a lawyer in t ha t eve n t.
free to use any legal na me in her bu sin ess affairs; however, if th e sa le reason Th e eng inee r's co nce rn ove r adv erse pub licit y a nd th e cos t to th e co m-
for usin g her maid en n am e is to co ncea l yo u r par ticipat ion in the co m pany's pa ny mu st not obscure th e req ui re men t to act wit h in th e law. If th e situatio n
o w ne rsh ip a nd o pe rat io ns , yo ur coo pe rat io n co u ld be co ns ide red un ethica l. is per mitted to co n t inue unabat ed, th e lon g-term co nse q ue nces wi ll be m uch
If yo u tell yo ur em ploye r a ll th e det a ils abou t yo ur wife's co m pany, t hen yo u mo re se rious. Th e pollut ion co uld ru in th e neigh bouring reso rt in du str y, and
have d isclosed yo ur co n flict of in terest as requi red by t he Co de of Eth ics.(*) Mac Do na ld co uld find herself sub ject to d isciplin ary ac tio n fo r negligen ce or
Ho wever, yo ur wife's o t he r clien ts ma y wo rry abo ut a possibl e loss of co n fi- professio nal miscond uc t.
denti a lit y. A publi shin g co m pa n y o fte n recei ves co n fide n t ial reports an d
mu st no t revea l t he co n te n ts o f th ose repo rts to o the rs. Ther efor e, yo ur wife 4- I NVO ICE ERRO RS
mu st not allow yo u to see sens itive eng ineering in for mat io n subm itted to h er You are a Professio na l Eng in ee r em ploye d by a co ns ulting eng inee ring firm.
by o t he r clien ts for publish ing. Obv ious ly, co n fide n tia lity mu st be guara n- Your boss, who is also a Pro fession al Eng inee r, is th e pro ject m an ager. You
teed, or co n flicts o f int e rest ma y arise in th e fut ure. exa m ine a rece nt in voice tha t yo ur boss sen t to th e clie n t for wo rk don e by
yo u an d by members of yo u r staff. You are surp rised to see how mu ch of yo ur
3-C HEM ICAL POLLUTION tim e and yo ur staff's tim e h as been cha rged to th e job . You check furth er by
Brenda MacDona ld, a Profession al Eng inee r, is man ager of a che m ical plan t in a reviewing th e ti me shee ts, wh ich show th at tim e t hat sho u ld be c ha rged to
northern Cana d ian town. Early this sum me r she noticed th at th e plant was cre- o ther clie nts has bee n de libe rat e ly tran sferr ed to thi s job . You try to raise the
ating slightly more wate r pollutio n in the lake in to wh ich its waste line drains sub ject with yo u r boss, bu t are reb u ffed . You a re q ui te su re so me t h ing is
th an is legally perm itt ed . If she co n tacts th e provin ce's environ me nt mini stry w rong , bu t yo u a re no t sure where to turn .
a n d revea ls th e prob lem , th e result will be a co ns ide ra ble a mo un t o f
un favou rable pu blicity for the plant. The publicity will a lso hurt th e lakeside QUESTION W llicl, articles in the Code o{ Etllics arc rete 1'i1ll I 10 this situation? w hot
to wn's resor t busin ess and may scare the com m un ity. In add ition , solving the action m ust you take, according to the Code o( Ethics?
problem will cost her co m pany well ove r $ 100,000. If she tells no o ne, it is
u nli kely th at o utside rs will discover th e probl em, because th e violation poses no SUGGESTED AN SW ER Th e first ste p in so lving any prob lem (as di scu ssed in
dan ger wh atever to peop le. At th e most, it will endanger a small number of fish . Cha pte r I I) is to get all th e inform ati on . If no suita ble a nswe r is give n, yo u
have an et h ical d ilem ma . The Co de o f Eth ics says th at yo u mu st be loyal to
QU ESTION Should Macixma k! reveal the problem despite the cost 10 her COIll PCll/Y, th e employer,(*) but t he code a lso sta tes th at yo u m ust be fair and loyal to th e
or should sill' consider the prob lem little 1II0re than a technicality and disregard it? clien t.(*) You wo uld so lve th e d ilem ma in two ste ps: First, yo u as k. your boss,
Discuss the ethical considerations a{{eclil/g her decision. aga in, for an explana tio n o r justificatio n for thi s tran sfe r. (For exa m p le, it may
be a sim ple acco u nt ing error.) As a professiona l e ng inee r, yo u r boss is sub ject
SU GGESTED ANSWER Mac Don a ld mu st, lega lly a nd et h ically, take acti o n to to th e Code of Et h ics, a nd has a d uty to yo u as a n e m ployee. (*) If yo ur boss
remedy this situa tio n. She is obligated u nder t he Code o f Eth ics to co ns ide r is co m pletely unwi lling to ex plain th e reason s for t h is act io n, th e n t he ove r-
th e publi c we lfare as param oun t .P ) The legal lim it fo r pollution has been bi lling may be fraud or th eft, which is illega l. If yo u igno re t he di screpan cy,
396 PART FI VE · EXAM PREPARATION CHA PTER 18 • Wri ti ng th e Profe ss iona l Practice EX I/m
----------
you may be im p licated in yo ur boss's apparently unprofessional co n duc t. In firm has an ob ligatio n to ex pose an y unprofessiona l o r un ethical co nd uc t "
thi s case, yo ur respo nsibility to th e clie nt outweigh s th e d uty to th e em ployer. th e ot he r practitioner.(*)
Seco nd, yo u tr y to resolve th e di screpancy internally, by co n tac tin g your
boss's boss for cla rificati on of th e discrepancy and assurance that you are not 6-ROA DEFICI ENCIES
imp licat ed in crim ina l activity. If th e prob lem ca n be resolved internally, it is Ji\. enters into a co ns ult in g co n tract with a client to provide design
Engin eer
likely not esse n tial to inf orm th e client wh o is bein g overcharged . If your boss and co ns truction su pe rvision of road surfaces in a pa rtially co m pleted lal ld
retali at es by d ismi ssing yo u, you wou ld co ns ult a lawye r abo ut su in g for development pro ject. He ha s taken over fro m ano the r co n su lta n t, who W;IS
wrongfu l di smi ssal. d ischa rged pa rtway through th e job . Before Engin eer A ca n fini sh the proj ect ,
hi s co nt ract also is terminat ed . Sho rtly thereafte r, it becomes obv ious th;11
5- CH EMICAL SPILL CLEA N U P th ere are de ficienc ies in th e work done under i\.'s su pervisio n . ln vestiga tion
A co ns u lt ing e ng inee ring firm is prep aring to subm it a proposal to clean up shows th at h astil y paved road surfaces, co m plete d under adve rse lat e-fa ll
an area co nta m ina ted by a che m ical spill d uring a tra in derailment. From past weathe r co nditions , are not up to spec ificat ions . It seems that A is aware o f
experience, the eng ineers an d geoscien tists in th e firm kn ow th e amo un t of th is. He inten ded to requ ire rem ed ial work by th e co n t ractor in th e sp ring,
wo rk in vo lved in doing th e job prop erly. The ex pe rts will in clu de people wit h but h is termin ati on occurred befor e that time. Eng ineer A did not adv ise It is
trainin g in eco logy, wat er qu ality, gro u nd wat er, so ils, air poll ut ion, a nd other client th at he was ex pecting to re-in spect in th e spring an d to ha ve deficien -
a reas . The m eth od o logy th at th ey feel m ust be follow ed will resu lt in a n cies co rrec ted, nor did he inform h is client of th e ex isti ng state of th e road s
expend iture of about $S million. Befo re th eir proposal is sub m itte d, however, afte r he was released fro m hi s co n t ract.
the fede ral govern me n t, whi ch is th e pot entia l client, issues a news release
saying th at it has bud geted on ly $ I mi llion for th is work . QUESTION Did Engineer A act in an eth ical way in his dealings with his client, (' 1'('/1
th ougi: lie ma y feel that lie was IInfairly termi nated? Discuss tile articles 0("1 11(' Cod«
QUESTIO N Wli at can tile consulti ng finn do? To reduce the level of work to one- of Ethics that have a bearing 011 this case.
fiftli of what it thinks is necessary wou ld intringe on the fin n 's perceived eth ical
responsibil ities to the en vironme nt. SUGG ESTED AN SWER Eng inee r A, as a p rofession al enginee r, is required to ac l
as a faithf ul age n t for th e client, in spite of othe r problem s that might int e-r-
SUGGESTED ANSWER Th e qu esti on im plies that th e co nsu lti ng firm feels pres- fere.(*) Th erefore, even if Eng inee r A felt t hat h e was unfair ly term inat ed , II
sure to sub m it a bid to do a partial o r in ad equat e job, within t h e $1 mi llion wo uld be un ethi ca l for him to neglect hi s responsib ilities, such as listi ng t h«
limit, sim p ly to get th e work. This beh aviour co n trave nes every Co de of deficienc ies (kno wn on ly to Eng ineer A) so that th e wo rk co u ld co n tin ue. 'I'h ls
Ethics (eit he r dir ectly or indirectl y), wh ich states that th e professiona l eng i- is espec ially im por ta nt if th e deficien cies m ight lead to e nda nge ring o tlt ' I'
neer mu st act co m pete n tly in providing eng ineering services .(*) Mor eover, wor kers or the ge ne ral public. Th e Co de of Eth ics requires th e profession al
most Codes o f Ethics require t he pr ofessional eng inee r to uph old th e prin- engineer to p ut public safety first.(*)
cip le of ade q uate com pensa tion for eng inee ring work.(*) It is th erefor e un eth -
ical for th e co ns u lting firm to subm it a bid to per form an in ad equat e job, o r 7- CONT RACT CO N T I N G ENT ON BO N D ISSUE
to perfo rm a $S milli on job for $1 milli on. An eng inee r enters into a co n tract with a pub lic bod y [cit y o r town] wh c rch
Howeve r, th e qu esti on asks what th e co ns ult ing firm sho u ld do . Eve ry he agrees to co nd uc t suc h field investigati on s and stud ies as ma y be necessar y
Code of Ethics requires a p rofessional eng ineer to ex plain th e co nse q ue nces to deter mine th e most eco no m ical a nd proper method of des ign ing a nd co n-
to be ex pec te d if eng ineering judgm en t is ove rr uled by n on-technica l struc ting a water supply syste m . He also agrees to prep ar e a n eng inee ring
..ill!tho ritY.(*) Inthi s case, th e fin an cial officia ls wh o set th e budget a re likely' repo rt, in clu di ng an esti mate o f the cos t of th e pr oject, an d to estima te till'
un aware of th e req uired eng ineering work . Thi s fact mu st be co m m u n icate d amoun t o f bond issue required. Th e co ntract pro vid es th at if th e bond issue
to th e fede ra l dep artm ent that issu ed t he ca ll fo r tenders, which m ust be passes, th e engineer will be paid to prep are plan s a n d spec ifica tio ns a nd
adv ised to cor rec t its spec ifica t ions . If th e problem ca n no t be reso lved by supervise th e co nstruction, an d h e will be paid a fee for hi s preliminary Sl'r-
simp le co m m uni cation, th e co ns ult ing firm mu st eva lua te the serious ness of vices. If t he bo nd issue sho uld fail, th e p ublic bod y will not be obli gated to pay
the matt er. (Thi s req uires details not provid ed in th e qu esti on .) For exa m p le, for th e prelim inary wor k. The public bod y's bylaws prohibit it from co m m it-
if an in ad equate job will en da nge r th e public, th e co ns u lting firm has an ob li- ting funds for pre lim in ary wo rk un til th e bond issue is ap pr oved .
gat ion to put th e publi c interest first, by publicizin g th e issue.(*) Furthermo re,
if th e co ns u lti ng firm sub m its a pro per ($S milli on) bid , a nd a competing firm QUEST ION Maya n engineer eth ically accept a con tingen t contract un der 11I('s('
:98 PART FIVE · EX AM PREPARATION CHAr I ER I H • Wlit il/ 'I th e t'r oj c ss io na! I'l l/ (( iu 1 "'1/'
SUGGESTED ANSWER At first gla nce, th is m ay a p pea r to be a sim p le en tre p re- perform ed by t h e co rpora t io n. Th ese peop le a re required to be cx pc rivrn l'tI
n eu rial ac tiv ity. Ho wever, th e p ro ject is struc tu red to crea te a m assive co n fli t eng inee rs, a n d th eir n ames a re design at ed o n th e cor po ra tio n's Ce rtifica tl' (II
of int erest for th e e ng inee r. Any pub lic p ro ject mu st be ca rried o ut suc h th at Au t horizatio n (C of A or Perm it to Practi se) . Sin ce Engin eer X was desiglla t -ti
th e pu b lic in terest is protect ed (a n d is see n to be protected) . Th e wa ter su p p ly o n th e C of A, a nd perm itted hi s sea l to be a p p lied to t h e d esign d rawillgs,
sys te m fo r a city o r tow n is a n es pecia lly se ns itive matt er, since th e life o f t h e h e is resp on si.ble'{or t h e work . C lea rly, Eng inee r X ha s been n egligcllt ill
co m m u n ity d e pends o n a relia b le wa te r su pp ly. perm itt in g d eticient o r u n safe wo rk to be ca rried o u t an d h as fai led to ca rry
In t h is case, th e co n trac t pro po ses th at th e eng in eer will n ot be paid fo r o u t hi s respo n sib ility to su pe rv ise and d irect t h e wo rk. Eng in eer X will likcly
th e rep o rt if th e bon d issu e is n o t a p p ro ved (pres u m a b ly by city a n d/o r fin a n - 'be su b jecte d to a di scip linary acti on for n eg ligence (as ex p la ine d in Cha pte r
c ia l offic ia ls). Suc h a pro posa l is co n tra ry to th e Co de o f Et h ics, w h ic h 4 o f thi s text ). Designat io n o n a C o f A is n ot a form a lit y, n o r is it a mean -
req u ires t h e eng inee r to uph ol d th e prin ciple o f ade q uate co m pe ns at io n fo r in gless tit le.
e ng inee ring work.(*) Mo reove r, th e co n t rac t p ro poses that th e eng inee r rea p Th e o t he r ABC e ng inee rs, wh o act ua lly d esign ed th e defi cie nt electrica l
a d ouble r eward if the bon d issu e passes. He will be pa id bot h for th e repo rt a nd m ech anica l wo rk, mi gh t a lso be su b ject to di sci p lin ar y acti on for inco m-
a n d tor futu re work-to p rep ar e plan s a nd specifica tio ns a nd su pe rvise t he pete nce. Alt ho ugh th ey wo rk under th e su pe rv isio n of Eng inee r X, th ey a rc
co ns t ruc tio n . Thl s crea tes p ressu re on t h e en g inee r to p u t t h e bo n d issue resp on sib le for prod ucing co m pe te n t wo rk, a n d th eir design s we re a ppar en tly
a he ad of th e e ng ineering qu alit y o f th e pr oj ect. Thi s is a clear co n flict o f in ad eq ua te .
i n te r~s t , a n d in t hi s case th e co n flict is in surmou nt abl e, since d isclosin g th e
co n flict wo u ld d iscred it h is re po rt in th e eyes of t h e pub lic, a nd co ncea ling 9 -B RA KE SYS TEM SAFETY
the co n flict is un acceptab le. Th er efo re, since suc h a co n flict o f in ter est is co n- Auto-Fran, Inc., a ma n u fact u ring firm , has co n t rac ted to d evel op and prodll \'(-
trar: . to the Co de of Ethics(*), h e must n ot accept th e co n trac t as proposed . a fu lly automated ma ss-transp o rtation sys te m to se rve resid ents o f a lar gc cil .
I h e proper way to or ga n ize a p roj ect suc h as t h is is to sp lit it into tw o A fai lur e co u ld have catast ro ph ic co ns eq ue nces . O ne of Au to-Tra n 's mech a u -
parts. Th e first co n t rac t wou ld be for pr epa rin g t he re port o n t he m ost eco - ica l engineers, w ho is a lice ns ed p rofessio n al eng inee r (I'. Eng.), is co nce rllcd
n omi cal wa ter su p p ly sys te m. Th e e ng in ee r sho u ld be paid fo r thi s work, th at, d ur ing t he in stal lation a n d test in g ph ase, a major part o f th e CO l l I ro l
regard less o f th e success o f the bo n d issu e. Th e seco n d co n trac t-to pr e pa re sys te m d id n ot appear to fun cti on sa tis fac tor ily. Th e P.En g . re po rted t h c
p la n s a nd spec ificati o n s an d su pe rv ise th e co n struc tio n-wou ld be arra ng ed appar en t ma lfun cti on to t he p ro ject man ager a n d reco m mended th at th e firm
o n ly if t he bond issu e pa ssed . Suc h a co n t rac t sho u ld be o ffe red fo r tender engage a lice nsed so ftwa re e ng inee ring p ractiti on er to lo o k into th e prob le m .
a nd I~ay m en t wo u ld foll ow th e s ta n d ard procedures (lu m p su m, percen tage: Ho wever, t he pro ject man ager adv ised th e P.En g. t hat th er e was no budgct
pe r d iem, a nd so o n) recomm ended by th e p rov in cia l Asso ciatio n . ava ilab le a n d th at it wa s important fo r Au to -Tra n, Inc. to ma ke d e liver y in
order to meet its co n t ractua l co m m it me n ts to t h e cl ient.
8 -DEF IC IENC IES IN BUIL D ING D ESIGN
Engin eer X, a civ il e ng inee r a n d a n e m p lo yee of ABC Co ns u lta n ts Ltd., is d es- QUESTION The I'.Eng, strenuously expressed his COIICCfllS 10 the projec! /l/mlas ('/'
ign at ed under t he co m pan y's Ce rt ifica te o f Aut ho riza tion (C o f A; a lso ca lled and learned subsenuentiy tI/IIl shipment 10 the client had already been nuulc. Docs
a P~rm~t to Pract ice) as th e eng inee r taking respo nsib ility for see ing th at th e the I~ ElIg. have any obligation to take [urthcr actions under the circumstances?
Pro fession al Eng inee rs Act, its bylaw s, a n d its regu lati o n s a re co m p lied wit h .
ABC Co ns u lta n ts Ltd . prep ar ed th e e lect rica l an d m ech ani ca l d esigns for l O-PR OFESS OR'S RESE A RCH
a mul tisto rey bu ildlng . Alt h o ugh En gin eer X had ve ry littl e to d o with this Pro fessor Nu, a p rof essio na l eng inee r, d ivid es hi s tim e betwee n tea chi n g a n d
p roj ect , h e permitted hi s sea l to be a pp lie d to th e d esign d raw ings . Th ese resear ch o n a p ro ject in asso ciati on wit h th e Universi ty. Nu is a lso associa ted
d esign s wer e fou nd to be deficie nt in a number o f resp ects. Co n trary to t h e wit h a pr ivat e resea rch a nd d evelopm e nt co m pa ny, w he re Nu provid es part-
Bu ild ing Co de, firewa lls were om itt ed , fire d am per s wer e no t s ho w n , a n d tim e co ns u lt ing se rv ices . Ano th e r fed era l gove rn me n t agen cy h a s in vit ed
~ p r i n k le rs we re im prope rly co n necte d, a mo ng o the r t h ings . O n in vestigat io n , propo sals for a new pr oj ect from a number o f o rga n iza tio ns. Th is p ro ject may
It was found th at o the r profession a l e ngi nee rs wo rking fo r ABC d id both th e be view ed as an ex te ns io n of wor k p reviou sly done w it h th e Un ive rsity by
electrica l work a nd th e mechan ica l wo rk. Prof essor Nu.
QUESTION w hat is Engineer X\ ethical position ill this matter? QUESTIO NS Ce ll i Professor Nil ethically participate ill a proposal preparation [ort he
- University, NII :~ development COll I/W ilY, or both? If one o( these proposals is SIlC -
SUGGESTED ANSWER As ex p laine d in th e Act(*), co rpo ra tio ns t ha t p ract ise cesstul, CII II Nil part icipate ill executing II,c proj ect? 111 each CIIse, discuss the basis
eng inee ring mu st identify th e in di vid ua ls w ho per sona lly su pe rv ise th e wo rk [or your answer.
CHA PTER 18 • Wti/i//y th e I'rofe s sio//a { Psnct ic» Lxtu«
400 PART FI VE . EXAM PREPARATION
l l -PATENT QUESTION Seve ral month s later, th e City asks Doe to obtain a respon se from O m 'ga
Mu lticommon Tires Ltd. ("Multi common") designs a nd ma nufacturers a uto - to th e City's requ est for O meg a's reassessment of th e fou ndati on . O ne week
mobi le tires. Recentl y, Mu lticommon devel op ed a new po lym er, whi ch wo u ld afte r that, O mega fina lly responds by lett er to th e City, adv ising th at O mega
grea tly improve th e ex pec ted life of its tire s. Multi cornrnon ha s n ot yet sta rted never ex am ine d th e inte rior of th e wa lls and admitting that t h e photograph s
~ l s i~l g th e new po lymer in its tires. Th e development of th e tech nology is sti ll
provided by the ~ ty indi cat e t hat the fou ndat ion is not st ructur ally sou nd.
III Its ea rly stages and the company ha s not yet ob tained a patent.
Jv~u lt icomm on h as ret ained C he rn Eng inee rin g In c. (" Ch em ") to hel p QUESTIONS
a. C01l1llle1l1 Oil II/ e CIIgi lle eri llg serv ices provid ed !Jy a ll/ega , ill reia tio n to 1~/u'
Mu lticommon develop a pro cess for putting the new po lymer into large-scale
Ael ill your province], 111 YO llr answer, also d iscuss a ll/ega 's conduct reganl lllg
producti on . Chern assign ed o ne o f its professiona l enginee rs, Ben Evo len t, to
Mul ticommon 's proj ect. Ben Evolen t is also a member of severa l trade an d Ollle~a 's deal illgs w ith the City.
professiona l asso ciation s, incl ud ing th e Intern at io n al Bui ld ing Mat eria ls b. Ollle~a does 1101 h ave a Cert if iw l e or A u lllO rizolioll l or Penn i ! to Practi se,
needed to provide servi ces to tile pub l ic, ill m an v pnwinces]. Do es a ll/ ega need
In stitute (th e "IBMI") , an associ ati on of design ers, man ufacturers, sellers, an d
one und er tile [a cts describ ed above? tix ptotn w hy or w hy 1I0/. What a~': th e
user s o f buildin g mate rials. lBMI's mi ssion state m e n t is to im p rove the
possibl e consequences 10 a pro(essiO/lll l ellg i lleer or acting w itho ut a cert iticate
building mater ials industr y by the mut ua l coope ratio n of its mem bers. Ben
Evolen t o fte n vo lun tee rs to serve o n lBMI's co m m ittee s. o( uuthotization when on e is requi red?
Ben Evo len t is ve ry int rigued about th e new technology and soon realizes
t ha t th ~ n ew po lymer co uld improve the d urabi lity o f bui ldin g ma ter ials 13 _ UN D ER-T HE-C O UNTE R JO B
SmallBox Co rp. o pe rates a small cha in o f thr ee retai l sto res that spec.ialize in
I~l ad e ot syn t he tic rubber. At a recent committee meet in g of th e IBMI, Ben
selling lumber a nd other h om e improvem ent prod ucts. In .o rde r to .I111 p rove
Evolen t sugges ted to a group of mat erials design ers that th ey use th e new
its in ven tor y and di stri buti on efficiencies, Sma llBox wou ld like to bUI!~1 a cen -
polym er in th eir prod ucts. Ben Evolen t was ha ppy to share th e in formati on
t ral war ehouse that wou ld serve all of its sto res. SmallBox conta cted Engco, a
a n d rem embered reading so me th ing in [t h e Association 's] Code of Et h ics
la rge engineering firm, to inquire about hiring t hem to design th e facility.
a.bo ut practiti oners bein g required to "ext end the effective ness of th e profes-
Eager is em ployed as a pro fessiona l engineer by Engco. At th e req uest of
sio n through t he interchange of enginee ring in formati on and experience ." In
Hon cho th e h ead of Eager's d ivision, Eage r accompani ed Honc ho to a
addi tion, Ben Evo len t believed "it wou ld be good for th e environ me n t an d
meeting' at Engc o's offices with some representatives o f Sm.allBox. to discuss
th e publi c int erest in ge ne ral to have more d urab le building materia ls" an d
how Engco might be ab le to assist Sma llBox wit h th e po tentJa I, pro ject. Att ~le
"besides , Mu lticomm o n doesn 't mak e build ing mate rials a nyway."
meet in g, Sma llBox' s representatives describ ed to Ho ncho and Eage r t.l~e attrib-
utes t hat Sma lIBox was loo king for in t he proposed new wareh ou se. I hey also
QUESTIONS Com m ent all Bell Evoieu t's concl usions. whot do yOIl th i nk or Bell
asked abo ut t he fees tha t Engco prop osed to ch arge for its services. Upo n
Evolent's conduct? Explain .
bei ng advised o f Engco 's sta nd a rd rat es, Sm a llBo x's re prese n tati:-es st ~l ted
12 -FOUNDATION INSPECTION NEGLIGENCE
t hat, unfortunat ely, th ey co u ld not afford to hi re Engco for this pro ject .
J..Doe, th e owne r o f a hou se in the City of Alpha, On ta rlo, was notified by the Honch o 'was not prepa red to d iscou n t Engco's qu ot ed rates, wh ich H OI~ cho
CIty tha t th e co ndit ion o f th e foundati on walls o f th e house violated th e sta n- descr ibed as bein g "extr em ely co m petitive." Although eve ryo ne was disap -
dard s set out in t he City's propert y sta ndards bylaw. Th e City, co nce rn ed tha t pointed , t he meetin g e nde d pleasantly, and both sides po litely thanked eac h
th e foundation walls had deteriorated to t he point of bein g struc turally unsafe, ot he r for att ending . .
or der ed Doe to obta in a written rep ort by a professiona l enginee r as to th e Th e next day, Eager received a teleph one call from Frugal, o ne 0 1 th e rep -
wa lls' co nd itio n . Doe retain ed Om ega, a licensed member of th e I'EO, to pre- resen ta tives of SmallBox. Frugal was wondering if Eager wou ld be int erested
pare the report. O meg a prepared a report stating that O meg a had inspected in prepa ring the des ign for th e war ehouse "o n th e side," afte r work in th e
th e foundat ion an d th at the foundati on walls a ppea red to be "st ructura lly evenings and on weekends. Sma llBox was prepared to pay Eager at an ho url y
sound and capable of safely sustain ing th e hou se for man y more yea rs." rate t ha t was SO percent o f th e hourly rate t hat Engc o wou ld ha ve ch arged for
Doe subm itt ed O mega 's report to th e City. In response, th e City sen t a Eager's tim e. In a hu sh ed vo ice, Eager undertoo k 10 give t he prop osal some
letter to Omega pointing out th e City's o bserva tio ns regarding th e deteriora- co ns idera tio n and get back to Frugal.
Eager thought abo ut Fruga l's offer. It h ad bee n three lo ng yea rs since Eager
ti ~ n o f th e walls, including evide nce o f sign ifica n t wat e r perm eati on, to gether
Wit h photograp hs tak en by th e C ity's in sp ect or. In th e lette r, th e C ity h ad last received a sala ry increase from Engco . The ext ra money wo uld be
requ ested th at O mega reassess th e co nd itio n of th e foundati on and respo nd ni ce. Even at rates di scounted by SO percent from those ch arged by Engco,
to th e City within two weeks. O mega does n ot respond to th at request. t hi s wo uld be a very profitab le oppo rt un ity for Eager. Th e mon ey Eager wo u ld
402 PART FI VE . EXAM PREPARATION CHAP TER 18 • Writ ing t he Professio no l Proct ice E XII/II I,
earn from SmallBox would be more, on an hourl y basis, than the rate o n organ ized or regulat ed to ens ure th at its practitioners ap ply high sta ll-
which Eager's cur ren t salary was based, and u nli ke Engco, Eager didn't have dards of perfo rmance and co nd uct, co m mit themselves to con tin uing
to worr y about big overh ead s an d ot her expenses. Eager then thou ght about co mpe tence, and place th e public goo d ah ead of narr ow person al int er-
how Engco migh t react to th e arra ngemen t, bu t deci de d th at since Eng co ests. (See Chapte r 1.)
wouldn 't be getting th is work anyway, th ere sho uld n't be a problem . Besides, 3. Is your I~vince's Code of Ethics for enginee rs enforceable under yo u r
Eager th ou ght, t here was no reason why t hey even need ed to kn ow abo ut it. professiona l eng inee ring Act"! Explain .
Eager called Fruga l ba ck the next day to accept th e engageme n t and en t h usi- ANSWER Every province and territory (exce pt On tario) states or impli es
astically began wor king o n t he project tha t even ing . t hat t he Code of Et h ics is enfo rced under the Act, an d vio latio ns of th e
code ma y resu lt in di sciplinary ac t io n . In On tario th e code is not
QUESTION Please comment all tile appropriateness of Eager's conduct. enforceable, and a separate cla use defin es pro fessio nal m isco nduct. (See
Cha pte r 11.)
14 -CO NTRACT D ISP UTE
4. Explain what "co nflict of in terest" mean s.
You are a profession al eng ine er em ployed by FirstCo ncept Ltd., a co nsu lti ng
eng inee ring co m pany. One of the firm' s clien ts, ShopCo Develop me nts Ltd. ANSWER A co n flict of int erest occurs when ever a practitioner receives a
("ShopCo "), ha s hi red your firm to provide th e eng ineering design for a new ben efit fro m more than one so urce whe n performing profession al d uties.
eleva ted walkway for on e of ShopCo's major shopping malls. You have been For exam ple, if an eng inee r su pe rvising a co ns t ruc tio n co n t ract fo r a
assigned th e responsib ility of pre pa ring th e design for Sho pCo . clien t also accepts a co m m issio n from a supplier, the eng ineer has a co n-
You develop th e design and me et wit h R. Epp, a rep resen tati ve of ShopCo, flict of in terest (whe the r or not the eng ineer purchases th e supplier's
to disc uss yo ur design . R. Epp is no t a professional engineer, but disagrees mater ials for t he co n t ract). Co ncealing such a co n flict of in terest is
wit h your design. Th e repr esen tative gives yo u som e suggestio ns o n how to unet hical. (See Chapte r 12.)
sim plify it. You listen po lite ly, but rea lize th at th e design wo uld be compro- 5. Does you r prov in ce's professional eng ine ering Act explicitly restrict an
m ised if t he sugges tio ns were incorpo rat ed . eng inee r to practise in his o r her bran ch of registr ati on o n ly"! How do es
Becau se o f the di sagreement, R. Epp fires FirstCo nce pt and dem ands that th e Code o f Eth ics deal with th e problem of practi sing outside of o ne's
yo u turn t he design dr awings over to A.L. 'lernate, a p rofessional engineer . bran ch o f registrat ion "!
em ploye d by Seco nd Co ncep t Ltd ., ano t her enginee rin g fir m . R. Epp had ANSWER Althoug h a few specialties are regu lated in so me provin ces
work ed wit h A.L. Ternatc on a previo us p roject, and th e two of th em got (espec ially th e SE I~-th e Struc tural Eng inee r of Record), professiona l
along quite well. A.L. Ternat c has agreed to com plete the design of th e new pract ice is no t gen era lly lim ited to the b ranch o f registr ati on . However,
elevated walkway as R. Epp wishes. eve ry Co de of Et h ics fo rbids pra ctition er s from acceptin g o r per-
Yo u refuse to turn ove r t he design drawings, eve n wh en R. Epp offers to forming work fo r which they are not qu alified . Therefo re, practitioners
pay for all of FirstConcept's services to dat e. mu st obta in ap pro p riate preparat io n- su ch as acad emi c stud ies, o n-
th e-job expe rience, and/or assisted practice- to develo p ad eq ua te skill
QUESTIONS Do you have any obligation to turn over tile drawings? Do yOIl have any and kn owled ge in th e new area. The question of co m pete nce is left to
other responsibilities? Comment 0 11 A.L. Ternate's agreement with R. Epp. th e judgm en t of t he pract itioner. In the even t of a co mp laint, the pra c-
titi oner wo uld be expec ted to dem onstrate evide nce of ade q ua te prepa -
Short-Answer Examinat io n Quest io ns ration in th e new area. Failur e to show ad eq uate prep arati on wo uld be
Th e On tario PPE oft en incl udes a few sho rt-answer q uestions in the Et hics a basis fo r di scip lin ar y action as eit he r negligen ce o r in competen ce.
part, sim ilar to tho se that follow: (See your Co de of Et h ics in App end ix B, o r on yo ur Assoc iatio n 's
website.)
I. Provid e a defin ition of "ethics." 6. Th e Associati on of Professional Eng ine ers and/or Geoscie nce is th e self-
ANSWER Ethics is the study of right and wron g, good and evil, obliga- reg ulating o rgan izat io n resp onsib le for th e pra ct ice o f eng ineering
tions and rights, justice, and soc ial and po lit ical ideals. (See textbook , and/o r geosc ience in your provin ce. What is the prin cipa l ob jective of
Chapter 1 1.) thi s orga nizatio n"!
2. In a few sen te nces , describe wh at a "profession" is. ANS WER The prin cipa l objective of every Association is to regulat e th e
ANSWER A professio n is an occupation that req uires specialized know l- profess ion, and to prot ect th e public interest. Th is is usually sta ted or
edge and skills, obtained by in tensive learn ing and pra cti ce, and th at is im plied nea r th e start o f th e Act.
CHAPTEIl I II • W,iti llY th e 1 ', oJ e ~ ~ i (}II (}1 Pi act ic» I H""
)4 PART FI VE · EX AM PREPARA TION
:1. Co n tractua l di sp ut es o f a techn ica l nat ur e ma y be mo st ex ped itio usl

7. To becom e lice nsed to pra cti se p rof essiona l e ng inee ring and / or geo-
science in yo u r province, yo u mu st meet ce rta in req u irements. Discuss a nd e ffect ive ly so lved throu gh :
bri efly the five m ost sign ifica n t o f t hese. A. a lawsu it.
H. co u rt appea ls.
ANSWER Since age is a lmos t never a p rob lem, th e five most impo rtant a re:
e. co ntracr-renegoua no ns.
( I) Adeq uate ed ucat io n-a n acc red ited uni versit y d egr ee (o r eq uiva len t);
D. arbit rati on .
(2) Exa m inat io ns - ty pica lly th e professi on a l pr a cti ce exa m mu st be
ANSWER D. is co rrec t. Arbit ratio n p rovid es an effective, ex ped it io us res-
writte n;
o lu t io n to technica l di sp ut es.
(3) Ade q ua te ex pe rience - ty pica lly fo ur yea rs;
4. W hi ch typ e o f ori gina l wo rk below is aut om at ical ly prot ect ed by co py-
(4) Go od characte r as determin ed from referen ces; a nd
righ t up o n creat ion '?
(5) Cit ize nsh ip (o r per ma ne n t resid ent sta tus) in O n ta rio, a ltho ug h this
is no t required in a ll provin ces. (See C ha pte r 2.) A. Pai n tin gs.
8 . Are th ere a ny restri ction s o n how p rof essio na l engineering se rvices m ay H. In ven tio n s.
be adve rtise d? Expla in . e. Clo th ing designs.
D. Signa tu res.
ANSWER Yes, it m ust be fac tua l, clear, and d ign ified . (See C ha pte r 14.)
ANSWER A. is correc t. Of th e works listed , o n ly a painting is protected
9. Is a civil en gineer a llow ed to perfor m services th at a re norm all y wit h in
by co py right law.
the sco pe o f m ech anical eng ineering? Ex plain.
S. In order for co m pe ns a tio n to be awa rd ed to a plainti ff in a tor t liability
ANSWER Yes, p roviding th at th e c ivil e ng inee r ca n show ex pe rience, fur - case , th e defenda nt m ust have:
ther ed uca tio n, o r tra in ing in t he a rea o f mech anical eng inee ring . (See A. Cause d in jury to the plain tiff .
d iscussion o f co m pe te nce in C ha pte r :q B. Been willfu lly negligent.
Multiple-Choice Exa mination Questions
e. Sign ed a co n trac t o f perfor ma nce.
D. Perf orm ed under su pe rv isio n .
The Nat io na l Professio na l Practice Examin ati on , set by Albe rta (APEGGA) a nd AN SW ER A. is co rrec t. Injury is o ne o f three crite ria th at mu st be met for
used by 10 Assoc ia tio ns ac ross Canad a, uses a mu ltip le-choi ce form at , as illus- co m pe nsa tio n to be award ed in a tort liability case .
trat ed in th e fo llowing qu esti on s. A typ ica l ex a m is tw o ho ur s lo ng, co ns ists 6. Which o f th e foll o wing is th e mo st co m mo n jo b ac tiv ity of top-level
of o ne hun dr ed mult ipl e-ch o ice q uesti ons, a nd is closed -book (t hat is, no a ids managers?
a re permi tt ed )." A. Writ in g a nd read in g co rpo rate fin an cial rep orts.
1. Accor d ing to th e Co de of Et h ics, w h ich o f t he fo llo win g acti viti es by a L1 . Devel oping a nd testin g new product s.
p rofession al m embe r wou ld be co ns ide red UNETHICAU e. Designing and im plementing production syste ms .
A. No t cha rg ing a fee for prese ntin g a speech . D. Directing and in te ract in g with people.
B. Sign ing plan s pr epared by a n un kno wn perso n . A N SWER D. is co rrec t . Mos t top m an ager s spe nd m o st o f th eir time
e. Reviewin g th e work of an o t her member with that member's co nse n t. inter acti ng with o the r people.
D. Providin g professiona l se rvices as a co ns ulta n t. 7. T h e professio nal's sta n da rd o f ca re a nd sk ill es ta b lishes th e point at
ANSWER II. is co rrect. It is u nethi cal fo r pr ofe ssio na ls to sign plan s no t w h ich a professional:
prep ared by th em selves o r u n der the ir direct su pe rvisio n . A. ma yo r may not cha rge a fee for se rv ices .
2. W h ich o f th e followi ng is a n ex a m ple o f a fraudul ent, co n t rac tua l mi s- H. has t he du ty to ap ply "r easonab le ca re. "
rcprc scn tat ion '? e. may be jud ged negl igent in th e per form an ce of se rv ices .
A. A pa rty is coe rced in to sign ing a co n t rac t by m ean s o f int imidation. D. ha s met th e mi nimum requi rem ents for regist ra tio n.
B. A part y kn owi ngly makes false state me n ts to in duce a no ther part y AN SW ER e. is cor rec t. Th e sta nd a rd o f ca re is used to jud ge whe the r or
into a co n t rac t. no t a professio na l has been neg ligent in t he performan ce o f se rvices.
e. A party induces h is so n- in- law to sign an unfair co n trac t. 8. To effectively reduce liabil ity ex pos u re the profession al e ng ine er, geo logist,
D. A pa rty unkn owing ly prov ides false in fo rm atio n abo u t a porti o n o f a or geo p hys icist sho uld :
contract. A. pursu e co n tin u ing ed uca tio na l opportu n ities.
H. wor k und er th e su perv isio n of a se nior engin eer, ge o lo g ist , o r
ANS W ER H. is co rrec t. Knowing ly p roviding fa lse inform at ion to indu ce
a co n tra ct is fraudulent mi srepresentati on . geop hys icist.
406 PART FIVE . EX AM PREPARATION
C. maintain p rofessiona l sta nda rds in pract ice. A P P EN D I X A

D. provide clien ts with frequent progress repor ts.
ANSWER C. is co rrect. Mainta in in g professiona l standa rds of practic e is PROVINC IAL AND TERRITO RIAL ENGINEE RING /
th e most effective way o f redu cing liabilit y ex posure . GEOSC IENCE ASSOCIATIO NS
IN OT E: All Web add resses are valid as of August 1, 2008. 1
Additional Questions
Add itio nal exam qu estions a re in Appen d ix E-S and in Ch apte rs 12 to 14.
Add itio na l so lved case st ud ies a re in Ch a pte rs 12 to 14, a n d 25 cases a re En g i n cc rs Ca n a d a
locat ed in Appe nd ix F. (Forme rly th e Ca nad ia n Co unc il o f Professional Engineers- CCPE)
180 Elgin St., Suite 1 100
Ottawa, ON K2P 2K3
NOTES
Tel: (613 ) 232 -2474 / Fax: (613) 230-5759
III Eng inee rs Ca nada, Guidel ine Oil 1111' Protessiono t Pmcti ce Examinat ion, Otta wa, ON, E-ma il: info@en gineerscan ad a.ca
ava ila ble at <www.enginee rsca nada .ca/e/ pu_g uidelines.cfm> (Ju ne IS, 2009).
Excerp t rep roduced w ith permission .
Websit e: www.en gine erscanada.ca
121 Associa tio n o f Profession al Eng ine ers, Ge o log ists an d Ge o p hys icists o f Alberta
Ca n a d ia n Co u ncil of Profcssional Gcoscicntist s (CCPG)
(AI'EGGA), Nn tionu t t'roiessional Practice Exam ination (Rev ised May 2( 07 ),
Ed mon to n , AB, ava ilable at <www.a pegga.or g/ App lica n ts/ faq s/sco pe.h t m l>
Suite 200, 40 10 Regent Street
(Jun e S, 20 08) . Excerpt rep rod uced w ith permission . Plea se be ad vised th at th e Bu rna by, BC V5C 6N2
NPPE sylla bus cha nge s o ve r t im e to refl ect changes occu rring in th e prof essions. Tel: (60 4) 412-4888 / Fax : (604) 433 -2494
Cand ida tes shou ld visit th e APEGGA web site, or th e we bs ite o f t heir associat io n
E-ma il: in fo@ccpg.ca
to ens ure th ey ar e using t he m ost cu rre n t inf o rmat ion .
I:{I Profession al Eng inee rs O n ta rio (PEO), I'I'E Syl labus, -cwww.peo. o n. ca» (Jun e 5, Webs ite: www.ccpg .ca
20( 8).
141 Assoc iatio n of Professional Eng inee rs and Geoscie n tists o f British Co lu m bia
Asso ciation of Prof cssional En g in cc rs, Gco lo g ist s and
(AI'EGBC), l'rotcssional Practice Exam inu tion, ava ilab le at -cwww.a pcg.bc.ca/ rcg/ Gco p hysicists of Albc r t a (APEGGA)
ppe.h trn b- (June 5,2( 08). 1500 Sco tia One
\51 j. Delan ey, 1/0 11'1 0 /)0 YOllr Best Oil Law Schoo! Exams, J . Delan ey Publ' ns, Bogot a, 10060 Jasper Aven ue NW
NJ, 1990 . Ed mo n ton, AB T5J 4A 2
16 1 G.c. And rews, Silldy Guiik: filr 1111' I' EO t 'rotcssionat l 'ra cticc Exam, 6 th cd .,
Dista n ce Educa tio n Dep ar tme n t, Un iver sity o f Waterloo, Waterlo o, ON N2 L Tel: (780) 426-3990/1 -800 -66 1-7020
:{G 1, 2004. Fax: (780) 426-18 77
171 T he essay -ty pe a nd short-an swer exa mi na t io n q uest ions are take n m ain ly fro m E-m ail: email@a pegga.org
Pro fessional Practice Exams ad m in istered by Professional Engineers On tario Website: www.ap egga. or g
(PEO) ove r th e past decade. T he a u th or wo u ld like to ex p ress hi s a pprec iatio n to
PEO for th eir assista nce in o btai n ing th ese q ues t io ns a nd permission to publish Association of P r ofcssional En g i n c c r s and Gcoscic ntis ts
th em . of Uritish Co l u m b ia (AI- EGUq
i8 1 The multtp lc-ch ol ce exa m inat io n q uestio n s are sa m p le qu esti on s for th e
Nat io n al Professio na l Practi ce Exa m ad m in istered by th e Assoc ia tio n o f
200-40 10 Regen t Street
Professio na l Engineers, Geo logists a nd Geo phys icists o f Albe rta (AI'EGGA), Burn aby, BC V5C 6N2
Ed mo n to n , AB. Th e a ut hor wo u ld like to ex press hi s a pp reciation to APEGGA Te l: (604) 430-8035 / 1-888-430-8035
for permi ssio n to pub lish th em.
Fax: (604) 430-8085
E-ma il: apeginf o@ap eg.bc.ca
Website: www.a peg.bc.ca
APPE NDIX A AI'I'I NIIi X A " Of)
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists T he As sociation o f Professioual Geoscientist s

of the Province of Manitoba (AI-HiM) of Nova Sc o t ia (APGNS)
8 70 Pembina Highway 1'.0 . Bo x 854 1
Winnipeg, MB R3M 2 M7 Halifa x, NS IB K 5M3
Tel: (204) 474-2736/ 1-866-227-9600 Tel.: (902) 420-9928
Fax : (204) 474-5960 Office e-ma il: nk eeping@dal.ca
E-ma il: ap egm @apegm .mb.ca Web sit e: www.geoscientist sn s.ca
Web sit e: www.ap egm .mb.ca
P rofessional En g i n e e rs Ontario (PEO)
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Asso cia tion o f Professional Engineers of Ontario
of New Urunswick (APEGNU) 25 She p pa rd Aven ue West
183 Hanwell Road Suit e 1000
Fred eri cto n, NB E3 1\ 2 R2 Toronto , ON M2N 6S9
Tel : (50 6) 458-8083 / Fax: (50 6) 451-9629 Tel : (4 16) 224- 1100 / 1-800-:B 9-371 6
E-m ail : info@apegnb. com Fax: (4 16) 224-8 168 / 1-800-268-04 96
Web sit e: www .ap egnb.com E-ma il: (See dir ect ory o n I'EO website)
Web site: www .peo .on.ca
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland
and Labrador WEG-NL) Ass o cia t io n o f Professional Geoscientists o f Ontario (APGO)
Co u rier: Su ite 203, Bain e j ohnston Cen t re 60 St. Cla ir Aven ue East
10 Fort William Pl., SI. john 's, NL Suite 9 13
Mail : 1'.0. Box 2 1207 Toronto, ON M4T IN S
St. Jo h n 's, NL AlA 5 1\2 Te l: (4 16) 203-27 46 / 1-8 77-55 7-2746
Tel: (709) 753 -77 14 / Fax: (709 ) 753 -6 13 1 Fax: (4 16) 203-6 18 1
E-m ai l: maints'pegnl .ca E-ma il: in fo(@ap go .n et
Web sit e: ww w.peg n l.ca Websit e: www.apgo. ne t
Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists Engineers I-EI
of the Northwest Territories & Nunavut (NAPEG(i) Th e Association of I-rofessional Engineers
Bo wling Gree n Building of Prince Ed w a rd Island
20 I, 48 17- 49th St ree t 549 North River Road
Yellowknife, NT XI A 3S7 Charlo tteto w n, I'E C I E 1j6
Tel : (86 7) 920-4055 / Fax: (867) 873-4058 Te l: (90 2) 566- 1268 / Fax: (90 2) 566-5551
E-mai l: napegg@tamarack .nt.ca E-m ail : inf o@Engin eersPEl.com
Web sit e: www.napegg.nt.ca Web sit e: www .cng ineerspe i.co m
En g i n e e rs Nova Scotia Ordre des ingcnieurs du Ouebec (OIQ)
Association o f Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) Ga re Windsor, bureau :~ 5 0 ,
Mai l: 1'. 0 . Box 129, Halifax, NS B3j 2M4 I 100, rue De La Ga uc hc tierc West,
Co u rier: 1355 Barringt on Stree t Montreal , QC InB 2S2
Halifax, NS In.ll Y9 .,":;;\: (5 14) 845-6 141 / 1-800-461- 6141
Te l: (902) 429-2250/ 1-888-802-7367 Fax: (5 14) 845- 1833
Fax: (90 2) 423-9 769 Web sit e: www.oiq .qc.ca
E-ma il: info(@apens.ns. ca
Web sit e: www.ap en s.n s.ca
) APPENDIX A
Ordre des Geologues du Quebec (OGQ)

500 rue Sherb rooke Ouest INDEX
IIurea u 900
Montreal, QC H3A 3C6
Tel: (514) 278-6220 / 1-888-377-7708 A '\ Air pollution , 338-40
Fax: (514) 278 -759 1 Academic requ irements, see su lp h ur ox ides , 338-40
E-ma il: info @ogq .qc.ca Ad miss ion to p rofession; Albe rta
Website: www.ogq.qc.ca Education Amoco Lodgep ole well blowout,
Acciden t invest igati o n, 160 322-27
Association of Professio nal Engi neers and Geoscientists
of Saskatch e w a n (APEGS) Accoun tability case st udy, 38-40, code o f ethics, 228
2255- 13th Aven ue 42 , 276 -77 regu lati on of tech n o logists, 14
Suite 104 Accred ita tion Board for Eng inee ring Alte rn ate dispute reso lution (ADR),
Regina, SK S4P OV6 and Tech no logy (ABET), 39 76-78
Accuracy of wor k, I 13 Ame rican Institute of Electrical
Tel: (306) 525-9547 / 1-80 0-500-954 7 man ager review of, 268 Eng inee rs, 90
Fax: (306) 525-085 1
Acid rain, 340 American Society of Civil
E-m ail: a pegs@apegs.s k.ca
Admi ssion to profession, 8. See also Eng inee rs, 90
Website: www.a pegs .sk.ca
Profession al practi ce exa m; American Soc iety o f Heating and
Association o f Professional Engi n eers o f Yu kon (APEY) Regulatio n Ventilating Eng inee rs, 90
3 12B Hanson Stree t aca demic req uirem ents, 39 Ame rican Society of Mech anical
Wh ite horse, VT VI A 1V6 accre d ita tio n board , 39 Eng ineers, 90
bach elor's deg ree required , 106 Amoco Cana da Petro leum
Tel: (86 7) 667-6727 / Fax: (86 7) 668-2 142
E-ma il: sta ff@a pey.yk.ca co n d itions for, Eng inee rs Co m pa ny, 322
Website: www.ap ey.yk.ca Ca na da , 38 Amoco Lodgepole well blowou t,
e ng ineering, 38-45 322 -27
exam ination s, 41-42 A n Incon venient Tnt/II
WEB APPENDIXES experience requireme n ts, (Gore),364
'I:he website accompa ny ing th is textbook (www.and rews4e.nelson .com) co n- 42-44, 105 An tivirus softwa re, 178
SIStS of over 300 pages of add itiona l informati on in the following a ppen d ixes : geoscience, 45 APEA,3 1
gradua tes from for eign schoo ls, AllEGRC, 109, 31 5
APPE NDIX A-Provincial a nd Terr itorial Engineering/Geoscience 39-41 APEGGA, 3 1, 64, 75,200,3 15
Associations licen ce application, 104- 105 adve rtising, 286
APPENDIX U-Excerpts f rom t h e Acts, Regulati ons, and Codes o f mobility agree me n ts, 46-47 pro fession al practi ce exa m,
Ethics postgrad uate degrees, 66-68 388-90
APPENDIX C-Codes o f Ethics f or Various Technical Societies Un ited States , 39, 4 1 sea l, 111
APPENDIX D-NSPE Gu idelines to Employment for Professional Adve rtising so ftwa re guidelin es, 173, 179
Engineers APEGGA,286-87 APEGGA Guideline for Ethical
APPENDIX E-Additio nal Assig n ments and Discussion Topics false/mislead ing, 254- 55 Practice, 286
APPENDIX F-Additional Case Stud ies in approp riate, 287 APENS, 126
APPENDIX G-Additional Articles o f Interest restr ictions on, 286 APGNS, 126
use of seal, 286 APGO, 125, 126
Agen t mo de l, clie nt -co ns ulta n t Applied Science Technologist
relat ionsh ip, 286 (AScT), 15
Agriculture and po llu tio n, 34 1, Architect, activities , 13- 14
369 - 70 Aristo tle, 218, 2 19"C 374
I NDEX I NIII X Ij I
Associa t io n of Ca n ad ia n Briti sh Co lu m b ia, co de o f eth ics, an adian Engineer ing Accr ed ita tio n errors in p lans a n d spcc iflca t om,
Engin eerin g Co m pa n ies 22 8-29 Board (CEAB), 10, 35, 39, 5 1 2 73-74
(AC EC), 124, I :~ O, 292 Brownfi elds, rest orati on of, 32 Ca n ad ia n Engi n eer ing Memo rial false/misleading adv e rtisi ng,
Associati on o f Co nsu lt in g Eng inee rs Bru n dt land Co m m issio n (U.N.), Fou nda tio n, 9 7 254-55
o f Ca n ada (ACEC), 97 359, :~ 6 1 , 373 Ca n ad ia n Engi~e ri ng Q ua lificatio n fee reducti o n for sim ilar work,
Associa tio n o f Pro fessio nal Brundtl an d Rep ort, 36 1 Board (CEQB), 5 1, 3 15 300-301
En gine ers a nd Ge o logists o f Building codes, 156 Ca n ad ia n Enviro n me n ta l Har tford Arena co lla pse, 170- 72
British Co lu m bia, see APEGBC Bu rna by su pe rma rket ro o f co lla pse Assessm ent Act, 3 13 in ad eq uate su pe rv isio n, 255 - 57
Associ ation o f Profession al case h istor y, 79-86 Can ad ian Env iro n me n ta l Protecti o n job o ffer acce p tan ce, ethica l
Eng inee rs, Geo log ists an d Busin ess, ty pes of, 12 7- 28 Act, 313 issu es, 25 I- 53
Geo physicis ts o f Alb ert a. Busin ess as a n e ng ineer/ Ca n ad ia n Fed erat ion o f E ng i neer i~g Lad yfern n at ur al gas d epl etion ,
See APEGGA geoscien t ist, see Co nsu lt in g St ud ents, 95 377-83
Associatio ns . See Pro v in cia l a n d engi nee ring; Private Practi ce Ca n ad ian Geoscien ce Sta n da rds LcMessu rier, W illiam , 30 1- :W5
ter ritorial associ at io ns Business Softwa re Alliance (BSA), 179 Board (CGS B), 45 , 52 Lodgep ol e we ll b lowo ut (Amoco) ,
Ath abasca Co m mercia l O il Sa nds, :~ Bylaw s, defin ed , 3 7 Can ad ia n Geosta n da rds Boa rd , 37 322-27
Atom ic En ergy o f Ca n ad a Ltd . Byrn e v Beadle, 1 4 :~ Ca n ad ia n In tellectua l Pro perty Love Ca na l, 344-46
(AECL), 336 O ffice (C IPO), 181 , 184, 185, Min am at a Bay, Japan , 346 - 47
Au thority, man agem en t vs. C 188 , 196 m oonlight in g, 253-5 4
techn ica l, 2 :~9 CAD (co m pute r-a ide d d esign ), 170 Ca n ad ia n Secur it ies Admin istrato rs patent inf ringe men t, 18 7- 89
Auto ma ted d raf t in g, 170, 175- 77 Cam p bell, c. j. . 37 1fT (CSA), 32, 275 p lagiar ism , 277-79
Avo idi ng o bso lesce nce, 59-60 Ca na da rm Rem ote Manip u lat or Ca n ad ia n Socie ty of C ivil Eng ineers profession al acco u n ta b ilily,
Avro Arrow, I 1 I Syste m, 4 (CSC E), 29 276-77
Awa rds a nd tr ibu tes, ge n de r Ca n ad ia n Acade my of Eng ineering, Can ad ia n Soci ety of Pro fessiona l strateg ies fo r so lv in g ethi cs issu es,
fairness, 203 97, 98 Eng in eers (CSPE), 110, 243 249-57
Ca n ad ia n Allia nce Agai n st Softwa re CANDU React or, 3, 65 rac ia l di scri m ination, 208 - 209
8 T h eft (CAAST), 179 Ca rr u t h e rs, J. B., P. En g ., 98 Riv tow Ma rin e, 151
Ba la n ced mod el, cl ien t-co n su lta n t Ca n ad ia n Asso cia tio n for Sen ior Carso n, Rach el, 36 1 sexua l harassm ent, 20 7- 208
rel ati on sh ip, 286 Eng in eers (CSSE), 9 7 Case stud ies Sud b ury, O n tar io, 349-50
Ba li Road rnap, 363 Ca n adia n Cen tre for Occupa tio n a l ad h eren ce to p la n s, 299-300 Th ree Mile Island, 35 I- 52
Bho pal di sast er, case study, Health and Safety a lte red p lans, 25 5-57 unli censed professiona l, 27 0-72
34 7-49 (CCO HS), 15 7 Bho pal d isaster, 34 7-49 Vanco uver Second Na rro ws
Bidd in g for services, 287-88. Canadian Charter of Right s and Bre-X m in in g fra ud, 53-56 Bridge co lla pse, 279-83
See also Co ns u lting en gin eerin g, Freedoms, 192- 93, 2 17, 27 0 Burnaby su pe rm arket roof Westray Mine d isast er, 161- 65
Co n tracting procedure. a ffir ma tive ac t io n p ro vision, 192 co lla pse, 79-86 Catego rical imperati ve, 2 15- 16
WacklJerry® Handheld, 7 eq ua lity rig h ts p rovision, 192 Cl iatlenger Space Sh u tt le di saster, Ceres princip les, 3 16-17
Bo is jo ly, Roger, 259-60, 26 1 fun da men tal justice provision, 192 et h ics an d, 26 0-6 1 Cert ificate o f aut horizatio n, 125
Bombard ier Sno w m o b ile, 4 as pr im acy legislati on , 193 C h ern o byl, 353-56 Certi ficate of co m p lianc e, 125
Bo mbardi er, Jo seph -Arm and, 4 Ca nad ian Co u n c il o f Professio na l Cit ico rp Tower, 30 1-305 Certi fied En gin eerin g Tech n o log ist
Breach Engi nee rs (CC PE), 35, 18 7 conflict o f interest, 2 72-73, (C ET), 15
co de o f eth ics, 74, 24 1 Ca n ad ian Co u n cil of Pro fession a l 295-96 Certi fied Techn ician, (C.Tec h .), 15
co n tract, 178, 29 1 Geosc ien t ists (CCPG), 8-9, 10, co n su lting in a fo reig n co u nt ry, C FCs, 334- 35
co py righ t, 183 36 , 4 7, 52 296-98 Challenger spa ce sh u ttle di sast er
Bre-X Minera ls Lim ited , 53 Can ad ia n Co u n cil of Tech n icians con ti nge nc y fees, 298-99 case study, 25 7-6 1
Bre-X m ini n g fra ud , 53-56 a n d Tech no logist s di sclosure of d ata, 2 74-75 Ch a rte red eng in eer (U n ite d
Briber y, 293 (CClT), 14 di scrimi n atio n , 205-20 7 King dom), 3 1
I NIlI X I, I'l
INDEX
C h a rte r o f Rights and Freedoms, co n ti n u ing co m pe te nce, 60 Co m pu ter es) provincia l req u irem e n ts
sec Ca n ad ia n C ha rte r o f Rights definiti on , 37 im portan ce in eng inee ring / rc lia bility in suran ce, 125- 26
a n d Freed om s dut y to soc iety, 227-21{ geoscience 169- 70 regul ation o f, 125
Ch eckin g do cum ents, 114-1 5 FID IC, 292 lia b ility for so ftware errors, revi ewin g work of anoth er prolc s-
C hc rn o by l. 350 , 351- 52 ge ne ra l princip les, 227-21{ 172- 73 1 sio n al, 289- 90
se rv ices pro vid ed , 124
case study, 35 :{-56 gu ide to co n d uc t, 226-32 sec u rity a nd ba ckup, 177- 78
C h isso Co m pany, 346 - 47 Man it ob a, 229 softwa re piracy, 178-80 Co ns u lt ing eng inee rs, 48
C h lo rofluorohyd roc arb o ns (CFCs), Ne w Brun swi ck, 229 - 30 Co n fed e ratio n Bridge, 4, 48/1' cc rt i f tcate o f authori zation
33 4-35 Newfound land a nd Labrador, 23 0 Co n fid e n t iality, 288- 89 (Ontario), 124
C it icorp Towe r, 25 7 Northwest Territori es, 23 0 Co n firm ato ry exa m in at io ns , ex pe rie nce requirement, 125
case hi story, 30 1-305 Nova Scot ia, 2:W engi nee ring O n ta rio requirements, 125
Civ il eng inee r, 34 NSPE guidel in es, 2:{2 internationall y educnted Co ns u lting Eng ineers of Briti sh
C lea n Air Act (N . B.), 3 14 N u navu t. 2:{0 app licants, 40-4 1 Co lu m b ia (CEBC), 132
C lean Env iro n me n t Act (N. B.), 314 O n ta rio, 23 1 Co n fl ic t o f inter est Co ns u lt ing Engin eer s of Ontario,
C lea n W ater Act (N. B.), 3 14 Prin ce Edwa rd Island, 23 1 abuse o f co nf ide n t ia l 131 , 132
C lie n t-c o ns u lta n t relati onship, pr ofessiona l dut y re publ ic inform ati on , 246 Co ns u lt ing geo scienti st, serv ices
21{5- 86 welfa re, 24 5 accepting secre t comm issions, provided, 124
agent m od el , 286 professional 's activiti es vs. 246 Co ns u me r legisla tio n , 140 , 144
ba lanced mod el, 286 e m p loyer's directions, 24 1 ac tua l co n flict, 247 Cons u me r Prot ection Act , 140 , 144
independent model , 285-86 Q ue bec, 2:{2 avoid ing, 248 Co n t inge ncy fees, case study ,
C lima te ch a nge, 3 60, :{63- 70 tech n ica l soc ie ties, 232 case study, 272-73 , 295-9 6 298- 99
ad aptation , 367 Columbia di sast er, 26 1 co des o f eth ics and , 246 Co n tin u in g co m pe te nce, see also
ag ricu ltu re, 369-70 Co m m issio n for Enviro n me n ta l co m mo n in st an ces, 246 - 47 Co n ti n u ing professiona l
buildin gs, 369 Co operat io n (C EC), 333-3 4 future em ploy me n t and, 246 d evelopm ent
co m bati ng cha nge, :{6 7- 70 Co m m u n icat i o n s kills, 10 5, gen eral d efinitio n, 245 - 46 ca reer mom entum liS .
e ne rgy su pp ly, :{6 7- 68 117-1 8 influence peddling, 246 obso lescen ce, 59 - 60
et h ics o f, 373-75 Co m pe ns at io n / fees m isu sing em ploye r's fac ilit ies, 246 co n t in u ing ed uca t ion
fo rest ry a n d for est s, 37 0 case studies, 28 8-89, 300-301 m o onlightin g, 246 p rogram, 66
impli cation s of, 364-67 co ns u lt ing e ng inee ring, 132- 33 ov ervi ew o f, 245-46 co n t rib utio ns to know ledge,
industry, 369 co n ti ng e nc y fees, 29, 29 8- 99 per cei ved co n flict, 247 -48 63-64
IPCC repo rt, 363-64 fee reducti on for sim ila r work, pot enti al (Inte n t) co n flic t, 247-48 formal ac t ivity, 62
mltl gati on , 367 case study, 300-30 I pri vate practice a n d, 289 participation . 63
tr an sp ortation issu es, 368 percentage of co st s of se lf-se rving decision s, 246 post graduate stud ies, 66-68
wast e managem ent, 37 0 co ns t ruc tio n , 134 Co ns t ruc tio n co des, 156 presentations, 63
C los key, Dani el j ., 80/t' Co m pe te nce, sec also Co n tin u ing Co ns u lt ing eng inee ring p rof essiona l dev el opment
Coa lit io n for Econo m ica lly co mpete nce; Co n t in u ing bu siness plan , 136 activities, 62-64
Resp on sibl e Econo m ies pr ofessiona l d ev elopment bu sin ess st ruc tures, 12 7- 28 professional practice, 62
(CERES), 3 16- 17 cI ient-consulta n t co de o f et h ics, 29 1-92 professiona l respon sib ility, 60- 6 1
Co des of eth ics, 49-50, 226-32 relati onship, 288 co m pc nsa no n/ fces. 132- 33 reportin g and auditing, 64-65
ACEC, 292 co n tin u ing ed ucatio n , 66 co ntacts, 129- 30 , 129'1' requirem ents, 6 1-62
Albe rta, 228 eva lua tio n by mannger, 269 \ co n tracti ng pr ocedure, 130- 3 1, se lf-d irected (in form al) acti vit y, 63
b rea ch o f, 24 1 Co m pe ti t ive bidd ing for new 287- 88 Co n ti n u ing ed uc at io n, see
Briti sh Co lu m b ia, 22 8-29 proj ect s, 287- 88 p riva te practi ce, sec Prlvat c pra ctice Co nt in u ing co m pe te nce ;
co m pa riso n by pr o vin ce, 228-32 Co m p la in ts, see Disc ip lina ry p ro fession al serv ices co n trac ts, Co n tin ui ng p rof essional
co ns u lta n ts, 29 1-92 process 130- 31 d evelopm ent
I Nill X /tl 7
INDEX
-----------
Drawings, see also Docum ent s

Co n tin uing ed ucation units n Discipline hearing
Investigati ve Com mitt ee and multiple, 115-1 6
(CEUs), 64 Dam ages, claim for, 143 preparation and sealing , I 15-1 6
Co n ti n uing pro fessional Davenpo rt, Alan, 303 forma l hearing, 75- 76
Disclaimers, 173 Duggan, G. H., 20
development (CPO), 6 1-62 de Guzman, Mich ael, 54((
Disclosur e of data , ca e study, Dummy run, 176
Alberta APEGGA prog ram, 64 De Havilland Beaver DHC-2 Dut y-based ethics, 215- 16, 219
APEGBC pro gram , 64-65 Aircraft, 3 274-75
Discrimin ati on, 191- 92 Duty o f care
co m pliance statemen t, 6 1 Dep artm ent of Fish eries and Oceans
case st udy re gende r, 205-207 defined, 141
co n tin uing ed ucatio n unit (Ca na da), 313 design eng ineers, 142
(CEU),64 Departm ent of Ju stice (Canada) , 3 13 case study re racial, 208- 209
and Ch arte r of Rights and negligen ce, 142- 43
exe m ptio ns and deferral s, Design calculatio ns, owne rsh ip o f, reasonabl e person, 142
65-66 290-9 1 Freedo ms , 192, 193
definition, 192 standard, 142
mandat or y programs, 62 erro rs in, 21ff, 191 Duty to employe r, en viro n me n t,
practice review, 6 1, 66 Design eng inee rs, duty o f ca re, disabl ed and, 200-201
elim ina ti ng, 200 :n O-11
professional development hour 141-42
eng ineering, em ploymen t in , Duty to report, 31 7- 20
(PO H), 64 Design pro cess PEO outline re reporting process,
reporting and auditing, 64- 65 eth ical prob lem-so lving strat egy, 269-70
minority groups and, 200 -201 318-19
reporting and recording, 61 as, 233 Duty to society, cod e of et h ics,
tim e commitment, 64- 65 failur e modes and effects ana lysis proVincial human rights
legislation, 193 309-10
vo lun tary programs, 62 (FEMA), 149
Co nt ract law, 139-40 fault-free analysis, 149- 50 agains t wom en, 200
Distributive justice E
Co n tracts/con tracti ng ha zard an alysis, 148, 149 Earth Science ring, 99- 100
breach , 78 product safety, 146- 49 fairn ess in social ben efit s/
burden s, 224-25 Ear th Summit, 362
co nd itio ns, 143- 44 state -of-the -art guida nce, Education, see Admi ssion to
professional services, 130- 31 147-48 DiTomaso, N., 20 1
profession; Co n tinu ing
qu alit y-based selec tion (QBS), Design er 's chec klist, 150 Doct or al degree, 67-68
com pete nce; Co n tinuing
131- 32 Disciplinary pen alti es, 76 Documents, see also Seal
professional development
software developm en t, for, 174 Disciplina ry process affixing seal to, 110-12
alt ered plan s/ethics of, case study, Efficiency paradox, 375
war ran ties, 144 a lterna te dis pute reso lution EGAD method, professional
Coope r, Theodo re, 18(( (ADR), 76-78 255-57
approval pro cess for, 113 p racti ce exa m, 390-92
Co py righ t, 181- 84 breach of code o f eth ics, 74
checkin& 49, 114- 15 Elec tro nic seals, 116
breach o f, 183 case histor y illustr ating, 79-86
co m puter-sto red and secur ity E-mail, 104
case stud ies, 187- 89, 2 74- 75, com plain t aga inst pra ctiti on er, Em ployees' righ ts, 157-58
277-79 74- 75 measur es, 116
effect of not sealing, 116-1 7 Em ploy me n t
plagiarism , 183 co nvic tio n of an offence, 74 discrimination, see Women;
software piracy, 178-80 evide nce , 75 electro n ic, 11 6
Workplace
Co rpo ratio n o f th e Seven Ward en s, fairn ess in procedure liability, 113-14
multiple drawings, 115-1 6 em ployer's managem ent
98-99 requirem ent, 76-77
plan s/specifications errors, case au thor ity, 239
Co rpo ratio n(s), 128 hearing of com plain t, 75-76 illegal activity in engine er's
en viro n men tal guide lines for, in compet enc e, 73 study, 273-7 4
preliminary drafts, 112-1 3 duties, 240-41
3 16- 17 investi gati on and peer immigrant int egration, 203-205
licen sin g of, 47, 128 review, 75 rep ort s, I 15-1 6
sign ing by an enginee r, 114-1 5 man agers, un ethical, 244- 45
Co rrective justice, fairness and, 224 negligen ce, 73 NSPE gUide lines , 243
CP Rail, 147 p hysical/ menta l in capacity, 74 Dom in ion Bridge Com pa ny, 280,
par t-ti me /mo o nligh ting case
Cultural d iversity, and work place, professional misco nd uct, 73 28 1,282
DOl/og!lue v. Stevenson, 145 st udy, 253-54
204-205 Discip line, 50- 5 1
8 IND EX I NIII X I,'
Em ploym en t (Col/til/lied) Eng i rice rs, see also Eng ineering Enviro n men ta l m an agem ent Et hics (et hica l th eori es)
pr omoti ons and fairn ess di stribution in Ca nada, 8- 10 systems du ty eth ics (Kan t), 2 15- 16, 2 19
requi rem ents, 202-203 Iron Ring ce remony, 98-99 ISO 14000 , 155, 31 7 rights eth ics (Locke),
resig n a tio n by e ng ineer/ sustaina bility g uide lines, 37 6- 77 Env iro n menta l sus ta ina bility, 216-18,219
geoscien tis t, 245 Eng ineers Ca na da , 8-9, 12, 35, 38, 359-86 '\ utili tarianism , 2 14- 15, 219
sa lar ies, 108-1 09 42 ,46,5 1, 66, 91 , 105, 109, Bru nd tland Repo rt, 36 1 virtue eth ics (Aristo tle) ,
wrongfu l d ismi ssal, 267 126, 1 9 3 , 2 0 5 , :~1 5 climate change, 363-70 2 18,2 19
Em ploy me n t eq uity, 202 g uide lines for ex perience IPCC reports, 36 1-62 Exam ina t ion s
Em ploy me nt prosp ect s, 10-11 docurn en tati on, 105 limits to growth, 36 1 ad m ission to professio n , 40-42
En force me nt, 50 integrati on proj ect fo r need for cha nge, 375-76 co nf irma tory, 40 -4 1
Eng inee ring immigrants, 203-204 o il and gas depl etion, 370-73 geoscie ntist, 45
advice, see Co m peten ce Eng inee rs Ca nada Guide line o n Eq ua lity righ ts, see Ca n ad ia n professional pract ice, see
bran ch es o f, 10 co n tin uing co m pe te nce, 59, Cha rter of Rights and Freed om s Profession al Practi ce Exam
in Ca n ad a, 8- 12 61-62 Episte mology, 214 technical, 4 1
c ha lle nge of th e 2 1st ce n tury, 6- 8 Engin eers Without Bord ers (EWB), 95 Erd mc r, Philippe. 1'. Geo!., 99 Expe rience requirem ent s, ad m issio n
definiti on, 11-1 2 En t ry-level job s, 106 Error s and o m issio ns insurance, 142 to profession, 42-44, 105
em plo ym en t prospe ct s, 10-1 I Environm ent Error s in plans and specifica tio ns Exp ert witness, 75, 124, 2 15- 16
legal definition o f, 35-36 Ce res prin ciples, 3 16- 17 case st udy, 273 -74 Exp loitation, 293
nati onal definition o f, 35 duty to em ployer, 3 10- 1 1 Et hic a l dil emma, 220-22 Exto rtio n, 293, 29 4
vs. science, 35 e th ics, 309-30 whistl e-blowing a nd, 3 19-20 Exxon Valde z o il splII, 3 16-17
wom en in , 192fr gu ide line s for protecti on of, Eth ica l p robl em s
Eng ineeri ng ac h ievem en ts 3 15- 17 exa m ples of, 234 F
in Ca nada, top ten , 2- 4 [SO 14001 , 31 7 st rategy for so lving complex, Factor of safe ty, 36
Ca nad ia n, 20 th ce n t ury, 4, 6 legislati on , 3 11- 15 233 - 36 Failur e ana lysis, 149- 50
Eng ineering Institute of Ca na da prot ecting, 294 Ethics Failu re m od es a nd effects ana lysis
(EIC), 2, 66 , 90, 9 1 Valde z Prin cipl es, 3 17 agreeme n t and co n t rad ict io n, (PMEA), 149
lournal , 30 Env iro nme n t Ca n ada, :~ 13 218- 22 Fai rn ess/equity, 191- 9 2
Engi nee ring societies Env iro n me n ta l haza rds app lied ethics, 236 pro motio ns, 202-203
Ca n ad ian , 9 1, 92 ac id rain, 340 branch of ph ilosophy, 213 - 14 False adve rt ising, case study, 254-55
cha ritable, 95-98 a ir pollu tion , 338-40 cli mate change and peak o il, Farri s, G. F. , 201
c hoosing, 90-93 case stud ies, 322-27, 344-47, 3 73-75 Fault-free ana lysis, 149- 50
co de o f eth ics, 232 353- 56, 3 77- 83 co des of, see Co des of eth ics Feedb ack loo ps, 365-67
di sability assista nce volunteers, 97 co a l-fired power, 33 7 co nscien tio us ob jection Fees, see Co m pen sat io n / fees
Eng inee rs Without Bord ers ene rgy co nse rvat io n an d nucl ear in stances, 242 Feld erh of, John , 54
(I~WI~) , 95-96 pow er, 335 -37 cutt ing co rners, eth ics o f, 240-4 1 FIDIC, 130, 131
hi sto rical root s, 89- 90 g ree n ho use gas em issio ns, 334-35 gu tdc lines/adv tce from Firew all, 178
honor ary, 95-98 population growth, :~ 4 1-4 :~ associatio ns, 243 Fish eries Act, 3 13
human itari an /v olunteer waste di sposal, 337-38 ha zard creatio n, 245 Florman, Sa m ue l, 32 1-22, 323
cha pte rs, 97 water pollution, 34 1 for eign co ns u lt ing a n d, 292-95 Foreign co ns u lti ng, see also
internati onal societ ies, 9 1-93, 94 Enviro n me n ta l law morality and religion a nd, 236 Go lde n Rule
se n ior enginee rs cha pte r, 97 ac t io ns co n trary to co de of principl es of [ust ice, 222-26 case study, 296-98
student cha pters, 94-95 eth ics, 3 11 professio na l eng inecring eth ics in , 292-95
Eng inee ring Society of th e actions co n trary to co nsc ience, 3 11 employ men t advice, 24 3 Forced resign ati on , 245
University of Toro nto, 90 Can ad ia n, 3 11- 14 tech ni cal recom mendati on Force of orga niza tion, 12
Eng inee ring titl es, mis use o f, 266 illegal act ions, 3 I I overruled, 240 Foreseeability, 141
\
INDEX
INIII X /, ;> I
For ma lism (d uty eth ics), lab our uni on s a nd, 243- 44
2 15- 16, :174 Health Ca nada, 161 pat ents, 182, 184- 85
mi suse of titl es, 266
Forth Bridge, 17 Hirin g trad e sec rets, 182, 18 7
profession al, 3 1-32
Fraud, 24 I e m ploy men t co n tr acts, 266 trad emarks, 182, 186- 8 7
spcc ia liza tion , 106- 10 7
Freep ort -McMoRan Co ppe r & Gold, e m ploy me nt eq uity, 202 In tegrated circuit topographi es,
supe rviso ry level, 106-10 7
Inc., 54, 55 fair practices for~201 -202 182, 185- 86
sus ta inability guide lines, 376-77
Fundam entals of Engin eering (FE) Hoar e, Edwa rd, 17, 20 In te r-Associatio n Mobility
Geoscienti st int ernship, tit les
exa m, 40-4 1 Hoo ker C he m ical Co m pa n y, 344 Agreem ent, 46-4 7
during, 106
Hopps Pacem aker, 6 Int ergovernm ental Pan el o n
G ifts, 293 -94
G Hopps, Dr. j ohn A., 6 Climate Cha nge (IPCC), 6, :n 4,
G lobal warming, 334-35, 36 4
Gaia: A New Look at Life 0 11 Earth Hubbert , M. K., :171 36 1-62, 364, 366
feedback loop s, 365-67
(Loveloc k),36 1 Human rights, 2 17 Int ernati onal Elect rotec h n ical
Go lden mean, 293
Gas e m ission, 363 Hyatt Regen cy Hot el, 25 6-57 Co m m issio n (lEC), 152
Go lde n Rule, 2 19
Gende r fairn ess, awards and Hyd ro-Qu ebec, :1 Int ern ati onal Fede rat io n of
Go lde n Rule and foreign
tributes, 2(B Co ns ulting Eng inee rs (FlDlC),
co ns ulting , 293
Geoscience I 130, 292
prom ot e co un try's we lfare, 29 4
achi evem ents in Ca nada, 2-4 Ilegal ad vertisin g Int ernati onal Organi zati on for
protect th e en viro n me n t, 294
ad m issio n to profession, 45, false/mi sleadin g eng inee ring data, Standards (ISO), 153- 54
resp ect cultural no rms and
104-105 et h ics of, 254 -55 Int ern ati onal Standards
laws, 29 4
bran ch es of, 10 IMAX Syste m, 6 O rga n izatio n (ISO), 377
resp ect human rights, 294
in Ca n ada, 8- 12 Immigran ts, integrati on int o Intern et
Good will, 2 16
cha llenge of th e 2 1st ce n tury, 6-8 profession s, 203 -205 ISO standa rds, sea rch ing , 153- 54
Google Earth, 332
definiti on, 11 -1 2, :16- 3 7 Incin erati on , 338 as sec urity risk, 177- 78
Grease mon ey, 293
distributi on o f scien tis ts in Incom poten ce, 73 sta te-o f-the -art safe ty
Gree n ho use effect, 36 4
Ca nada, 8- 10 Incorpor ati on, 128 information, 14 7
Gree n h o use gas e m issio ns, 33 4-3 5
e m p loy me n t prospect s, 10-11 Ind epend ent mod el, client- In tern sh ip pro gram, 104
Guideline tor Env iro nmen tal Practice
mobility ag reeme n ts/ co ns ulta n t relation ship, 285-86 titl es (ITs), 104, 10 6
(APEGGA), 3 15
licen sing, 47 Indu stri al design , 182, 185 In te rviews, fair hiring
Guideline to I'rot essionat Practi ce
profession al pract ice exa m Industri al Revoluti on , 36 0 pra cti ces, 20 I
(PEO On ta rio), 28 7ft'
(PPE), 45 Indu str y Ca nada, 181 Iron rin g, SO, 98-99
Geoscie nce Charitable Insp ecti on , lega l responsibi lities, 80 Obli gation of th e Eng inee r, 50
H
Founda tio n, 98 Institute o f Civil Eng ineers, 89 ISO 14000, ISS
Hall, It, 196
Geoscience soc ieties Institute o f Elect rica l a nd Electronic obtaining, 146-4 7
Hara ssm ent, 198- 99
Ca nad ia n, 93 Engin eers (IEEE), 92 ISO 9000, 154-55
co m pa ny procedu re, 199
c ha rita ble foundation s, 9R Instituti on o f Mechani cal ce rt ificatio n, 154- 55
Hardin, Ga rre t, 343 -44
internati on al, 94 Eng ineers, 89 exte rn al audit, 154
Harri s, C. E., 29:1
Geosc ien tist (s) Instructi on manual s, product internal aud it, 154
Hartford Arena co lla pse, 170- 72
acad emi c degrees and en try, safely, 150 qu alit y assu ra nce, 154
Hawk en , Paul, 359
45, 106 Insuran ce, see Erro rs and o m issions qu alit y managem ent, 154
Hazard ana lysis, 149
ac tiv ities, 13 in suran ce; Liability in suran ce
Hazardou s liquid waste, :138
co n flict o f in terest, 247-4R lnt ellectua I prop ert y, 182 J
Hazar dou s Produ cts Act, 144
co rpo ratio ns, practi sin g as, 128 co pyrig ht, 181- R4 Jaccard , M., 373
Hazard s, 148ff, I SO, See a/so
defin ed , 1:1 ge ne ral rules for, 181 j ob a pplication dil emm a, case
Envi ronmental h azards
Earth Ri ng ce remo ny, 99- 100 impo rtan ce of, 181 study, 249-5 1
Health a nd safe ty, protecting, 294 .
geo log ist-in-train ing , 104 industri al desig n, 182, 185 j ob ladder
See a/so Occ upa tio na l Health
job levels, 106-10 7 integrat ed circuit topographi es, levels o f responsibility, 106-107
and Safety.
182. 185- 86 sa la ries, 108
42 2 IND EX IN ()rx
Johnson, D. G., 285 product, see Produc t liabilit y levels, middle a nd sen ior, 107 Mobility agreem ents, 46-47
Jun ior eng ineer /engineer-in- professiona l, so urces of, 139-40 skills and sty les, 118-1 9, 119T eng inee rs, 46
traini ng, 106 seco nda ry in surance, 126- 27 Th eory X an d Th eor y V, geoscientists, 46
Ju st ice, principl es o f, 222-26 so ftware erro rs, 172- 73 18-1 9, 119'1' internationa l, 46-4 7
co rrective justi ce, 22 4 so urces o f, 139- 40 train ing, ~ perience a nd, 106-107 nationa l, 46
distributive justic e, 224-25 strict, 140, 144-45 Manager notwithstanding cla uses, 46
politi cal justic e, 22 5 tort law, 140- 43 acad emic req u iremen ts, 118 Model Nationa l Energy Code for
pro cedural justice, 222 -23 Liabilit y insuran ce, 142 promotion to, 1 I 7-19 Buildings, 156
provin ces co m pa red, 125- 26 un ethical, 244-45 Mod el Nati ona l Energy Code for
K p rovincial regul ati on a nd Manager, respon sibilities Hou ses, 156
Kaminetzky, D., 171 co nsu lting eng ineers, 125- 26 ens ur ing ad he rence to provincial Monbiot, George, 365
Kan t, Imm anuel, 2 15- 16, 2 19T Licen sin g, 8. See also Regulation Act, 266-67 Monitoring, functi on of
Kernag ha n, K., 246 co rpor atio ns, 4 7 eva luating co m pete nce , 268- 69 managem ent, 118
Kipling , Rudya rd, 50, 98 evo lution of laws, 29-3 1 hiring and di smi ssal, 266- 68 Montreal Prot ocol, 335 , 362
Krebes , Edwa rd S., P. Geo p h ., 99 im m igran ts/ in teg ration, 203-204 ove rco ming discrimination, Moonlighting, case study, 253-54
Kyoto Prot ocol, 362-63 intern ship pro gram s/titles 269-70 Morton-Thiokol, 259 -60
(ITs), 104 reviewing work, 268-69 Mu cklestone, Co n n ie, 319
L nonresid ent, 44 Manitoba, code of et h ics, 229
Lab our un ions, see Uni on s pro cess for grad uates, 42 Manufacturer 's chec klist, 150 N
Ladyfe rn natural gas depl eti on provisional, 44-45 Marianos, W. N., Jr., 279 Nati onal Farm Building Code, 156
case study, 377 -83 ren ewal, 64 Marston , D. L., 145 Nati onal Fire Code, 156
Lan dfills, 338 techn icians/technologists, 14-1 5 Martin , Rach el, 171 National Guideline on the Environment
La ngfo rd, J. W., 246 temporary, 44 Master's degree (MA), 67 and Sustainability, 315
Lakoch e, Lion el, 204 in Un ited Sta tes, 3 1 Master's degree in Busin ess Nati onal Hou sing Code , 156
Legal liability, see Liability unli cen sed practitioners a nd Ad m inis tratio n (MBA), 118 Nati onal Plumbing Code, 156
Legal rights, see Ca n ad ia n Charte r en fo rceme n t, 71-72 Materia l safety data shee t Nationa l Pollutant Release
of Rights and Freed om s Limited partn erships, 128 (MSDS),1 61 Inventory (NPRI), 33 1-32
Legislation Lloyd, William Forst er, 343, 373 Maximum ben efit (ethics), Nationa l Professional Pract ice Exam
bylaw s, 37 Locke, j ohn, 2 15- 18, 2 19 '1~ 374 214- 15 (NPPE), 388-90
e nv iron me n tal, 3 14 Lod gep ole well blowout, case study, McDill, J. M. J., 197 Nati ona l Research Co unc il, 6, 156
open vs. close d Acts, 30 322-27 McGregor, Doug las, 118 Nati on al Societ y of Professional
provin cial/ter rito rial, 30, 32, Logic, 213 Mcllw ee, J. S., 196 Engineers (NSPE), 110, 232, 243
33-34 Lo nd on smog, 339 Mcl.ure, Norm a n, 17, 18 Guidelines to Employment (or
Legitimate soc ial ins titutions Love Cana l, 338 Med ved ev, Grigo ri, 355 Protessional Engineers, 266
prom oting in foreign case study, 344 -46 Metaph ysics, 2 14 Nati onal Standards System, 152
co un try, 295 Lovelo ck, Jam es, 36 1 Micro soft Cana da, case hi sto ry, Negligen ce, see also Liability
LeMessuri er, William, 257 , 30 I, Lupart.} . L., 195 78-79 vs. breach of contract, 29 1
302-305 Microsoft Certified Software defined, 142
case study, 30 1-305 M Engin eer (MCSE), 78-79 duty of car e, 141-42
Liability MacGill, Elizabet h (Elsie), 198 Midd le managem ent eng inee r/ liability and, 140- 41
co n tract law an d, 139- 40 Man agem ent geoscien tist, 107 provin g, 142-43
co rpora tio n an d, 128 ca reers, 117-1 8 Mill, John Stua rt, 2 14- 15, res ipsa loquitur, 142- 43
docum ents, 113-1 4 case stu dy rc inadeq ua te 2 19 ' 1~ 374 sta nda rd of care, 141
neg ligence and, 140-43 supervisio n, 255-56 Min am ata Bay, Japan New Brunswick, code o f eth ics,
partners h ip and, 12 7 co n flict of interest, 269-70 yase study, 346-47 229-30, 292
I NDEX 425
INDEX
Newfound land a nd Labrador, code Ordrc des Sc%s ues du Qlu!lJeC, 8 Pri nee Edward Isla nd, co de o f NSPE guide lines , 243
o f et h ics, 230 Ordre des ills cllieurs du Qucbec (0 1Q), et h ics, 231 responsibilit y for co n tin uing
No nreside n t licen ce, 44 8, 79 Privat e practice co m petence, 60-6 1
No n- tec h nica l skills, pro fessional O rga n ization of Petroleum adve rtising, 286-87 skills nee ded, 59-60
development, 60 Expo rting Co untries (OPEC), :U 2 co m petitive bidd ing, 287 -88 Profession al develo pm ent hour
No rt h Ame rican Co unc il for Ozo ne depl etion , 335 co n flict of interest, 289 (1'0 1-1),64
Envir onm ental Coo pe ratio n co nsideratio ns, 134- 36 Professional discipline, 22 4. Sec a/so
(CEC), 3 12 p ensur ing co mpetence, 288 Disciplin ar y process
North America n Free Trade Parkin son 's Law, 120 eth ical problems, see Eth ical Pro fession al eng ineer (I'. Eng.)
Agreeme n t (NAFrA), 144 Partn ership, 125, 12 7 problems; Eth ics academ ic degrees an d en try, 106
No rth west Territori es, co de o f Pat ent a nd Trade ma rk Office (1''1'0) in iti ati on, 133-34 activities, 13
et h ics, 230 (U.S.), 181 licen sin g requirem ents, co nscien tious o b jectio n to
Notwit hs tand ing clauses, 46 Pat ent Office, 184 see Licensin g em ploy me n t task, 242
Nova Scotia, code of et hics, 230 Pat ents, 182, 184- 85 skills check list, 134- 36 em p loyme nt duties an d code of
Nuclea r e ne rgy, 360 case hi story, 187- 89 starting, 133- 34 eth ics, 24 1, 254-55
Nuclea r power, as env iro n me n tal Pat ernalism, 293 Proce d ural justice job levels, 106-107
h azard , :n 5- 37 Peak o il, :~ 60 , 37 1-72 right to be heard , 222-23 as nl ana ge~ 117-18
Che rnobyl, 353 -56 eth ics of, 373-75 right to be judged by imp artial relat ion ship to pro fessional
Three Mile Isla nd, 35 I- 52 pEG-NL, 125, 173 perso n, 223 assoc iatio n, 52-53
Nuclea r safe ty, case st ud ies, 35 I- 56 Peopl e skills, 11 8, 136 Product liabilit y, 143- 46 specia lization, 106-107
Nunavut, code of ethics, 230 Performan ce assess me n t a nd co n trac t co nd itio ns a nd supe rvisory level, 106-10 7
fairn ess, 202-203 warr anti es,1 43-44 Professional eng inee ring
o Permit to pract ice, 128 dam ages, claim for, 143 regul ati on of, 29-3 1
Obliga tio n of th e Enginee r, 50 Personnel, unli cen sed , 265 Prod uct qu ali ty a nd safe ty Pro fessio nal Engineering Acts, 266
Occ upa tio na l health a nd safe ty Pet roski, H., 18 basis for liability, 139-40 mi su se o f eng ineering titl es, 266 ,
(O I-lS), 156- 61 Phoeni x Bridge Co m pa n y, 17 Ca n ad ian sta nda rds, 151- 53 270 -72
accid ent inv esti gati on, 160 Plaglartsrn, case st udy, 277 -79 gove rn me n t codes an d sta nda rds, use of unli cen sed personnel, 30,
co n trac ts a nd prim e Plan s 155- 56 3 1,32
co n t ractors , 158 alte red, eth ical issu es, 255-57 in st ruction ma nu als, 150 Pro fessional Engi neers O nta rio
em p loyees' rights re dangers, case study re ad he rence to, legislation, 144- 46 (pEO), 75, 125, 174, 192, 200,
157- 58 299-300 neg ligence and, 141- 43 287,3 18
em p loye rs' d uties, 158 Politi cal justice, fairness in politi cal Rivt ow Marine case (d uty to Professional geosc ientis t
en forceme nt, 158,1 60 righ ts a nd duti es, 335 wa rn) , 15 I profession al assoc iatio n and
legislati on , 156- 57 Pollution , see Env iron me nt; Un ited States, in, 144- 45 relat ed bodi es, 52-53
regu lations, 157- 60, 159'1' Env iron me n ta l haza rds Prod uc t warran ties , 144 Pro fessional liability, see Liability
Workplace Hazard ou s Mat erials Pol yrn er/Pol ysar Syn t he tic Rubber Profession, 38 Profession al mi sconduct , 73, 289
Informati on System Plant (Sarnia), 2 defi ned , 11 di scriminati on , 191
(W I-I MIS), 16 1 Populati on growth, 34 1-43 eng ineering as, 11-1 2 eng inee ring/geoscience
Oil a nd gas de pletio n, 370-73 traged y o f th e co m mo ns, 343-44 self-regulati ng, 30, 34 legislati on, 192
ada pt ing to, 372- 73 Postgradu at e stud ies, 66-68 Profes ~ona l accou ntab ility, case ha rassmen t, 191
pea k o il, 37 1-72 Practice review, 66 study, 276-77 Professiona l pract ice exa m (Pl'E),
Oil spilis, 316- 17 Pract ice, profession al, see Privat e Professional development, 4 1-42
O n ta rio, code of eth ics, 23 I pra ctice sec a/so Co n tin uin g add it iona l qu esti on s, 406
On tar io Society of Pro fessional Prelimin ary do cum en ts, 49, 11 2-1 3 compete nce; Co n tin u ing EGAD method , 390-92
Engi neers (OSPE), 109, 110, 243 Prich a rd, M. S., 293 professiona l develo pment format, 387-88
CSpE zu idc llnes . 243 geoscience, 45
I NIII X
IN DEX
Professional practi ce exa m Regulatio n(s) Ri cha rd, Ju st ice K. Pet er, 163 property of licensin g associaI10 11,
(PPE) (Cul/til/llctf ) admi ssion to e ng ineering Rideau Ca na l, 1- 2 11 0-11
mul tip le-ch oice qu esti on s, pro fessio n, 38-45 , 104-105 Ri ght to be hea rd, 222-23 SCC case, affix ing seal a nd
404-406 ad m ission to geos cie nce Righ t tO'kll o w, 157, 161 liability, 114
p rofessio n, 45 I ~ i gh t to refu se da ngerou s security a nd , 116
NPPE, :-\ 88- 90
O n ta rio, 390 code of et h ics, 49- 50 wo rk, 158 sign ifica nce of affixing, I 12
previou s exa m qu estions, 392-402 co ns u lting eng inee rs, 48 Righ t to parti cipate, 158 Self-regu lat io n (professio ns), 30
shor t-a nswe r qu esti on s, 402- 404 co rpo ratio n an d partn ersh ip Rights eth ics, 2 16- 18, 374 legislatio n es ta blish ing, 34
sy llabus, 387-88 p racti ces, 125 Risk-utility a na lysis, Ca nadian Sen ior executive enginee r/
Pro fession s, licen sed I'S . registered, 34 definiti on , 137 produ cts law, 145- 46 geoscie n tist , 10 7
Proj ect ma nag emen t, 124 di scipline a nd un licen sed Ritual of th e Calling o f a n Senior managem ent enginee r/
Prosp ect or s a nd Developers practiti o ners, 72-78 Engineer, 24 geo scie n tis t, 10 7
Associatio n of Ca n ada, 55 discri m ina tion , 200-20 I Rivt o w Mar in e cas e Sen io r specialist enginee r/
Provin cial Acts, 30, 32 , 33-34 en force me nt an d di scipline, rs.c.c.; 151 geo scien tist, 107
Provin cial and ter ritori al 50- 5 1 Rob ert son , Leslie, 304 Sexua l harassm en t, see also
associat io ns, 8, 37-38 e ngineering, 8 Rob inso n, J. G., 196 Discip lina ry process
Provisio nal licence, 44-45 fo rms o f licen ce, 44- 45 Royal Co m m issio n o n Q uebec defin ed , 197- 99
Publi c welfare, wh istle-b lowing geoscien tist profession , 3 1-3 2 Bridge Disaster, 20-2:-\ Shaw , Willia m , 6
a nd, 245 iron rin g a nd en ginee ring Shell Ca nada, 3 78
Pusp os. Cesa r, 5 4fT oa ths , 50 S Shoo p, R. .I ., 19 7
preliminary documents, 49 Safety, 139. See also Occ upatio na l Sil ent Spril/g (Ca rso n) , 36 1
Q pro fessional mi sco nduct a nd Health a nd Safety; Prod uct Skilled wo rkers, activ ities, 15
Q ua lified perso n (Q P), :-\2 docum ents, 49 q uality a nd safety Skills needed fo r ca ree r succe ss,
Q ua lity assuran ce (QA), see also p rofessio na l seal, 49 codes , sta nda rds, regulat ion s, 58-60
Product qu alit y a nd safety pro vin cial/terr itori al Acts, 30, 32, 146- 47 Socia lizatio n, ge nde r ro les,
ISO 9000, 154- 55 33-34 design ing for, 146- 49 195- 96
Qua lity manua l, 154 provi ncia l/t e rritor ial associati ons, sta te-of-the -a rt guida nce, 147 Software
Q ua lity- Based Selectio n (Q BS), 37- :-\8 Sa le of Goo ds Act, 140, 144 a n tivi rus, 178
1:-\ 1- 32, 287 qu ali fied person (Q P), 32 Sam ue ls, B. M., 12 7, 130 , 147 breach of co n t ract, 178
Que be c, code of et h ics, 2:-\2 registered I' S. licen sed Sanders, D. R.,1 27, 147 dumm y runs, 176
Que bec Bridge Co lla pse (case professio n, 34 Sa nd ler, B. It , 186, 197 firewall, 178
hi stor y), 16- 26 self-regulatio n , 30, 34 Sch lege l Cen t re o f liability for e rror s, 172- 73
design a nd reconstr ucti on , 22- 23 service to publi c licen ce Ent repren eu rsh ip, Wilfrid piracy, 178- 80
first co llapse, 18- 19 requ irem ent, 125 Laurier Un iversity, 135 usin g co m m ercia l, 175- 77
lesson learn ed , 24 Softwa re Engin eer (Microsoft) Sch ull, Joseph , 355 va lida tio n tests, 173
overview of project , 16-1 8 tit le, 78-79 Sea level rise, 365 Soft wa re development, 173- 75
Ro yal Co m m issio n report , 20- 23 Un ited States, in , 30-:-\ I Seal (pro fessio na l sta m p), 49 Specializatio n, 117
seco nd co llapse, 2:-\- 24 Rep orts, scc Documents affixing, mor e th an o n e Specificat io ns, see Documen ts
R Hes ipsa loquitur, 143 di sciplin e, 115 SI. Lawren ce Bridge Co m pany,
Rabins, M. .1 ., 293 Research In Mo t io n (RIM), 7 docu ment s an d, 112- 13 23,24/f
Reason abl e perso n test , 142 Research scien tist , 12- U electro n ic docum ents, 1 16 SI. Lawr en ce Seaway, 2
Reed Pap er Co m pa ny, 347 Review elec tro nic, 116 Sta nda rds, sec also Prod uct q ua lity
Registered Eng inee ring Tech no logist em ployee's work by man ager, e ng ineer 's sea l-att ributes, a nd safety
(IUm, 15 26 8-69 110-1 2 building a nd co nst ruct io n
Registered Eng inee rs for Disaster wor k of ano the r pro fessio na l, professio nal responsibilit y codes, 156
Relief (Red k) Ca na da, 97 289-90
I NIlI' X I,
INDEX
---------------------------
Standard s (Col/til/lied) Three Mile Island, 350, 35 1-52 Uni versiti es, co ntin u ing Wom en
gove rn me n t codes a n d stan dards, case study, 35 1- 52 co m pete nce courses, 6 1 awards and t ributes, 203
ISS- 56 Tit les, intern ship , 104 Un iversit y o f~a te rl o o, 187 car eer objectives and
ISO 14000, ISS Titl es, misuse of, 266 Uni versity program s co nt ributio n to society, 199
ISO 9000, 154- 55 Tort, defin ed, 140 co n tin uing co m pe te nc e CSPE guide llnes for, 110
national standa rds, 152 Tort law, 140- 43, 224 progra ms, 6 1 in eng inee ring /geoscience, 192,
Stan da rds Co unc il of Ca na da (SCC), To xic pollution, case stud ies, enrollme n t pattern s, 193- 94 193- 94, 197
151- 53, 156 344-50 scho larsh ips an d biases, 197 gender stereoty pes, 195- 96
Strict liability, 144-45. Trade secrets, 182, 187 wom en's en ro llme n t in managem en t philosophy and
See also Liability Trad emarks, 182, 186-8 7 eng ineerin g/ge oscience, 194, wom en 's skills, 199
Sudbury, On tar io, case study, Traged y of th e comm ons, 343-44 196- 97 ret ention issues/engineering and
349-50 Training, add itio na l, 60-6 1 Un lawfu l practice, prosecution for, geosc ience , 196- 97
Supervisory level engi neer/ Train ing (eng ineerin -tra in ing 71-72 sex ua l hara ssm ent, 197- 99
geoscien tist, 106-107 period ), see also Int ern ship Use of unli cen sed personnel, 265, underrepr esentation in
Supplant ing, code of eth ics and, 292 pro gram case study, 270-72 eng inee rin g, 193- 94
Su preme Co urt of Ca nada , 11, applyin g for lice nce, 104- 105 Utilitari an bias, 2:{6 Work ers' Co m pe nsation Act, 160
114, 163 do cumenting yo ur ex pe rience, Ut ilitarianis m , 2 14- 15, 374 Workplace, see also Employme n t;
Susta ina bility, defin ed , 359-60 105 Management; Man agers
V
Susta in able thin kin g, hi st or y of, profess iona l worki ng co nd itions, cultural div ersity a nd, 204-205
Valdez Principl es, 3 17
360-63 109-10 discrimination in, 200-201
Valida tion tests, 173
Swan, Wooster and Partners, 280, 282 Tran s-Canada Telephone Netwo rk, 4 div ersity ben efits, 199
va n Beers, An n, 199
Syllabus of exa m ina tio ns, 387-88 Turing, Alan , 169 em ployme n t eq uity, 202
Van couver Seco nd Narrows Bridge
em ployee performance
co llapse
T u case st udy, 279-83
assessment, 268-69
Tech n ical assista nce orga n izatio ns, U. S. En viron me n ta l Agency (EPA), fair vs. discrim in atory practi ces,
Vickers , M., 199
129- 30, 129T 345 -46 20 1-203
Virtue et h ics, 374
Tech n ical author ity vs. mana gem ent U. S. Nationa l Co u nc il of Exam ine rs health and safe ty co m m ittee,
aut ho rity, 239 for Eng inee ring a nd Surveyi ng W 158, 160
Technica l skills, profession al (N CI~ ES) , 40 Walk erton , Onta rio, 341 NSPEguid elin es for workplace, I I()
development, 60 UN Framework Co nve n tio n o n Walsh, David, 54ff sexual harassmen t, 197- 99
Tec h n ica l soc ieties, see also Clima te Change (UNFCCC), War ran ties, 144 wo rk co nd itio ns an d professiona l
Engi nee ring soc ieties; 362, 363, 364 Waste disposal, 337-38 guide lines, 243
Geoscience socie ties Un ion Ca rbide, 332, 347-49 Waste man agem ent, 370 Wo rkpla ce Hazard ou s Mat erials
co nt in uing competence courses, 61 Un ions , eng inee rs/geoscien tists Waste fu l co ns um ptio n, Informati on System
Techni cal team , co m po ne n ts a nd ,243-44 reducin g, 375 (WHMIS),1 60
describ ed, 12-1 5 United Nations Ed uca tio na l, Wate r pollution, 341 Workplace Safety and In sura nce
Tech n icians, activities, IS Scient ific and Cu ltu ral Westra y Min e d isaster, 161- 65 Board (Ont.), 160
Technol ogist, ac tivities , 14 Orga n izatio n (UNESCO), 1 W h istle-blow ing, 245 Wor ld Nuclear Assoc ia tio n (WNA),
Tech no logue professional Cr. P.), IS Un ited Na tio ns Enviro n menta l duty to report, 3 17- 19 335-36, 353 , 355
Temporary licence, 44 Programme (UNEP), 36 1 et h ical dile mma of, 3 19-20 Wrongfu l dismi ssal, 267
Term ination of em ploy me n t, 267 Un ited Sta tes
Territo rial Acts, 30-32, 33-3 4 ad m ission to profession, 39, 4 1
Testing, see Qua lity assur ance regul ati on of profession , 30-3 1
Th eor y X and Th eor y Y, 118-1 9, United States Pat ent an d Trad em ark
119'1' Office (PTO), 189
101111111 111110 11
I
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Canadian
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Practice and Ethics

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ONTISPIECE -CANADARM2 P R EFA CE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

ChalJter 3 (Continuing Professional De v elopment) ex plai ns th e Part Thre e-Pro f e s s io n a l Ethics

c h a rd Furst o f PEO a n d Harry McBrid e, form erl y of APEGBC, p ro vided ge n- C O N T EN T S

id form erl y t he NSEI{C/No rte l Ch a ir for Wom en in Scienc e a n d Engineering

'ART FIVE-EXAM PREPARATION

\I)PENDIX A-I)rovincial and Tcrrit orial En g incc ring/

INDEX 4 11 AN INSPI RING LE GACY

Whether you are entering engineering or geoscience, welcome to a challenging,

Our history is an exciting chronicle of great achievement in a harsh climate.

The “Top Ten” Canadian Engineering and Geoscience

THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY NETWORK (CPR)

THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

THE POLYMER/POLYSAR SYNTHETIC RUBBER PLANT IN SARNIA

THE ATHABASCA COMMERCIAL OIL SANDS DEVELOPMENT

THE HYDRO-QUÉBEC VERY-HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

THE CANDU NUCLEAR POWER SYSTEM

THE DE HAVILLAND BEAVER DHC-2 AIRCRAFT

THE ALOUETTE I ORBITING RESEARCH SATELLITE

THE BOMBARDIER SNOWMOBILE

THE TRANS-CANADA TELEPHONE NETWORK

Significant Achievements of the 20th Century

The five most significant Canadian engineering achievements of the 20th

THE CPR ROGERS PASS PROJECT (1989)

THE CONFEDERATION BRIDGE (NORTHUMBERLAND STRAIT)

THE CANADARM REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEM

THE IMAX SYSTEM (MOTION PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY AND PROJECTION)

THE HOPPS PACEMAKER

The Challenge of the 21st Century

Photo 1.2 — The Blackberry ® Handheld. The Blackberry ® is a well-known

increasing efficiency of existing processes, machinery, buildings, and infra-

ENGINEERING AND GEOSCIENCE IN CANADA

Engineering and geoscience are recognized as professions in Canada.

Provincial and Territorial Licensing Laws

Entering the Professions

Distribution of Engineers and Geoscientists in Canada

In 2006, about 160,000 practising professional engineers were licensed in

TA B L E 1 . 1 — Licensed Professional Engineers and Geoscientists in Canada

Professional Engineers Licensed Percentage of

Note 2: Professional Geoscientists: The number of professional geoscientists is approximate because

Saskatchewan and Manitoba together (4.6 percent) have about a quarter of

Branches of Engineering and Geoscience

Universities offer degree programs in recognized disciplines (or branches) of

studied in university. (The responsibility for competence is explained later in

• Engineering. The most general branches are civil, electrical, mechanical,

In spite of recent economic turmoil (in 2008–2009), two factors show

• Engineering. The documented employment history for engineers is

Job Futures, the Government of Canada’s National Career and Education

A Brief Discussion of Professional Status

Engineering and geoscience certainly require “specialized knowledge,”

achievement and conduct” (as discussed in detail in Chapter 11).

THE TECHNICAL TEAM

• Research scientist. Scientists develop ideas that expand the frontiers of

a master’s degree is often acceptable. A scientist is rarely required to super-

fields of geology, geophysics, and their many related subdisciplines.

licensed practitioner. The basic educational requirement is usually a

In fact, the province of Alberta regulates professional technologists

Certification as a technologist requires an assessment of the candidate’s

• Technician. Technicians usually work under the supervision of engi-