The Disciplinary Council of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec revokes Jacques Abécassis' permit to practice engineering Français
MONTREAL, Dec. 14, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - In a recent decision, the Disciplinary Council of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) revoked Jacques Abécassis' permit to practice engineering, the most severe penalty provided in the Professional Code.
The charges brought against Mr. Abécassis are in connection with the installation of a retaining wall ("Berlin wall") for a single-family residence construction project in Montreal. His offences occurred in 2013 and 2014 while he was President of Les Fondations Colossol Cie Ltée and acted as the design engineer and installer of the wall.
The OIQ's Office of the Syndic opened its inquiry at the request of the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST), after the partial collapse of the wall. This accident buried a worker who sustained several serious injuries, including the permanent impairment of his lower extremities.
The disciplinary complaint that was filed upon the completion of the inquiry contained 24 charges for violations of the Code of Ethics of Engineers, the Professional Code or the Regulation respecting the keeping of records and consulting offices by engineers. Mr. Abécassis pleaded guilty to all charges.
In addition to the revocation of his permit, Mr. Abécassis was fined a total of $4,000, struck off the OIQ's roll for periods ranging from 6 months to 3 years, and ordered to pay $16,000 to cover part of the costs in connection with the proceedings and the fees of the experts hired by the Office of the Syndic in support of its complaint.
Professionals whose permits are revoked are completely dissociated from their order because they lose their right to register on its membership roll. The Disciplinary Council of the OIQ does not hesitate to impose this penalty when the facts and jurisprudence justify it. In the last ten years, this penalty has been imposed 40 times.
The full version of the Disciplinary Council's decision is available on the OIQ's Web site.
About the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Founded in 1920, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec has a membership of some 62,000 engineering professionals in all fields, except forest engineering. The mission of the OIQ is to ensure the protection of the public by supervising the practice of the profession within the framework of its constituent laws and ensure that the profession serves the public interest. For more information, go to http://www.oiq.qc.ca.
For a quick update on OIQ news, join our virtual communities:
- Facebook www.facebook.com/oiq.qc.ca
- Twitter https://twitter.com/OIQ
- LinkedIn http://bit.ly/LinkedInOIQ
SOURCE Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec
Patrick Leblanc, Communications Advisor, Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, Tel.: 514 845-6141 or 1 800 461-6141, extension 3108
Share this article