HER MAJESTY, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as
follows:
Definitions
1 In this Act,
(a) “Association”
means the Alberta Podiatry Association;
(b) “Board”
means the Board of Examiners in Podiatry appointed under this Act;
(c) “certificate
of approval for registration” means a certificate issued by the Board stating
that the holder is qualified to practise podiatry;
(d) “certificate
of registration” means a certificate issued by the Association entitling the
holder to practise podiatry;
(e) “Council”
means the Council of Management of the Association;
(f) “investigated
member” means a podiatrist who is the subject of a complaint made under section
12;
(g) “Minister”
means the Minister determined under section 16 of the Government
Organization Act as the Minister responsible for this Act;
(h) “podiatrist”
means a registered member of the Association;
(i) “podiatry”
(i) means the branch of the healing arts that treats ailments,
diseased conditions, deformities or injuries of the human foot and the leg
muscles controlling the foot, and
(ii) includes the examination, diagnosis and treatment of those
ailments, conditions, deformities or injuries, but
(iii) does not include the treatment of systemic
diseases of bones, muscles or ligaments, or the use of X‑ray equipment
for purposes other than diagnostic, or the use of anesthetics other than local.
RSA 1980 cP‑11
s1;1996 c28 s36
Continuation of
Association
2 The Alberta Podiatry Association previously
established is continued as a corporation with the same name.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s2
Corporate powers
3(1) The Association may acquire by gift, purchase
or otherwise and may sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of real
property for the purposes of the Association.
(2) Subject to the regulations, the Association may invest
any of the funds of the Association that are not required for the immediate
purposes of the Association only in investments in which a trustee may invest
trust money under the Schedule to the Trustee Act.
RSA 2000 cP‑16
s3;2001 c28 s15
Bylaws
4(1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant
Governor in Council, the Association may pass bylaws not inconsistent with this
Act respecting
(a) the
election of the Council;
(b) the
appointment of a registrar and other officers as may be necessary for carrying
out the purposes of the Association;
(c) the
government and discipline of members;
(d) the
management of its property;
(e) the
maintenance of the Association and the fixing and collection of fees and
contributions;
(f) the
registration of members of the Association;
(g) the
time, place and conduct of the annual and other meetings of the Association;
(g.1) the investment of funds for the purpose of
section 3(2);
(h) all
other matters the Council considers necessary or convenient for the management
of the Association, the conduct of its business and promotion of its welfare.
(2) A bylaw may only be passed by the Association
at an annual general meeting or at a general meeting called for that purpose.
RSA 2000 cP‑16
s4;2001 c23 s9;2001 c28 s15
Council of Management
5(1) There shall be a Council of Management of the
Association consisting of the number of persons and including the officers that
the bylaws provide.
(2) The
members of the Council shall be elected by the Association for the term and in
the manner the bylaws provide, but in no case shall a member hold office
without re‑election after the 2nd annual meeting following the member’s
previous election.
(3) A quorum of the Council shall not be fewer than
50% of the members of the Council.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s5
Membership
6(1) Every person shall be admitted to membership in
the Association who
(a) produces
evidence satisfactory to the Council that the person is of good moral character
and reputation,
(b) has
satisfied the registrar that the person is an adult and that the person’s name
has not been removed for cause from the register of a podiatry association or
similar body in Canada or elsewhere,
(c) produces
a certificate of approval for registration, and
(d) pays
the registration fee prescribed by the bylaws.
(2) The
registrar shall issue a certificate of registration to each member of the
Association.
(3) Certificates of registration shall be numbered
consecutively and recorded by the registrar in a register kept for that purpose
and the registrar shall on request provide the Minister with a roll of all
podiatrists registered.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s6
Board of Examiners
7(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint
a Board to be known as the Board of Examiners in Podiatry.
(2) The
Board shall be composed of not more than 5 persons who shall hold office during
the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(3) Two
members of the Board must be members of the Association.
(4) The
Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint one of the members of the Board as
chair of the Board, and may also appoint one of the members of the Board as
secretary of the Board.
(5) The
Board
(a) shall
evaluate the credentials of candidates for admission to practice;
(b) shall
classify and accredit approved schools, colleges or universities teaching
podiatry whose graduates may be accepted as fully qualified;
(c) shall
exempt from examination a candidate who
(i) is a graduate of an approved college or university or other
institute, or otherwise qualified by reason of the candidate’s training and
experience, and
(ii) in the opinion of the Board, possesses the qualifications
required by this Act;
(d) shall
set examinations or tests for, and conduct the examination of all persons who
have not been granted exemption from examination by the Board;
(e) shall
certify successful candidates for admission to practice.
(6) A
majority of the members of the Board constitutes a quorum.
(7) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may
prescribe the fees and allowances for expenses to be paid to members of the
Board.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s7
Certificate of approval
for registration
8(1) An application for a certificate of approval
for registration shall be filed with the Board in duplicate and one copy shall
be sent by the Board to the registrar of the Association.
(2) A
candidate shall present the candidate’s academic credentials, verified by a
certified copy of the official
transcript of credits issued by the candidate’s college, university or other
graduating institution, to the Board for inspection and evaluation.
(3) If
in the opinion of the Board the qualifications of the candidate are in all
respects at least equivalent to the standards set by the Board, the Board shall
exempt the candidate from further examination.
(4) The
Board may require candidates presenting themselves for approval for
registration who do not qualify under subsection (3) to take any examinations
fixed by the Board.
(5) Each
applicant shall pay to the Minister
(a) an
application fee of $50, and
(b) if required to qualify by examination, an
examination fee of $100.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s8
Display of certificate
9 A podiatrist shall display the podiatrist’s
certificate of registration in a conspicuous place in the podiatrist’s office
or other place where the podiatrist usually practises.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s9
Recovery of fees
10 A podiatrist may demand from a person by whom
the podiatrist is consulted or employed, and recover as a debt in a court of
competent jurisdiction, the proper charges for the consultation and employment
or either of them.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s10
Handling of drugs
11 Subject to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada), a podiatrist may
purchase and supply to the podiatrist’s patients only those drugs, chemicals
and compounds that are authorized by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and may
prescribe those authorized drugs, chemicals or compounds for compounding under
the direction of a pharmacist or restricted practitioner under the Pharmaceutical Profession Act.
RSA 1980 cP‑11
s11;1988 cP‑7.1 s103
Complaints
12(1) A person may make a written complaint to the
registrar about the conduct of a podiatrist.
(2) The
registrar must review a complaint received under subsection (1) and may
(a) determine
that no further action be taken, or
(b) refer the complaint to the Council.
RSA 1980 cP‑11
s12;1996 c28 s36
Notice of hearing
13(1) The Council must hold a hearing with respect to
a complaint referred to it under section 12.
(2) The registrar must cause to be served on the
investigated member a notice of hearing at least 15 days before the hearing
date stating the date, time and place of the hearing and giving reasonable
particulars of the complaint.
1996 c28 s36
Evidence before Council
14(1) The evidence of each witness in a hearing
before the Council must be taken under oath.
(2) For the purposes of a hearing before the
Council, the presiding member of the Council is conferred with the powers of a
commissioner for oaths under the Commissioners
for Oaths Act.
1996 c28 s36
Appearance and
representation
15 The Association and the
investigated member may appear and be represented by counsel at a hearing
before the Council.
1996 c28 s36
Open hearing
16(1) A hearing before the Council is open to the
public.
(2) Notwithstanding
subsection (1),
(a) if
a complainant applies to the Council for a direction that a hearing or part of
a hearing be held in private because of the confidential nature of the matters
to be heard, the Council must direct that the hearing or part of the hearing,
as the case may be, be held in private, and
(b) on
the application of any interested person or on its own motion, the Council may
direct that a hearing or part of a hearing be held in private if, in the
opinion of the Council, the interests of any person may be detrimentally
affected if the hearing or part of the hearing, as the case may be, is not held
in private.
(3) Notwithstanding that a hearing is being held in
private, the complainant may attend the hearing unless the Council directs
otherwise.
1996 c28 s36
Orders of Council
17 If, at the conclusion of a hearing under
section 13, the Council finds that the conduct of the investigated member constitutes
professional misconduct or incompetence, or that the investigated member has
contravened a bylaw of the Association that imposes suspension or cancellation
of registration as the penalty for contravention, the Council may make any one or more of the
following orders:
(a) reprimand
the investigated member;
(b) suspend
the registration of the investigated member for a stated period;
(c) suspend
the registration of the investigated member until
(i) the investigated member has completed a specific course of
studies or obtained supervised practical experience, or
(ii) the Council is satisfied as to the competence of the investigated
member;
(d) accept
in place of a suspension the investigated member’s undertaking to limit the
investigated member’s practice;
(e) impose
conditions on the investigated member’s entitlement to engage in the practice
of podiatry, including the conditions that the investigated member
(i) practise under supervision,
(ii) not engage in sole practice,
(iii) permit periodic inspections by a person authorized by the
Council, or
(iv) report to the Council on specific matters;
(f) direct
the investigated member to pass a particular course of study or satisfy the
Council as to the investigated member’s practical competence;
(g) direct
the investigated member to satisfy the Council that a disability or addiction
can be or has been overcome, and suspend the investigated member’s registration
until the Council is so satisfied;
(h) require
the investigated member to take counselling that in the opinion of the Council
is appropriate;
(i) direct
the investigated member to waive, reduce or repay a fee for services rendered
by the investigated member that, in the opinion of the Council, were not
rendered or were improperly rendered;
(j) cancel the registration of the investigated
member.
1996 c28 s36
Payment of costs and
fines
18(1) The Council may, in addition to or instead of
dealing with the conduct of an investigated member in accordance with section
17, order that the investigated member pay, within the time set by the order,
any or all of the following:
(a) the
costs of the review of the complaint under section 12(2);
(b) the
costs of the hearing;
(c) a
fine to the Association not exceeding $5000 for each finding of professional
misconduct or incompetence and $25 000 in the aggregate for all of such
findings arising out of the hearing.
(2) Costs
that may be levied against an investigated member by the Council under
subsection (1) include all or any portion of the expenses incurred by the
Council, including the following:
(a) legal
representation of the Council;
(b) travelling
expenses and a per day allowance, as determined by the Council, for the members
of the Council.
(3) Costs or a fine ordered to be paid to the Council
under this section is a debt due to the Association and may be recovered by the
Association by civil action for debt.
1996 c28 s36
Appeal
19(1) An investigated member may appeal to the Court
of Queen’s Bench any order made by the Council under section 17 or 18.
(2) An
appeal must be commenced within 14 days after the date of the order made by the
Council unless the Court grants leave to extend the time for commencing the
appeal.
(3) On
the request of the appellant, a copy of the evidence taken at the hearing
before the Council shall be filed with the clerk of the Court for the judicial
district in which the appellant resides.
(4) The
Court may
(a) receive
further evidence by oral examination or by affidavit, or
(b) direct
a trial to determine all or any of the matters in issue.
(5) The Court may, on hearing an appeal, make any
order that the Court considers proper.
RSA 1980 cP‑11
s13;1996 c28 s36
Striking off register
20(1) If the registration of an investigated member
is cancelled by order of the Council and the order has been confirmed on appeal
under section 19 or the time for appeal has expired, the registrar shall strike
the name of the investigated member from the register.
(2)
If the registration of an investigated member is suspended by order of the
Council and the order has been confirmed on an appeal under section 19 or the
time for appeal has expired, the registrar shall enter on the register the fact
and the dates of the suspension.
(3) The Council must notify the Minister if the
registration of an investigated member is suspended or cancelled.
RSA 1980 cP‑11
s14;1996 c28 s36
Unlawful registration
21 A person who wilfully procures or wilfully
attempts to procure the person to be registered under this Act by making false
or fraudulent representations or declarations, either orally or in writing, and
a podiatrist knowingly aiding or assisting the person in so doing is guilty of
an offence.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s17
Penalties
22 A person who is guilty of an offence under this
Act is liable
(a) for
the first offence to a fine of not more than $100,
(b) for
a 2nd offence to a fine of not more than $200, and
(c) for a 3rd or subsequent offence to
imprisonment for a term of not more than 3 months without the alternative of a
fine.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s18
Prosecutions
23(1) A prosecution under this Act may be commenced
within one year from the day on which the alleged offence was committed, but
not afterwards.
(2) In
a prosecution under this Act, it is sufficient proof of an offence if it is
proved that the accused has committed a single act prohibited by this Act.
(3) The onus of proof of registration under this
Act is on the person charged with any offence under this Act.
RSA 1980 cP‑11 s19
