Office of the Syndic

Ensure compliance with ethical obligations

Members of the OIQ must respect a set of ethical obligations that are found mainly in the Code of ethics of engineers. And it is the responsibility of the Office of the Syndic to ensure that these obligations are met.

Its goal? To ensure the protection of the public.

What does the Office of the Syndic do?

The Office of the Syndic works in three areas:

Prevention: to prevent misconduct, it keeps the public, and members informed through conferences, articles, and a dedicated ethics hotline (the Ligne éthique).
Investigation: it investigates the conduct of engineers who are reported.
Disciplinary complaints: it files disciplinary complaints with the Disciplinary Council when deemed appropriate.

How does an investigation by the Office of the Syndic work?

Following a report of misconduct, the syndic or assistant syndic (a position held by engineers) conducts the investigation.

Syndics or assistant syndics are bound by a duty of discretion to preserve the confidentiality of the process as much as possible. However, the person who made the report may request to be periodically informed of the progress and conclusion of the investigation, which can take several months.

In the course of an investigation, any person contacted by the Office of the Syndic has an obligation to cooperate and provide all requested documents and information.

What are the possible conclusions of an investigation by the Office of the Syndic?

After conducting its investigation, the Office of the Syndic may decide as follows: Close the investigation without taking further action if it deems the report unfounded.

Proceed with non-disciplinary measures (such as a warning, a reminder of certain ethical obligations or a request that a professional inspection be conducted).
File a complaint with the OIQ’s Disciplinary Council, followed by a hearing. Both of these steps are public.

What if I made a report and am not satisfied with its outcome?

If the person who filed a complaint and made a report is not satisfied with the conclusion of the Office of the Syndic, they may request an opinion from the Review Committee or file a private complaint with the Disciplinary Council.

What can the Review Committee do? The Review Committee receives a request for review from any person who has filed a report and is dissatisfied with the syndic’s decision not to file a complaint.

This committee may:

Conclude that there are indeed no grounds for filing a complaint.
Suggest to the syndic that they investigate further.
Suggest to the syndic that the matter be referred to the Professional Inspection Committee.
Conclude that there are grounds for filing a complaint with the Disciplinary Council.

Useful links

See the Disciplinary Council page

See the page on sending a report to the Office of the Syndic

Do you have questions about the Office of the Syndic or ethics?

Contact the OIQ

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