Part 3: College Officials, Statutory Committees, and Tribunals

Division 1 – Constitution, Powers, and Duties

(1) Regulated members of Statutory Committees and Tribunals must meet the eligibility criteria for regulated members of Council set out in section 5 of these Bylaws.

(2) College Officials are not required to be regulated members of the College, however:

a) College Official who is a regulated member of the College must meet the eligibility criteria for regulated members of Council set out in section 5 of these Bylaws,

b) a College Official who is not a regulated member of the College must meet the eligibility criteria set out in subsections 5(b), (g) and (i), and

c) College officials may be subject to a background check that, at the discretion of Council may include issues with ethics, standards, tax law, securities law, embezzlement, sexual assault or sexual harassment, harassment, discrimination, debt, extortion, or other matters.

(1) College officials, statutory committee members, and tribunal members, when acting in their appointed capacity, shall conduct themselves in accordance with a Code of Conduct which may be approved by the Council.

(1) Whenever Council exercises its discretion to delegate any of its powers or duties to one or more persons or committees, it shall keep records of the delegation which may include any conditions imposed on the delegation and may give consideration to performance monitoring.

(2) An individual or committee appointed by the Council may delegate any of its powers or duties to one or more individuals or committees subject to the Act, these bylaws, and any conditions imposed by Council.

(3) Whenever an individual or committee exercises its discretion to delegate any of its powers or duties to one or more individuals or committees, it shall keep records of the delegation which may include any conditions imposed on the delegation and may give consideration to performance monitoring.

(4) Where the Act provides for a choice among a list of individuals and/or committees to be specified by bylaw, the individual or committee specified by the bylaw cannot delegate those powers or duties to another from the same list.

(5) Records for the purposes of this section may include employment contracts, policies, terms of reference, a motion of Council or of a committee recorded in meeting minutes, or letters of instruction.

(6) Council designates the Chair of the Registration Committee as the individual to carry out the duties under section 65 of the Act.

(7) Council designates the Chair of the Registration Committee as the individual to carry out the duties under section 86 of the Act. In the event that the Chair of the Registration Committee is involved in a request for an interim condition/suspension of the same regulated member, the Council shall appoint an alternate designate.

(1) The Council or its delegate shall appoint individuals to offices or committees for the purposes of the Act and these bylaws.

(2) The Council or its delegate may appoint an individual to act in an interim capacity should the primary individual appointed to the office or position be absent or unable to act, or when there is a vacancy in the office or committee position.

(3) Whenever Council or its delegate appoints an individual to an office or committee, it shall keep records of the appointment which may include any conditions imposed on the appointment and may give consideration to performance monitoring.

(4) Records for the purposes of this section means a motion of Council recorded in accordance with the rules for Council proceedings, a letter of appointment, or any other relevant records.

(1) The Council shall appoint an individual as Registrar for the purposes of the Act who shall also be the senior regulatory leader for the College.

(2) The Registrar may also be appointed as the CEO, the Privacy Officer or equivalent for the purposes of relevant privacy legislation, the Health and Safety Representative or equivalent for the purposes of relevant occupational health and safety legislation, the Interim Complaints Director or the Interim Hearings Director.

(3) On receipt of a complete application for registration, the Registrar must consider the application and make a decision in accordance with sections 29 and 30 of the Act except if the decision is the responsibility of the Registration Committee in accordance with the Regulations or these bylaws.

(4) On receipt of a complete application for renewal, the Registrar must consider the application and make a decision in accordance with sections 38 and 40 of the Act except if the decision is the responsibility of the Registration Committee in accordance with these bylaws.

(5) If the Registrar is satisfied that a regulated member does not comply with conditions imposed under section 40(2) of the Act within the time specified, the Registrar may cancel the regulated member’s practice permit in accordance with section 43 of the Act.

(6) If the conditions were imposed under section 40(2) of the Act by the Registration Committee or Competence Committee, the Registrar may, in their sole discretion, refer the matter back to the committee that imposed the conditions to make a decision under section 43 of the Act, and if the Registrar does not refer the matter back to the committee, the Registrar must notify the committee of the Registrar’s decision under section 43 of the Act.

(1) The Council may appoint the CEO as the Complaints Director for the purposes of the Act.

(2) The CEO shall appoint an individual as Hearings Director for the purposes of the Act and shall report the appointment to Council in writing.

(3) If the CEO is not appointed Complaints Director by the Council, the CEO shall appoint an individual as Complaints Director for the purposes of the Act and shall report the appointment to Council in writing.

(4) The Complaints Director and Hearings Director may delegate any of their powers or duties to one or more persons or committees subject to the Act, these bylaws, and any conditions imposed by the CEO.

(5) The CEO may appoint themself or another individual to the role of Complaints Director or Hearings Director in an interim capacity in the temporary absence or incapacity of the Complaints Director or Hearings Director subject to section 20(3)(a) of the Act. An individual may not act as interim Hearings Director in any matter where they have acted as interim Complaints Director or vice versa.

(1) A Registration Committee and a Competence Committee are established and shall act in accordance with these bylaws and their Council-approved Terms of Reference.

(2) The Registrar shall appoint the members of each committee in accordance with the committee Terms of Reference and shall report the appointments to Council.

(3) The Registrar shall designate a member of the Registration Committee and of the Competence Committee to act as Chairs for their respective committees for the purposes of the Act. The Registrar shall report Chair appointments to Council.

The Registration Committee:

a) shall, on receipt of a complete application for registration or reinstatement, consider the application and make a decision in accordance with sections 29 and 30 of the Act if:

(i) the applicant graduated from a program that has not been approved by the Council, or

(ii) the applicant did not graduate within the previous 3 years and has not practiced speech-language pathology or audiology for a period of five (5) years prior to the receipt of the complete application,

unless

(iii) the applicant has a valid practice permit and is registered in good standing on the equivalent of the College’s general register in another jurisdiction in Canada, or

(iv) the applicant’s registration was canceled under Part 4.

b) shall, on receipt of a complete application for renewal, consider the application and make a decision in accordance with sections 38 and 40 of the Act if the regulated member has not practiced speech-language pathology or audiology in any province in Canada for a period of five (5) years prior to the receipt of the complete application.

c) may, if satisfied that a regulated member does not comply with conditions imposed by the committee under section 40(2) of the Act within the time frame specified, direct the Registrar to cancel the member’s registration and practice permit,

d) may establish or adopt any policies and processes necessary to fulfill its mandate, and

e) may provide advice to the Registrar, upon request, on the qualifications of an applicant, renewing member, or reinstating member, and on policy matters related to registration, renewal, and reinstatement.

The Competence Committee:

a) may provide recommendations to the Council on continuing competence requirements, the continuing competence program, and the assessment of competence requirements,

b) shall undertake all duties required of the committee in accordance with their terms of reference and the Continuing Competence Program established in the Standards of Practice and Continuing Competence Program Manual.

c) may, if satisfied that a regulated member does not comply with conditions imposed by the committee under section 40(2) of the Act within the time frame specified, direct the Registrar to cancel the member’s registration and practice permit,

d) may establish or adopt any policies and processes necessary to fulfill its mandate,

e) may provide advice to the Registrar upon request on the competence of a regulated member and on matters of policy and process related to continuing competence.

Division 2 – Management and Conduct of Committees, Hearings, and Reviews

(1) Statutory committees and tribunals may adopt rules for the conduct of meetings, hearings, and reviews that address the following:

(a) rules of order for the conduct of meetings,

(b) virtual attendance, virtual meetings, and electronic voting,

(c) attendance at meetings by observers, applicants, regulated members, and their representatives,

(d) providing information about upcoming meetings, and

(e) the taking and keeping of minutes, preparation of decisions, and sending of notices.

(2) Rules should seek to enhance the accountability and transparency of the College’s activities without jeopardizing reasonable and prudent privacy, confidentiality, and operational considerations.

(3) Rules for proceedings may be published on the ACSLPA website.

(1) No meeting of a statutory committee or tribunal shall be held unless a quorum is present.

(2) Quorum for meetings of the Registration Committee and Competence Committee shall be one-half of the current members of the Committee. Where one-half of the Committee or Tribunal is not a whole number, quorum shall be taken as the whole number which is closest to and greater than one-half.

(3) If the Registration or Competence Committee is meeting to make a decision affecting the practice rights of an SLP or Audiologist, at least one committee member present must be from the same profession.

(4) Quorum for a Tribunal or Complaint Review Committee is two regulated members, and the number of public members must be in accordance with section 12 of the Act.

Division 3 – Resignations and Removals

(1) College Officials may only resign in accordance with their employment contract if they are employees.

(2) A regulated member of a statutory committee or tribunal may resign at any time by delivering a notice in writing to the person or official who appointed them.

Other College officials and members of tribunals, statutory committees, and the membership list to be used for appointing members to hearing tribunals and complaint review committees may have their appointments rescinded by the person or official who appointed them if they:

(a) no longer meet the eligibility criteria for their appointment,

(b) violate the Council Code of Conduct,

(c) in the case of College officials who are employees of the College, upon the termination of their employment.