Order of Surveyors-Geometers of Quebec (OAGQ)

• Joint-Stock Companies (SPA)
• Limited Liability Partnerships (SENCRL)

Joint-Stock Companies

• More than 50% of the voting rights attached to the shares of the joint-stock company are held by the following persons or trust patrimonies or a combination thereof: 
  • One or more members of a professional order governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26) or persons governed by an Act of another Canadian province recognizing them and subjecting them to similar rules
  • A joint-stock company where at least 90% of voting rights attached to the shares are held by one or more persons described above
  • A trust whose trustees are persons described above
• A majority of the directors of the board of directors of the joint-stock company are persons referred to above. To constitute a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors a majority of the members present to act on its behalf must be persons described above
• More than 50% of the voting rights attached to the shares of the joint-stock company are held by the following persons or trust patrimonies or a combination thereof: 
  • A land surveyor or land surveyors
  • A joint-stock company where at least 90% of voting rights attached to the shares are held by one or more land surveyors practicing, in all cases, within the joint-stock company
  • A trust where all the trustees of which are land surveyors practicing, in all cases, within the joint-stock company
• A majority of the directors on the board of directors of the joint-stock company are land surveyors practicing within the joint-stock company. Ton constitute a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors of a joint-stock company, a majority of the members present to act on its behalf must be land surveyors
• The chair of the board of directors is a shareholder with voting rights and a land surveyor

Limited Liability Partnerships

• More than 50% of the voting rights attached to the shares of the status of partner units or units of the limited liability partnership are held by the following persons or trust patrimonies or a combination thereof:
  • One or more members of a professional order governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26) or persons governed by an Act of another Canadian province recognizing them and subjecting them to similar rules
  • A joint-stock company where at least 90% of voting rights attached to the shares are held by one or more persons described above
  • A trust whose trustees are persons described above
• A majority of the directors of the board of directors of the partners or directors of a limited liability partnership are persons referred to above. To constitute a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors a majority of the members present to act on its behalf must be persons described above
• More than 50% of the voting rights attached to the shares of the status of partners or units of the limited liability partnership are held by the following persons or trust patrimonies or a combination thereof:
  • A land surveyor or land surveyors
  • A joint-stock company where at least 90% of voting rights attached to the shares are held by one or more land surveyors practicing, in all cases, within the joint-stock company
  • A trust where all the trustees of which are land surveyors practicing, in all cases, within the partnership
• A majority of the directors on the board of directors of the partners or directors of a limited liability partnership are land surveyors practicing within the partnership. To constitute a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors, a majority of the members present to act on its behalf must be land surveyors
• The chair of the board of directors (or a person performing similar functions in a limited liability partnership) is a partner with voting rights and a land surveyor

• A land surveyor practicing within a partnership or joint-stock company must furnish and maintain security on behalf of the partnership or joint-stock company by means of insurance or suretyship contract or by joining a group plan contract entered into by the Order or by contributing to a professional liability insurance fund established in accordance with section 86.1 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26)
• The following minimum conditions must be set out in a specific rider or contract: 
  • an undertaking by the insurer or surety to pay in lieu of the partnership or joint-stock company, over and above the amount of security to be furnished by the land surveyor pursuant to the Order of Surveyors-Geometers of Quebec Liability Insurance Regulation or the coverage taken out by a land surveyor if it is greater, up to the amount of security, any sum that the partnership or joint-stock company may be legally bound to pay to an injured third person on a claim filed during the coverage period and arising from fault or negligence on part of the land surveyor in the practice of the profession within the firm
  • An undertaking by the insurer or surety to take up the clause of the partnership or joint-stock company and defend it in any action against it and to pay, in addition to the amounts covered by the security, all expenses and legal costs of actions against the firm, including those costs of the inquiry and defense and interest on the amount of the security
  • An undertaking that the security extends to all claims submitted in the 5 years after the date on which a land surveyor in the firm dies, withdraws from the firm, or ceases to be a member of the Order, in order to maintain coverage for the firm for fault or negligence on the part of the land surveyor in the practice of the profession within the firm
  • An undertaking by the insurer or surety to provide the secretary of the Order a 30-day notice of intent to cancel or not renew the insurance or suretyship or to amend the contract in such a manner as to affect a condition listed above
• Minimum coverage amounts of $1,000,000 per claim subject to a limit of the same amount for all claims filed against the firm within a 12-month coverage period
• Minimum coverage amounts of $500,000 per claim subject to a limit of the same amount for all claims filed against the firm within a 12-month coverage period where a land surveyor is a sole practitioner or sole shareholder of a firm in which no other land surveyor is an employee
• The suretyship must be with a bank, savings and credit union, trust, or insurance company that is domiciled in Canada and maintains sufficient property in Quebec

• A land surveyor who practices within a joint-stock company or limited liability partnership is authorized to include in or after the firm name the words, "firm of professionals governed by the Professional Code" or the acronym "FPGPC"

• Members practicing Land Surveying within the firm must be licensed in Quebec and be either a partner, employee, administrator, leader, or shareholder of the company. 
• When more than one member practices land surveying in a firm, a singular member must be designated as the representative to act on behalf of all land surveyors of the firm.