Public Complaints

The British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists (“BCAK”) is a not-for-profit society and is not a government authorized regulatory body.

It does not have the legal authority to regulate kinesiology or kinesiologists in British Columbia under the Health Professions Act.
It's purpose is not to protect the public, penalize or fine members or non-members, or to prevent members or non-members from practicing kinesiology.
Has a limited ability to discipline, suspend or expel a member, and only in cases where a substantial breach of its bylaws, standards and guiding document have been committed and proven.
Requires its Practicing and Non-practicing members comply with its Professional Practice Standards, Scope of Practice, Code of Ethics and other guiding documents as a condition of membership.
The purpose of the complaints process is primarily to provide the public a voice should they feel a BCAK member has not provided competent, professional, safe and ethical care and to help improve the level care to be competent, professional, safe and ethical.
The BCAK response to complaints regarding its members is primarily to educate and inform members to improve the care they provided, including recommending training and limitations to the services and acts they perform and to only suspend or expel a member for demonstrated and proven substantial breach of the standards or where multiple breaches of a standard have occurred, been verified, and the member has not implemented changes or recommendations put forth to the member by the BCAK.

What the BCAK cannot do

The BCAK does not have the authority to:

order compensation for any harm that may have been done;
to address business disputes between members or between members and other entities; or
to direct how an employer supervises or disciplines a member employed by their organization.

Any such claims, disputes, and actions are solely between the member and the complainant and the BCAK will not intervene.

Again, the BCAK does not investigate complaints against non-members and has limited, if any, jurisdiction over persons who were formerly members but no longer are.

Filing a Complaint

All complaints must be submitted on the BCAK complaint form.

Complaints must be received by the BCAK within 1 year of the occurrence of the event(s) related to the alleged complaint, however this period will be extended in cases where the complaint relates to an act or acts which:

were not, and could not reasonably have been known to the complainant at the time of occurrence, or
relate to a person under any legal disability, including persons who are less than 19 years of age, and adults with a physical or mental disability preventing them from knowing of the matter complained of, or acting appropriately in relation to it.

*All complaints will initially be reviewed to determine if the person(s) to which the complaint applies are current or former members of the BCAK. Again, the BCAK has no jurisdiction over non-Members, and limited, if any, jurisdiction over persons who were formerly Members but no longer are.

Complaint forms received will be acknowledged immediately upon submission (auto reply), provided a valid email address has been entered in the Complaint Form.

Important points related to any complaint submission:

If a complaint is outside of the jurisdiction of the BCAK or the person is not a member, you will be informed.
The Member Kinesiologist(s) will be provided with a copy of the complaint form and they will be asked to provide a statement in response.
If the complaint is accepted for review, the BCAK will contact any other health professionals, individuals, employers you have indicated (referred to as "other parties").
The other parties will be requested to provide a statement to the BCAK related to the information they can provide in relation to the complaint, and may be provided a copy of the complaint form, subject to privacy legislation limitations.
The BCAK may also obtain additional information through interviews with relevant parties and/or advice from other parties prior to completing its review.
The BCAK will provide a written decision to you and the Kinesiologist upon completion of the review.

Complaint Form Submission

There are two methods for submitting a complaint form.

Online Form Submission

Access and complete the form using the link below, which will submit the form to the BCAK complaints department email. (We recommend downloading and keeping a copy for your records)
If you have additional relevant documents that you would like to include with your complaint submission, please send in a separate email to: complaint@bcak.bc.ca with the subject: Complaint Documents - from [your first and last name]
- Note: Sending unencrypted documents by email attachment is not a highly secure method of transmission. If you are concerned about your online privacy, you may wish to send your correspondence via regular or registered letter mail, which may provide additional security. (see address below)

Postal Mail/Courier Submission

Access and complete the online form , download, print and send by letter mail or courier. (We recommend keeping a copy for your records)
If you have additional relevant documents that you would like to include with your complaint submission, you may send along with the complaint form as indicated above in the Online Form Submission.

Click Here to access to the Complaint Form.

Address for Mailing/Courier of the Complaint Form and other relevant documents

Mark the envelope: Private & Confidential

Attn: BCAK Executive Director/President

BC Association of Kinesiologists

PO Box 64516

Coquitlam RPO Como Lake

BC V3J 7V7