The common perception is something along the lines of "In Canada, it's illegal to call yourself an engineer unless you have a PE license, full stop." The quote from Professional Engineers Ontario seems to encourage this interpretation. But the statute they cite seems to be more specific than that.
Offence, use of term “professional engineer”, etc.
(2) Every person who is not a holder of a licence or a temporary licence and who,
(a) uses the title “professional engineer” or “ingénieur” or an abbreviation or variation thereof as an occupational or business designation;
(a.1) uses the title “engineer” or an abbreviation of that title in a manner that will lead to the belief that the person may engage in the practice of professional engineering;
[...]
is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable for the first offence to a fine of not more than $10,000 and for each subsequent offence to a fine of not more than $25,000.
I believe the hierarchy used here is meaningful. The use of "engineer" (as opposed to "professional engineer") is addressed in subparagraph (2)(a.1), under the paragraph (2)(a), which says that your job title or business name can't be "professional engineer" unless you are a professional engineer.
Paragraph (2)(a.1) extends this to say that your job title or business name can't use "engineer" in a way that will make people think you are a professional engineer when you really aren't. This is in the context of the parent paragraph about claiming to be a professional engineer. If it were prohibited wholesale to call yourself an "engineer" under any circumstances without holding a PE, I wouldn't expect that to appear in this form in the statutes.
In short, what the law really seems to say is that, without a PE license:
- You can't claim to be a Professional Engineer
- You can't claim to be an "engineer" and let people think it means you're a Professional Engineer
This focuses on making sure that when we rely on engineering plans, they have been examined and approved by someone who knows what they're doing -- not on making "engineer" a protected title that is illegal to use unless you have a license. This interpretation of the statute suggests that there is actually nothing illegal about the use of the word "engineer" in job titles in Canada, as long as it's not done in a way that would cause a reasonable person to believe it means "licensed professional engineer".
It says or abbreviation which I imagine would cover engineer. It's well established here that you call yourself doctor or use the Dr abbreviation either if are not an active member of the college of medicine.
I am somewhat familiar with all these rules since a trained engineer with a PhD, but I am not a active member of the professional engineer association. I also used be a have the work title of "principal architect". In reality I can't legally call myself (or really let others) doctor, engineer or architect. I must admit it's a bit challenging when dealing with multinational.
vonunov|1 year ago
Paragraph (2)(a.1) extends this to say that your job title or business name can't use "engineer" in a way that will make people think you are a professional engineer when you really aren't. This is in the context of the parent paragraph about claiming to be a professional engineer. If it were prohibited wholesale to call yourself an "engineer" under any circumstances without holding a PE, I wouldn't expect that to appear in this form in the statutes.
In short, what the law really seems to say is that, without a PE license:
- You can't claim to be a Professional Engineer
- You can't claim to be an "engineer" and let people think it means you're a Professional Engineer
This focuses on making sure that when we rely on engineering plans, they have been examined and approved by someone who knows what they're doing -- not on making "engineer" a protected title that is illegal to use unless you have a license. This interpretation of the statute suggests that there is actually nothing illegal about the use of the word "engineer" in job titles in Canada, as long as it's not done in a way that would cause a reasonable person to believe it means "licensed professional engineer".
jpambrun|1 year ago
I am somewhat familiar with all these rules since a trained engineer with a PhD, but I am not a active member of the professional engineer association. I also used be a have the work title of "principal architect". In reality I can't legally call myself (or really let others) doctor, engineer or architect. I must admit it's a bit challenging when dealing with multinational.