The Provincial Body in Canada Regulating the Practice of Your Engineering Profession

Engineer In Action

Mervin Cereno, P. Eng. mmcereno@gmail.com

Mervin Cereno is a Filipino immigrant in Canada. He is a Filipino-Canadian Engineer licensed to practice Engineering in Alberta and British Columbia. Based in Edmonton, he is employed by one of most sought-after Construction and Engineering Consulting firms as a Senior Structural Engineer. He is a Volunteer and Advocates to help Filipino-Canadian Engineers to pursue their Professional Engineering License in Canada.

For advice on a specific case in pursuing your application, whether in ASET or APEGA, please email me at mmcereno@gmail.com.

In the Philippines, the regulation of Profession is governed by the Professional Regulation Commission. Each regulated Profession, after earning a University Degree, has to take and pass the Professional Exams. Most Engineering graduates do not require any Professional Experience before they take the exam and eventually earn their Professional Designation as Engineer.

In Canada, the regulation of Profession is governed by each Provincial Regulating Body and they have their specific requirements before granting the Professional Designation as an Engineer. The Experience Requirement is mandatory for all Applicants before granting the Professional Designation.

Engineers Canada is the national body that works with Canada’s provincial and territorial engineering regulators to help develop national policies and guidelines for the Engineering profession. Professional Licensing of Engineers in Canada are Regulated by the Provincial Regulating Body. Licensing is not performed by Engineers Canada. Each province or territory in Canada falls under the jurisdiction of one of Canada’s twelve engineering regulators. These are as follows:

• Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia

• Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA)

• Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba

• Engineers and Geoscientists New Brunswick

• Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS)

• Engineers Nova Scotia

• Engineers PEI

• Engineers Yukon

• Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEG)

• Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ)

• Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL)

• Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)

For Internationally Educated Engineers (IEE), the most important first steps in applying are to determine where you would like to work and then contact the regulator there to learn more about their specific application process. When applying, it is best to start as soon as possible, because it can take some time for a regulator to assess your qualifications after receiving all your required documents. In some cases, a regulator may require you to take further steps, such as writing an examination or obtaining more education or experience.

Mobility across Canada Engineers require a licence in each province or territory where they intend to practice. The Canadian Free Trade Agreement states that engineers licensed in one province or territory, “have to be recognized as qualified to work by a regulatory body in another province or territory which regulates that occupation, without having to go through significant additional training, work experience, examination or assessment, unless an exception has been posted.” This is important for labour mobility and to ensure that engineering skills and knowledge are available throughout the country.

Engineering Regulators are responsible for licensing engineers in each province and territory. This applies to anyone looking to practice, including engineering graduates, internationally trained engineers applying for a license in Canada for the first time, and engineers licensed in one province or territory who wish to apply for a license in another province or territory.

Agreements on International Mobility Engineers Canada is the Canadian signatory to several professional engineering agreements common consent the legal title is taken in the name of one of them for the benefit of all, a trust is created by force of law in favor of the others in proportion to the interest of each.

• Art. 1453. When property is conveyed to a person in reliance upon his declared intention to hold it for, or transfer it to another or the grantor, there is an implied trust in favor of the person whose benefit is contemplated.

• Art. 1454. If an absolute conveyance of property is made in order to secure the performance of an obligation of the grantor toward the grantee, a trust by virtue of law is established. If the fulfillment of the obligation is offered by the grantor when it becomes due, he may demand the reconveyance of the property to him.

• Art. 1455. When any trustee, guardian or other person holding a fiduciary relationship uses trust funds for the purchase of property and causes the conveyance to be made to him or to a third person, a trust is established by operation of law in favor of the person to whom the funds belong.

• Art. 1456. If property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes.

“Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks.” ~ Isaac Watts which facilitate mobility by enhancing Canadian engineers’ ability to work abroad and international engineers’ licensure in Canada. These agreements are designed to protect the public and maintain the good reputation of the engineering profession through effective regulation and expeditious licensure between participating countries.

Engineers Canada has directly negotiated Mutual Recognitions Agreements (MRAs) with the following organizations:

• Engineers Australia

• France (Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur, ConseilNational des Ingénieurs et Scientifiques de France)

• Hong Kong Institution of Engineers

• Engineers Ireland

• The Nevada State Board of Professional Engineers, United States

• The Texas State Board of Professional Engineers, United States

The MRAs are intended to provide licensed engineers from these bodies with an equivalent level of licensure in Canada and vice versa. Engineers Canada is not a licensing body, regulation and licensing process are with each different Province of Canada. Substantial information is posted on the Engineers Canada website to begin the licensing process of practicing Engineering in your Province of choice.

Reference: https://engineerscanada.ca