November 2009 issue

Home > Members > Publications > The PEGG > November 2009

Compliance
Out-of-Province Companies May Not Know Our Rules

BY MICHAEL NETH, P.ENG.
Assistant Director, Compliance

The Compliance article published in October has sparked so much feedback that it seemed worth following up with some more information on the permit to practice. This time, we’ll focus on extra-provincial corporations doing business in Alberta.

Extra-provincial corporations moving into Alberta from another province or country are often more familiar with the acts and regulations in their home jurisdiction than those in Alberta. They will sometimes assume that what works elsewhere works equally here.

All provincial acts and regulations governing the professions are similar, but there are differences that make each province unique. Between countries, the differences can be quite striking. Some of the following discussion is on the practice of engineering, but the points apply equally to the practices of geology and geophysics as well.

For example, in Ontario the parallel to Alberta’s permit to practice is called a “certificate of authorization.” Some companies in Ontario do not require a certificate of authorization because they use engineers to provide engineering services within the employer’s domain only (no services to the public, as in consulting services).

Alberta has no similar exemption. Therefore, companies that use engineers for internal consumption only still require a permit. This most clearly applies to manufacturers that may sell an engineered product or that engineer their manufacturing process but do not offer engineering consulting services to the public.

Another factor often overlooked by companies moving into Alberta is that the definition of the practice of engineering, geology and geophysics varies slightly from province to province. For example, in the province of Quebec the practice of engineering does not include foundations, framework, electrical and mechanical systems for buildings costing less than $100,000.

Alberta has other exemptions, but not this one. Sometimes companies are exempt from requiring a license to practice the professions in their home province, but that’s no guarantee that a similar exemption exists here.

Extra-provincial corporations must also be aware of Alberta’s prohibitions on holding out or representing that they offer engineering services. One area of frequent concern arises when international companies come in from jurisdictions that do not protect the titles engineer, geologist and geophysicist as we do in Alberta, and indeed Canada.

To illustrate, the reserved title sections of the EGGP Act and its regulations would clearly require a drafting company from the U.S. called Global Engineering Ltd. to hold a valid permit to practice in order to do business under this name in Alberta.

Other businesses moving into Alberta will bring their human resources practices with them, too, including providing non-professionals with titles such as sales engineer, systems engineer, etc. While this may be acceptable in the companies’ home jurisdictions, APEGGA does view this practice as a violation of the EGGP Act in Alberta and would expect the company to use more suitable titles for Alberta staff.

Report a Violation

If you are aware of practice or title violations and you are able to provide evidence (reports, letters, business cards, websites, etc.), we encourage you to contact Frank Perich, P.Eng., Director, Compliance, at fperich@apega.ca., or Michael Neth, P.Eng., Assistant Director, Compliance, at mneth@apega.ca. Because the Compliance Department deals with non-members, we do not reveal
the source of a complaint when you make contact.