Important: This version of the e-Laws website will be upgraded to a new version in the coming weeks.
You can try the beta version of the new e-Laws at ontario.ca/laws-beta.
O. Reg. 837/21: GENERAL
filed December 10, 2021 under Professional Engineers Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.28
Skip to contentontario regulation 837/21
made under the
Professional Engineers Act
Made: November 19, 2021
Approved: December 9, 2021
Filed: December 10, 2021
Published on e-Laws: December 10, 2021
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: December 25, 2021
Amending Reg. 941 of R.R.O. 1990
(GENERAL)
1. Section 1 of Regulation 941 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 is amended by adding the following definition:
“seal” means the seal of a practitioner that is approved by the Council under section 52, and, unless the context requires otherwise, includes an electronic image of a seal. (“sceau”)
2. Subsection 44 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
(2) It is a term and condition of every temporary licence held by a person who must collaborate with a Member that the holder shall not assume responsibility for any activities within the practice of professional engineering unless the Member collaborating with the holder also assumes responsibility for those activities.
3. Paragraph 2 of subsection 44.1 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
2. The holder of the provisional licence is entitled to practise professional engineering only under the supervision of a professional engineer, and shall not assume responsibility for any activities within the practice of professional engineering unless the professional engineer supervising the holder also assumes responsibility for those activities.
4. Clause 52 (3.1) (e) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
(e) a statement that the holder is entitled to practise professional engineering only under the supervision of a professional engineer, and shall not assume responsibility for any activities within the practice of professional engineering unless the professional engineer supervising the holder also assumes responsibility for those activities.
5. Section 53 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
Sealing, signing and dating of engineering documents
53. (1) In this section,
“document” includes a drawing, specification, plan, report, design or model, whether it is in paper or electronic format or in any other form or medium; (“document”)
“engineering content” means any content in a document, whether express or implied, the preparation of which involves the practice of professional engineering; (“contenu en ingénierie”)
“engineering document” means a document that contains engineering content and is intended to be used for a purpose that involves the practice of professional engineering. (“document d’ingénierie”)
(2) A practitioner shall, subject to subsections (7) and (8), sign, date and affix their seal to an engineering document if,
(a) the document’s engineering content is prepared by the practitioner; or
(b) the practitioner otherwise assumes responsibility for any part of the document’s engineering content.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2),
(a) the practitioner may use an electronic signature, as defined in the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000; and
(b) an electronic image of the practitioner’s seal may be affixed, if the image,
(i) is of a size that is reasonably visible within the engineering document relative to the document’s other content, and
(ii) includes the number of the practitioner’s licence, temporary licence, provisional licence or limited licence.
(4) The practitioner shall ensure that their signature and the date are applied,
(a) at the same time or immediately after the seal is affixed; and
(b) in a legible manner, either within or immediately adjacent to the seal or in the immediate vicinity of the seal, and not obscuring or otherwise altering the practitioner’s name or the number of their licence, limited licence, provisional licence or temporary licence.
(5) The practitioner shall ensure that the intended purpose of the engineering content of the engineering document is clearly stated on or in the document.
(6) If clause (2) (b) applies, the practitioner shall ensure that the engineering document clearly indicates the portion of the document’s engineering content for which the practitioner assumes responsibility, including by way of suitable text located in the immediate vicinity of the practitioner’s seal.
(7) A practitioner may, but is not required to, sign, date or affix their seal to an engineering document to which subsection (2) would otherwise apply in any of the following circumstances:
1. An engineering document prepared by the practitioner solely for use by the practitioner’s employer or, if the practitioner is self-employed, the practitioner.
2. An engineering document prepared by the practitioner, if the preparation of the document’s engineering content does not require the practitioner to hold a licence, temporary licence, provisional licence or limited licence under subsection 12 (1) of the Act.
(8) A practitioner shall not affix their seal to an engineering document that is incomplete or in draft form.
(9) A practitioner shall not affix their seal, including in the circumstances described in subsection (7), other than,
(a) to an engineering document; and
(b) in accordance with this section.
(10) A practitioner shall take reasonable steps to prevent their seal from being affixed to a document without their consent.
(11) The presence of a practitioner’s seal on an engineering document shall, for the purposes of a proceeding before the Discipline Committee, be presumed to indicate that the practitioner assumed responsibility for engineering content in the document, or, if more than one seal is affixed to the document, that the practitioners jointly and severally assumed responsibility, subject to any qualification or limitation that is clearly indicated on or in the document and is reasonably understandable by users of the document.
(12) For greater certainty, where a practitioner is required by subsection (2) to affix their seal to an engineering document, or where, but for subsection (7), a practitioner would be required to affix their seal to an engineering document, the absence of the seal on the document has no bearing on the responsibility assumed by the practitioner for engineering content in the document.
(13) Clause (3) (b) does not apply during any period in which a practitioner has returned or is required to return their seal to the Registrar under this Regulation.
6. Clause 72 (2) (e) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:
(e) signing, dating or sealing an engineering document, or failing to do one or more of them, in contravention of section 53,
7. Clause 75 (d) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “professional”.
Commencement
8. This Regulation comes into force on the later of July 1, 2022 and the day this Regulation is filed.
Made by:
Pris par :
Council of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario:
Le Conseil de l’Ordre des ingénieurs de l’Ontario :
Christian Bellini
President and Chair / Président et Président du Conseil
Johnny Zuccon
CEO / Registrar
Date made: November 19, 2021
Pris le : 19 novembre 2021