Court case: In an oral decision delivered on November 26, 2019, Associate Chief Justice Nielsen of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench ordered an injunction against an individual who was using the title “Software Engineer” in his online profiles, despite the fact he was not an APEGA member. Associate Chief Justice Nielsen found that by holding himself out to the public as a “software engineer”, this individual could by implication lead a member of the public to conclude he is a professional engineer, licensee or permit holder with APEGA. This was a violation of s. 3(1)(a)(ii) of the Engineers and Geoscience Professions Act. Associate Chief Justice Nielsen granted the injunction order sought by APEGA and awarded costs to APEGA for the contested application.
Court case: On 10 March 2020, the Quebec Superior Court (2020 QCCS 1465) upheld a lower court ruling, finding an individual guilty of improperly using the French abbreviation “ing.” In e-mails sent to clients and colleagues, and on a résumé sent to a prospective employer. The Court found that the use of “ing.” by an individual not registered with Quebec’s governing body would induce a reasonable person to conclude that the individual is indeed an engineer. As a result, the individual was found guilty of 4 counts of improper use of title. Leave to appeal was denied by the Quebec Court of Appeal on 5 June 2020 (2020 QCCA 730).
