Ontario Government extends date of “industrial exception” repeal

Those responsible for professional engineering work in Ontario in relation to production machinery or equipment now have longer to become licensed by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO).

The Government of Ontario has changed the date for the repeal of section 12(3)(a) of the Professional Engineers Act, the so-called industrial exception to the requirement for a licence, to Sept. 1, 2013 from the previously announced March 1. The government amended the date to allow additional time for those affected to become compliant.

“Extending the proclamation date from March 1, 2013, to Sept. 1, 2013, will give Ontario companies more time to prepare for the repeal of the industrial exception,” said John Gerretsen, Attorney General, in a statement. “This approach helps to protect public and worker safety and ensure smooth implementation for businesses.”

With the repeal of the industrial exception, individuals will have to be licensed by PEO if they do any act within the practice of professional engineering on machinery or equipment used to produce products for their employer in their employer’s facility.

“Engineering is regulated to serve and protect the public interest,” said Michael Price, P.Eng., MBA, FEC, acting chief executive officer and registrar of PEO, in a statement. “Bringing this mindset into the design of the production process by eliminating the industrial exception should be cost-effective for industry by lessening workplace illness or injury and associated workplace insurance claims, and minimizing retrofitting, downtime and equipment replacement.”

Under a new section 88 of Regulation 941/90, which was effective in late January, employers have up to one year from the date of the repeal to meet the new requirements, as long as they file a compliance with PEO by the date of the repeal. This means employers will now have until Sept. 1, 2013 to file their compliance plans and any associated licence applications to take advantage of the one-year transition window.

“Transition plans previously announced by PEO to assist employees seeking licensure as a result of the repeal remain unchanged,” added Price. “This includes waiving PEO’s licence application fee for all employees who apply for a licence by September 1 and are named in their employer’s compliance plan.”

Further information on the repeal, including instructional webinars, questions and answers, and a compliance tool kit employers can use to determine if they are affected by the change, is available on PEO’s website at www.peo.on.ca.