The Voice - Winter 2020 - 20

NEWS & EVENTS

aforementioned fraud case, the principal's lawyer arranged a plea
bargain. All the criminal charges were dropped, and he was fined
$10,000 for unlawfully practicing as a Professional Engineer. "
With the provincial regulatory body again refusing to assist,
Catt turned to his member association, OSPE, for help. " The
system is broken and needs to be fixed. It's part of legislation that
every engineer must pass an ethics exam. As soon as they pass
it, they can ignore it, because there's no teeth to it. There's no
reprimand. "
Once Catt notified OSPE, we immediately opened the lines of
communication with PEO, as we believed that this fit within their
mandate as regulator and pressed them with a response to Catt's
concerns. In this, OSPE commends PEO Registrar/CEO Johnny
Zuccon, P.Eng., who initiated an investigation after a conversation
with Sandro Perruzza, OSPE's CEO.
Perruzza also began a dialogue with his contacts at multiple
ministries within the provincial government and with the Senior
Officials at the Ontario Building Officer's Association, to see what

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THE VOICE Winter 2021

could be done to protect the safety of Ontarians. Surprisingly,
he faced roadblocks at every step. At potential risk were not
only the dozens of buildings that were approved under Catt's
misappropriated seal, but the unknown number of times this
was occurring throughout the province with other engineers.
OSPE also connected Catt to OSPE's legal partner, Corestone
Law, where they provided a free consult on what Mr. Catt's legal
options were, and some legal advice on next steps.
After reaching out to a number of OSPE members with
their own CofA's, OSPE learned that although the forging of
documents is not rampant, many members had their own
experiences of forged documents and copied seals, and relayed
concern of how easy it is to do.
Speaking on the issue, OSPE CEO Perruzza comments, " I was
quite surprised by the lack of concern and initial response from
our inquiries into the issue and by the ensuing cover-up of these
incidents. This was not a simple issue of misfiled paperwork,
but one where non-qualified people where misleading officials
and actually putting lives at stake. We believe a lack of resources
assigned by PEO, and the lack of focus on its regulatory duties
is putting the public at risk, and that immediate action had to
be taken. "
Spurred by PEO's continued inaction, Catt brought the issue
to the attention of CBC news, inviting OSPE to join him for an
interview. CBC committed to investigate the misappropriation,
alongside widespread regulatory problems at PEO, and the
danger they pose for all of Ontario. OSPE continued to maintain
open lines of communication with PEO and government officials,
while assisting Gerald Catt, P.Eng. in protecting Ontarians.
As Perruzza notes, OSPE has always supported the primary
role of PEO. " Without a strong regulator focused on protecting
the public and the environment, the public perception of the
engineering community in Ontario will continue to be in
jeopardy. OSPE has been advocating for changes at PEO for
years, calling on its leadership to solely focus on their primary
objective to regulate the practice of professional engineering.
This call to action should have been reinforced by the recent
findings of the External Regulatory Review, conducted by the
Professional Standards Authority in early 2019. "
OSPE has long stood for regulatory reform and action at
PEO, believing that it is the key to upholding the integrity of
the profession. Engineers must continue to be trusted and
valued members of society, and a healthy, fully functioning PEO,
fulfilling its mandate as a regulatory body, is key to this. OSPE
is proud to continue to push for regulatory reform resulting
in a stronger, focused regulator of the practice of professional
engineering. This is for the good of engineers, for the safety
of the public, for the protection of our environment, a better
Ontario, and a stronger Canada.
The Voice - Winter 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Voice - Winter 2020
