Engineer’s Corner

Engineers make our society run. Practically everything we rely on to live and work in Ontario every day is a product of Engineering -- from the water we drink to the cars we drive, to the fact that the light comes on when we flick a switch.


CSPE/CCPE - What is the Difference?

CCPE - the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers - now known as “Engineers Canada” though the acronym “CCPE” is still widely used. Engineers Canada (CCPE) is only an advocacy body in the limited sense that it advocates to government on behalf of the provincial and territorial licensing associations, and it provides limited member services such as life and liability insurance programs - services that generally speaking have a wide public interest and are in support of the public interest mandates of the provincial and territorial engineering licensing associations. It is not an advocacy body in the sense that it works for the professional and societal self-interest of individual engineers.

CSPE - the Canadian Society of Professional Engineers - is an "Advocacy" organization whose members are licensed professional engineers in the provinces and territories of Canada. It aims to speak for individual engineers and their professional concerns, as well as supporting their careers, interests and personal needs. As the self-interest society for professional engineers, CSPE lobbies for and promote such matters as:

  • less/more regulation
  • changes to the licensing systems
  • better use of salary surveys to promote improved working conditions
  • legal referral services to help engineers in trouble with employment, clients, professional misconduct
  • employment assistance services

Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)

Harold Usher has been a member of the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) since 1974.
PEO licenses Ontario’s 70,000 professional engineers, grants temporary, limited and provisional licences to practise professional engineering, and authorizes businesses to provide engineering services to the public. It sets standards for and regulates engineering practice. Under the Professional Engineers Act, its statutory mandate is to serve and protect the public interest where engineering is concerned. Rigorously educated, experienced and committed to a Code of Ethics that puts the public first, licensed professional engineers can be identified by the P. Eng. designation, after their names.
PEO’s licensing requirements include an educational component. To obtain your professional engineer licence, you must have a bachelor's degree in engineering from a Canadian university program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), or equivalent academic qualifications. If your bachelor's degree in engineering was obtained from a non-CEAB-accredited program, your qualifications will be assessed against the CCPE’s Canadian Engineering Qualification Board (CEQB) criteria in your engineering discipline.
 
Professional Engineers Ontario administers the Professional Engineers Act by licensing Ontario’s professional engineers, granting temporary, limited and provisional licences to practise professional engineering, and authorizing businesses to provide engineering services to the public. It sets standards for and regulates engineering in Ontario so that the public interest is served and protected. Rigorously educated, experienced, and committed to a Code of Ethics that puts the public first, licensed professional engineers can be identified by the P. Eng.
after their names.
 
PEO has presented awards for professional achievement and community service since 1947. www.peo.on.ca

 

Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE)

Harold Usher has been a member of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) since its inception in 2000.
OSPE is a member-interest, advocacy organization, created jointly by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and the Canadian Society of Professional Engineers (CSPE). It is the voice of the engineering profession in Ontario. Their mandate is to enhance the image of the profession, advance the economic interests of engineers, raise awareness of the role of professional engineers and to act as a strong voice on behalf the professional engineers living in Ontario.  
The Society became a legal entity in April 2000, as approved in a PEO referendum, and subsequently by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
For more information about OSPE, visit www.ospe.on.ca

Awards

TORONTO, June 25, 2008 – The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) are pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Ontario Professional Engineers Awards. The awards will be presented at a special gala ceremony on Saturday, November 15, 2008, at The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Awards are given annually to Professional Engineers who have shown exemplary service in their respective fields, to their communities and to their profession.
 
Selected for the 2008 Professional Engineers Citizenship Awards
 
Harold Lindsay Hughbert Usher, P.Eng., Councillor, City of London
 
Mr. Usher’s passion for equity and fairness made him an invaluable member of London’s Diversity and Race Relations Advisory Committee and City Council. As a professional and an immigrant to Canada (from Belize), Mr. Usher is aware of the challenges and barriers new Canadians face as they try to enter the Canadian labour market.  He got involved with Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford Local Training Board and City Council to ensure issues of Diversity and visible minorities are considered in discussions and planning for future labour market initiatives and workforce development. Mr. Usher also volunteers in youth leadership activities, inspiring youth to succeed, and he has mentored many new Canadians by sharing his experiences and Toastmaster skills. His mission in life is “to inspire and empower individuals to better their personal disposition.”