Case Summary: Equivalency Of Registration Requirements

Registrar of the Association of Professional Engineering of Ontario v. Gurpersaud, 2015 ONSC 804 (Ont. Div Ct), dismissing an appeal by the Registrar of the Registration Committee's decision to issue a licence to practice.

An applicant with foreign education credentials sought licensing with the Association of Professional Engineering of Ontario ("PEO") and was ordered by the PEO's Academic Requirements Committee ("ARC") to pass 4 exams to get licensed. The applicant failed 2 of the 4 exams and was then ordered to write 6 exams. The applicant did not write the exams.

After the expiry of the initial application, the applicant reapplied and was again informed that he needed to write the 6 exams. Instead of doing so, he pursued a Master's degree in engineering from a Canadian university. Upon re-application in 2010 and 2011, he was again ordered by the ARC to write the 6 exams on the basis that the applicant's Master's coursework did not address the specific deficiencies identified. The applicant sought and obtained a hearing before the Registration Committee.

The Registration Committee set aside the ARC's decision and ordered that a license be issued, finding that the applicant's education combined with 11 years of work experience at a multinational engineering firm met the requirement of equivalency to a Canadian engineering degree. The...